SAIDNAYA REUNION
On June 4th
1978, the members of the St. George Orthodox Church in Indianapolis
started a tradition of holding a reunion for all Saidnaya
descendants in the Americas. The organization of which was initiated
by Alice Mesalam from Indianapolis, IN. Since then, the reunion
became an important date for so many Saidnayans living in the USA
and Canada. It took place regularly since then; and currently, it is
being held every two years.
The first reunion was held in the church’s
hall, for one day only. It included a display of items and articles
from Saidnaya. There were lectures and historical reviews of Syria
and Saidnaya. It also included Syrian music, dance, dabke and games
such as backgammon. The food was prepared by the families attending
the meeting, and each family brought their own meals.
The reunion has grown tremendously over the years
and people from all over the continent of America have come to
participate. The reunion, nowadays, is being held over three day
weekend. The last meeting, which was held on July 26th
-28th 2002, took place in the same hall. It included two
parties (hafla): Friday and Saturday; and three meals: Friday,
Saturday and Sunday after some of the participants attended the
Sunday Mass.
HISTORY
There were two waves of
immigration from Saidnaya to the Americas. The first wave took place
at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the
twentieth century. The first to come from Saidnaya to the USA,
it’s believed, came around the year 1879. The majority of this
wave came before and during the First World War.
Most of the Saidnayans lived in one of four communities. These are:
Indianapolis, IN.
Lowell, MA.
Grand Rapids, MI.
Parkersburg, WV.
The
families settling in Indianapolis include: Albert, Corey, Eid,
Ferris, George, Matouk, Mesalam, Nasser, Nuckel, Qsman, Ozman, Risk,
and Zain.
The families settling in Lowell include: Azar, Ellis, Farris,
Karakey, Keriaky, Kater, Maria, Nackel, Petros, Saba, Sahadi,
Serhall, Shaheen, Simon and Zaher.
The families settling in Grand Rapids include: Corey, Eid,
Gasses, Holally, Marod, Risk, Saba, Shaheen, and Simon.
The families settling in Parkersburg include: Abdella,
Betres, Corra, Coury, Ellem, Fahad, Farrah, Naddaf, and Nedeff.
The second wave of immigration started three or four decades ago,
and is still going on. Each year, the reunion welcomes new
families.
The new wave includes many relatives of the first wave, but, new
families have decided to start a new life in the USA and
Canada.
These families include: Abi Syke, Abo Seka, Abou Samra, Al-Cheikh,
Al-Fahel, Alkhouri, Allam, Al-Tullie, Al-Talli, Assaf, Azar, Esper,
Fahel, Kahla, Karraz, Keriaki, Keriaky, Khabazeh, Khoury, Kozma,
Kuzma, Maari, Moamar, Mouamer, Mourad, Nejme, Nejmeh, Njeime,
Noujeime, Rizk, Sarhan, and Serhan.
ABOUT THE NAMES
When the pioneering Saidnayans escaped the harsh reality under the
Ottoman rule, they came with nothing but their Arabic names and
their memories and their dreams of better life. Their road was full
of difficulties, was at the immigration desk where an officer trying
to find out their names to fill their applications. At time, the
officer wrote what he heard.
One of
the most common names in Saidnaya was Khoury; (pronounced as
KHOO-REE, with the letter Kh sounds like a voice made when someone
is snoring, which means “priest” in Arabic). It was written in
so many ways. Therefore, Corey, Corra, Coury, Khoury and Khouri are
the same.
Osman
and Ozman are probably the same and pronounced as “OZMA” or
“QOZMA”. Karakey and Keriaky and Keriaki; Nedeff and Naddaf;
Nackel and Nuckel; Farris and Ferris; Allam and Ellem; Risk and Rizk
are the same family names with minor spelling difference.
The other
problem facing those who are looking for their ancestry is the fact
that many of these last names were actually their father’s names
or their nicknames. Eid was a father or a grandfather’s name; in
Saidnaya, the family’s name is “Katreena”. Farris was the
father’s name and the family’s name was “Za’roor”. The
Ellis’ name was their father’s name also. Their family’s name
was Talli. George, Albert, Fahad probably fall in the same group. In
those days, it was a habit to call people by their father’s name,
not their family’s name.
Some
of the names were chosen because they are easier to write and
pronounce than the original ones. Simon’s name, in Arabic, is
pronounced as “Sim-Ann” which is a prophet’s name and Simon is
its translation in English. Marod is pronounced as “Moorad” In
Arabic.
Extreme
examples involved some Saidnayans who had a different first and
family names from the original ones.
THE FUTURE OF THE REUNION
The next reunion will be held
at the same site in Indianapolis in the summer of 2004. Date is to
be determined. The reunion elected Sami Maari as a chairman for the
next 2 years. He was a co-chairman for the last 2 years also. Also,
the reunion elected two vice-chairmen in George Allam and Nick
Ferris.
There is a possibility that the
reunion may convene next year for the youth of Saidnaya only. The
plan has not been finalized yet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I tried to be accurate,
thorough and considerate. I apologize for any unintentional
mistakes.
Sincerely
Ghassan Keriaky, MD., FACC
REFERENCE
Some of the information was
obtained from the Saidnaya Directory which was put together by
Veronica Nedeff and Alice Mesalam and the members of the St. George
Orthodox Church in Indianapolis.
