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	<title type="text">Life After Hate</title>
	<subtitle type="text">A Journal of Basic Human Goodness</subtitle>

	<updated>2012-03-26T04:36:55Z</updated>

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		<author>
			<name>Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira Ramalho</name>
						<uri>http://www.ceoramalho.blogspot.com/</uri>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Devonte Rosero Magia (italiano)]]></title>
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		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=48542</id>
		<updated>2012-03-26T04:36:55Z</updated>
		<published>2012-03-26T04:18:37Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[(<a title="Devonte Rosero Magic (English)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magic-english/">English</a> · <a title="Devonte Rosero Magia (español)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magia-espanol/">español</a> · <a title="Devonte Rosero Magie (Français)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magie-francais/">français</a> · <a title="Devonte Rosero Magia (português)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magia-portugues/">português</a>) Chi è stato Devonte Rosero prima che la magia trasformasse la sua vita? (Com’era la sua vita alla scuola, in famiglia e così via?)

Secondo i miei, fin da piccolo ho sempre dimostrato interesse per le arti ( il giocoliere, il magico ed il canto) più di quanto lo dimostravo negli studi. Mi ricordo di aver incontrato tante difficoltà per interagire con gli amici alla scuola. Poi quando ho cominciato la scuola media, ho avuto l’influenza degli amici diventando una persona aggressiva e addirittura ho cominciato a frequentare una “gang”.]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/devonte-rosero-magia-italiano/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Devonte-Magic.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><div id="attachment_48546" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 689px"><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/devonte-rosero-magia-italiano/devonte-magic/" rel="attachment wp-att-48546"><img class="size-full wp-image-48546" title="Devonte-Magic" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Devonte-Magic.jpg" alt="" width="679" height="966" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Questo piccolo animale è una rappresentazione di sentimentiuniversali parti ogni essere umano. L&#39;animale è stato creato attraverso la mia immaginazione, così si potrebbe dire che è finzione, ma nello stesso senso, non importa chi tu sei tu vedrai la creatura stessa sorridente e sarà fare una buona impressione su di voi, quindi è reale come qualcosa di altro. Come la connessione Devonte fa con le persone con la magia, la sua arte, è aprire gli occhi e universale. L&#39;arte è un catalizzatore per una rete di condividere la propria forma diespressione di sé, nonché la conoscenza degli altri &#39;troppo. Sapendoche la nostra mente può espandersi, creare ed esplorare all&#39;infinito è un pensiero molto liberatoria.</p></div>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><strong style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">(<a title="Devonte Rosero Magic (English)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magic-english/">English</a> · <a title="Devonte Rosero Magia (español)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magia-espanol/">español</a> · <a title="Devonte Rosero Magie (Français)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magie-francais/">français</a> · <a title="Devonte Rosero Magia (português)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/devonte-rosero-magia-portugues/">português</a>)</strong></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><strong style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Potresti presentare Devonte Rosero in un’unica frase?</strong></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Io sono un artista, filantropo, con lo scoppo nella vita di aumentare il benessere dell’umanità portando la gioia attraverso la magia.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Prima di tutto, ti chiedo di definire la parola “magia” nel senso di qualcosa che c’è il potere di trasformare le cose e, specialmente, di trasformare la gente:</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Allora, Come la magia è entrata nella tua vita e quanto è stata importante nella tua formazione come essere umano?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bene, magia per me è definita come qualcosa che è in grado di rendere possibile l’impossibile</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Quando guardiamo le nostre proprie vite, dobbiamo credere nei POTERI MAGICI che TUTTI NOI abbiamo di rendere una “situazione impossibile” , “apparentemente possibile”. Questa è la vera e costante magia della vita. </span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tutta questa magia è entrata nella mia vita quando ero appena un piccolo bambino curioso di 9 anni.