Remembering Alya Sousa (April 28, 1949 – August 19, 2003)

August 19, 2005 marked the second anniversary of the passing away of Alya Sousa in the tragic bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. Alya’s family lost a dear and loving daughter, mother and grandmother; her friends lost a true and sincere friend, and the World Bank a committed and professional staff.

Everyone who met Alya was always inspired by her personality and presence. She touched the lives of all those who dealt with her with her respect, honesty and simplicity. Her passing away is an irreplaceable loss to everyone who knew her and mostly to her family. The huge love she left behind her is the substance their memories are made of.

Alya was born in Baghdad-Iraq on April 28, 1949 into a cultured home. Her father is Dr. Ahmed Sousa a well-known Iraqi author and leading historian. She went to school in Baghdad and completed her secondary studies at the Baghdad High School for Girls. She then left to the United States and pursued her high school diploma. Upon her return to Baghdad, she completed her sophomore at Al-Hikma University and then left to Lebanon where she graduated from the American University of Beirut with a B.A. in Modern Middle East History.

It was only shortly after, that she pursued her Master’s degree in Area Studies at the University of London, SOAS. After which she went to France to work on her doctorate and completed it at the Universite de Paris Sorbonne in 1980. Alya’s education contributed immensely to her love of knowledge throughout her life.

Her education and diverse talents led her to follow an interesting and diverse career path. She started her professional life as a university professor, and then assumed the position of chief consultant at the National Centre of Archives in Baghdad (1976-90). She subsequently spent the last twelve years or more of her life working with the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) as translator/interpreter and with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

A few months before the war on Iraq in 2003, UNIKOM stopped its activities in Iraq and Alya moved to Amman for safety reasons together with her daughter and her grandchildren. Alya returned to Baghdad in July 2003, having been offered a position with the World Bank Iraq team.

Alya had only been working with the World Bank for two months when the tragic bombing of the UN headquarters occurred on August 19, 2003 claiming her life and the lives of 21 other UN staff members.

James D. Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank, said: "I met her during my recent trip there and was hugely impressed with her professionalism, commitment and passion for our work. She was an extraordinary person who would have been a member of our long-term team working in Iraq. She will be sorely missed". 

As an active intellectual, Alya was a member of several associations and societies, such as the Association of Arab Historians of which she was the editor of its journal, the Society of History and Archeology, the National Geographic Society, the Institute for Arab Studies, The British Society of Middle Eastern Studies and the Association of Arab American University Graduates.

Despite the pressure of work, she tried whenever possible to participate in conferences and symposiums in various European and Middle Eastern countries. Furthermore, she was committed to editing and re-editing some of the works of her father, for whom she had great love and respect and from whom she had learnt a lot.

Alya is dearly missed by all those who knew her. They all miss her pleasant smile, her friendly personality, her professionalism, and her love for Iraq and pride in contributing to its rebuilding.

Biography of Alya Hamed Sousa

- Born on April 28, 1949, in Baghdad
- Daughter of Dr. Ahmed Sousa, a well-known Iraqi author and historian, in both Arabic and English
- Studied at Baghdad High School for Girls, Iraq (1960-1965), (Iraq Government High School Baccalaureate)
- Obtained her high school diploma from the Pennridge High School, Perkasie, Pennsylvania, USA / American Field Service Scholarship in 1966
- Completed her sophomore year at Al-Hikma University, Baghdad, Iraq (1968)
- Obtained a BA in Modern Middle East History from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon in 1970
- Obtained a Master’s degree in Area Studies from the University of London, School of Oriental and - - African Studies (SOAS) in1971
- Completed her PhD at the Université de Paris Sorbonne in 1980
- Lecturing Professor, College of Law, University of Baghdad;
- Assistant Professor/History Department/College of Liberal Arts, University of Baghdad; 
- Lecturer/History department/College of Liberal Arts, University of Baghdad
- Consultant to the National Center for Archives, The Ministry of Culture and various cultural departments
- Translator/Interpreter, UNIKOM and MINURSO
- Consultant, World Bank, Iraq mission.
- Alya was tragically killed in the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq on august 19, 2003.

Alya was an active member in a number of associations:

- The Association of Arab American University Graduates member.
- Association of Arab Historians & External Relations Officer.
- Iraqi Society for History and Archaeology member.
- Consultant/National Center for Archives, Iraq.
- English Language Editor/The Arab Historian Journal.
- Thesis Consultant/Institute for Arab Studies/an Arab League Affiliate.
- Research Consultant/International Journal for Middle Eastern Studies.
- National Geographic Society member.

Her published and un-published work:

- Illiteracy Eradication in Iraq, in Iraq the Contemporary State, edited by Tim Niblock, London, 1980.
- An Arabic Guide to the French Foreign Ministry Archives on Iraq 1918-1929, sponsored by the Center for Arab Gulf Studies/University of Basrah, 1984.
- Land Tenure in Iraq between the Two World Wars, The Arab Historian Journal (1985).
- French Archives Related to Omar Al-Mukhtar, the Arab Historian Journal.
- Zionist Activity in Iraq in the 1930’s, Journal of the Center for Palestinian Studies (1979).
- Edited her late father’s unpublished works including: History of Mesopotamian Civilization in two volumes (Al-Hurriya Press 1983, 1985), Memories (1986), History of Irrigation In Iraq, Ministry of Irrigation Press, 1986 (in English), Features from the old history of Iraqi Jews, Zionism- Fabrication scopes, Researches about Zionism and Judaism.