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I first met Ali Hamdani in Baghdad in 2003, just months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He’d recently finished his medical school training, but instead of becoming a doctor, he started working with me and other foreign journalists. We covered the conflict together for years, and he was my guide as Iraq descended into all-out civil war. Ali saved my life on more than one occasion, at great personal risk to himself — and he’s become a dear friend.

In the time since we both left Iraq, it’s felt easier to talk about the present than the past. But 20 years on, it felt time to have an honest conversation about our experience there and the things he never told me.

(A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.)

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Thoughts? Email us at firstperson@nytimes.com. Follow Lulu Garcia-Navarro on Twitter: @lourdesgnavarro

“First Person” was produced this week by Rhiannon Corby. It was edited by Anabel Bacon and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Pat McCusker and Isaac Jones. Original music by Isaac Jones, Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Andrea Lopez Cruzado. The rest of the “First Person” team includes Stephanie Joyce, Olivia Natt, Wyatt Orme, Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Derek Arthur and Jillian Weinberger. Special thanks to Kristina Samulewski, Shannon Busta, Allison Benedikt, Annie-Rose Strasser and Katie Kingsbury.