یادێک لە سورەیا سەراجەدینی نەقشبەندی، شیلا محمدیان

 

 

Soraya was born in Teheran, Iran, the daughter of Dr. Abed Serajeddini Naqshbandi and Mrs. Zeynab Setoodeh.  She was Kurdish, with ties to Kurdistan of northern Iraq through her father, and of Iran through her mother.  Both sides of the family are quite prominent. When young Soraya excitedly interrupted her mother at prayer to report that she had met the Shah’s daughter, a princess, her mother instructed her to be in awe of no one: “Your family has hosted royalty, and your grandfather’s authority over the hearts of the people (religious authority throughout the world) knows no boundaries. You are a princess.”

 

Serajeddini home life was happy for all four children: Aziz, Nasser, Soraya and Shawnem (Goleh).  Their parents were liberal for their time and culture, and encouraged their children’s intellectual curiosity through active political and philosophical discussions at the dinner table.  Dr. Serajeddini, who was becoming a prominent political, artistic and academic figure in the Middle East, recognized early that Soraya was especially eager to learn.  He not only opened his library to her, but as a Member of Parliament he introduced her to many of the highest dignitaries and finest artists in the country.   Throughout her life Soraya was comfortable speaking to power.  Indeed, she was also comfortable with all levels of society.  This may have stemmed from the many happy months she spent on the family’s land in mountainous rural Kurdistan. Village life taught Soraya much, and she would astonish her urban classmates with her knowledge of agrarian matters

The Serajeddinis may have regretted the extent to which they had encouraged freedom of thought when Soraya was 17 and became politically active. Such activity, especially by a young girl in Teheran, was of concern.  Yet even then Soraya’s parents respected her decisions.  Soon afterwards, the Iranian Revolution changed life in Iran forevermore.  When the prime minister warned that the new Islamic government was watching the family and he could not protect them if things took an ugly turn, the Serajeddinis began to slip quietly out of the country.  Dr. Serajeddini fled to Saudi Arabia, his wife and youngest daughter made an arduous journey over the mountains to Baghdad, and Nasser and his new bride, Zohreh, stayed in Tehran while he completed his studies.  Soraya and her oldest brother, Aziz, who had stayed behind to sell family assets, eventually set out to cross the mountains and found themselves in the crossfire of warring factions. Walking at night and hiding by day—across steep and snow-covered mountains– Kurdish villagers helped sister and brother by providing rifles and food.  However, the two were eventually forced to separate when supportive villagers thought they could protect an exhausted Soraya but not her brother.  It was a joyous occasion when the two reunited with mother and sister in Iraq.

 

In 1982 Soraya made the adventurous decision to study in the US.  While studying English in San Francisco she attended a party and met the person who soon became the love of her life, Tom Ver Ploeg.  Together in a wonderful place to be young and in love, the two spent hours exploring the city.  Slowly Soraya began to introduce Tom to her many Kurdish friends and relatives.  Tom in turn took her home for the holidays.  Ver Ploegs could see that Soraya was special, and embraced her warmly.  The Serajeddinis, confronted with a much more complicated situation, had reservations.  However, as they began to understand the depth of Soraya’s love for Tom, they had two requests: she must finish her education before marrying, and Tom should go to Istanbul to seek Sheik Osman’s permission for the marriage. Tom met the challenge, negotiating Istanbul with phonetic directions and meeting the Sheik midst his entourage of followers. It was at this time that Tom began to understand what he was getting into, and began to appreciate the pressures the Serajeddinis would, and did, experience by permitting their daughter to marry a Westerner.

 

When Soraya graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering her mother observed, “Now that you have a trade, it’s time to get an education.”  After studying, living, working, and marrying in Boston, Soraya and Tom moved back to California for job opportunities and family.  Happy years followed, and joy was complete when Aveen was born in 1994 and Daryan in 1996. 

 

In the years that followed Soraya and Tom balanced their careers and the family.  In addition, Soraya became even more involved in spreading the story of the Kurdish cause to everyone she could reach. She became media savvy, and was frequently called upon to comment upon developments during the second Gulf War. Soraya was especially skillful speaking spontaneously and forcing reporters to stay on her message, not theirs.

 

After moving to Maryland in 2004, Soraya found herself even closer to the action and continued her work to advance the Kurdish cause.  In November 2005 she went to Kurdistan to help organize and host a first Kurdish Independence Conference– a radical move that forced the world to actually acknowledge the “elephant in the room.”  Most recently the arrival of prominent Mid-East Kurdish leaders found Soraya organizing meetings at the White House, Congress, and the State Department.  It would be fair to say that among the concerns that drove Soraya, the atrocities committed against innocent Kurds at Halabjah stands among her most passionate. Her grief was acute.

 

Soraya’s death is now being mourned throughout the world.  Calls have come from royalty to villagers lined up at a single phone. Searching her name on in the internet gives some sense of the legacy she leaves. However, Soraya’s greatest legacy is found in the love she leaves in the hearts of those whom she loved the most, her friends and her family.  Soraya’s quiet generosity to countless persons in countless ways will never be forgotten. 

Most important, Soraya will live on in the hearts of Tom and Aveen and Daryan.  No mother ever loved and enjoyed her children more.  No wife was ever a better soulmate. 

 

Soraya will forever remain woven into the tapestry of our lives.

 

 

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