Dr. Dahlia Wasfi is an internationally known speaker and activist. Born in the United States to an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, she lived in Iraq as a child, returning to the U.S. at age 5. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Biology in 1993, she earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.
Dr. Wasfi has made two trips to Iraq to visit her extended family since the 2003 “Shock and Awe” invasion, including a three month stay in Basrah in the spring of 2006. She has brought her eyewitness account of life under occupation to over 200 audiences in twenty-two United States, Capitol Hill in D.C., Ontario and British Columbia, Madrid, Spain in 2007, and the 3rd International Iraq Conference in Berlin, Germany, in March 2008.
Based on her experiences, Dr. Wasfi is speaking out in support of immediate, unconditional withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the need to end the occupation “from the Nile to the Euphrates .”
Dr. Wasfi, an international peace activist walks us through her incredible life journey from a doctor to an activist and talks about health of women in Iraq in an exclusive interview with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You are a well-renowned physician, peace activist and an environmentalist who actively speaks out against the environmental impact of war and the corporate and government restructuring of farming methods and food resources in war zones. Tell us more about your incredible journey so far and how it all began?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: Thank you for the honor of your introduction! Because of my family background, I think activism is in my blood. My father, may he rest in peace, was born and raised in Basrah, Iraq. He graduated from Baghdad University and came to the US for his graduate studies in the 1960s. In Washington DC, he met my mother—a nice Jewish girl from New York. Her parents (my grandparents) were Holocaust survivors who fled their homeland of Austria during Hitler’s Anschluss. When my parents got married, great friction erupted between these grandparents and my father. Despite these troubles, my parents started their family. My sister was born in Washington DC in 1969, and I was born in New York in 1971. I grew up amidst this family tension—a microcosm of the Arab-Israeli “conflict”—rooted in the illegal military occupation of Palestine. As a young child, I determined to resolve the conflict to bring peace to my family. But when my parents encouraged me to pursue a career in medicine, I put all my efforts into becoming a doctor.
I earned my MD in 1997 and began training in general surgery. But I wasn’t passionate about this career. After three years, I switched to anesthesiology, hoping a better lifestyle would make me happy. Still, my heart wasn’t in it, and I would eventually learn that until I followed my passion, I would never find my own inner peace. In September 2002, suffering from depression, I took leave from my medical training. After the 2003 Shock and Awe invasion, I went to visit my relatives in Iraq whom I hadn’t seen since I was a child. I became inspired to share their stories and give a voice to their struggles. This is how my activism started, and I have been so fortunate to continue to follow this path—and my heart—through today. I no longer work as a doctor, but I hope to bring healing to myself and others through my activist work. I seek to put a human face on the victims of war and occupation and bring to light the damage that military aggression does to these families and to our planet.
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All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness
We probably walk 2-3 miles a day. But of equal importance is the time I take for meditation and spiritual work.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Introduce us to a day in the life of “Dr. Dahlia Wasfi”?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: I am extraordinarily fortunate to live the life I do today as I work from home writing my first book. (It has been such a challenge to write that sometimes I swear it will be my last book, too!) On a typical day, the first order of business is breakfast for me and my great friend, Thunder, my thirteen year old Dachshund mix. For me, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Afterwards, we go for our first walk of the day. When the walk is done, I take a few minutes for meditation to focus my thoughts. Then I’m at my computer to read news articles, research for the book, and write. It’s a lot of time sitting at a desk in front of a screen, but Thunder and I break it up with several more walks and/or time in the garden. These work intermissions in nature really help me to relax and focus.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine that you do to stay fit?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: When I was in college, like many girls and young women, I became obsessed with physical appearance and fitness in an unhealthy way. Today, I see the value not only of being fit in body but in mind and spirit as well. My main physical exercise is walking with Thunder. He’s older, but he can still put the miles in! We probably walk 2-3 miles a day. But of equal importance is the time I take for meditation and spiritual work.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: I am striving for a vegan diet. Vegan advocates have really opened my eyes to the injustices existing in the US food industry. For the benefit of other sentient beings on the planet we share, and for my own physical and spiritual health, I am making changes in my eating habits to reduce my intake of meat, fish, poultry, and dairy. I also try to eat as much organic food as possible (though this can get expensive) and purchase fair trade foods. And I drink water throughout the day to cleanse my system and keep well-hydrated.
I also have quite a sweet tooth and love to have chocolate in one form or another for my lunch dessert.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar: Who has been your greatest source of inspiration and motivation in becoming a peace activist?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: Rachel Corrie. In the early months of 2003, Rachel—a 23 year old college student from Olympia, Washington—was in Gaza in occupied Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). As their website describes, the ISM is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the long-entrenched and systematic oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian population, using non-violent, direct-action methods and principles. On March 16, 2003, in Rafah (in Gaza), Rachel and her fellow ISM volunteers were practicing civil disobedience in front of family homes to prevent their illegal demolition by Israeli Army bulldozers. Rachel was in front of the home of a family whom she’d spent several nights with—who had become family to her. After a three-and-a-half-hour standoff, one of the Israeli bulldozers advanced, crushing Rachel beneath its massive blade, then backing up over her. She died shortly thereafter.