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Chi è stato Devonte Rosero prima che la magia trasformasse la sua vita? (Com’era la sua vita alla scuola, in famiglia e così via?)</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Secondo i miei, fin da piccolo ho sempre dimostrato interesse per le arti ( il giocoliere, il magico ed il canto) più di quanto lo dimostravo negli studi. Mi ricordo di aver incontrato tante difficoltà per interagire con gli amici alla scuola. Poi quando ho cominciato la scuola media, ho avuto l’influenza degli amici diventando una persona aggressiva e addirittura ho cominciato a frequentare una “gang”.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Cosa t’ha fatto lasciar indietro il tuo sogno d’infanzia di fare la magia per esser membro di una “gang”?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Allora, la decisione è stata molto semplice: semplicemente lì ho trovato la considerazione, l’importanza e la notorietà che ancora non c’era facendo la magia a questa età.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Noi sappiamo che hai già passato per momenti difficili essendo più problematico quando eri membro ad una “gang” , allora, come potresti spiegare in poche parole a migliaia di giovani di tutto il mondo che un cambiamento è possibile, che dopo l’odio c’è la vita?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
Lo so che il cambiamento è possibile perché ne sono un esempio vivo così come tanti altri lo sono. Semplicemente ci vuole tempo per cercar questo cambiamento.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>E’ possibile affermare allora che la magia t’ha riportato la vita?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sì e NO. Evidentemente sono state le mie decisione che mi hanno riportato la vita. Ma sì, ho utilizzato la MAGIA come lo strumento principale per lasciar indietro la sofferenza e la mia autodistruzione personale. </span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Come hai avuto l’idea di aiutare altri bambini/ragazzini a cambiare la propria vita attraverso la magia come proprio tu hai fatto con te?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mi sono messo difronte a quest’idea dopo di fare una visita ad un ospedale in Reppublica Dominicana e rendermi conto che fare la magia non è appena un trattenimento ma è anche qualcosa che può sollevare. Così, il lavoro che ho cominciato a El Salvador porta tutto questo da un altro livello come ora io riesco a veder con il cambiamento che sta succedendo nelle vite di tanti bambini. </span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Tutti noi abbiamo della magia dentro di noi? Come occorre scoprirla?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Credo che tutti noi personifichiamo la magia della trasformazione e che non importa dove ci troviamo, tutti abbiamo una bacchetta magica chiamata “la decisione” che ci permette di cambiare magicamente situazioni apparentemente impossibile, possibile. Come per esempio in “Life after hate”. </span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Cosa significa veramente per te la frase: “</strong></span></span><em><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>Se non</strong></em></span></span></em><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>rendi la </strong></span></span><em><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>vita di qualcun</strong></em></span></span></em><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>altro migliore allora</strong></span></span><em><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em><strong>stai perdendo tempo.”? </strong></em></span></span></em></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Io credo che il segreto della vita stia in questo: nella decisione del sapere e volere donarsi sia nel riguardo della famiglia, del lavoro o semplicemente in un modo più concreto uscendo e cambiando il mondo. Se questo atteggiamento non fa parte della tua vita allora credo che veramente stia perdendo tempo.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Parlando ancora su questa frase, ci sono delle persone al mondo che ti ispirano a non mollare con questo tuo lavoro, persone cui esempio ammiri e vuoi seguire veramente?<br />
</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
Certamente, io ci credo che persone come Gandhi, Madre Teresa e uomini come Martin Luther King siano persone che hanno avuto poco ma hanno preso la decisione di intervenire con coscienza, anziché assistere passivamente, e hanno migliorato la vita della gente, di migliaia di persone. Questo per me è il vero poter che mi ispira. </span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">“<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Credo che se voglio qualcosa e mi impegno per realizzare un sogno posso farcela”. Questo ha veramente un senso per te? </strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Certo! Credo che l’insieme delle tue credenze sia quello che ti aiuta a percepire e fare distinzione tra possibile e l’impossibile. Siccome hai già la coscienza ed il potere di decisione sulle cose che puoi scegliere di credere o non credere, voglio dire che sei solo tu l’artefice della tua realtà e del tuo destino.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Cos’è per te “La magia senza confini” e qual è la tua partecipazione a questo progetto?</strong></span></span></p>
