Running head: CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1

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1 Running head: CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 1 Cultural Autobiography Suzy Stidham Ivy Tech Community College

2 CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 2 Education 255 InTASC Standards Description and Rational Standard #2: Learning Differences The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards. Name of Artifact: Cultural Autobiography Date: February 17, 2015 Course: EDUC 255: Multicultural Education Brief Description: This week focuses on my family s cultural history. Straightforward information is needed to write this autobiography. Rationale: To document my finding s I will be interviewing my parents for the information needed for this assignment. Since they are first generation immigrants and refugees, they were the perfect candidates.

3 CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 3 Introduction My parents, Shawky and Mary Marogi were born in Iraq. My dad was born in Baghdad, the capital, and my mother was born in a little village in northern Iraq called Tel-Keppe. My parents did not have an arranged marriage rather; my dad went to my mom s family and asked for her hand in marriage. This was the only and proper way to ask for permission to wed. My parents did not know each other nor were they related. The way this story was explained to me by my father was as follows, I saw your mom at the merchant s store and it was love for me (S. Marogi, personal communication, February 17, 2015). They had an engagement period of about three months then were wed on June 14, 1974, my mother s fifteenth birthday. My parents main language that they speak is Aramaic then were taught to speak Arabic to be able to communicate with the Islamic community. My parents are Catholics. Language is what distinguishes your religion preference in Iraq. My parents are Chaldean and Chaldeans speak Aramaic but were taught to speak Arabic to be able to communicate with the Muslims in Iraq. Aramaic was the language of Semitic peoples throughout the ancient Near East ("Aramaic Language: The Language of Christ," 2015). Though they were taught to speak Arabic, my mom said their accent gives them away. What she means by this is, if Arabic isn t your main language there are many dialects of Arabic. The dialect most Chaldeans were taught is a Moroccan dialect. This is what gives them away as Christians. How crazy is it to think that based on the dialect of Arabic spoken, most Middle Eastern people can tell what your religion preference is? Major Traditions/History

4 CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 4 Chaldeans have very different traditions than the Arab community. Chaldeans are not Arab but come from the Arab world. Chaldeans are associated with Babylon and the city of Ur because they settled near Babylon ("Who Are the Chaldeans?" 2015). The Islamic community not the Chaldean community only wears Burkas and Hijabs, which is another distinction among the cultures. Chaldean traditions involve religion tremendously with this community. Religion, family, and food celebrate Christmas. Our family attends a two-hour midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Stuffed tripe known as Pacha, is the main dish served on Christmas. Easter is even a bigger holiday for our family. It begins on Ash Wednesday lasts the forty days until Easter Sunday. Holy Week begins the Sunday prior to Easter Sunday through Good Friday (when Jesus was crucified) until Easter Sunday when Jesus is risen! We are in church every day of Holy Week. Chaldean cookies called Kuleche are made during this week as well. These traditional cookies are made with dates or walnuts mixed with cardamom. My dad served in Saddam Hussein s Army and decided to flee Iraq to Greece to be away from Saddam s regime once and for all. My mom followed a month later with two little girls in tow, my older sister May and myself. My mother said May was only about nineteen months old and I was about four months old. When I asked her why she and dad fled separately she stated, Saddam s regime would have known and they would have killed all four of us (M. Marogi, personal communication, February 17, 2015). My mother was only seventeen and fleeing with two babies on a bus to Bulgaria. An Iraqi soldier boarded the bus looking for escapees as mom called them, and she looked away as he came close to her because she was so scared. My mother eventually met up with my dad in Athens and we lived in Greece for about two years. Then the country of Greece sponsored our family as refugees to come to the United

5 CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 5 States for our safety. At first we lived in New York then not long after our family settled in Detroit, Michigan. I often wondered why my parents chose Detroit. As I got older I finally asked the question and realized it was all for work. Detroit was known as the Motor City. The automobile industry started there, plus my dad mentioned he had family that emigrated there. Conclusion The jumbo jet flight to the United States is something that is burned into my memory. I remember the orange shades on the plane coming over. I remember playing with my dad on the plane. I am very grateful my parents sacrificed not seeing their families anymore and everything they had to come to the United States. I just do not know how they mustered up the courage to do this. My dad who took a chance gambling with his life, fleeing a third world country without his new wife and two daughters. My mother, who was only a teenager, had two little children with her on a bus that took her to Bulgaria. Only to be harassed and embarrassed at the Bulgarian airport when trying to board a plane with her two babies just to get to Greece. I will always be so grateful for both of them. My mom will always be special to me. She to this day, always puts her kids before herself. Mom always goes above and beyond for her now, grown up children. She helps me more than she knows. I love her so much and tell her every time I talk to her, whether I say it in Aramaic or in English.

6 CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY 6 References Aramaic Language: The Language of Christ. (2015). Retrieved from Who Are the Chaldeans? (2015). Retrieved from Chaldeans.htm

Introduction: Historical Background:

Introduction: Historical Background: Introduction: The Chaldeans have come to Australia for the same reasons as other immigrant groups, in search of better religious, political, and economic freedom and opportunity. There are some 40,000