Soraya Alekozei

Last updated

Soraya Alekozei
Born1955 (age 6768)
Kabul, Afghanistan
AllegianceGermany
Service/branch Bundeswehr
Years of service2004-2011
Rank Oberleutnant
Children2

Soraya Alekozei (born 1955) is an Afghan-German interpreter and veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan six times between 2004 and 2011 as a reserve officer in the Bundeswehr. Alekozei worked in military broadcasting and served as an interpreter for local politicians and German International Security Assistance Force officials. She founded an orphanage in Kabul. Alekozei was seriously wounded by an improvised explosive device in May 2011 and later authored a memoir about the experience in 2014.

Contents

Early life

Alekozei was born in Kabul in 1955. [1] Her first cultural connection to Germany was through her Western-minded grandfather who attended the German-founded Amani High School and was an official for the Afghan king. [2] She married with Wali Alekozei. [3] He was participated in a study abroad program and the couple relocated to Bonn in 1976 for his studies where their first of two sons was born. After suffering from homesickness, they returned to Kabul. Shortly thereafter, they returned in to Germany in December 1979 due to the Soviet–Afghan War. [2]

Career

Alekozei worked at Deutsche Postbank. [3] As a reserve officer, [2] she joined the Bundeswehr in 2004 against her children's wishes. [3] Alekozei moderated an Afghan Bundeswehr broadcast and served as an interpreter for Franz Josef Jung and Markus Kneip  [ de ]. [4] [3] She fundraised and lobbied for donations leading to the opening of an orphanage in Kabul. During her sixth and final deployment, on May 28, 2011, Alekozei, a oberleutnant, [4] served as an interpreter between local politicians and German ISAF officers at a security conference in Taloqan. During the conference, Alekozei was injured in an improvised explosive device attack that killed 16 fellow soldiers. She had 34 surgical operations after the event. [3] [1]

In 2014, she published a memoir about her experiences: Sie konnten mich nicht töten: Als Afghanin im Einsatz für die Bundeswehr[They Couldn't Kill Me: An Afghan on Duty for the German Armed Forces] (in German). Ullstein Ebooks. 30 September 2014. ISBN   978-3-8437-0918-7. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Security Assistance Force</span> NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan from 2001–2014

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 pursuant to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined the establishment of a permanent Afghan government following the U.S. invasion in October 2001. ISAF's primary goal was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions; it gradually took part in the broader war in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Improvised explosive device</span> Unconventionally produced bombs

An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs, or homemade bombs.

<i>Bundeswehr</i> Combined military forces of Germany

The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part and a civil part, the military part consisting of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanullah Khan</span> Emir then King of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929

Ghazi Amanullah Khan was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, Afghanistan was able to relinquish its protected state status to proclaim independence and pursue an independent foreign policy free from the influence of the United Kingdom.

<i>The Kite Runner</i> Novel by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Explosive ordnance disposal (United States Navy)</span> US Navy personnel who render safe or detonate unexploded ordnance

United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery of foreign and domestic ordnance. They conduct demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques. They forward deploy and fully integrate with the various Combatant Commanders, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and various warfare units within the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Army. They are also called upon to support military and civilian law enforcement agencies, as well as the Secret Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Air Force Academy Cemetery</span> Service academy cemetery

The United States Air Force Academy Cemetery is a cemetery at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. It is administered by the 10th Air Base Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soraya Tarzi</span> First queen consort of Afghanistan (1899–1968)

Soraya Tarzi was the first queen consort of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. She played a major part in the modernization reforms of Amanullah Khan, particularly in regard to the emancipation of women.

A bicycle bomb is an improvised explosive device that is placed on a bicycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Armed Forces casualties in Afghanistan</span>

With a contingent of 4,350 soldiers and policemen, Germany was one of the main contributors of troops to coalition operations in Afghanistan. Although German troops mainly operated in the comparatively quiet north of the country, the Bundeswehr suffered a number of casualties during participation in the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LAPV Enok</span> Armoured car

The LAPV Enok is a Light Armoured Patrol Vehicle of the Bundeswehr, mostly in use with the German Army. It is a significantly further developed Wolf SSA, based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volker Wieker</span> German general

Volker Wieker is the former Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, and a general of the German Army. Trained as an artillery officer, Wieker served in every major foreign Bundeswehr deployment since 1996, including Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Head</span> British Army soldier

Captain Lisa Jade Head was a British Army officer. She was the first female bomb disposal officer to be killed on operations. She died on 19 April 2011 at the age of 29, having sustained serious injuries on active service in Afghanistan. At the time of her death, Head was the first female officer and the second British servicewoman to die in Afghanistan since 2001, after Sarah Bryant, and the 364th member of the British armed forces in total.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Role of Georgia in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span>

Georgia joined the war in Afghanistan in 2004 and the country had become the largest non-NATO and the largest per capita troop contributor to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan by late 2012, with over 1,560 personnel on the ground as of May 2013. At its peak deployment, Georgia provided two full infantry battalions serving with the United States forces in the Helmand province. Since the beginning of their mission, more than 11,000 Georgian soldiers have served in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Halmazag</span> Offensive operation in Afghanistan

Operation Halmazag was an offensive operation by ISAF German-led troops in close cooperation with the Afghan security forces in the province of Kunduz, from 31 October to 4 November 2010, with the aim of building a permanent outpost near the village of Quatliam in the Char Dara district, south-west of Kunduz. The operation was the first German military ground offensive since World War II.

Saba Sahar is an Afghan actress, and the country's first female film director and film producer. Her first film, The Law, (2004) was a major success. She was born in Kabul. She returned to Afghanistan from exile to act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Fontes</span> United States Army major general

Robin Louise Fontes is a retired United States Army major general who last served as deputy commanding general (operations) of the United States Army Cyber Command. In July 2017 she took command of Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, becoming the highest-ranking female military officer in Afghanistan since the American invasion of that country in 2001. A mustang officer, Fontes was commissioned in 1986 and focused on Central Asia, eventually serving in Tajikistan, Pakistan, and India, including a few years in Afghanistan. She assumed her final position after the resignation of Michael Flynn from the Trump Administration ended her announced role as senior director for India, Pakistan and Central Asian Affairs on the United States National Security Council.

On 27 January 2018, an ambulance was used as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device near Sidarat Square in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 103 people were killed and 235 others wounded in the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christa Luft</span> German economist and politician

Christa Luft is a German economist and politician of the SED/PDS. Luft joined the SED in 1958. From 18 November 1989 to 18 March 1990, she was the Minister of Economics in the Modrow government. From 1994 to 2002 she was member of the Bundestag for the PDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahbuba Maqsoodi</span>

Mahbuba Elham Maqsoodi is a German-Afghan artist based in Munich, Germany. She is recognized for miniature paintings and painting on glass, including designing 34 stained glass windows for Tholey Abbey in Germany. She is an advocate for women's rights, a published author, and received a PhD in Art History.

References

  1. 1 2 Käppner, Joachim. "Das bist nicht du". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wichter, Hans-Dieter. "Sie konnten mich nicht töten: Trauerspiel Afghanistan". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN   0174-4909 . Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Mackerodt, Maicke (29 December 2014). "Attentatsopfer Soraya Alekozei - Über 100 Splitter im Körper". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 Abenheim, Donald; Hartmann, Uwe (11 June 2018). Tradition in der Bundeswehr: Zum Erbe des deutschen Soldaten und zur Umsetzung des neuen Traditionserlasses (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 101. ISBN   978-3-945861-75-2.