<p>“La magia senza confini” è una organizzazione esclusivamente per fini di solidarietà e senza scopo di lucro che insegna a fare la magia ai bambini soppratutto a quelli bambini che vivono nei paesi colpiti dalle guerre. Il mio titolo di studio specifico di magico e di insegnante di fare la magia presso la nostra scuola di magia a El Salvador mi permette di viaggiare ad ogni 3 mesi lì per lavorare con questi bambini con la magia anche come una possibilità di cambiamento che loro condivvidono nella loro comunità.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Hai già fatto spettacoli in molti paesi? Pretendi espandere e portare il tuo lavoro anche in altre parti del mondo?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
Il cielo è il limite ed il mio amore non c’è confine, spero un giorno di poter andare ad ogni paese e di poter dire: “ho piantato un seme qui”.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><br />
Se pensi di espandere la magia dappertutto allora credi che la magia sia qualcosa di universale, senza distinzione di lingua, religione insomma senza barriere culturali, è così? </strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">E’ così, la magia per me è uno dei migliori strumenti perché si sovrappone senza distinzione di classe sociale, sesso o età e come bene hai detto senza distinzione di lingua, religione e barriere culturali.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Tu credi che il tuo lavoro abbia questo potere di scatenare la fantasia e di accendere di nuovo i sogni ai bambini cui la vita sembra in qualche modo immersa nell’oscurità?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Certo di sì, o per lo meno questa è stata la mia intenzione. Credo che la cosa più preziosa che io abbia nella mia vita sia il mio amore e voglio continuare a regalarlo per il resto dei miei giorni con la speranza che la magia sia portatrice di luce a quelli bambini che affrontano momenti brutti e bui.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Cosa ti fa non mollare, ammettendo che hai tanti ostacoli da superare?</strong></span></span></p>
<p>Mi sento benedetto dal Signore e lo so che questa è la mia missione, rompendo tutte le barriere, perché lo so che sempre potrò essere un esempio per gli altri.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Hai già parlato tanto su di te, del tuo lavoro e delle tue idee ma comunque potresti lasciar qualche parole per la gente, specialmente per i bambini e per i raggazzi, perché possano sentirsi più rassicuranti e spinte a continuare a sognare?</strong></span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">E’ tutto qua. Il mio consiglio più grande è di continuare a sognare “senza alcun dubbio” che con lavoro duro e disciplina tutto è possibile. Ricordate di che sempre c’è qualcuno peggio di te e che se tu cominci a fare qualcosa puoi diventare una luce per questa persona. Dunque, sempre ami te stesso per aver la coscienza di che devi sempre continuare a crescere.</span></span></p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VZs23ibEdQQ" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">“<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Vorrei ringraziare la mia amica Leticia Vescovi per la traduzione in italiano. Il primo articolo pubblicato su questa rivista in questa bellissima lingua”</em></span></span></p>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Angela King</name>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Justice For [insert names of innocents lost for no reason at all]]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/justice-for-insert-names-of-innocents-lost-for-no-reason-at-all/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=48520</id>
		<updated>2012-03-26T04:35:36Z</updated>
		<published>2012-03-23T22:00:09Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I will never know what it is to be looked at as if I’m a criminal because of the color of my skin. Certainly, no one will ever expect me to snatch her purse. I will never be shot while walking home from a store because I was wearing my hoodie or because I looked ‘suspicious.’ And if I hid on a porch, I might be shooed off, but in all probability would not be shot and killed because of it. Why? Because I am white? Because I am a woman?]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/justice-for-insert-names-of-innocents-lost-for-no-reason-at-all/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/justicefor.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p><em><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/justice-for-insert-names-of-innocents-lost-for-no-reason-at-all/justicefor/" rel="attachment wp-att-48521"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-48521" title="justicefor" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/justicefor.jpg" alt="" width="414" height="445" /></a>“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”</em></p>
