Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix: What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness
Azim Khamisa, Ples Felix: O que se segue após a tragédia? O perdão
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.
temos momentos que definem a nossa vida.
if we are able to make the right choice,
formos capazes de tomar a decisão certa,
estudava na universidade,
a good photographer,
um bom escritor e um bom fotógrafo,
to work for National Geographic,
para a National Geographic,
on Fridays and Saturdays.
às sextas e aos sábados.
contra ele e matou-o.
inocente e desarmado.
to absorb a new, hideous reality.
uma realidade nova e hedionda.
my life to a crashing halt.
parou de forma trágica.
I've ever had to do
que tive de fazer
who lived in a different city.
que vivia noutra cidade.
she's never going to see her son again,
que nunca vai voltar a ver o filho,
e de profunda tragédia,
at both ends of the gun.
dos dois lados da arma.
was a victim of the 14-year-old,
foi vítima do rapaz de 14 anos,
that he was a victim of American society.
da sociedade norte-americana.
well, who is American society?
quem é a sociedade norte-americana?
that society is just happenstance.
que a sociedade seja apenas um acaso.
for the society we've created.
pela sociedade que criámos.
is not a mark of a civil society.
não é próprio de uma sociedade civil.
at the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
na fundação Tariq Khamisa
três mandamentos.
is to save lives of children.
é salvar a vida de crianças.
We lose so many on a daily basis.
Diariamente, perdemos imensas.
so kids don't fall through the cracks
para que as crianças não escorreguem
and drugs and alcohol and weapons.
das drogas, do álcool e das armas.
the principles of nonviolence,
os princípios da não-violência,
é um comportamento adquirido.
a learned behavior,
um comportamento adquirido,
I reached out to my brother here,
fui ter com este meu irmão,
tínhamos perdido um filho.
that we had both lost a son.
to the adult prison system.
para uma prisão de adultos.
we are still here together,
ainda estamos juntos aqui,
back from the dead,
o Tariq de volta,
in our community
jovem da nossa comunidade
has been successful.
tem tido sucesso.
with Ples and me.
comigo e com o Ples.
em sala de aula.
and we create a peace club.
das aulas e criámos um clube de paz.
these principles of nonviolence,
os princípios da não-violência,
and expulsions by 70 percent,
e expulsões em 70%,
my journey of forgiveness,
a minha viagem do perdão,
who killed my son.
que matou o meu filho.
because we were --
we locked eyeballs.
olhámo-nos olhos nos olhos.
he's looking in my eyes,
ele olha para os meus.
trying to find a murderer, and I didn't.
de um assassino, mas não encontro.
que percebi
was no different than the spark in me
não era diferente da minha
He was remorseful.
Ele tinha remorsos.
of forgiveness had changed him.
o tinha mudado.
my brother, Ples.
ao meu irmão, Ples.
and only daughter's one and only child.
da minha única filha.
job on the planet.
mais complicado do mundo.
than raising another human being
do que educar outro ser humano
seguro, protegido
to be successful in life.
para ter sucesso na vida.
in his life as a young kid.
na vida enquanto criança.
of automatic weapon fire
de armas automáticas
em Los Angeles.
in so many different ways.
de todas as formas possíveis.
he had everything a kid needed
que um garoto precisa
to try to be successful
para tentar ter sucesso
of being a successful person,
de se tornar alguém com sucesso,
Tony ran away from home that evening,
o Tony fugiu de casa nessa noite,
he thought were his friends,
serem amigos dele,
they would make him feel carefree.
que o fariam sentir-se despreocupado.
to make his anxiety go higher
foi aumentar a ansiedade dele
of an 18-year-old who commanded him
que mandava nele
he thought were his friends,
que julgava serem amigos dele,
contra Tariq Khamisa,
não há palavras
era responsável
that my grandson was responsible
like I was taught by my old folks,
tal como os meus pais me ensinaram
temos em comum
and I have in common,
maravilhosos seres humanos,
besides being wonderful human beings,
to seek guidance and clarity
de procurar orientação e claridade
of this man and his family in this loss.
e a família dele nesta perda.
to a meeting at this man's house,
em casa deste homem,
of God-spirited people led by this man,
com pessoas de fé guiadas por este homem,
deu-me a oportunidade
and to share with children
com ele e com as crianças
to be with a responsible adult,
a necessidade de ter um adulto responsável
in a way that's healthy,
de uma forma saudável,
in the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
na fundação Tariq Khamisa
for the kids to put in their toolkit
para as crianças guardarem
throughout their lives.
por toda a vida.
understand that loving, caring adults
percebam que os adultos afetuosos
that our children learn to meditate,
que as crianças aprendam a meditar,
with the other children
com as outras crianças
to share the love with children,
para partilhar o amor com crianças,
will lead the way for us,
vão abrir-nos caminho,
will depend on our children.
iremos depender das nossas crianças.
they will take over this world for us,
elas vão substituir-nos no mundo,
they will give it back to us.
mais elas nos vão retribuir.
I was educated in England,
fui educado em Inglaterra,
à Igreja Batista.
que sou eu o afro-americano do grupo.
I'm the African American in the group.
da responsabilidade
by an American child.
por uma criança norte-americana.
he killed my one and only son,
de que ele matou o meu único filho
no poste mais alto.
what happened to that young man.
sobre o que aconteceu ao jovem.
He just turned 37 on September 22,
Fez 37 anos no dia 22 de setembro,
to get him out for 12 years.
que ele saia, há 12 anos.
daqui a um ano.
para que ele se junte a nós,
tens of thousands of students
de milhares de estudantes
on a regular basis.
de forma regular.
"When I was 11, I joined a gang.
juntei-me a um gangue.
I murdered Mr. Khamisa's son.
o filho do Sr. Khamisa.
umpteen years in prison.
que não vale a pena",
will listen to that voice?
vão ouvir a voz dele?
that pulled the trigger.
que premiu o gatilho.
to turn the clock back.
voltar atrás no tempo.
Teria o meu filho de volta.
the power of forgiveness.
o poder do perdão.
our session with this quote,
com esta citação,
was written by Tony.
sustained goodwill creates friendship.
sustentada cria a amizade.
by bombing them, right?
a bombardeá-los, pois não?
cria a amizade,
cria confiança,
cria compaixão
trust, empathy, compassion and peace.
confiança, empatia, compaixão e paz.
how do you extend goodwill
como se expande a boa vontade
through forgiveness.
através do perdão.
funcionou para mim.
e para as vossas famílias,
North and South Korea,
para a Coreia do Norte e do Sul,
o Irão e a Síria.
the United States of America.
para os Estados Unidos da América.
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