Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix: What comes after tragedy? Forgiveness
Azim Khamisa y Ples Felix: ¿Qué viene después de la tragedia? El perdón
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.
momentos que nos definen en la vida.
if we are able to make the right choice,
si podemos tomar la decisión correcta,
un estudiante universitario
a good photographer,
y un buen fotógrafo,
to work for National Geographic,
para National Geographic,
on Fridays and Saturdays.
los viernes y sábados.
to absorb a new, hideous reality.
de absorber una realidad nueva y espantosa.
my life to a crashing halt.
un alto a mi vida.
I've ever had to do
que tuve que hacer
who lived in a different city.
que vivía en otra ciudad.
she's never going to see her son again,
volverá a ver a su hijo de nuevo,
y la tragedia profunda,
at both ends of the gun.
a ambos lados del arma.
was a victim of the 14-year-old,
de un chico de 14 años,
that he was a victim of American society.
fue víctima de la sociedad de EE.UU.
well, who is American society?
¿quién es la sociedad de EE.UU.?
that society is just happenstance.
sea solo casualidad.
de la sociedad que hemos creado.
for the society we've created.
is not a mark of a civil society.
no es una señal de civilidad.
de la muerte de Tariq,
at the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
la Fundación Tariq Khamisa
que maten a otros niños
is to save lives of children.
es salvar la vida de los niños.
We lose so many on a daily basis.
Perdemos muchos niños todos los días.
so kids don't fall through the cracks
que los niños no caigan por las grietas
and drugs and alcohol and weapons.
crimen, drogas, alcohol y armas.
the principles of nonviolence,
los principios de la no violencia,
es un comportamiento aprendido.
a learned behavior,
un comportamiento aprendido,
I reached out to my brother here,
a mi hermano aquí presente,
that we had both lost a son.
habíamos perdido a un hijo.
to the adult prison system.
en el sistema penitenciario adulto.
we are still here together,
seguimos aquí juntos,
back from the dead,
de entre los muertos,
in our community
otro joven de nuestra comunidad
has been successful.
ha sido exitosa.
with Ples and me.
con Ples y conmigo.
mató al hijo de este hombre,
and we create a peace club.
de clase y creamos un club de paz.
these principles of nonviolence,
estos principios de no violencia
and expulsions by 70 percent,
y las expulsiones en un 70 %,
my journey of forgiveness,
who killed my son.
because we were --
we locked eyeballs.
cruzamos miradas.
he's looking in my eyes,
trying to find a murderer, and I didn't.
encontrar a un asesino y no fue así.
was no different than the spark in me
no era diferente de la chispa en mí
He was remorseful.
of forgiveness had changed him.
lo había cambiado.
my brother, Ples.
a mi hermano, Ples.
and only daughter's one and only child.
de mi única hija.
job on the planet.
más duro del planeta.
than raising another human being
que criar a otro ser humano
to be successful in life.
para ser exitoso en la vida.
in his life as a young kid.
en su vida de pequeño.
of automatic weapon fire
de armas automáticas
in so many different ways.
he had everything a kid needed
todo lo que un niño necesitaba
to try to be successful
por tratar de tener éxito
of being a successful person,
de ser una persona exitosa,
Tony ran away from home that evening,
Tony escapó de casa esa noche,
he thought were his friends,
que él creía eran sus amigos,
they would make him feel carefree.
lo harían sentir relajado.
to make his anxiety go higher
of an 18-year-old who commanded him
de 18 años que lo comandaba
he thought were his friends,
él pensaba que eran sus amigos,
that my grandson was responsible
like I was taught by my old folks,
como me enseñaron mis padres,
and I have in common,
tenemos en común,
besides being wonderful human beings,
maravillosos seres humanos,
to seek guidance and clarity
de buscar guía y claridad
of this man and his family in this loss.
y su familia ante esta pérdida.
fueron escuchadas,
to a meeting at this man's house,
en la casa de este hombre,
of God-spirited people led by this man,
espirituales guiadas por este hombre
and to share with children
y compartir con los niños
to be with a responsible adult,
de estar con un adulto responsable,
in a way that's healthy,
in the Tariq Khamisa Foundation
en la Fundación Tariq Khamisa
for the kids to put in their toolkit
throughout their lives.
understand that loving, caring adults
que hay adultos interesados y amorosos
that our children learn to meditate,
nuestros niños aprendan a meditar.
with the other children
en nuestra sociedad
to share the love with children,
para compartir el amor con los niños,
will lead the way for us,
nos marcarán el camino,
will depend on our children.
de nuestros niños.
they will take over this world for us,
se encargarán del mundo por nosotros
they will give it back to us.
ellos nos lo devolverán.
I was educated in England,
fui educado en Inglaterra,
I'm the African American in the group.
el afroestadounidense del grupo.
by an American child.
un niño de EE.UU.
he killed my one and only son,
de que mató a mi único hijo,
what happened to that young man.
preguntando qué le pasó a ese chico.
He just turned 37 on September 22,
de cumplir 37 el 22 de septiembre,
to get him out for 12 years.
de sacarlo durante 12 años.
de que se nos una,
tens of thousands of students
de miles de estudiantes
on a regular basis.
nos presentamos a diario.
"When I was 11, I joined a gang.
"Cuando tenía 11 me uní a una pandilla.
I murdered Mr. Khamisa's son.
maté al hijo del Sr. Khamisa.
umpteen years in prison.
años en prisión.
will listen to that voice?
escucharán esa voz?
that pulled the trigger.
que disparó el gatillo.
to turn the clock back.
Tendría a mi hijo de vuelta.
the power of forgiveness.
el poder del perdón.
para llevarse de aquí?
our session with this quote,
con esta frase,
was written by Tony.
fue escrito por Tony.
sustained goodwill creates friendship.
crea amistad".
by bombing them, right?
trust, empathy, compassion and peace.
confianza, empatía, compasión y paz.
how do you extend goodwill
¿cómo extiendo la buena voluntad
through forgiveness.
si funcionó para Tony,
North and South Korea,
Corea del Norte y del Sur,
the United States of America.
Estados Unidos de América.
mis hermanas,
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