Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa
Dr. Nabila Massoumi: From Afghanistan to American Diplomacy
Her family crossed out of Afghanistan on foot disguised as nomads; she became a Foreign Service officer.
- Fled
- Afghanistan
- Status
- Asylee (political refugee)
- Arrived in the U.S.
- early 1980s
- Service
- Foreign Service Regional English Language Officer
- Region
- Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa
After the Soviet invasion, Nabila Massoumi's family left Afghanistan on foot, disguised as nomads. They spent about eighteen months in Pakistan and Italy before the United States granted them asylum as political refugees.
She joined the Foreign Service as a Regional English Language Officer and co-chaired a diversity and inclusion council in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Read the history behind this story on the Afghanistan page, or browse all the diplomats.