The Assyrian Democratic Organization
He is already a legend in Europe. Every Assyrian activist, speakers of the western language in particular, know him as their great motivator. On stage, as on paper, he is even a greater font of inspiration. It is impossible to avoid him should you be fortunate to stand within a ten-mile radius of his charisma; he exudes energy in all directions. Last year, he took a bold step on the center stage of the most controversial issue in the politics of his native country – Turkey: the Seyfo Genocide of 1915. Instead of lecturing us with endless harangues, he gave us a film about the rise the most spectacular Assyrian sports team in decades, from the ashes of estrangement in the diasporas. A team whose players had more in their minds than the national championship of a Scandinavian country; they demanded world?s attention to the forgotten chapter of a forgotten people. Our man was there to capture their athletic and political aspirations and was recently rewarded for his brilliant performance. For his life-long dedication to spotlighting the struggles of his people, his love of journalism which gave us a voice when others ignored us in our homeland, and for his innovative approach to bringing awareness to the lives and times of the Assyrians in the 1915 Ottoman Empire and the 2005 Sweden ? moving effortlessly between the killing fields of Tur-Abdin and the sports stadiums of his adopted country ? Zinda Magazine names Mr. Nuri Kino: Assyrian of the Year 6755.
Readers of Zinda are familiar with Mr. Kino?s sharp-tongues articles as an Assyrian-Swedish freelance journalist. On 16 November 2004, Nuri wrote in one of the most powerful guest editorials of this publication, ?The Agony of Victory?: ?The news of the Assyrian Football Federation of S?dert?lje?s advancement to the highest Swedish football league ?Allsvenskan? was a real bombshell, and Assyrians all over the world publicly showed their joy over the achievements of their ?National Team?. All over the world, except in Iraq. In Iraq, cheering for and supporting the S?dert?lje football team will get you decapitated.? Zinda offices were bombarded with telephone calls as soon as the issue hit the cyberspace. Every Assyrian, west of the Atlantic Ocean, wanted to know who Nuri was.
His next articles in Zinda ? The Struggle of Iraq?s Christian Assyrians, Swedish Government Directly Negotiating Release of Minas al-Yousifi, were no less eye-opening and acerbic in tone. Nuri was skillfully injecting us the cure to our years of apathy.
In his most recent article, The West is Clueless!, Nuri bravely speaks the words held back on the tip of many Assyrians? tongues: ?The Mohammad caricatures uncovered something that many have refused to recognize. There is a holy war in progress and there has always been a holy war going on.?
Nuri Kino was born in the Assyrian city of Midyat in the region of Tur Abdin, in southeast Turkey. He left Turkey when he was four. After fleeing Turkey with his family, Nuri attended schools in Germany and Sweden. In Sweden, Nuri worked in various jobs including teaching and pizza making and finally settled for freelance journalism. In 2000, he along with Wolfgang Hansoon won his first ‘Golden Spade’ ? Sweden?s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize – for investigating human smuggling in Europe. He was four more times nominated for the Guldspaden and received two more for Best Investigative Journalist in 2003 and 2004.
Nuri Kino has also received the Swedish Television and Swedish Radio?s Ikaros Prize for Best Public Service Journalism and became the Role Model of the Year for Swedish Journalist Students at Sundsvall University in Sweden. In 2002, Kino was nominated as a finalist for both the Great Journalist Prize and Save the Children Prize in journalism. He also serves as a Jury Member for the Humanity of the World Documentary Film Festival.
In 2005 Nuri was introduced to the Assyrian-American audiences at the Assyrian National Convention, held in Boston. He passionately spoke of his work, the Assyrian youth, and the struggles ahead. While filming final pieces of his next documentary, ?Assyriska: A National Team Without A Nation?, he captivated his audiences with his artistry in filmmaking by a showing of his film on the Seyfo Genocide – The Cry Unheard (2001).
Earlier this month, Nuri Kino and Erik Sandberg?s ?Assyriska: A National Team without A Nation? won the Golden Palm Award for the “Best Film Competing in All Categories” at the Sixth Annual Beverly Hills Film Festival. ?Assyriska?? is the story of an Assyrian soccer team from S?dert?lje, Sweden that rose from a small back-alley team of Assyrian immigrants to national championship.
Standing before a crowd of admirers, film critics, journalists, and photographers and tightly holding the Golden Palm, Nuri felt the weight of history. His teary eyes reflected the agony and desperation of his people. After a moment of meditation on a personal journey from southeast Turkey to the most lavish hotel in Beverly Hills, California, he summoned words that have for the last few years inspired all of us to move forward. And again Nuri left us breathless.
