The Assyrians were not idle in the face of continued measures against them. Some, such as Margaret George Shello, joined the Kurdish cause against the Iraqi government, despite the historically poor relations between the two groups.
In the face of continued persecution, some Assyrians, including Margaret George Shello, chose to side with the Kurds in their struggle against the Iraqi government, a decision that was influenced by the long-standing cultural and ethnic divisions between the two groups.