Hoda Thamir Jehad, Iraqi Writer

Hoda Thamir Jehad, a young Iraqi woman who was 18 years old at the time of the US-led invasion of her country in March 2003, belonging to a cultured and moderate family of lawyers, journalists, and teachers, was born on October 11, 1985, in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq.

She began writing a personal diary just as the fighting started and missiles began falling on Baghdad, hoping that putting words on paper would help her breathe amidst the horror of war. Her harrowing writings are part of international collections of youth diaries in conflict zones (such as the book Stolen Voices), which document the harshness of war through the eyes of young people.