RHC Library Celebrates Assyrian People & Culture

13.jpgThe RHC library has set up a display of books about Assyrian people & culture in conjunction with the Coming Together in Skokie program. Here are a few that are available to check out.

Assyrians: The Continuous Saga
by Frederick A Aprim

In this book Vasili Shoumanov traces the history of the Assyrians from the Empire in 9th Century B.C. to current day. Assyrian history has previously been long overshadowed by its Islamic neighbors, but the author finally brings to light in this book the strong cultural identity of the Assyrian people.

Assyrians in Chicago
by Vasili Shoumanov

Assyrians in Chicago is another excellent book on local history from Arcadia Publishing. It chronicles the immigration of Assyrians into the Chicago area beginning in the late 1800s and their contribution to American society. Athough the Assyrian people originate in what is now Iraq,  one of the largest concentrations of this vibrant ethic group now resides in the Chicagoland area.

book cover for Home is Beyond the MountainsHome Is Beyond The Mountains
by Celia Barker Lottridge

This is the story of the genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks on the Assyrian people around WWI. These events are told through the eyes of  Samira, a nine year old girl. Her family is forced to flee their home in the Lake Urmieh region, and are sent to a refugee camp in what is now northern Iraq. Eventually, she and her older brother make the journey back home to find out if any of their family remains.

book cover for Children of WarChildren Of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
by Deborah Ellis

The Iran-Iraq War started in 1980. Saddam  Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, which led to the First Gulf War. He also brutally repressed the Kurds and Shia Muslims. Recently there was the Second Gulf War.  Because of all of this fighting around four million Iraqi children have been displaced. Most of these children live in refugee camps – some in Iraq and some in Jordan. This book is an oral history of about twenty of these displaced children.

-posted by Kevin Purtell

http://oaklibbooks.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/rhc-library-celebrates-assyrian-people-culture/Â