That Nemam Ghafouri was born in a cave might be one of the least remarkable things about her. Like tens of thousands of other victims of Saddam Hussein’s campaign against the Kurds, the family sought refuge in Iran before moving to Sweden as refugees. Dr. Ghafouri went on to study medicine in Sweden and in Hungary and become a cardiothoracic surgeon. Then she returned to Iraq, to help Syrian refugees flooding across the border to the Kurdistan region. Her sister Nazdar Ghafouri said the cause was complications of Covid-19.

Source: New York Times April 07, 2021 16:59 UTC