On WHYS we’ve been following Lubna throughout her medical training- and next Thursday she reaches an important milestone. here’s the e-mail she sent us, which she has given us permission to reproduce here :
I’ll leave it to you to wish her good luck below..
Salaam to all of you guys from Baghdad, the city of pain, hope, and magic tales… How are things ? I do really hope and pray that all is perfectly OK with you and with all of your loved ones, Inshallah…
On Thursday the 25th of March we’ll be having our un-official (or informal) graduation party at the building of Baghdad Medical School-Bab Al Muadham district-Baghdad from the early morning till after 1:30 PM local time…
There’ll be music, dancing, free food and soft drinks, funny skits and posters, we’ll all be wearing fancy clothes… This is a symbolic invitation to all of you guys to attend our party in spirit (because I am totally aware that it’s gonna be absolutely impossible for all of you guys to party with all of us down here in person due to so many causes which I do not need to mention)…
I want all of you guys to kindly take a moment of your time on Thursday inorder to think of all of us down here, please take a moment of your time on Thursday in order to th!nk of my Iraq and its good people who are trying the best they can inorder to get things right in a place where unfortunately almost nothing is going in the right direction at the moment, and yet life goes on down here despite everything that has been going on around us, that’s right…
I do really look forward to hearing from all of you guys soon
With my love
Yours sincerely, Lubna
Baghdad
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BBC World Have Your Say 
Congratulations, my dear. Your voice is so important to making WHYS blogging an intelligent and heartfelt conversation. It has been such an honor that you take time from your studies to inform and chat. Best wishes to you and your fellow graduates.
I agree with Nora.
Lubna is a bright light in a dark world.
ear MS.LUBNA,it is so wonderfuil to hear from a city of a war-trodden and devastated and blown to smithereens by oil-hungry invaders and occupiers,like Bush and Braemer and Chenney and Rumsfeld,ertc.,etc,
I have emotional,religIous ties with the holiest cities in the world for Shias after Makkah Muezzama and Madeena Munavvara,i.e.,KARBALA MOELLA and NAJAF-E-ASHRAF.
What course of studies are you pursuing?
I am confident that after you come out with flying colours in your final exams,you will serve well your country’s down-trodden and brow-beaten innocent denizens after going through and surviving brutal and barbaric wars lasting a decade!!
You have my hear-felt duas and blessings.
MEK
Hi lubna,i understand how you and your people feel at the moment.But for your graduation i really congratulate you madam for the effort.with love…
medical profession in india there is no nobility left i anyt is a business with out any ethics
Salaam Lubna it is good to see that you can put some joy into a serious event taking place in such surroundings. You are all very brave and deserve the best that life can offer. Good luck as a practicing doctor, I’m sure you will make a very kind and compassionate doctor with good medical skills.
Greetings from the sunny, hot and dry Caribbean.
My best – Nigel.
Hi Lubna, well congratulations for the end or beginining of your career. Certainly it is a hard place to study and live. But life has to continue and that is a law.
I hope that you are a precedent in your country. Rain begins with a drop, and then the others join. Salaam, I thing is like hello, so Salaam to you Lubna, have a great time in your party and a big hug for you.
I wish stability and prosperity for Iraq.For you Lubna I wish you continuous success and happiness after graduation. In view of the conditions in which you had your studies along with your university mates, this must be a show of great determination and hope.
Let’s hope the recent elections in Iraq will bring the whole country to the right direction so that in Iraqi hospitals, there will no longer be casualties from bombings and suicide attacks.
My Congratulations to my dear friend, Lubna on the good news!!!
(Dennis Junior)
Dear Lubna, I am so excited and happy for you reaching your goals. I really hope for improvement in Iraq’s situation soon. You are such a strong person, an example to all of us. Take good care of yourself.
