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Prominent Assyrians
Yusif Malek (1899-1959)
In 1933, when Assyrians were prostate after the horrible catastrophe they had suffered during the First World War, when the cream of the Assyrian men and women had been massacred by Turks, Kurds, Turcomans and Iranians, when few Assyrian leaders had survived the
holocaust, one of the very few voices raised to protect them from extinction was a young man from a small village near Nineveh -- Tel Keif -- Yusif Malek. He alone fought the newly formed Iraqi government and the British colonialists. And his lone efforts gave hope to the remaining Assyrians.
Yusif Malek was born in Baghdad, Iraq, on 28th of March 1899, while his parents were from Tel-Keif , one of the villages of Nineveh.
He received his education from the Latin College in Baghdad and then attended the American College in Basrah. He held the position of War Interpreter when the British dominated the city of Basrah, southern Iraq.
After the British lost in Ctesiphon, and while on their drive to Baghdad, Mr. Malek returned to Kut-al-Amara, which was besieged by Turks for 143 days. He was captured by Turks and was sentenced on 30th of April, 1916. Sometime in June, with the help of a Christian lady and a Turkish spy he fled to Kuwait, a small village on the Tigris River. From there he went to Amara which was captured by the British.
In July 1917 he joined the British Administration and worked for the political offices of the States (Governorates now) of Amara, Nassiriya, Baghdad, Ramadi and Nineveh.
During the Arab revolution of 1920 he was appointed to the post of Special Assistant to the Governor of Samarra, a position held by British personnel in other states. The last position he held in the Government of Iraq was "Secretary for Administration Inspector" for the State of Nineveh which was a high position with a salary of 350 Rupees.
In a confidential letter of 16th August 1930, the Administrative Inspector for the State of Mosul promoted Mr. Malek to the position of Mayor of Sheehan with a salary of 450 Rupees. Two days later the Minister of Interior sent an order transferring Mr. Malek to Nassiriya without any specific reason.
Since the position Mr. Malek was promoted to was higher, his people requested him not to leave it since that might jeopardize their jobs. He wrote to the Government informing them that he would obey the order of the Minister of Interior if he was given the reason behind the transfer.
The Minister was furious and he cabled the Governor and the Administrative Inspector to enforce his order. Mr. Malek rejected the order. The government then asked for his resignation. He replied that he would resign on the condition that he be paid for his services of 13 years which amounted to 3,500 Rupees plus 1,750 Rupees for 5 months of vacation. These conditions were rejected by the government on 18th September 1930.
Mr. Malek then brought his request to the British High Commissioner in Iraq but to no avail.
In April 1931, Yusif Malek left for Beirut in. On his way he attended the Assyrian-Kurdish Conference held in Halab (Aleppo), Syria.
The following year, 1932, while in Beirut, Malek fought vigorously through his articles that were published in the local newspapers which caused the British High Commissioner in Iraq to complain to the French authorities in Lebanon.
Mr. Malek stayed in Beirut until the battle of August 4th and 5th of 1933 between the Assyrian militia and the Iraqi troops ended. Two days later the French authorities asked him to leave the country. Mr. Malek was captured at his home when the Iraqi Exterior Minister Nuri al-Saeed Pasha flew to Beirut due to the circumstances prevailing then.
The French officials, upon the complaints of the Assyrian community in Lebanon freed him and he was able to join the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar. Shimmun, who was exiled from Iraq to Cyprus. Malek arrived in Cyprus on 26th August 1933 and was the guest of the Assyrian leader. On September 28th 1933, the two leaders left Cyprus for Geneva, Switzerland, the League of Nations and arrived there on October 4th 1933.
Malek accompanied the Assyrian Patriarch as his secretary to defend the rights of the Assyrians. It was scheduled that the League of Nations was to discuss the "The Assyrian cause" on October 14 1933 allowing the two leaders only 10 days to prepare for the meeting.
They worked 18 hours each day and besides, they made several trips to Paris and London to explain the Assyrian Cause. On September 28th 1934, Malek returned to Beirut to discover that the Assyrian cause had been known to all.
In Beirut, he worked as Editor of an Assyrian National Newspaper (Atra-Watan) which was being supported by the Assyrian-American Federation.
He has valuable publications in English and Arabic among which is "The British Betrayal of the Assyrians", a book which shook the world.
Martyr Yusif Malek was Assyro-Chaldean. He lived and died as a noble Assyrian. The echo of his work for the Assyrians did not die with him but will live through the ages.
When Yusif Malek was an editor of the "Telegraph" journal published in Beirut, he wrote a number of articles on the struggle of the Cypriots during 1955. His articles came to the notice of Makarios III, Archbishop of Cyprus. They exchanged a number of letters. Here are two reprinted letters from that correspondence published in the book, "Cyprus and Turkish Barbarism in the Twentieth Century" by Yusif Malek.
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The Archbishopric
Mr. Yusif Malek, Please accept our warm thank for your article published in the "Telegraph" Of the 3rd June, 1955, in which you make favourable reference to us and to the struggle of the people of Cyprus of self-determination. The spirit of justice and liberalism which is expressed in your article is deeply appreciated, We would like to assure you that the people of Cyprus are deeply grateful to you for your support. With the expression of our deep personal appreciation, we remain, Wished to God,
(Signed) |
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July 19,1955. Your Lordship, Many thanks for your sympathetic letter dated July 5, 1955, which, after consultation I was advised there was no objection in making it public property. I do hope that you have copies of all of my nine articles mentioned in the enclosed one ("Telegraph' newspaper No. 3146 dated July 18-19, 1955) whose translation is attached herewith for easy reference. As a spontaneous supporter of your very noble cause, and a sincere wisher for your ultimate success in your gallant struggle over an alien and despotic administration, it would at all times be a source of pleasure to me to give all possible aid to the people of Cyprus in their quite natural representations for self-determination. If you had lived for yourself only, you would have passed away like any other ordinary laity or clergyman, but on shouldering such a grave responsibility as you have done in spite of the armies and fleets facing you, your name now means (and will remain for ever) I venture to say: gallantry, courage, self-sacrifice and self-denial. Any of your special views or particular announcements which you would like to be known in Arabic speaking countries would be welcome and would receive, I hope, the publication they merit. With my very best wishes for a bright and happy dawn for the gentle people of Cyprus under your able guidance, I am please believe me to be, Very sincerely yours,
(signed)
His Lordship, Makarios I |
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