Zina Bhaia was born a healthy baby in Baghdad, Iraq. Forty-five days later doctors discovered she had polio, which left her with scoliosis and paralyzed her left leg. Despite this disability her parents, who are both teachers themselves, pushed her to go to school as she grew up. Bhaia admitted she is a shy person and said of her parents, “I owe them for who I am today.”
Bhaia’s family includes her parents, two older brothers and a younger sister. Born in 1979, she led what she thought was a normal life until 2003, when Iraq was invaded and, “things turned upside down.” Iraq was up for grabs and in 2006, her 16-year-old brother, Mohammad, was kidnapped in the dangerous neighborhood the Bhaia family lived in. The perpetrator told the family to leave their home and everything in it behind in order for Mohammad to be safely returned. However, the promise was unfulfilled and they never found him.
Shortly after, Bhaia was working at a radio station when their transmitter was bombed. In hopes of fundraising for a new one, Bushara, Bhaia’s friend and colleague traveled to the United States. There Bushara met Lynn Holley, a journalism instructor at the University of Illinois. Holley offered her a scholarship at the university and Bushara passed it on to Bhaia.
The scholarship offer was a unique opportunity, nevertheless Bhaia debated accepting it. She liked her job in Iraq and was unsure about traveling abroad. In the end the main reason Bhaia left for America was to keep her parents safe. The only reason the family had been staying in the perilous capital of Iraq was for their daughter and her job. Once she left, they would be able to seek a safer residence.
Upon arrival in Chicago in 2007, Bhaia was disappointed in America. Thinking the United States would be glamorous, she was recalled the drive from the city to Champaign as being long and boring with terrible weather.
The differences between living in America versus Iraq were clear as Bhaia became accustomed to everyday life. Bhaia spoke confidently, her coffee colored eyes steady, her poise proud, as she said, “I can say whatever I want here.” In Iraq her father always told her to, “keep your mouth shut because eventually you will get killed because of your opinions.”
Another major difference between Bhaia’s hometown in Iraq and Champaign is the population of people with disabilities. She said she could not believe the amount of people on campus with disabilities as she glanced at her crutches resting against the table.
Because her scoliosis would lead to an earlier death, Bhaia approved American doctors to perform a surgery on her without her parents’ permission. The operation has a 20 percent chance of death or paralyzing her, but Bhaia was lucky. After her recovery she went down eight sizes and grew four inches.
The operation allows her to get around better. Not only can she move easily physically, but Bhaia enjoys the freedom of movement Americans experience. In two years she has already visited 20 states, including Texas, Arizona and Florida. In Iraq this would not happen. When traveling in America she enjoys the fact that, “nobody asks me about my ID, you can’t take two steps in Iraq without ID checks.”
Bhaia exuded confidence and admitted that many of her friends accuse her of being overconfident. Although sometimes she hates the way people look at her as a disabled person, not a person with a disability, she said, “I don’t care about what people think and say.” Ultimately Bhaia said, “Those crutches made me who I am today.”
The cultural contrast between Iraq and America is really interesting to read about and I like how you show Bhaia’s multiple struggles: her disability and her national identity.