Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix: What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness
Azim Khamisa, Ples Felix: Qu'y a-t-il après la tragédie ? Le pardon
Azim Khamisa speaks to students and adults on nonviolence, forgiveness and peace-building, and he is a founder of two nonprofit organizations that target youth violence. Full bioPles Felix - Peace activist
Ples Felix is a leader in the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, dedicated to helping stop youth violence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
have many defining moments in our lives.
des moments déterminants dans nos vies.
nous faisons le bon choix,
if we are able to make the right choice,
étudiant à l'université,
a good photographer,
bon écrivain et photographe,
to work for National Geographic,
pour le National Geographic.
on Fridays and Saturdays.
les vendredis et samedis.
lui a tiré dessus et l'a tué.
to absorb a new, hideous reality.
une nouvelle et hideuse réalité.
my life to a crashing halt.
s'est brutalement arrêtée.
I've ever had to do
que j'aie jamais eues à faire
who lived in a different city.
qui vivait dans une autre ville.
she's never going to see her son again,
qu'elle ne reverra plus jamais son fils,
ou d'une tragédie,
pendant ma méditation,
at both ends of the gun.
des deux côtés de l'arme.
was a victim of the 14-year-old,
comme la victime d'un enfant de 14 ans,
that he was a victim of American society.
victime de la société américaine.
well, who is American society?
qu'est-ce que la société américaine ?
soit juste le fruit du hasard.
that society is just happenstance.
for the society we've created.
de la société que nous avons créée.
is not a mark of a civil society.
n'est pas le signe d'une société civile.
at the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
à la fondation Tariq Khamisa
de la violence chez les jeunes.
is to save lives of children.
la vie des enfants.
We lose so many on a daily basis.
Nous en perdons tellement tous les jours.
so kids don't fall through the cracks
pour qu'ils ne quittent pas le bon chemin
and drugs and alcohol and weapons.
de drogue, d'alcool et d'armes.
the principles of nonviolence,
c'est de leur enseigner les principes
de l'empathie, de la compassion
une logique très simple :
a learned behavior,
I reached out to my brother here,
mon frère, présent ici,
that we had both lost a son.
to the adult prison system.
dans une prison pour adultes.
we are still here together,
nous sommes toujours ensemble
back from the dead,
in our community
autre enfant de notre communauté
has been successful.
a connu un grand succès.
with Ples and me.
avec Ples et moi.
le fils de celui-là,
and we create a peace club.
et nous avons créé un club pour la paix.
these principles of nonviolence,
ces principes de non-violence,
and expulsions by 70 percent,
les renvois et exclusions de 70%,
my journey of forgiveness,
mon chemin vers le pardon,
who killed my son.
qui a tué mon fils.
because we were --
parce que nous étions --
we locked eyeballs.
nous nous sommes fixés intensément.
he's looking in my eyes,
trying to find a murderer, and I didn't.
mais je ne l'ai pas trouvé.
was no different than the spark in me
différente de la mienne
He was remorseful.
Il avait des remords.
of forgiveness had changed him.
my brother, Ples.
and only daughter's one and only child.
de mon unique fille.
job on the planet.
la plus difficile sur Terre.
than raising another human being
que d’élever un être humain
to be successful in life.
in his life as a young kid.
durant son enfance.
of automatic weapon fire
in so many different ways.
he had everything a kid needed
tout ce dont un enfant avait besoin
to try to be successful
of being a successful person,
de ce qu'est une personne qui réussit,
Tony ran away from home that evening,
he thought were his friends,
ceux qu'il considérait ses amis,
et de l'alcool et il en a pris,
they would make him feel carefree.
to make his anxiety go higher
qu'amplifier son anxiété,
of an 18-year-old who commanded him
de 18 ans lui donnant des ordres
he thought were his friends,
qu'il croyait être ses amis,
mon petit-fils était responsable
that my grandson was responsible
comme mes parents me l'avaient appris,
like I was taught by my old folks,
and I have in common,
M. Khamisa et moi,
besides being wonderful human beings,
à part être extraordinaires,
de chercher conseils et clairvoyance
to seek guidance and clarity
of this man and his family in this loss.
et sa famille dans leur perte.
to a meeting at this man's house,
chez lui, dans sa maison.
