Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix: What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness
عاظم خميسة وبيلز فيليكس: ماذا يتبعُ المأساة؟ المُسامحة والعفو
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.
لحظات مصيرية عديدة في حياتنا.
if we are able to make the right choice,
لو استطعنا أن نتخذ الخيار الصائب،
a good photographer,
to work for National Geographic,
في ناشيونال جيوغرافيك،
on Fridays and Saturdays.
إلى أصحابها أيام الجمعة والسبت.
بإطلاق النار عليه وقتله.
to absorb a new, hideous reality.
الحقيقة الجديدة المُروعة.
my life to a crashing halt.
توقف صادم مُحطًم.
I've ever had to do
who lived in a different city.
في مدينة أخرى.
she's never going to see her son again,
لن ترى ابنها مرة أخرى،
at both ends of the gun.
was a victim of the 14-year-old,
لغلام يبلغ 14 عام،
that he was a victim of American society.
كان ضحية المجتمع الأمريكي.
well, who is American society?
حسنًا! مَنْ هو المجتمع الأمريكي؟
that society is just happenstance.
for the society we've created.
عن المجتمع الذي صنعناه.
is not a mark of a civil society.
مؤشر للمجتمع المُتحضر.
at the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
is to save lives of children.
هي إنقاذ حياة الأطفال.
We lose so many on a daily basis.
من الأطفال كل يوم.
so kids don't fall through the cracks
وبذلك لا يقعُ الأطفال بين التصدعات
and drugs and alcohol and weapons.
والمخدرات والخُمور والأسلحة.
the principles of nonviolence,
a learned behavior,
سلوكًا مُكتسبًا أيضًا،
I reached out to my brother here,
that we had both lost a son.
to the adult prison system.
we are still here together,
back from the dead,
in our community
في مجتمعنا
has been successful.
with Ples and me.
and we create a peace club.
ونؤســسُ ناديًا للسلام.
these principles of nonviolence,
and expulsions by 70 percent,
والفصل من المدرسة بنسبة 70%،
my journey of forgiveness,
who killed my son.
because we were --
we locked eyeballs.
he's looking in my eyes,
trying to find a murderer, and I didn't.
ولكنني لم أجد.
was no different than the spark in me
عن الومضة التي في داخلي
He was remorseful.
of forgiveness had changed him.
my brother, Ples.
and only daughter's one and only child.
لابنتي الوحيدة.
job on the planet.
than raising another human being
أصعب من تربية إنسان آخر
to be successful in life.
in his life as a young kid.
في حياته كطفل صغير.
of automatic weapon fire
in so many different ways.
he had everything a kid needed
كل ما يحتاج إليه الطفل
to try to be successful
of being a successful person,
Tony ran away from home that evening,
هرب (توني) من البيت في ذلك المساء،
he thought were his friends,
they would make him feel carefree.
ستشعره بالسعادة وراحة البال.
to make his anxiety go higher
of an 18-year-old who commanded him
he thought were his friends,
that my grandson was responsible
like I was taught by my old folks,
كما تعلمتُ من رفاقي كبار السن،
and I have in common,
أنا والسيد (خميسة)،
besides being wonderful human beings,
إلى جانب كوننا كائنين رائعين،
to seek guidance and clarity
of this man and his family in this loss.
وأسرته في فقدانه لولده.
to a meeting at this man's house,
الأشخاص المؤمنين بالله بقيادة هذا الرجل،
of God-spirited people led by this man,
and to share with children
to be with a responsible adult,
in a way that's healthy,
بطريقة صحية،
in the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
for the kids to put in their toolkit
في حقيبة أدواتهم
throughout their lives.
understand that loving, caring adults
أن حب ورعاية الكبار
that our children learn to meditate,
أن يتعلم أطفالنا التأمل،
with the other children
to share the love with children,
مع الأطفال،
will lead the way for us,
will depend on our children.
they will take over this world for us,
سيتسملوا زمام أمور العالم من أجلنا،
they will give it back to us.
فسيعود ذلك لنا.
I was educated in England,
وتعلمتُ في (إنجلترا)،
I'm the African American in the group.
أنني أمريكي أفريقي في المجموعة.
by an American child.
من قِبَل طفل أمريكي.
he killed my one and only son,
"لقد قتل ابني الوحيد،
what happened to that young man.
ماذا حدث لذلك الشاب اليافع.
He just turned 37 on September 22,
ولقد بلغ للتو 37 عامًا في أيلول/سبتمبر 22،
to get him out for 12 years.
tens of thousands of students
on a regular basis.
"When I was 11, I joined a gang.
"عندما كنت 11 عامًا، انضممتُ إلى عصابة.
I murdered Mr. Khamisa's son.
قتلتُ ابن السيد (خميسة)،
umpteen years in prison.
لا يستحقُ الأمر كل ذلك،"
will listen to that voice?
سيستمعون إلى هذا الصوت؟
that pulled the trigger.
to turn the clock back.
the power of forgiveness.
our session with this quote,
was written by Tony.
من قِبَل (توني).
sustained goodwill creates friendship.
تحدثُ النوايا الحسنة المتواصلة الصداقة.
by bombing them, right?
أليس كذلك؟
trust, empathy, compassion and peace.
والتعاطف والرحمة والسلام.
how do you extend goodwill
كيف تعززُ النية الحسنة
through forgiveness.
North and South Korea,
مع شمال وجنوب (كوريا)،
the United States of America.
مع (الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية).
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