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United in faith: Iraqis celebrate the Feast of Cross
A historic moment in Erbil, northern Iraq. In Ankawa, a suburb of the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan located in the north of the country, hundreds of Christians are participating in the Feast of the Cross, which began on Monday 9 September and will continue until Friday. The joyous event is marked by high hopes…
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Assyrians Commemorate Martyrs Day Worldwide
(AINA) — August 7 marks Assyrian Martyrs Day, a day to remember Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) who lost their lives in defense of their culture and way of life. On this day Assyrians remember the victims of the genocides perpetrated against their nation, such as the Turkish genocide of Assyrians, called Seyfo (sword) by…
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ACERO’s 2024 Easter Season Appeal
Nadia Cavner, a philanthropist and activist based in Springfield, MO, with a heart for humanitarian causes, has long been a dedicated supporter of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO). This Easter time, she encourages everyone to join her in making a meaningful difference in the lives of Christian families residing in Northern…
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ACERO Helps 49 Families in Need
The Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization is a non-for-profit organization that exists to help Assyrians who are in desperate need. Due to decades of ongoing descrimination and persecution, they have been pushed out of their homes and villages, forced to settle down in new countries, usually as illegal immigrants. There is no safe…
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Refugees Return to Deir ez-Zor Region from Lebanon and Turkey
For Nadia Cavner, the peace and security of the Assyrian people in the Middle East is one of her most important endeavors. This week, heartening news was shared about the Syrian Refugees who have been living in Turkey and Lebanon. According to Ghassan al-Youssef, the co-chair of the Deir ez-Zor Civil Council, Syrian refugees living…
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Little-talked-about Ethnic Cleansing is Happening in Middle East
For Nadia Cavner, a long-time philanthropist and activist, the Middle East is a region close to her heart, and the freedom of the persecuted people who live there remains the primary focus of her work. This topic does not receive much attention in U.S. news, but there is an ethnic cleansing happening in Northern Iraq…
Acero Advocate
Middle-East Outreach with Nadia Cavner
Ten years ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a campaign of mass atrocities to achieve the religious and ethnic cleansing of Yazidis, Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Christians, Shi’a and Sunni Muslim Turkmens, Shabaks, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the U.S. State Department determined ISIS’s atrocities against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. In 2019, an international coalition defeated ISIS’s last territorial hold in Iraq and Syria. However, ten years on, survivors face multiple threats to their religious freedom, security, and existence within their homelands.
Jamileh Naso, President, Canadian Yazidi Association; Nadia Cavner, Philanthropist and Advocate for Assyrians; and Dr. Ali Akram Albayati, Co-Founder, Turkmen Rescue Foundation join USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Susan Bishai to discuss religious minorities’ ongoing struggles to rebuild in the region.
The Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO)
ACERO is the international aid agency of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. They serve as a lifeline for Assyrians facing hardship throughout the Middle East and beyond, and they are passionately supported by church members and allies across the world. Nadia’s fierce and unrelenting support of ACERO and their much-needed work continues to make an impact in the lives of thousands of people every year.
For centuries, Assyrians have called this region home. However, ongoing conflicts and persecution have forced many to flee their homes, live as refugees, or face desperate poverty. ACERO steps in to provide essential aid, ensuring families have access to food, water, shelter, medical care, and education.
Nadia Cavner
Advocate & Activist