On June 30, 2006, Rosie Malek-Yonan, author of "The Crimson Field," testified on Capitol Hill before a Congressional Committee of the 109th Congress on religious freedom regarding the genocide, massacres and persecution of Assyrians in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War.
Reading from her epic and historical book, she compared the Assyrian Genocide of 1914-1918, as depicted in "The Crimson Field," to the current plight of the indigenous Assyrian Christians in Iraq. Her 30 minute passionate testimony and plea to the U.S. government, ultimately prompted Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) to travel to war-torn Iraq to witness matters for himself. While in Iraq, after meeting with local Assyrians, he turned in Malek-Yonan's in depth report to U.S. Officials in Iraq. One year later, a Congressional appropriations subcommittee voted to send $10 million to aid the Assyrians in Iraq.
The complete transcript of the Congressional Testimony and Video of the Testimony are archived at the U.S. House of Representatives.
Monica Malek-Yonan's documentary film, “My Assyrian Nation on the Edge,” based on Rosie Malek-Yonan's Congressional Testimony was released September 2006 (ISBN 0-9771873-0-6). On 7 August 2008, the film was screened at the Australian Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney. Among the attendees were Rev. Hon. Fred Nile MLC, Hon. David Clarke MLC, Senator Helen Coonan and Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. The film has been screened at numerous universities including U.C. Merced, Oakland University, San Jose State University and many more.
The complete DVD without a "watermark" is available at Pearlida.com
