Interview with Malka Al Saadi, Mutaz Al Mudaris, March 16, 2019
Project: I Remember When: Times Gone But Not Forgotten Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Moving back and forth between their shared and separate life experiences, Dr. Malka Al Saadi and her son Mutaz Al Mudaris talk about their lives in Iraq; his education and professional life; the horrors of the 2003 Gulf War and how it devastated Iraqi life and culture; their flight to Jordan and her return to her hospital and medical work in Baghdad; her multiple heart attacks; the decision to move to the United States and Philadelphia, where one of her daughters was already living; their love of Philadelphia, which they much prefer to New York because of the slower pace of life, closer resemblance to the housing and landscape of Baghdad, and diversity that reminds them of the diversity of Iraq before the war; and related topics. Dr. Malka Al Saadi was one of Iraq’s first female gynecologists and a professor at the Sadaam College of Medicine in Baghdad before she was forced to flee Iraq in the wake of the 2003 Gulf War. After living and teaching on Malaysia, in 2009 she immigrated to the United States with her son Mutaz, where they reunited with her daughter Afaf. Today, in Iraqi tradition, the family continues to live together with Afaf’s children. One of Dr. Al Saadi’s four children, Mutaz Al Mudaris’s primary employment is as a medical interpreter at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Educated as an agricultural engineer, he worked a number of jobs in Iraq, fled to Jordan after the 2003 War, and then immigrated to Philadelphia with his mother. Dr. Al Saadi has written an autobiography, "Beyond the Sandstorm: A Woman’s Journey From Baghdad to Philadelphia" (Author House 2016), that includes short autobiographies of each of her four children.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Mutaz Al Mudaris
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Iraq Gynecology Baghdad, Iraq 2003 Gulf War Obstetrics Amman (Jordan) Work. Professions. Occupations.Interview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
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Saadi, Malka Al Interview by Charles Hardy, III. 16 Mar. 2019. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Saadi, M.A. (2019, March 16). Interview by C. H. III. I Remember When: Times Gone But Not Forgotten Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Saadi, Malka Al, interview by Charles Hardy, III. March 16, 2019, I Remember When: Times Gone But Not Forgotten Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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