KABUL - United Nations staff in Afghanistan are mourning the loss of one of their colleagues, Barbara De Anna, who died yesterday at a hospital in Germany from injuries sustained during the attack on 24 May on the compound of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kabul. Ms. De Anna was 38. Barbara was an employee of IOM, an organization affiliated with the United Nations.

“Her IOM colleagues and friends will miss her, above all, for her love of life, humanity and ever-present smile,” said Richard Danziger, the IOM Representative in Afghanistan. “Her loss leaves behind a void that we can never hope to fill, but we will guard her memory.”

Ms. De Anna joined IOM in Afghanistan in 2010. In her first role, Barbara coordinated a project in the west of the country aimed at reintegrating thousands of poor Afghans who had been forcibly repatriated from Iran. She helped organize their transport, identified shelter and livelihood assistance and trained Afghan officials in methods to manage the influx efficiently and with compassion.

A friend of Ms. De Anna at the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Filippo Busconi said, "She was full of joy with the ability of bringing happiness all around. Her laugh was contagious and her heart as genuine as her commitment to her job and the people of Afghanistan."

At the time of the attack, on 24 May, Ms. De Anna had been working in a different role in Kabul, as a Project Officer training nearly 600 Afghan staff working for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation. She was focused on empowering Afghan workers to support their most vulnerable compatriots.

Before joining IOM, Ms. De Anna had taken on challenging assignments with other United Nations bodies, including postings with the UN Development Programme in Honduras, with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in Liberia, the United Nations Mission in East Timor and with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jordan.

A native of Florence, Italy, Ms. De Anna, who was trilingual, attended universities in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. She is survived by her parents in Italy.

Celine Lafoucriere of the International Labour Organization in Kabul remembers Ms. De Anna as “the happiest, most optimistic person I have ever met.”

“Whether she agreed or not with your positions she would simply not judge but always find time to be there for you,” said Lafoucriere. “The first time I met Barbara, around the IOM guesthouse dinner-table, I had recently arrived in Afghanistan and was still wondering how I could make a normal life for myself in such an environment. That evening, Barbara was laughing so much, trying to tell me the most trivial story I had ever heard, that she never managed to finish it.”

The attack on IOM compound also claimed the lives of the six attackers, an Afghan police officer and three Afghan civilians, including a six-year old child. During the attack, Ms. De Anna suffered serious burns necessitating her evacuation to a specialist hospital in Germany. She had been in a coma since then. Fourteen others, including three other IOM staff, an employee of the International Labour Organization and five Gurkha security guards, were injured.

Today, co-workers and friends from the UN community in Kabul were in shock and found it difficult to believe that the colleague whom they valued for her humour and intelligence had died.

“Our Barbarella was optimistic and hopeful,” said an IOM employee, Tata Velayo, calling Ms. De Anna with the name her colleagues lovingly called her. “I was humbled by her strength and resilience and I hope I can mirror that.”

A private memorial service will be held for IOM staff next week.