Friday Closing Session

JOURNEY OF FORGIVENESS

Presenters: Azim Khamisa

Abstract Category: Leadership      

Instruction Level: All Levels

Presentation: Not Available

Abstract: 

What would you do if your 20 year old son was shot and killed by a 14 year old gang member while making a delivery for a pizza parlor? For Azim Khamisa, the answer was clear. He reached out to Ples Felix, the grandfather and guardian of his son’s killer. He believed that both had lost a boy to senseless gang violence. Tariq by murder, Tony by prison.
Khamisa and Felix formed an alliance that transforms their losses into a resolve to see that other families do not suffer such tragedies. “There were victims on both ends of the gun,” says Khamisa. “Ples and I have become like brothers.”
Today, Khamisa and Felix go into schools – together – to talk to students about Tariq’s death and about gangs, to help the kids talk about the awful effects of violence on their own lives, and to affirm that they will avoid violence themselves. Kids hearing the two men’s story and seeing them working together also get an unforgettable picture of a response to violence that is not more violence and hatred.
Azim’s motto… “Every time you talk one youngster out of committing homicide, you save two.”
Their message is simple, but profound:
1. Violence is real and hurts everyone.
2. Actions have consequences.
3. Youth can make good and nonviolent choices.
4. Youth can work towards forgiveness as opposed to seeking revenge.
5. Everyone deserves to be loved and treated well.