Toma Tomas

Toma Sadiq Kakka, better known as Toma Tomas (, ; 1924 – 1996) and also known by his nom de guerre Abu Joseph, was an Assyrian nationalist He witnessed the Simele massacre first-hand when Assyrians escaped to Alqosh, and in his memoirs, he described his family's role in protecting twenty other families and refugees fleeing the massacre. The events of Simele were crucial in shaping his political ideas in the future, and in his memoirs, the massacre is a symbol of both injustice and of the struggle against it as an injustice.

After completing primary education at the Mar Mikha School in Alqosh,

Career and struggle Around 1959, Tomas had presided over the Workers' Committee of the IPC and was vacationing in Alqosh. He permanently relocated to his home town after hearing news of arbitrary arrests against communist-affiliated IPC workers, including all the members of the Workers' Committee, which also resulted in his resignation from the company. A few years later, prime minister Abd al-Karim Qasim was executed in the 1963 Iraqi coup d'etat. During the coup, Tomas's paternal cousin Ilyas Hanna Guhari was killed after being tortured. Tomas continued to act towards his political aspirations and collaborated with Assyrian figures in the Kurdish resistance movement. The communists where summarily executed and some led by Tomas fled to the mountains of northern Iraq, where they formed the armed communist guerilla group known as "al-Ansar".

Under Tomas' leadership, the village of Alqosh was a stronghold for the Iraqi Communist Party. Having emerged as a military leader within the ICP, his forces had begun stationing on top of the mountains of Alqosh to fight off government attacks from the Iraqi National Guard. Alqosh had been attacked three times by mid-July (each on 30 June, 7 July, and 9 July). The forces included collaboration with Hurmiz Malik Chikko (which began in 1963) as part of a diverse forced of Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmen, and Yazidis. During this period, Tomas emerged as a leader, earning the respect of Mustafa Barzani.

After his permanent relocation to Alqosh, Tomas went into business ventures with his brother-in-law and founded an ice-making farm. He also established a poultry farm in Sharafiya. Personal accounts of Tomas also describe him as a skilled chess player.

Death and legacy Tomas died in Syria on 15 October 1996. After initially being buried at a cemetery in Nohadra, his remains were reburied in Alqosh. The celebratory event was attended by Hamid Majid Mousa of the ICP and representatives of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council, as well as townspeople and journalists.

Tomas is remembered for the concern that he had for his hometown of Alqosh and for the wider Assyrian community. He claimed that Alqosh had preserved its authenticity and traditions despite tribal invasions and influence from ruling states. At the same time, the closeness he felt to his people made him a popular figure across intracommunal and political boundaries. Tomas' legacy and heroism is remembered by Assyrians to this day, including singer Talal Graish, who dedicated a song to him on his 2008 album X Love.

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