From Official Page of Paul Y. Manni
IT’S TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND NEW LEADERSHIP AT THE CHALDEAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
On April 18, 2024, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani attended an event at Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield with members of Michigan’s Iraqi American and Chaldean community.
According to Chaldean News, the event was sponsored and paid for by the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. The publication also reported that Chamber President Martin Manna was among those who received the Prime Minister.
Throughout the photographs and event footage I have reviewed—including wide views of the ballroom, stage, audience, and surrounding areas—the Iraqi flag is prominently visible. I have not seen an American or Chaldean flag displayed in the photographs or footage I reviewed.
Multiple individuals who attended the event have also told me that they did not see an American flag present.
I am not claiming that these photographs show every part of the venue at every moment of the event. If the Chamber has photographs or video showing that an American or Chaldean flag was displayed, I welcome it to provide them.
There is also a personal question I would like answered. Before the event, a member of the Chaldean community contacted me and asked me to provide several Chaldean flags for the event. I personally provided them. I have not seen those flags displayed in the photographs or footage I reviewed.
This leaves several questions:
• Who was responsible for the flag arrangement and event protocol?
• Was an American flag displayed anywhere at the event? If so, where?
• If an American flag was not displayed, was that intentional or the result of diplomatic, security, protocol, logistical, or other considerations?
• What happened to the Chaldean flags I provided?
• Did Martin Manna have any involvement in or knowledge of the flag arrangement?
• Did the Iraqi delegation have any involvement in determining the arrangement?
I do not know the answers to these questions, and I am not accusing any particular individual of deciding to exclude any flag. I am asking the people who organized the event to explain what occurred.
Chaldean News reported that Bishop Francis Kalabat spoke that evening about unity, faith, hope, and loyalty to both Iraq and the United States, as well as the freedoms and rights enjoyed by Chaldean Americans as U.S. citizens.
That makes the apparent absence of an American flag from the photographs and footage I reviewed particularly difficult for me to understand. If loyalty to both countries was part of the evening’s message, I believe displaying both flags would have appropriately represented that message.
The American flag represents the country generations of Chaldeans and Iraqis have made their home. We can honor Iraq and our Chaldean heritage while proudly honoring the United States. If there was a diplomatic, security, protocol, logistical, or other explanation for the flag arrangement, I encourage the Chamber to explain it publicly.
To date, I have not received a response from Martin Manna addressing these specific questions, nor am I aware of a public statement from him addressing them.
I also continue to have separate questions regarding his brother Jim’s role in the Chamber.
Leadership requires accountability. In my opinion, based on the concerns I have raised and the lack of a response to them, it is time for new leadership. I believe Martin Manna should resign as president of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce.
I am not asking anyone to accept speculation as fact. I am asking for the facts.
Was an American flag displayed? Who determined the flag arrangement? What happened to the Chaldean flags that were specifically requested and provided?
If evidence exists that answers these questions or contradicts what I have observed, I welcome it and will review it.
The community deserves answers.
We can honor Iraq without forgetting America. We can honor our Chaldean heritage while proudly displaying it.
Our heritage is Chaldean and Iraqi. Our home is America. All deserve respect.
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