Building Community
Where Chaldean Students Go to Thrive
By Cal Abbo
Cameron Jajonie is in his second year at Wayne State University. Last year, he attended almost every class virtually, from home, unable to interact with peers and likeminded students. It’s difficult enough to transition to a different school, let alone doing it online. That’s why his mother told him to join a club.
Jajonie chose the Chaldean American Student Association, better known as CASA. This club has chapters at almost every major college campus in Michigan and is meant to forge stronger bonds among Chaldean students acquiring a degree and support the community through charity. When Jajonie first joined, WSU’s campus was closed, and CASA met virtually.
Despite the initial obstacles, Jajonie stuck with the group and eventually met the club in person. As a pre-law student, Jajonie had difficulty finding mentors and similar students until he joined CASA. “You find so much rapport with other people,” he said.
One of those Chaldeans, Rheyana Karjo, is a pre-law student and one year older than Jajonie. She serves as the president of CASA and runs the club’s day-to-day operations. Since Karjo will graduate this year, she is busy applying to law schools, and Jajonie has learned a lot from her example.
As the organization’s leader, Karjo plays an important role when it comes to the community’s future. CASA’s community-building mission creates relationships and connections that will last for generations.
Aside from getting career help and making friends, CASA serves a much greater purpose. It is the foundation and organizing principle of the young Chaldean community, a group that faces constant pressure to Americanize and has to actively work to maintain their identity. To that end, CASA’s most important effort is connecting this young community with the Catholic faith.
Fr. Perrin Atisha, a priest at St. George Chaldean Church, hosts a student mass organized by CASA at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. “In 2020, the archdiocese of Detroit said they want a Chaldean priest in Detroit to preach to Wayne students especially,” said Fr. Perrin, who attended Wayne State before beginning his formation at Sacred Heart in 2012. “I really felt called to it, so I come once a week. Last year was harder because of COVID and online classes, but this year we’ve made a huge comeback.”
The weekly Mass is a perfect time for Chaldeans to break from their duties as students and bask in God’s light. Before Mass, students have an opportunity to attend confession. After the Mass, students gather in the church for fellowship and food, spending hours talking with one another and receiving counsel from Fr. Perrin. This time is crucial to maintaining faith since the endeavor requires a community of faithful Catholics rather than someone’s individual effort.
“The older generation has faith because it’s cultural,” Fr. Perrin said. “For the younger generation it’s more difficult. When they have faith it’s very strong and lifechanging. They have faith because it’s something they really had to work for.”
In the U.S. overall, Catholicism has declined steadily in the past decade. This trend has a lot to do with young people rejecting the church and falling out of faith. In contrast, the Chaldean community has seen spectacular engagement from its young parishioners.
St. Thomas Chaldean Church, for example, hosts a weekly youth group that regularly gathers 200 teenagers. On the east side, the church has three youth groups that each serve 100 teenagers. “I get the chills when I talk about it,” Fr. Perrin said.
“For Latin rite parishes around Detroit, their youth groups have like five or ten kids. They have one group leader who is on salary,” he said. “For us, we’ll have 20 youth ministers and they’re all volunteers. They’re here because they love God and want to pass down the faith.”
Fr. Perrin is glad young Chaldeans are building their own faith tradition but is also thankful for the wonderful contribution of the older generation. “The older priests are from Iraq,” he said. “They did an amazing job building the church. We wouldn’t have anything without their excellent administrative and leadership skills, but it’s hard to relate to someone younger. Younger priests like me grew up here and went to school here. We understand the issues young Chaldeans face on a daily basis.”
Fr. Perrin said CASA was around when he attended WSU, but it was much less organized and less involved. Now, he said it feels like a real community.
WSU’s CASA regularly hosts large fundraisers to help the community. In the summer, CASA hosted a volleyball tournament that drew over 200 people to raise over $1,000 for Help Iraq. Last month, CASA’s year-end Christmas party hosted 120 attendees and raised over $3,000 for Iraqi Christian students facing persecution.
Though COVID-19 shut down the university, CASA was determined to continue no matter where or how. CASA’s usual meeting place in the student center was shut down as WSU closed all of its buildings. As a result, they moved to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, which offers all the freedom they need. “What do you do when you stay home for 3 months? I don’t know what kind of life that is,” Karjo said.