Collection is open for research.
Gift of The Immigrant Story, June 2021 (RL2021-057).
Naskah Zada was born in Sangasar, Iraq, in 1974. The village was destroyed by the Iraqi Army in 1988, and its residents were relocated to a camp near Mosul. She attended the University of Sulaimani, in Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Her studies were interrupted when, in 1996, she and her family were evacuated by the U.S. military during Operation Pacific Haven. The next year, they settled in Portland, Oregon. She earned a degree from Portland State University. In 2007, she began working as television and radio producer and video editor at Voice of America in Washington, D.C. In 2018, she returned to Portland and began a YouTube show, called The Zada Show, focusing on news and culture in the Middle East.
Oral history interview with Naskah Zada, by Dora Totoian and Sankar Raman, SR 12335, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This oral history interview with Naskah Zada was conducted by Dora Totoian and Sankar Raman on June 27, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.
In this interview, Zada discusses her family background and early life as a Kurd in Sangasar, Iraq. She describes the destruction of her hometown by the Iraqi Army in 1988, and talks about living in the camp near Mosul where her family was forced to relocate. She also shares her memories of life during the Iran-Iraq War, and talks about bigotry that she experienced. She speaks at length about a childhood friend who inspired her to become a feminist, and who was later murdered in an honor killing. She discusses her experiences at the University of Sulaimani, including her ongoing education in feminist issues. She shares the reasons her family was evacuated by the U.S. military in 1996 as part of Operation Pacific Haven, describes the journey, and talks about adjusting to life in Portland, Oregon. She discusses learning English, jobs she worked, and her education. She describes racism she experienced in Portland. She speaks at length about her first marriage, discusses working in radio broadcasting in Washington, D.C., and shares her reasons for returning to Portland. She speaks about The Zada Show, her YouTube show focusing on Middle East news and culture. She reflects on the challenges she faced, discusses her preference for the both-sides news style, and closes the interview by talking about her plans for the future.
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted,
An article about Naskah Zada, "Creating New Narratives" by Dora Totoian, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at