<p><em>Martin Luther King, Jr.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I am outraged. I am heartbroken. I am ashamed. And you should be, too.</p>
<p>On February 28, 2012 seventeen year old Trayvon Martin was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/20/trayvon-martin-final-moments_n_1366697.html" target="_blank">shot and killed</a> while he was walking back to his father’s home from a convenience store. He carried an iced tea and a bag of skittles he’d purchased and was talking to a friend on his cell phone. According to police records and a statement from the friend on the phone, Trayvon was followed, chased, and then shot by “a self appointed captain of the neighborhood watch.” <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57402215/outrage-over-trayvon-martin-shooting-spreads/" target="_blank">No charges</a> have been filed against the shooter even though <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/03/22/trayvon-martin-parents-speak-at-rally-in-new-york-city/" target="_blank">“police may have missed a racial slur uttered” </a>during the call placed to 9-1-1.</p>
<p>On March 3, 2012, twenty year old Bo Morrison was shot while hiding on a porch to escape the possible ramifications of attending a party where there was underage drinking. According to a postmortem blood alcohol test, Bo was intoxicated. He was not burglarizing, vandalizing, or violent. It was not his porch. He did not know the homeowner. And the homeowner shot and killed him. <a href="http://fox6now.com/2012/03/21/district-attorney-issues-no-charges-in-slinger-shooting/" target="_blank">No charges </a>have been filed against the homeowner.</p>
<p>I will never know what it is to be looked at as if I’m a criminal because of the color of my skin. Certainly, no one will ever expect me to snatch her purse. I will never be shot while walking home from a store because I was wearing my hoodie or because I looked ‘suspicious.’ And if I hid on a porch, I might be shooed off, but in all probability would not be shot and killed because of it. Why? Because I am white? Because I am a woman?</p>
<p>Too often, I read about incidents such as these. Too often, I also read about a miscarriage of justice, and I cannot help but ask, were these young men shot and killed because they were committing horrific acts against their fellow human beings, or were they shot and killed because they were black? Perhaps even more important, I have to ask why there is no accountability. Have we become so desensitized to death and violence that it isn’t even worth our time to speak up? Or, does it matter less because the victims were black?</p>
<p>I am in no way calling for more violence, or more death. I am not seeking for the individuals who committed these murders to be rounded up, dragged through the streets, and lynched. What I am calling for is justice. What I do advocate is that we think critically about the events that transpired, about the measures that were taken, about the fact that a cry, no, a demand, for justice would overshadow everything else if it were a black man at the other end of the gun, were it a Muslim at the other end of the gun. If it were a white man, woman, or young adult who was shot and killed, would local law enforcement drag their collective feet? Would they be debating about whether or not to bring charges against the shooter? I am obliged to think there would be no such feet-dragging were it the other way around.</p>
<p>As human beings, we have a responsibility and the ability to speak up and speak out about the things we know to be wrong. About travesties of justice. About senseless violence. About the loss of innocent lives. About the fact that the rules that apply to some of us, do not apply to all of us. We must speak up for those who are no longer able to speak up for themselves. I ask that you take this stand with me. I ask that you raise your voices to make this world a better place for everyone, not just some of us. I ask you to remember. I ask you to make a difference in the world around you.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/DemandJusticeForTrayvonMartin" target="_blank">Trayvon Martin</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003643322847" target="_blank">Bo Morrison</a></p>
]]></content>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Harjit Singh</name>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Hate the Hate]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/hate-the-hate/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=48506</id>
		<updated>2012-03-24T04:12:21Z</updated>
		<published>2012-03-20T03:47:27Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Diversity is the best policy to embrace,
In our world, racism should have no place.

When one teaches hate, it leads to pain and sorrow,
When one teaches love, it builds a better tomorrow.

One race, human race, together we live or like fools die,
God-chosen race is just a racist-chosen lie.

All hatred of humans is totally senseless,
And bullying of the “other” defenceless.

Regardless of complexion,
We all need compassion.