Wow, thanks a million to all of you guys for your extraordinarily kind words and your invaluable wishes… Thursday’s party is a huge and yet informal event that’s organised by us final yr. medical students… My final yr. exams will end by mid-July 2010, and if I succeed in passing all of them (hopefully-because those exams are xtremely difficult, more like a near death experience or something like that 🙂 ) then I’m gonna be officially titled Dr Lubna Naji MB ChB, inshallah ! :):):)… On Thursday we’ll be saying Good Bye to everything and everyone we’ve come to encounter during our six years in medical school, and that means taking billions of photos ! :)… The fact that we’re gonna celebrate our graduation on Thursday despite the fact that our actual graduation will be in four months time is an act of defiance in my opinion, it’s like we’re saying it outloud to our teachers and the whole world “Look at us celebrating our graduation despite the fact that our final yr. exams will end by mid-July”, and that means that we do believe our graduation is inevitable despite all the obstacles and difficulties… Thursday’s party is a classy tradition that has been going on since the graduation of the 1st class of Baghdadi medical students in the 1930s, and that tradition will hopefully continue for many many many other yrs. after us because in my Iraq it’s always life that will eventually prevail… Thanks a million to all of you guys and see you all (in spirit) on Thursday at my college, and let’s party together shall we ? 🙂
With my love
Yours sincerely, Lubna N
Hi Lubna, It’s very nice of you to hear such a progressive activity. Just keep it up and keep on keeping on. I wish you all the best together with your fellow graduates a happy and a successful ending of all your plans. Just I am very happy for you and my prayers are with you all Inshaallah. As a tip for you, always put Allah’s name first in whatever you do. Good Luck, LUBNA.
All the best Lubna.
Dear Dr Lubna!
1000 congratulations on your graduation! May your days always be filled with light, love, hope, success and health, and may your Iraq bless the world many more Lubnas to fill us with joy and inspiration.
Peace to you and your loved ones.
Hi, Lubna! 😉
Congratulations for your graduation!
I truly believe this is an important stage for the improvement of this word, where everybody, even professionals, can make it a better place to live!
A warm hug for you!
Salaam, and Congratulations soon to be Dr. Naji. Tracy and I have been following your progress since March of 2007 and we are both very proud of you for your accomplishments. You have earned your title through blood, sweat, and tears. You have honored your faith, your family, your people, and your gender with what you have
done. We wish you the very best in all you do in the months and years ahead.
Salaam & congratulations, Lubna.
I am very confident that you and your worthy classmates can heal Iraq, just as you will the many grateful patients you will treat in the near future. Thank you for sharing your accomplishment with the world. Study hard for finals!
Your friend,
Shannon
Congrats Lubna! Please be available to tutor me when I take organic chemistry in the next 2 years!
here your first free lesson. organic solvents are usually bad for you…
WELL DONE LUBNA
This is good news. America made it all possible by removing the brutal dictator and allowing that Iraqi’s can make free choices.
Lubna your medical success adds to the rebuilding and improvement of the Iraqi infrastructure made possible by the sacrifice of America.
Good Luck. We have opened a door to a successful future for you and your country.
Thanks a million Dan, and may I remind you that Baghdad Medical School is 80 years old i.e. 72 years ahead of the US led invasion of my Iraq ??? 😀
My hearty Congratulations and thank you for the invite. I wish you all the best for your future.
Lubna, dear friend, congratulations on your big day!
You are an inspiration to all of us. Despite all that has been going on in your country for the past years, the harsh times and difficult circumstances, you are finishing Med school with high spirits and the most amazing attitude.
You rock girl!
Best wishes from this side of the world.
Awesome, and congratulations Lubna.
Congratulations Lubna.
I wish you well in your career and best hopes for your nation also. Let’s hope that your skills wont be called upon for the very worst that happens. Best of luck.
I deliberately delayed to wish you well at the eleventh hour. Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed. Good luck!
Congratulations, Lubna! Best of luck in what is sure to be a fantastic career.
Congratulations Lubna.
Hi Lubna,
Salaam Aleekum. I hope all your wishes come true and that we continue to hear your interesting comments. I’m sure all “the gang” will be with you in spirit. You are an inspiration. Many thanks, Peter.
