LOS ANGELES, 22 October 2007 – Rosie Malek-Yonan’s latest role in New Line Cinema’s Rendition is opposite Reese Witherspoon as an Egyptian mother, Nuru El-Ibrahimi, whose son, played by Omar Matwaly, is kidnapped by the CIA in Oscar winning director, Gavin Hood’s politically charged thriller that sweeps through the world of terrorism and torture.
Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian activist and author, intimately familiar with her nation’s struggle as minority Christians in the Middle-East. With the publication of her book, The Crimson Field [http://www.thecirmsonfield.com] in 2005, Malek-Yonan brought the Assyrian Genocide to the limelight. While Armenians are awaiting the next step by the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize the Genocide, Malek-Yonan strives to set the record straight that the Assyrians and Greeks were also a part of the Genocide by the Ottoman Turks during WWI, wherein the Assyrians lost two-thirds of their population.
Due to her expertise on the ongoing Assyrian Genocide, as evident from her book, The Crimson Field, on the suggestion of famed Oscar winning director, Terrence Malick, in 2006 Malek-Yonan testified on Capitol Hill about the plight of the Assyrian Christians in Iraq.
Rendition premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September 2007 and is now in theatres worldwide. The film also stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard, and Alan Arkin. Film Critic, Roger Ebert, gave the film four out of four stars, saying that, “Rendition is valuable and rare. It is a movie about the theory and practice of two things: torture and personal responsibility. And it is wise about what is right, and what is wrong.”
Media Contact for Rosie Malek-Yonan
Trip Miller
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Following is a speech by Laressa Bethishou delivered in Assyrian language which along with her other qualities earned her the Youth Excellence award at the AANF 2007 convention in San Diego
Who are we? Where did we come from and where are we going?
To have a clear vision of your future, and all that you want to make of it, you have to first examine your past and all the things that shaped you into who you are. When I look at my past, I look at a series of scattered events that came together to make me the person I am today. I grew up in an Assyrian Christian household, went to an Assyrian Church where I played piano every Sunday, played basketball, was on the swim and track teams, got good grades in school. I always thought it was a very ordinary childhood. I realize now it was actually quite remarkable. At no point was I ordinary, because I am Assyrian. I am part of the people which are referred to in Isaiah as the "handiwork" of God. Since I started college, I have become fascinated with the richness and depth of my culture.
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I am an Assyrian from Iran. My parents left Iran in 1979, three years before I was born; and so I have never been there. Assyrians from Iran constituted a small percentage of the Iranian population before 1979: the 1976 census indicated the number at 32,000, although I can tell you this figure is mostly likely an underestimate (most likely, above 40,000). Most Assyrians have left Iran since the establishment of the IRI, leaving the estimated current population at around 10,000 – 15,000.
The Ottomans made the first step towards the extermination of the Christian people (Assyrian-Syriac-Chaldean and Armenians) between October of 1895 and April of 1896. These massacres began in the region of Diyarbakir and extended to Hasankeyf and Sivas. In this senseless mass killing, innumerable Christians were killed at random. All their gold, silver, and possessions were taken awayviolently. In the meantime, the massacres extended to the regions of Urfa, Bitlis, Siverek, Bilecik, Malatya and the surrounding regions. In Urfa, 13 000 Assyrian-Syriacs were slaughtered. In the regions of Sivas, Ravaniye and Shevan, many of our people were murdered, as well. In Kefrin they even killed the prior and 30 other inhabitants. Villagers of Avant, Bemürd and Ridvan were raped and plundered.
Assyrian Activities 