We must fight against all isms that divide the human race,
Let's remember we came from the same source; be it nature or God’s grace.

There’s enough hate and ignorance to go around,
Open your heart and find a common ground.]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/hate-the-hate/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/hate-the-hate.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/hate-the-hate/hate-the-hate/" rel="attachment wp-att-48508"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-48508" title="hate-the-hate" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/hate-the-hate.jpg" alt="" width="975" height="522" /></a></p>
<p><em>Harjit Singh Sagoo</em>: Diversity is the best policy to embrace,</p>
<p>In our world, racism should have no place.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Johnny Lee Clary</em>: When one teaches hate, it leads to pain and sorrow,</p>
<p>When one teaches love, it builds a better tomorrow.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Letlapa Mphahlele</em>: One race, human race, together we live or like fools die,</p>
<p>God-chosen race is just a racist-chosen lie.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Stephen Adler</em>: All hatred of humans is totally senseless,</p>
<p>And bullying of the “other” defenceless.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Arno Michaels</em>: Regardless of complexion,</p>
<p>We all need compassion.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Vibert White</em>: We must fight against all isms that divide the human race,</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s remember we came from the same source; be it nature or God’s grace.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Rais Bhuiyan</em>: There’s enough hate and ignorance to go around,</p>
<p>Open your heart and find a common ground.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>BIOGRAPHIES:</p>
<p><strong>Johnny Lee Clary</strong> (born 1959) is a former National Leader of the Ku Klux Klan who became a Pentecostal Christian and now travels around the globe preaching the gospel and teaching against racism and hate groups. He has appeared on several talk shows to speak about his conversion to an anti-racism preacher. His story appears in the book, <a title="The Day I Met God" href="http://www.amazon.com/Day-Met-God-Extraordinary-Changing/dp/1576737861" target="_blank">The Day I Met God</a> (2001). He has now been ordained as an official Elder Minister in the Church Of God In Christ (COGIC), America&#8217;s Largest African-American denomination with over 6 million members.</p>
<p><strong>Letlapa Mphahlele</strong> (born 1960) is the former Operations Director of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of The Pan African Congress (PAC). He masterminded the 1993 Heidelberg massacre and other attacks on white targets in South Africa. In 2002 he met Ginn Fourie, mother of Lyndi, one of the Heidelberg victims. Together they founded the <a title="Lyndi Fourie Foundation" href="http://www.lyndifouriefoundation.org.za/" target="_blank">Lyndi Fourie Foundation</a>, and he now strives to reach out to the all sides of the struggle, helping them to mutually restore their humanity.</p>
<p><strong>Stephen Adler</strong> (born 1930) was saved from the Holocaust when his parents sent him as a child to England on the Kindertransport (Children’s Transport), the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Most children who were saved by the Kindertransport program became orphans. Their parents did not survive the Holocaust. Today he is a member of the <a title="Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center" href="http://www.wsherc.org/" target="_blank">Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center</a>’s Speakers Bureau.</p>
<p><strong>Arno Michaels</strong> (born 1970) is an American former Skinhead and ex-lead singer of a &#8216;race-metal&#8217; band, author of My Life After Hate (2010) &#8211; his memoir, and co-founder of Life After Hate (at lifeafterhate.org), a monthly e-publication and beacon organization for those who have experienced hate in their lives and are now dedicated to fostering diversity. He has also launched an initiative called <a title="Kindness Not Weakness" href="http://kindnessnotweakness.org" target="_blank">Kindness Not Weakness</a> in partnership with Frank Meeink and Sammy Rangel to address bullying and drug abuse.</p>
<p><strong>Vibert Leslie White, Ph.D.</strong> (born 1958) is a former member of the Nation of Islam, an African-American new religious movement which teaches black supremacy and principles of Islam. He become an NOI minister, adviser for the 1995 Million Man March, travelled to meetings in the Middle East with such figures as Muammar Gaddafi and Yasser Arafat. He later left the NOI, disagreeing with the organization&#8217;s administrative structure and its direction of anti-Semitism theory of racial hostility. He authored the book, Inside the Nation of Islam. Currently, he’s a history professor at the University Central Florida.</p>
