Caspara Shahrazad

Born in Iran in 1948, her parents relocated to England when she was a child. Eventually they moved to the United States (New Hampshire) and by the time she was a teenager, she was a United States citizen.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations because of her interest in politics. She walked into an internship in DC directly out of college and never stopped working. Evenings and weekends were scarified to climb the political ladder. Her parents were disappointed she never married nor had kids, but she saw her career as her only path forward for her.

After holding several local New Hampshire offices, she was elected to the House of Representatives and served two terms before running for the senate. She faced racism, particularly after 9/11 when ignorant people blamed anyone from the Middle East for that day. Her parents worried for her well-being but were proud when she became the first Iranian born US Senator. Her views are inclusive and left leaning. Both of her parents passed away due to separate illnesses in the year that followed.

She is known for being vocal and had shared her opinion on the limitations surrounding the ability to run for President. Having to be a nationally born citizen to be President was frustrating and blocked her career path. She was told by another senator to ‘let it go and retire. At your age, you should be on a beach.’

The nerve! She was only sixty-five and had so much more to do.

Her political ambition was cut short not due to her nationality but rather the end of the world as they knew it. She was traveling to meet with an Illinois Senator who sat on a committee with her when the earthquake struck. Her plane was diverted North to Wisconsin to a small airport. A plague followed killing many female survivors. She tried to assist at the make-shift hospital which formed quickly at the airport but the death toll kept rising.

She could not get ahold of anyone in Washington, DC nor any other members of Congress for that matter. She wanted to fly back to DC but the only surviving pilot she could locate was not willing to take the risk. The rental car desk was unmanned so she just took a car and planned to drive to DC. The roads were so damaged, however, it proved impossible.

She saw less and less people as she tried different avenues to reach someone in authority. The only message was a radio broadcast from a military Fort, Fort Campbell.