PELLA — Haider Hamza will present “Embracing the Enemy” Thursday, March 24, in van Emmerik Studio in the Maytag Student Center on Central College’s campus at 7 p.m. A post-presentation discussion will follow in the UnderGround at 9 p.m. The event, sponsored by the intercultural life office, is free and open to the public.
“Embracing the Enemy” discusses Hamza’s experiences growing up in Iraq and the struggles of being an Iraqi citizen living in America. This lecture grapples with the question: Is it possible to love both your country and the country that invaded yours?
Hazma, a 24-year-old Iraqi journalist, lived through the 2003 invasion of his country with his family near Babylon, sound of Baghdad. Haider covered the major events that took place — live coverage of all 40 trials of his former president Saddam Hussein, the killing of Saddam’s sons, the bombing of the holy shrines in Samara, the referendum establishing a new government and political cabinet and the killing of al Qaeda leader Abu Mussab al Zarqawi.
The son of a diplomat, Haider had an international education. He won a Fulbright scholarship in 2007 and moved to the United States, where he earned a master’s degree in global security and conflict resolution.