Salaam gang,
Wow wow wow, I am really so grateful to all of you guys (The WHYS super-marvellous team and amazing listeners and contributors) for all of your continueous kindness and support that you’ve been offering me and my Iraq over the years… Thanks a million as always to all of you guys for your xtraordinarily kind words and your invaluable wishes… Our party was awesome, absolutely phenomenal… We all had the best time ever, and the title of my group (which consists of 11 girls-we all are close friends) was ”smooth talk” ! :)… I gotta go now, more later on Inshallah… With my love… Yours sincerely, Lubna N in Baghdad…
Dear Lubna,
Congratulations! Your intelligence, courage and identity inspire us all. Best wishes to you, your friends, family and country. Let’s hope the world will be a more peaceful place soon. Do take care of yourself and keep in touch.
Reading your email makes my heart sing with joy.
You’ve inspired me with your youthful optimism, your dedication to your studies, your love of your country, and your courage. If I had a daughter, I would want her to have all your wonderful qualities.
At the risk of sounding sentimental, Lubna, I love you and wish all good things for you.
Congratulations Lubna!
Best Wishes for the Future. I’m sure you will continue making a positive impact on the World and everyone’s life you touch. Be safe and happy in a wonderful profession. You are an inspiration along with all of your fellow students. And Best Wishes to them!
Alan
Heartiest congratulations Lubna. Being able to concentrate and pass your medical exams in such trying circumstances require grit, determination and a steely resolve. You have been a courageous voice from Iraq on WHYS and may other students from your country follow your exemplary footsteps in such difficult political circumstances.
So very well done Lubna!!!! Our most heartfelt congradulations on such a wonderful job of completing your education, and living a balanced and worthwhile life there in Bagdad.
Sincerely, troop on the Oregon Coast
Congratulations Dr. Lubna! I wish you health, happiness and hope in all that you do in your life. Most of all I wish you peace of mind! The world is your oyster! Don’t forget that!
Congratulations to all of you in “Smooth Talk”!
And especially to you Lubna!
Hooray!
Hooray!
Hooray!
Congratulations, Lubna! I would not have believed it possible for someone to do what you have done under such circumstances.
And now there is something you need to do, right now, while you still can.
Take a vacation. 🙂
lubna sweetie pie,
congratulations!
i love you so much! ever since i heard you on your 21st birthday on WHYS, i was taken by your eloquence and generosity of heart, as you told the devastation of losing 3 friends to violence in iraq, and your determination to stay in iraq to complete your education and serve your people. you have been a beacon of light to me since then!
i tried to get on the radio to speak to you directly today, but no such luck.
i would have loved to listen to your group of 11 girls, “smooth talk!” wish i could have been there!
much love, yours forever, antia
Great to talk to you again Lubna. Wanted to add that to my wife Tracy and I, you have represented a light in the midst of the heart of darkness. I have great hope for Iraq with people like you working to make life better for others there. take care, do stay safe. hope we get to talk again soon.
Congratulations and all the very best to you. Qualifying as a doctor is never easy but under the circumstances you have had to endure it’s truly amazing.
Guess you may now be much too busy to look up your old friends on WHYS, but do pop into the blog when you have a minute. I have so enjoyed all your contributions, on air and on the blog, always intelligent, well reasoned and tolerant with never a drop of prejudice or malevolence, even when you have been the target of some of the latter unfortunate “qualities”. I have learned a lot from you and I’m sure you will make a FANTASTIC doctor because, as well as all that scientific knowledge, you have the ultimate gift – unshakeable humanity.
Missing you already 😉
Dear Lubna,
Congratulations on attaining your goal to achieve your medical degree. I applaud you in choosing Pediatrics as your specialty.
It most certainly will be courageous, bright, and compassionate young people such as you, that will collectively illuminate the world so that we others may see clearly. You are an admirable young woman, and I wish you all the best.
I look forward, Dr. Lubna Naji, to reading your future comments and insights on the WHYS blog.
Take care and be well, dear girl.