<p><strong>Rais Bhuiyan</strong> (born 1974) is a Bangladeshi American who survived a racist shooting in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. 41-year-old Texas man Mark Anthony Stroman, who once belonged to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison, shot him in the face in an attempt to kill him, but he survived &#8211; losing sight in one of his eyes. Two other men were killed in the shooting spree with Mark believing they were Arabs. As an act of mercy, Rais appealed to the courts to save Mark from the death penalty. He had started a movement for saving Mark named <a title="World Without Hate" href="http://worldwithouthate.org/" target="_blank">World Without Hate</a>. Rais currently works as a technology professional in Dallas, USA.</p>
<p><strong>Harjit Singh Sagoo</strong> &#8211; I was born in 1984 and am a freelance writer, inspired and motivated by <a title="Sikhs" href="http://www.sikhs.org/" target="_blank">Sikh</a> philosophy which promotes religious unity, racial equality, and gender fairness among many other beliefs and principles.</p>
<div id="attachment_48507" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 734px"><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/hate-the-hate/young-steve/" rel="attachment wp-att-48507"><img class="size-full wp-image-48507" title="young-steve" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/young-steve.jpg" alt="" width="724" height="1024" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Stephen Adler: 1939 German Passport</p></div>
]]></content>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Callen Harty</name>
						<uri>http://www.callenharty.com</uri>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A Fallen Soldier]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/a-fallen-soldier/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=48193</id>
		<updated>2012-03-20T03:35:14Z</updated>
		<published>2012-03-14T02:01:24Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Yesterday a distant cousin of mine, only thirty years old, was killed in Afghanistan, or at least word of his death came yesterday around 5:00 p.m. I can find no mention of it in the newspapers or online. It may be that authorities are still contacting relatives or unwilling to release further information at this [...]]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/a-fallen-soldier/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/peace-rally.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/a-fallen-soldier/peace-rally/" rel="attachment wp-att-48194"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-48194" title="peace-rally" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/peace-rally.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="720" /></a>Yesterday a distant cousin of mine, only thirty years old, was killed in Afghanistan, or at least word of his death came yesterday around 5:00 p.m. I can find no mention of it in the newspapers or online. It may be that authorities are still contacting relatives or unwilling to release further information at this time. After all, it is a very tense time there now due to last weekend’s massacre of innocent civilians, including nine children, by an apparently disturbed American solider who left his base and went to several villages and randomly killed sixteen people.</p>
<p>It is not as if I knew Jesse, and yet the news of his death has affected me deeply and saddened me in ways that I could not have expected. I grew up with his mother and uncles in a small town in southwestern Wisconsin. We knew each other well. I still hang out occasionally with his uncle, someone I have also worked with in the theater. I haven’t seen her for years, but I remember his mother as a sweet young woman with a good heart. Today my heart aches for the whole family.</p>
<p>This death gives me pause.</p>
<p>All I can think is that violence begets violence. I am a man of peace in a world that has little concern for peace. Every year peace prizes are awarded, words and speeches praising the pursuit of peace are spoken, peacemakers and “the Prince of Peace” are lionized, and still the wars rage on endlessly. We should have evolved further than this. There is no room in my moral universe for war and yet the physical universe I inhabit is full of war, skirmishes, and violence of all sorts. The sword is not only mightier than the ploughshare, but far more prevalent. The death of this young man is senseless. But so were the deaths of innocent civilians asleep in their villages in the middle of night. So were all the deaths of soldiers and civilians in both Afghanistan and Iraq over the last decade. Where does it end? We need to ask this question.</p>
<p>Simply put, we have no reason to be in Afghanistan. I have yet to hear a good explanation for why we were ever there, let alone why we remain. Before it started there were those of us who believed that our primary purpose in going there was economic, which is the reason for most wars, and it was particularly due to a large pipeline that our government may have wanted to control. American citizens were told by the Administration that we were going there to hunt down Osama bin Laden, the accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. The 9/11 attack has been the handy excuse for every illicit action of our government the last ten years. But it quickly became apparent that Osama bin Laden was no longer in Afghanistan. Did we move our troops to Pakistan? No. We eventually found him and killed him in Pakistan, but the troops remained in Afghanistan. Again, I have yet to hear a coherent reason why.</p>
