A Part of Genocide Awareness Week
When
Where
Assyrian Genocide Panel - A Part of Genocide Awareness Week
Title: Surviving the Genocide
Description: This presentation addresses the question of what happened to the uprooted survivors of the Assyrians of Urmia, Iran, after they lost their homes and their loved ones.
Dr. Arianne Ishaya is a distinguished scholar and historian specializing in Middle Eastern studies. She has authored two significant studies on immigrant communities: New Lamps for Old, focusing on North Battleford, Canada, and Familiar Faces in Unfamiliar Places, which explores the history of Assyrian immigration and settlement in California’s Central Valley.
In addition to publishing numerous articles in academic journals and encyclopedias, she authored William Daniel: Assyrian Poet and Composer, a biography of the renowned Assyrian literary figure, published by the AAASJ in 2015. Her other works include a 2022 reprint of William Daniel’s Kateeny Gabbara Trilogy. She has also translated several books from Farsi and Assyrian into English, including The Last Days of Atla Kandi by Eddie Davoud and The History of the Assyrian Nation in the 20th Century by Koorish Yacob Shemon, both published in 2022.
Currently, she has three manuscripts in production: A Brief History of Assyrians in Hamadan, The History of Assyrians in Kermanshah, and A Brief History of Assyrians in Santa Clara Valley, California.
Arianne Ishaya holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from UCLA.
Title: Restoration of Memory as a Form of Justice
Description: The destruction of memory is the final phase of genocide. Restoring and reviving memories of genocides is therefore simultaneously a form of defence and justice for survivors of different generations. Dr. Diamadis’s presentation will focus on the Genocides of the Hellenes, Armenians and Assyrians, the indigenous peoples of Anatolia and Mesopotamia.
Dr. Panayiotis Diamadis was born and educated in Sydney, Australia and continues to base his scholarly work there. An experienced genocide scholar and educator with more than 30 years of experience, Dr. Diamadis is the author and co-author of books and research papers on a range of Genocide and History topics. His next publication - Genocide to Regeneration: the photographs of George Devine Treloar publishes for the first time the photographs and personal documents of the League of Nations' Commissioner for Refugees between 1922 and 1924. Treloar was responsible for the rescue and re-settlement of tens of thousands of survivors of the Genocides of the Hellenes, Armenians and Assyrians, enabling them to rebuild their lives out of the ashes of the Genocides.
Title: Remembering the Diaspora
Description: In this presentation, Adina, through an oral history research method called “memory work” will share with us the vessels members of the Assyrian community use to connect with their memories of traumatic events.
Born to Assyrian immigrants from Iran, Adina Kolia is a Law and Creative Writing student at the University of Arizona-Tucson. She is in her third year, where she is currently working on her honors senior research thesis. Her research thesis is centered on the mediums Assyrians use to store and process their memories, and what their memories convey about their experiences with power and identity. Adina is a fourth-generation genocide survivor who is passionate about keeping her family’s stories alive.
Title: Reclaiming My Assyrian Identity
Description: Through story and song, Tenise Marie will share her journey of reclaiming her Assyrian heritage, featuring her own original compositions and honoring the richness and diversity of Assyrian musical traditions.
Tenise Marie is a Canadian songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and recording artist based in Nelson, British Columbia.
Raised in the remote mountain town of Argenta, BC, Tenise developed a deep love for music, shaped by the folk traditions of her early years. Influenced by iconic singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, she blends vocal stylings from Soul, Gospel, R&B, and jazz while exploring the sounds of her Middle Eastern roots. Her music weaves these diverse influences into a soulful, lyrically rich tapestry that invites reflection on our shared humanity.
Her signature sound pairs luminous vocals with acoustic instrumentation, creating a unique fusion of Western and Eastern folk—an expression of her mixed European and Assyrian heritage. Olivia Herring (Music Mecca) described her ballad Drawn to You from the 2021 album Storm as “an emotional experience… capturing coming of age, love, and exploration.”
Tenise is currently recording a new album, set for release in 2025, featuring songs from her Research & Creation songwriting project with the Canada Council for the Arts—born from her journey to the Assyrian homeland in Iraq with GISHRU: Bridge to Assyria.