Israa Alhassani

“For 42 days we were under attack, it was horrible.” Israa Alhassani, native of Baghdad, Iraq,

stated while describing the experience of living through two wars. She survived both wars, one fought between Iran and Iraq in 1980, the other the war of 1991.

“After three days of continuous bombing, I left home with my parents because we were afraid

our house would be bombed.” In desperation, Alhassani and her family escaped to a farm outside the city to seek refuge.

“A lot of people there we didn’t know well, they just came and asked to stay because they had nowhere to go.” Alhassani knew the war would greatly impact her life, but it was what she learned from it that truly molded her into the woman she is today.

“You have to share. You have to share your food, you have to share your bed. We had to live

with a lot of people in a very small house with no running water, no electricity, for 24 days.”

Alhassani quickly had to learn how to get water from a well, she would walk miles and miles to get fresh water for everyone.

“Of course it impacted the way I feel about taking things for granted. Having water, electricity,

even having fresh food. I learned a lot from it, I became an easy person.” It took two months for electricity to come back to them, and soon after they returned to their home. Luckily, it was still there.

“I thought going through wars would be the biggest impact that impacted my personality, things I took for granted, the things I don’t take for granted,” Alhassani said. Her perspective changed when she endured one of life’s greatest pleasures, the birth of her daughter.

“Giving birth to my daughter was the biggest event and still influences my life because caring for another person, seeing yourself in that person, it's good,” Alhassani described with a smile on her face. With the birth of her daughter, her inspiration grew. Not only as a mother and nurturer, but the inspiration stemmed through her work and education. Before her daughter, Alhassani had moved to Puerto Rico with her husband, Karim

Altaii. Puerto Rico was Alhassani’s first culture shock. Discouraged from finding work, she

wasn’t sure the extent in which her degree in architecture would allow her when finding

employment.

“The first 6 months in Puerto Rico, I wasn’t sure that anyone would hire me because I didn’t

speak the language, I had a small paper that said I graduated from the University of Baghdad, I didn’t know if they would take it or even look at it,” Alhassani stated. After comments from her husband about her inactiveness, she found the courage to fax her resume.

“The first interview I had, I got the job. It boosted my morale and my confidence. That was

pre-September 11th, so there was no bias or stereotyping.”

Alhassani described the challenging aspects of being an immigrant to new cultures, “It

was an island, so they are very laid-back and everything is tomorrow. I worked as a coordinator so I was dealing with deadlines and in the beginning I was like, “no not mañana, it has to be today..” Alhassani said in laughter, “but after awhile they learned from me and I learned from them.”

After living in Puerto Rico, her husband’s job transferred them to Harrisonburg, Va.

When they moved, Alhassani was expecting a child. She didn’t look for a job until a few years after her daughter was born, but when she did, she knocked on each door for employment.