<p>None of the political machinations and rationales matter much to a grieving family. It would be nice if they could believe that their boy died for a greater cause. I am not finding that belief right now. I can only hope that maybe his death will be the last one there, but I am not finding much hope in that either. May he rest. In peace. And may we continue to work for peace for all, in the ultimate hope that no more mothers will have to suffer this kind of news.</p>
]]></content>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Charles Ryder</name>
						<uri>http://www.charlieryder.co.uk/</uri>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Art of Forgiveness: Part 2]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/the-art-of-forgiveness-part-2/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=47502</id>
		<updated>2012-03-14T01:59:53Z</updated>
		<published>2012-03-08T22:05:22Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[After the bombing my recovery was slow and painful. Physical healing took place as a matter of course, but the damage done to my heart and soul by such violence I still carry today. For years it felt like the trauma had ripped my soul out of my body; there was an incredible feeling of detachment, fracture and fragmentation of my entire integrity…..between body, soul, mind and spirit. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is such a debilitating condition – capable of disabling our bodies and thinking alike. The soul needs to be loved back into being, and given the opportunity and space to return in its own time when the conditions are right.]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/the-art-of-forgiveness-part-2/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/art-of-forgiveness-002-1024x690.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/the-art-of-forgiveness-part-2/art-of-forgiveness-002/" rel="attachment wp-att-47504"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-47504" title="art-of-forgiveness-002" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/art-of-forgiveness-002-1024x690.jpg" alt="" width="922" height="621" /></a></p>
<p><strong style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you for the kind words I received for <em>The Art of Forgiveness: Part 1</em>. In part 2 we start with a prisoner who gives a very honest account of the difficult issues that he is faced with on the subject of forgiveness. Then Sue Hanisch gives us a very enlightening contribution to forgiveness which artist-in-prison Andrew has illustrated.</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Forgiveness: the act of letting go, to pardon an offence. How appropriate that a life sentenced prisoner should write about that, something they will never experience again in the hearts of many.</em></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>Perhaps as I don’t forgive myself that makes it impossible to believe one of my victims could forgive me. They are obviously better than me and perhaps in some ways they have let go of their anger and resentment, but to truly forgive someone like me is difficult and something only they will ever know, and not something given easily. Why should they forgive me? Why should any victim forgive their persecutors? And yet some do.</em></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>I stare at the bars every day and accept that what I did was wrong. Release will not diminish that guilt, but it may allow me to try and redress the balance of my life and give something positive back. I may never be allowed to do so, but it is my goal to try—to achieve it wherever I am despite prison, not because of it. This makes prison difficult because you are not in a forgiving environment. Perhaps it is simply a lack of self esteem that makes me feel unworthy of forgiveness and unable to let go of my shame and move on, but if I never hurt anyone again that’s a price worth paying isn’t it?”</em></span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><a title="The Forgiveness Project" href="http://theforgivenessproject.com/" target="_blank">The Forgiveness Project</a> has many inspiring and moving testimonies which I would recommend for anyone interested in this area. This was where I came across <a title="The Forgiveness Project: Sue Hanisch" href="http://theforgivenessproject.com/stories/sue-hanisch-england/" target="_blank">Sue Hanisch’s story</a>.</strong></span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In 1991 Sue Hanisch was caught up in an IRA bombing at Victoria Station, London, England. It was the first bombing on the mainland for several years, which tried to bring attention to the IRA as the first Gulf war was beginning. 40 people were injured that day and Sue lost her right leg and suffered severe permanent injuries to her left foot, as well as to her right hand. </span></span></strong></p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After the bombing my recovery was slow and painful. Physical healing took place as a matter of course, but the damage done to my heart and soul by such violence I still carry today. For years it felt like the trauma had ripped my soul out of my body; there was an incredible feeling of detachment, fracture and fragmentation of my entire integrity…..between body, soul, mind and spirit. