I DETROIT
New Chaldean Leader
Builds Jewish Bridges
DAVID KOTZEN-REICH
Stu ff Writer
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38
FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1992
n 1977 when he was 16,
Sharkey Haddad arrived
in this country from Iraq
along with his parents and
three brothers.
Little did Mr. Haddad, a
Chaldean American, know
that his experiences in Iraq,
as well as acts of prejudice
he would experience in
Detroit, would spark a vision
to break down prejudices
people have about Chal-
deans, Iraqi Christians.
"I remember when I was
growing up, my mom and
dad telling us, 'Never get in-
volved in politics because
you're Christian and you'll
never get any place,' " said
the new executive director of
the Chaldean Federation
headquartered in Southfield.
"You're going to end up either
in jail or dead," they told
him.
While he appreciates his
new-found freedom of
speech, Mr. Haddad never
imagined he would have to
use it so frequently. "I came
to this country thinking I
would not experience pre-
judice. I was wrong."
Recently, Mr. Haddad
spoke his mind at a
Southfield Zoning Board
hearing after a few local
residents tried to block a
simple zoning change
favored by Chaldeans. "I
was so hot, I was red," said
Mr. Haddad. "I spoke my
mind. I was not afraid. All
these things I could not have
said back in the Middle
East."
The request by the Mother
of God Church to remove a
barrier between its parking
lot and its neighbor, the
Southfield Manor, was ap-
proved by the board.
Mr. Haddad often
discusses "building bridges"
between his and surroun-
ding communities, par-
ticularly the Jewish com-
munity.
In the two months he has
been the Chaldean commun-
ity leader, Mr. Haddad has
shown unusual commitment
to building ties with the
Jewish community, and
showing both Chaldeans and
Jews how much they have in
common.
"Most of the American
society thinks we are Arabs,
and as a result, misconcep-
tions take place," Mr.
Haddad said. "Once you
have a misconception about
Sharkey Haddad:
Chaldean leader.
someone, you always keep
your distance and you don't
ever break the ice between
you and them. We need to
overcome those misconcep-
tions. The only way to do it is
build more bridges."
Mr. Haddad's parents were
born in the village of
Telkaif, an ancient Chal-
dean community in northern
Iraq. Like the Jews, the
Chaldeans over the cen-
turies have resisted con-
tinual persecution.
Pressures have been strong
throughout their long histo-
ry to convert and assimilate
into the Moslem majority.
Detroit's Chaldeans, with
76,000 people, is the largest
Chaldean community out-
side of Iraq, Mr. Haddad
said.
Jews and Chaldeans have
been participating in joint
dinners, Israeli and Chal-
dean dance demonstrations
and other events at Temple
Israel and the neighboring
Chaldean Cultural Center at
the old Shenandoah Country
Club. And Mr. Haddad has
been working closely with
the Jewish Community
Council to develop mutual
educational programs.
"We still need to build
more bridges, because every
single Chaldean and Jewish
American living in the
Detroit metropolitan area
should be aware of their
similarities," Mr. Haddad
said.
Miriam Imerman, director
of domestic concerns for the
JCCouncil, said Mr. Haddad
"has done incredible stuff"
in the short time since he
assumed his new position.
"He's just come on, and he's