Reach Out and Keep in Touch With Your Heritage; By Alice Mesalam

"Originally, written By Alice Mesalam for the first Saidnaya directory in 1984"

We think that some things will last forever...that our parents and grandparents will always be here to tell us about their trip from the "old country" to make a new life in America.  But today we realize that we have perhaps waited too long...for the stories were rarely written and already many of them are lost to us.  They were so anxious to be a part of this great land, to provide a better life for their children, that no one saw the importance of writing down the wonderful stories.

We are all surrounded by family, friends, and other ties.  It is hard to imagine leaving home, parents, and families; with very little money, no knowledge of the language, often just teenagers, with little hope of ever returning...all to come to America.  But God bless them, they came.

This directory is printed for those who have some connection to that little town of SAYDNAYA, SYRIA...whether direct descendents or related through marriage.

Before World War I, Lebanon was a part of the country of Syria. Saydnaya is a very small town of about 12,000 inhabitants, very hilly and rooky, located about 18 miles north of Damascus (the oldest city in existence).  There are many churches in this small town with some of them holding services only once a year, on their saint's day.  The most renown is the Convent of Our Lady of Saydnaya of the Orthodox Patriarchal Archdiocese.  It stands on the tallest hill, is a home for orphans, holds many holy ancient relics, and is overseen by the Mother Superior. The convent holds one of the four original icons painted of the Holy Virgin by St. Luke the Evangelist.  The convent was built around 547 A.D. and is second to Jerusalem as a holy place, not only to the Eastern Orthodox Christians, but to Roman Catholics and Moslems.  Space does not allow us to write more about the convent, but it has a 1,200 year history which is a fascinating story and should be read by all.

The first written record of Syrians coming to this country was of a doctor and his family that were brought to this country by the Presbyterian Church around 1860.  They settled in Knoxville, Tennessee.  We believe the first to leave Saydnaya to come to this country did so around 1880, for our people found it very difficult to live under the rule of the Turkish govern­ment.  They heard of a wonderful country, "America", and decided to go there and make a fresh start.  Many a husband left his wife and children to come alone and when he made enough money, he would send for them.  Often a brother or two would come and as they made a few dollars, they would send for other members of the family and the process would continue.

Many would approach the ship's captain, saying he wanted to go to the United States, but often, they just said they wanted to go to "America".  In many cases, the boat in port would be going to South America and so they were put on that boat.  That is why we have many of our people in Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as, Buenos Aires, Argentina and other South American countries.  Also, if .they had an eye disease, they were not per­mitted into the United States so went to other countries.

Those coming to the United States heard of the woolen mills in Lowell, Massachusetts so they headed there for much foreign labor was used.  Some went to Parkersburg, West Virginia, possibly attracted to the glass factories. Others came to the Midwest, going to Grand Rapids, Michigan or the Indianapolis area after hearing of the natural gas boom in Indiana. If they could not find a job, they purchased some wares and peddled the items, house to house, city to city.  As they accumulated some money, they would open up a little store, either grocery, produce, general, or even confectionery (the first ice cream parlors). They found this to be a good place to live and raise their families.  They saw to it that their children attended schools and received the education they never had. They were well res­pected wherever they chose to live.

The new immigrants were busy making a living and raising families, money was scarce and travel no easy task, yet they were able to keep in touch with each other. Often it was because someone was looking for a wife and heard about a young girl "who just came from Saydnaya". They also kept in touch with the traveling priest, who would travel from city to city, holding services in the homes and baptizing all the children. The priest would often keep a little notebook, listing the various single people and if someone was looking for a wife or husband, he would oblige.  Don't laugh, for how many of you have met on a "blind date" or through someone who said "I known just the person for you"?

So those ties began in that little town of Saydnaya and con­tinued in this country, at church functions, haflis, weddings, etc.  It brings us to this point in time when over three hun­dred of us met in Indianapolis in 1978 for the first SAYDNAYA REUNION.  May the good Lord, bless us as family, relatives, and friends continue to meet at these reunions.

Alice Mesalam

Indianapolis, Indiana

 

“Alice Mesalam (1916 - 1997), a first-generation Saidnayan American, was the organizer of the first ever Saidnaya Reunion in 1978.  And, along with Veronica Nedeff, she created and published the first Saidnaya directory in 1984 where this article first appeared.”