From 2006 to 2009, I collaborated with the in-depth weekly publication Tempi, the supplement to Il Giornale. I mainly interviewed personalities from the political and sporting worlds, the Arab world, intellectuals, writers, theologians, etc.
I still visit my family in Prague. They were proud of what I had managed to do, my long and winding journey to find happiness in my life again. Mum had placed so much trust in me. Both my sisters graduated with top marks from the Business Economic School in Prague. They both obtained degrees in economic engineering. Linda got married, and I now have a gorgeous baby niece named Ela. Klara lives in her own place and works in a marketing and communications office. My mother has never again wanted to have anything to do with men and has decided to remain single. She is now retired and devotes her time to being a grandmother. I, on the other hand, am still here in Milan, even though sometimes the idea of moving to another country gets a hold in my mind. In spite of the path I have travelled, I still feel I have a lot more to explore; I have no intention of stopping now. There is still so much of the world around me. I have an entire life that I want to live and recount.
Michelle Nouri was born in Prague and was raised in Baghdad. Her family lived through the Iraq-Iran conflict. In 1988 she and her mother and sisters fled to Prague after her father abandoned them. In 1991, at the age of eighteen, Michelle moved to Italy to seek a better life. After learning Italian, Michelle built a successful career in the Italian media, working in both television and print, covering the lives and issues of immigrants in Italy. She also interviews politicians, writers, cultural gurus and sports figures. Michelle appeared as a commentator on a number of international television programmes during the Iraq War. The Girl from Baghdad is her first book.
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Version 2.0
The Girl from Baghdad
First published by William Heinemann in 2011
This edition published by William Heinemann in 2012
Copyright © Michelle Nouri 2011
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A William Heinemann book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
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Cataloguing-in-Publication entry (epub)
Nouri, Michelle, 1973-
The girl from Baghdad [electronic resource]/Michelle Nouri.
ISBN 9781864712650 (eBook : epub)
Nouri, Michelle, 1973–
Journalists–Italy–Biography.
Women–Iraq–Biography.
Women refugees–Czechoslovakia–Biography.
Baghdad (Iraq)–Social life and customs.
305.409
Cover photograph of Michelle by Massimiliano Maugeri
Cover images by Getty Images and iStockphoto
Cover design by Christabella Designs
Internal design by Midland Typesetters, Australia
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