Najem Wali is an Iraqi-German author. Born in Amarah, Wali fled Iraq in 1980 after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. He lives in Hamburg. Wali has published seven books. He is a correspondent for Al Hayat and has written in S�ddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, Neue Z�rcher Zeitung, and elsewhere. In 2009 he published "Reise in das Herz des Feindes", an account of his travels in Israel, which presented a positive view of the country. Officially Najem Wali was ? as millions of Iraqis �? born on Juli 1st in 1956. But the truth is that he was born on October 20, 1956 in the South of Iraq. This is just one of many stories in the country of thousand and one dictatorship und thousand and more wars. Having finished his A-Levels in Basra and Amara he began his studies of German Literature at the University of Bagdad. Having passed his university degrees in 1978 he was drafted for military service. In 1980 and during the military service he was arrested and tortured as a ?dissenter? and ?opponent of war?. A miracle made him come clear and he continued the military service up to his discharge in August 1980. 

October 20th, 1956 in Basra (Age 67)