Lubna,
Major congratulations, my dear! And best wishes for your future in medicine. I’m sure you’ll be a fantastic doctor. 😀
Very big hugs,
Maria
I don’t know many people from your country… Well, in fact your the only living Iraqi with whom I’ve even had contact of any kind, and I can say that you have been a most reasonable, honest, and endearing representative of your people. I respect you for this as much as for the successful completion of medical school. Continue to strive toward good the rest of your life.
g
Many good wishes Lubna. I am sure you will be a great doctor. I am praying for the healing of Baghdad and a stable future. You will make a difference for your country!
Is this really the content that the world service should be covering? Old friends talking to each other, congratulating each other.
I know you can say it is emblematic of the improvements in the country etc, but it smacks of patting each others backs. At best it is a anecdotal.
Do all of the medical students have their basic kit to start practice like stethiscopes, etc?
Woohoo Lubna,
Congratulations on one great accomplishment!
I second all of the proud and congratulatory messages that have been written before mine.
But, this is only one of many great accomplishments to come.
Thanks for letting us share it with you…. at least in some small way.
To Ralph:
If we can engage in all of the intellectual discourses of the world
and yet, not be able to enjoy an interpersonal conversation with one who has connected with us daily,
then, what have we truly accomplished?
Our views on religion, the environment, current issues and the like will all be forgotten in time.
But, the personal contributions that one makes to another’s life is just priceless.
Lubna has certainly broadened my prospective on many issues and not because she is a great debator, but because she shares how such decisions effect her personally.
YOu go Lubna!
Lubna love,
I already regards you as my FRIEND. I found that I always look out for your piece on each WHYS event. I admire what is already SUCCESSES in living and becoming a personality of impact, which you have pursued and got so well.
I thank God(Allah) for keeping you and your loved ones. I hope you do well in your great exams. My love to you 11 hearts. Remain blessed.
Chigoziem
I’ve been reading some of your comments with no small worry for your safety, Lubna.
Iraq’s perilous state thanks to American misadventure has prompted some politicians here in the states to call the Iraqi invasion the worst foreign policy blunder in US history; a sentiment about which I agree. If I had any power at all, I’d apologize to the Iraqi people for the major disaster we’ve brought upon you.
But I have no power.
I can only add my congratulations, Lubna, on graduating medical school in one piece. As more than a few medical students over here has crashed and burned, I appreciate the significance of your achievement. At least something good has happened to someone in Iraq.
And if you want to come to America to further your experience, may I suggest the medical center at UCLA. Though Los Angeles has the worst traffic problems on the planet, UCLA’s Westwood Village holds half the movie premiers in LA, the medical center gets a string of interesting celebrities, UCLA is the center of the most cutting edge research in the country, and you just can’t beat the weather.
But that’s just my opinion.
Again, congrats, from…
–Louisville, Kentucky, US.
Very impressive achievement, especially considering the, shall we say, unfavorable circumstances.
I am assuming that you are now in that solid study period, between ending school and taking what here would be called the board exams. Best of luck … and stamina!
When will WHYS stop treating Lubna like an exotic creature ?
On behalf of my Family and I, wishes you the best on this historical event not only to you but also to us as BBC WHYS Family. Please Family members noted that no more Lubna without salutation, I mean congratulations DR. Miss Lubna.
With all these sugary and sentimental messages and loud congratulations, I thought Lubna had at least graduated. Now I learn that the final exams are months away. Anyway, good luck for them, Lubna. We have had a few confrontations on this forum and, as a supporter of Israel, I recall your scathing and unreasoning attacks on the Israelis and unqualified support for the Palestinians. I find such an attitude strange in someone devoted to healing others. Israeli doctors treat every patient, whether Jewish or Arab Israelis or Palestinians, equally and without the slightest attention to race or politics. If you qualify and go on to practice, I hope you will be able to do the same.
Congrats Lubna, well done. All the best in your future career.
This is when the learning begins. I always look to see if you have posted.
Once again well done to you and your fellow students.
Gordon.
Good luck with finding a job or private practise!
Dear Lubna,
Hope you can serve your nation Iraq as a great doctor, the kind of which your lovely people need indeed.