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Dedicated to Ashraf, a brave bold woman who will always be remembered when I have a cup of tea. Ashraf was shot in the head while in her car in 2004. Her last name is withheld for the safety of her existing family. She was my first Iraqi friend. She made me promise that I would come to her family's house for a cup of tea as soon as there was peace in Iraq. She chose to work as a translator for the American army because she said, "It is my country and if I do not step up to take this risk who will?" She said, "...it is my duty to be a middle person and bring understanding between my people and the Americans." Ashraf made everyone around her laugh. I actually met some of her killers a week after her murder. They said, "She was a whore. She drove a car, would not wear a headscarf, she ate with men and she worked with the Americans... for these things she got a bullet in the head."