On the evening of Friday 19 July 2024, the Director General of Syriac Culture and Arts, Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna, participated in a memorial ceremony held by the Directorate in cooperation with the Union of Syriac Writers and Authors and the Alqosh Cultural Association, at the al-Mahabbah Hall in the Nineveh Plain’s Alqosh district.
The memorial ceremony began its activities with a minute of silence for the soul of the deceased and the martyrs of the free word, followed by a hymn presented by singer Farah Fouad, then speeches from a number of institutions, including the Alqosh Cultural Association, Alqosh Chaldean Catholic Diocese, General Union of Writers and Authors in Iraq, and Union of Syriac Writers and Authors.
Then, Director General of Syriac Culture and Arts Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna delivered a speech from the General Directorate in which he affirmed, “We have lost an icon, an emblem, and a bright star who gave until the last breath. How can we mourn you, O author of words? You were a priceless treasure for our nation and you will remain so with your abundant works,” indicating that, “The abundance of your published works is even less than your manuscripts awaiting publication, O righteous son of Nineveh, just as the antiquities discovered from your city of Nineveh are less than what exists.”
After these words, artist Sam Salem participated in a hymn with sad musical accompaniment, followed with poems recited in eulogy for the late scholar by a number of our people’s poets, namely poets Nabil Damman, Yonadam Benjamin, Manal Abuna, and Ibrahim Khidr. After this, a special documentary film about the deceased’s life, produced by the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts and directed by Ragheed Ninwaya, was shown.
After that, a number of figures participating in the memorial ceremony presented live testimonies about the deceased, namely Wasfi Hassan from Dohuk and Louis Jamma from Alqosh. The memorial ceremony concluded its activities with a speech from the late Benjamin Haddad’s family, who extended their thanks to everyone who remembered the deceased and participated in the ceremony’s activities.
It is worth noting that the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts mourns great scholar and historian Benjamin Haddad, who passed away on the morning of Monday 17 June 2024, due to an incurable illness at a hospital in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s Dohuk Governorate.