Rachel was someone who literally stood up for justice. She was a woman of incredible courage and determination, and I have been blessed to come to know her parents, who continue her efforts for peace through the Rachel Corrie Foundation. Rachel traveled to Palestine and demonstrated that all any of us need to connect with one another is a sense of our shared humanity. For me, she remains a great source of inspiration and hope.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Belonging to a medical field yourself, what kind of health problems, do you feel, Iraqi women are facing due the prevailing conditions in Iraq?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: Wherever there is war and a lack of security, the segments of the population who suffer the most are women and children. They are the most susceptible to kidnappings and violence that follow the breakdown of law and order. Furthermore, lack of access to medical care jeopardizes the health and lives of women and their families.
Iraqi women–along with Libyan women, Palestinian women, Syrian women, Yemeni women, and women anywhere in the world where bombs are falling—face a tremendous struggle of survival. Millions have been displaced by military aggression, leading to additional health challenges. Internally displaced persons and refugees (those displaced outside their home country) face food insecurity, lack of access to potable water, and often lack of shelter. In overcrowded conditions of camps, communicable diseases such as respiratory infections can develop and spread rapidly. Without adequate sanitation, dysentery can become a killer for the very young and the very old. And on top of all of these complications of war, there is a heavy mental and emotional toll. Many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression without diagnosis and treatment resources available. Those who endure such harrowing conditions demonstrate incredible strength and determination.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What 5 Health Tips can you give to Iraq Women to cope up better during war conditions and build up strong?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: I live a life of privilege in the US, with easy access to food, water, shelter, electricity, and security, not to mention internet. One of the most difficult experiences of my life thus far was the three months I spent living with my family under the US/UK-led military occupation of Iraq in 2006. It took me six months to recover both mentally and physically from the difficulties of basic survival that my relatives face on a daily basis. Though constantly dealing with food shortages, lack of electricity, and lack of access to water, they find ways to cope and support their families. Iraqi women are incredible survivors. They have endured war and occupation since the 1980s and tragic illness and starvation during the years of deadly economic sanctions (1990-2003). I feel that they have more to teach me about survival than I have to teach them.
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Dr. Dahlia Wasfi on Womenfitness.net: Womenfitness.net is an exceptional medium through which girls and women can grow, exchange ideas, and advance their own healthy lifestyles. May it also continue to bridge the gaps between women around the world, for we have far more in common than we have in contrast. Uplifting women serves to uplift their families, which brings hope for our future and the future of the planet.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Share with us a few food and nutrition tips for people stuck in war zones.
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: What I know about surviving in a war zone, I have learned from my relatives in Iraq. Keep water stored in bowls, pots, or other containers for emergency use if the water supplies get cut. Water should be boiled before drinking or cooking. Store as much non-perishable food in the home as possible. If electricity is cut, food requiring refrigeration may spoil.
I never have to consider such dire situations in my privileged life in the US. I can take for granted how plentiful and accessible food and water are for me. Remembering how so many innocent people suffer needlessly during war inspires me to continue my work for justice.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding female peace activists, who all are your followers and shall like to know from you for their climb to the ladder of success in this field?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: Follow your heart! I believe every one of us has a special gift to offer during our time on this earth. It is up to each of us to decide how to use it. I hope you will use it in a way that helps your community; your society; our planet. Find out what your special passion is. Your heart will tell you when you’re on the right path. And whatever your dream is, don’t let anyone discourage you from reaching it!
And as you’re following your path, be sure to take good care of yourself. In our roles as caregivers, we girls and women tend to put our needs second to others. But our cars won’t run if they’re out of gas. We must make sure we are well if we are to help anyone else. Make sure to show yourself the same love you wish to bestow on others. That’s a loving gesture that supports you, your journey, and those around you.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?
Dr. Dahlia Wasfi: Womenfitness.net is an exceptional medium through which girls and women can grow, exchange ideas, and advance their own healthy lifestyles. May it also continue to bridge the gaps between women around the world, for we have far more in common than we have in contrast. Uplifting women serves to uplift their families, which brings hope for our future and the future of the planet. Thank you, Namita Nayyar and Womenfitness.net, for the opportunity to network and share my story with your global community!
To know the latest from Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, Check out:
Women Fitness Team thanks Dr. Dahlia Wasfi for giving her valuable time for this interview, enlightening us and our viewers and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her.
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All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness