By MONI BASU
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Soad Jaffar Abdul Hassan did all she could to ferry her granddaughter from Iraq to Atlanta for life-saving surgery because she knew the medical system in Baghdad would fail the child who came to be known as “Baby Noor.”
In the end, the system failed Soad.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
She died Dec. 4 after developing complications from gall bladder surgery at a Baghdad hospital, according to her son Haider.
Soad, who was known in the media by only her first name because of threats to the family, was believed to have been 47 years old.
Atlanta businessman Omar Araim, who recently returned from a trip to Iraq, spoke with Soad on the phone shortly before her death.
“I am shocked,” Araim said. “It’s very sad news.”
Family members told Araim they were very concerned about the future of Noor. Soad was her primary caregiver. The family’s wish is for Noor to return to America, Araim said.
Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade stumbled upon Noor’s family during a routine raid in Abu Ghraib in December 2005.
Soad showed the soldiers her infant granddaughter, Noor al-Zahra, then barely 3 months old. She was born with spina bifida and had a large tumorlike growth on her back. Soad told the soldiers that Iraqi doctors thought Noor would die without surgery that was not available in Iraq.
The Gainesville-based infantrymen fell in love with the child and plucked her out of the impoverished, dangerous neighborhood and flew her for treatment at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Soad and Haider accompanied Noor to Atlanta in January 2006 and stayed until March.
“What a joy it was to have her in my home,” said Nancy Turner who with her husband, Edward, hosted Noor’s family in their Atlanta home. “I’m a better person for getting to know Soad.”
Turner recalled Soad’s nurturing way with Noor and her enormous capacity to care for others. She liked to cook big meals of Iraqi-style rice and dolmas for her American friends.
Turner said she will look into bringing Noor, now 3, back to Atlanta. She said Noor faces an uncertain future as a child with disabilities living in a war-ravaged nation. That uncertainty is heightened without Soad, whose death puts an enormous burden on Noor’s family.
“Soad loved that child,” Turner said. “I’m concerned about Noor.”
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