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It is the day after. I
have spent 12 hours on the
bus. A boring game, a
jittery ride, and a Jugoslav
busdriver who cannot tell
between the E4 highway and
R?sunda is still in my mind.
It sounds sad.
But I am mighty proud.
This weekend I sat in the
Rsunda soccerarena and it
felt like an enormous
Assyrian association. We
were around 10,000
supporters.
The
mood outside the arena,
during the unloading of a
bus after another, was
fantastic as the drums were
heard, flags were high up in
the air, and people singing
songs of joy. It was like
the scene when the troops
gathered before the last
battle in the Tale of the
Two Towers, where you could
see the banners of the
Assyrian people raised and
putting an end to the
oppression. The waiving of
the banners and flags and
siging led to the southern
entrance of the arena. There
was a lot of faith, hope,
and an unruly will. No one
there even imagined a loss
in the game. Maybe that was
the reason why most of us
took it rather hard.
Assyriska lost the game, but
we won practically
everything outside of it.
That is why I can only
smile when anyone tries to
maliciously gloat. People
think that it is only about
soccer. You can be sure that
when people cry outside the
arena when they see the
flagg up high, and hear the
songs, that it is so much
more. Last saturday it was
Assyriska, the team, Zelge,
and all the suporters that
together joined in a great
manifestation for the rights
of the Assyrian people. It
encouraged the young ones to
feel the pride in
beeing what they are, and
brought tears in the eyes of
the elderly. It was so much
more than just soccer.
The Assyrian people have few
opportunities to give an
oppinion or an expression as
great as the one that made
us feel that our hearts
would shoot out our chests
because of this particular
feeling of indentity. That
is why the elderly cried.
We played in the final of
the Swedish national Cup in
front of the whole world,
and the whole world wanted
to watch. We were in the
focus of the media as never
before the whole week before
the final. Everybode now
knows about the Assyrians,
and Assyriska. They all know
that:
* we are from
Beth-Nahrin, the land
between the two rivers
* we originate from the
ancient Assyrians
* we speak a form of
Arameic, the language that
Jesus spoke
* we have been oppressed
* we are currently working
to adapt
* we can enjoy our success
with respect to our
environment, surroundings,
and ourselves.
Assyriska, is the
positive Sweden, and that is
why the attention has been
so great.
I want to thank Assyriska
S?dert?lje and their
greatest fan club, Zelge,
for an amazing show that has
been running since this
summer, from the day when we
beat IFK Gothemburg on the
day of the martyrs.
The team of Assyriska has
created heroes, given us
reason for happyness, made
us proud, told about our
history, shown us where we
stand, and the team of
Assyriska has represented us
the best way possible. It is
natural that we love AFF.
The climax was the long
party the same saturday, 1
of November. While the rain
of gold confetti fell from
heaven we all sang ”Othur
Ithwole arye gabore.”
Thousands of Assyrians sang
in unison.
It was the proudest
moment of my life, Yuhanon
Zhaco said in the interview.
When I was a kid I dreamed
of singing the national
anthem i in an arena filled
with people. That dream has
been fulfilled.
Yuhanon held the
microphone.
I myself get the shivers
when I watch that short
videosequence on auf.nu. The
greatest happening, maybe of
all times, came shortly
after the second half
started. For the thousands
of Assyrians in the souther
part of the arena, the sky
suddenly transformed to a
proud and enormous Assyrian
flag and covered a 1500
scuare meters wide section,
as it was lowered from the
section above, as if lowered
down by angels. It was might
and beauty that ruled,
though the true feeling is
indescribable. At that
moment I cared less about
the result. “This was worth
everything,” I thought to
myself. All the hours in the
bus, a boring loss of the
game, a week of stress and
nervosity and
disappointment... it was
worth all that.
When the sun in the
Assyrian flag shined upon us
over the arena of Rsunda, we
were strong, united and
proud. The first of
November, history was made
and the team of Assyriska
and the Assyrian people have
once and for all found a
place in the consciousness
of the Swedish people.
The weak tactics of Coach
Conny’s that particular time
was a fact, as fear of the
players, the level of
seriousness, the players’
bad play, the nightmare at
the start, was nothing we
could have changed. But, we
did our best to support and
encourage.
But of course, the feeling
was not so good when one
learns that about 290
supporters were happy on the
opposite side, when the
happyness could have
spread across the world if
Assyriska would have won.
When Svenska Dagbladet,
one of the largest
newspapers in Sweden, gives
its award for the sports
accomplishment of the year,
the Swedish womens national
team that got the silver in
the world cup of 2003, will
be a politically correct
choice. But many people know
that the womens’ world cup
is not much to talk about
compard to the mens’ world
cup. There are maybe 5-6
countries that fight for the
gold medal, and Sweden is
one of them. I am hereby
nominating Assyriska
S?dert?lje to receive the
sports accomplishment of the
year. Not just because of
the strong sports
accomplishments of beating
three great teams of the
highest divison in Sweden,
but also for the reason of
meaning and the importance
of the team to all of the
Assyrian people. And because
the angels who sent the
Assyrian flag to the world
are called Zelge.
Abraham
Staifo
Sweden
[ This
article has appeared on
www.auf.nu and was
translated from Swedish by
Moris Esa. Photo courtsy of
Assyriska’s fan club site
www.zelge.com ] |
Nineveh On Line Assyriology