Ithaar, born on 16th October, 1967 came to Belgium and Leuven at the end of May 2005. Her husband was at that time already in Belgium for 7 years. Seven years during which they scarcily had any contact with each other. Her husband had to flee Iraq because of his political convictions. Those 7 years were hard, especially as she and her children were harassed by the secret police of the Baath party.She is a biologist by training and specialized in microbiology. Her husband has a Master in Petroleum engineering.
Unfortunately she can only find jobs as a contract worker, and often not university level employment. Her age, origin and religion make that difficult.
When she arrived in Leuven, she immediately started to learn Flemish and then took a course as a logistics operator.
The family has two sons and one daughter, the youngest son is born here in Leuven. The oldest son attends local high school and studies Latin.