Oral history interview with Baher Butti

Collection

Identifier: SR 12301

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Baher Butti was conducted by Sankar Raman on January 10, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. In this interview, Butti discusses his early life in Baghdad, Iraq, talks about his family's history of political activism, and describes his experiences during the 1980 Iran-Iraq War. He speaks about life under the authoritarian governments in Iraq, particularly the Saddam Hussein regime. He also talks about practicing as a psychiatrist in Iraq. He describes his experiences during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and talks about the series of events that led to an assassination threat against him. He discusses the process of leaving Iraq and immigrating to the United States with his family. He talks about his life in Oregon, including his career, organizations he founded, and his work with refugees. He discusses the historical religious diversity of Iraqis. He closes the interview by talking about the process of applying for asylum in the United States and sharing his hopes for the future.

Dates

2019 January 10

Creator

Butti, Baher, 1961- (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Baher Butti was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961. In 1984, he earned a degree in psychiatry from the University of Baghdad. That same year, he and Balsam Matti were married; they later had three children. In 1995, he earned a Ph.D. in psychiatry, also from the University of Baghdad. In 1999, Butti became the director of the Al-Rashad Mental Health Hospital in Baghdad. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he became involved in politics. He founded the al-Jannah organization to advocate for what he describes as humanitarian psycho-social care and ran for office. He left Iraq after learning that he was on a list of assassination targets, and in 2007, he immigrated to Portland, Oregon; his family followed soon after. After arriving in Oregon, he started the first Arabic-language mental health program at Oregon Health & Science University, founded the Iraqi Society of Oregon and the Center for Intercultural Wellness, and worked as a mental health professional for Catholic Charities of Oregon.

Extent

638 Megabytes (1 audio file (WAV, 58 min., 5 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Baher Butti conducted by Sankar Raman on January 10, 2019, for The Immigrant Story. Butti discusses his experiences living in Iraq during the latter half of the 20th century and as an immigrant to the United States.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Access to audio recording is provided online in OHS Digital Collections.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of The Immigrant Story, June 2021 (RL2021-057).

Bibliography

An article about Baher Butti, "A Candle in the Darkness" by Jan Landis, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/candle/