of God-spirited people led by this man,
de gens touchés par la grâce de Dieu,
qui dans un esprit de pardon,
et m'ont donné l'opportunité
and to share with children
to be with a responsible adult,
d’être avec un adulte responsable,
in a way that's healthy,
in the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
à la fondation Tariq Khamisa
for the kids to put in their toolkit
beaucoup d'outils, de ressources
durant leur vie.
throughout their lives.
understand that loving, caring adults
que des adultes aimants, attentionnés
that our children learn to meditate,
qu'ils apprennent à méditer,
with the other children
avec d'autres enfants
dans nos sociétés
to share the love with children,
pour partager l'amour avec eux,
will lead the way for us,
vont nous montrer la voie
will depend on our children.
they will take over this world for us,
à la retraite, ils nous remplaceront
they will give it back to us.
que nous leur aurons appris.
I was educated in England,
j'ai fait mes études en Angleterre
l'Afro-Américain du groupe.
I'm the African American in the group.
que citoyen américain,
ma part de responsabilité
by an American child.
un enfant américain qui lui a tiré dessus.
he killed my one and only son,
il a tué mon unique fils,
what happened to that young man.
ce qu'il est arrivé à ce jeune homme.
He just turned 37 on September 22,
Ce 22 septembre, il a eu 37 ans,
to get him out for 12 years.
de le faire sortir.
tens of thousands of students
de milliers d'élèves
on a regular basis.
nous sommes régulièrement présents.
"When I was 11, I joined a gang.
« À 11 ans, j’étais dans un gang.
I murdered Mr. Khamisa's son.
umpteen years in prison.
will listen to that voice?
vont l’écouter ?
that pulled the trigger.
qui a appuyé sur la gâchette.
to turn the clock back.
remonter le temps.
avoir à nouveau mon fils.
de nouveau son petit-fils.
the power of forgiveness.
la force du pardon.
à retenir de tout cela ?
our session with this quote,
par une citation,
de mon quatrième livre,
was written by Tony.
sustained goodwill creates friendship.
la bienveillance crée l’amitié.
by bombing them, right?
trust, empathy, compassion and peace.
l'empathie, la compassion et la paix.
how do you extend goodwill
through forgiveness.
et votre famille,
North and South Korea,
la Corée du Nord et du Sud,
l'Iran et la Syrie.
the United States of America.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Azim Khamisa - Author, peace activistAzim Khamisa speaks to students and adults on nonviolence, forgiveness and peace-building, and he is a founder of two nonprofit organizations that target youth violence.
Why you should listen
Azim Khamisa writes: "I emigrated to the USA in 1974 to escape violence in Kenya, where we were a targeted minority. But 22 years ago, my only son, Tariq, who was a university student and worked a part-time job as a pizza delivery man, was killed by a 14-year-old gang member in a gang initiation ritual. Tariq was only 20 years old when he died, and needless to say it brought my life to a crashing halt. He was a good and a generous kid!
"However, even clouded in a deeply painful tragedy I saw that there were victims on both sides of the gun. Nine months after Tariq died, I founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF). Our mission is to save lives of children, empower the right choices and teach the principles of nonviolence — of empathy, compassion, forgiveness and peacemaking. I forgave my son's killer and invited his grandfather to join me in TKF's work. With the grace of God, TKF is 22 years old and has a safe school model and is successfully keeping kids away from gangs, weapons, drugs, crime and violence. The grandfather and I are still together doing this work, and the kid who killed my son is now 36 years old and he will join us when he is paroled in October 2018. I have authored four books and speak worldwide to students and adults. I am a passionate peace activist and a teacher of nonviolence, forgiveness and spawning peacemakers."
Azim Khamisa | Speaker | TED.com
Ples Felix - Peace activist
Ples Felix is a leader in the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, dedicated to helping stop youth violence.
Why you should listen
Ples Felix was a retired Green Beret, working in community development and raising his grandson Tony, trying hard to keep him safe and away from bad influences. But on one horrible night, Tony, in the company of older gang members, shot and killed a pizza delivery driver. It was a moment that changed many lives.
The delivery driver was Tariq Khamisa, a 20-year-old student in San Diego. His grieving father, Azim Khamisa, seeking to find meaning in unfathomable loss, started the Tariq Khamisa Foundation to address youth violence through education, mentorship and community service. And he invited Felix to join him -- because "there was a victim on both ends of that gun." Since 1995, Felix has co-led the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, developing mentorship programs that keep at-risk kids in school and on the right track.
Ples Felix | Speaker | TED.com