Chaldean

To put this simply Chaldeans are essentially Christians (predominantly Catholic) from present day northern Iraq but can also be found in Iran and Syria. They speak Aramaic (language of Jesus) and this language is pretty important to them. Most have arrived to America in the last 55 years or so because of a change in the immigration laws. When they came over they settled predominantly in southeast Michigan, particularly the tri-county area (Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne county).

Additionally, some of there core values include: faith, family, and hard work. All three are equally important to most Chaldeans. As far as their work, it seems that many run their own businesses, such as party stores, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, real estate firms, and construction companies to name the main industries they can be found in but there are others beyond that.

All in all, on a personal note the Chaldeans I have met in school, work and general life seem to value comradery with others, thus are easy to talk to more often than not. Also, Chaldeans are not Arabs so make sure you refer to them as either Chaldeans or Assyrians (though Assyrian is less commonly used). In terms of looks, many could pass for southern Italian (Sicilian look) quite easily since many have olive white skin.

Bianca’s is a Chaldean owned party store.