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is such a debilitating condition – capable of disabling our bodies and thinking alike. The soul needs to be loved back into being, and given the opportunity and space to return in its own time when the conditions are right.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I compare the feeling of sensing loss and feeling lost to the experience of jet-lag. The body flies for hours overseas, but it is days later before the soul catches up. The body goes through the motions of getting back to &#8216;normal&#8217; in everyday life, but there is a considerable delay before the inner, cellular adjustment takes place. I realize that for some this process of re-integration is never complete. I suppose the sensations are similar to an adolescent identity crisis, many feelings are completely alien and there is a very strong sense that you do not know who you are anymore. It is a lonely, frightening time, one of withdrawal and detachment from people and surroundings. For me the sense of my soul being ripped away was shocking and terrifying; the need for hyper-vigilance was intense.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Only nine years later did I get any relief from the intense trauma by using the ‘rewind technique’, which was administered to me by a <a title="Human Givens Institute" href="http://hgi.org.uk/" target="_blank">Human Givens</a> practitioner. Previously I had received hours and hours of person-centered counseling which had only made matters worse. We would go over and over what had happened to me….we would try to normalize my belief system and try to reframe all my experiences….but still I felt even more hopeless about any permanent relief. Thankfully, in the technique used by the Human Givens approach, the traumatic memories from the bombing and all the negative body-image/self-worth issues were effectively de-traumatized and I was able to stand back at last and see the bigger picture of my life and its meaning.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I believe my soul was nurtured back to life by experiencing once again acts of kindness, seeing things of beauty, experiencing trustworthy relationships with real, honest people of deep character…..even singing to my soul…and dancing with my life. Abraham Lincoln said &#8216;encouragement is oxygen to the soul&#8217;. In all I do I appreciate encouragement from others and when it does not come from external sources I have to ensure I encourage myself. Until we get the offenses in our lives out of the way there can be no progress.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Through my experience I have come to believe that we are all equally capable of being the victim and the perpetrator, and sometimes we can be both at the same time. In normal daily interactions we all need to be heard and need to listen, there are always at least two sides to a story. Each individual act of violence is a separate fact from every other and whether we choose to forgive it is a personal, private, individual decision, which should not be forced or expected by another. The choice to forgive is counter-intuitive and counter-instinctive, but when it happens it is a moment of true transformation and grace. A miracle has taken place before our eyes and in our hearts.”</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>I contacted Sue and asked her if she would write a piece on the Art of Forgiveness and she responded with this beautiful article entitled <em>At peace or in pieces:</em></strong></span></span></span></p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are times in all of our lives, when the music stops, doesn&#8217;t it? And there is little or nothing we can do on our own to get it going again. For me the music stopped at Victoria Station, London, on a Monday morning, 18<sup>th</sup> February 1991&#8230;it was 10 to 8, just time for &#8216;Thought for the Day&#8217; and I was a 31 year-old, happily married Occupational Therapist, living in Holland and planning to move over to work in South Africa within the month. I was only in London for the weekend.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is nothing quite like an IRA bomb, hidden in a cast iron litter bin to turn the safety of your world into a living hell and change all your plans forever.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had no legs to stand on and I was on my knees literally and metaphorically, the trauma and isolation which followed engulfed me and held me in a trapped state of terror for 10 years. Little or no relief was gained from any source.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All trust and belief in my world, my ability and my safety had been blown away, as far as the east is from the west. My confidence was left at the scene of the crime and I became more withdrawn as there was no one around with whom to share my loss, my grief, my broken heart and my shattered life.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The sense of being stuck in silence is what lead me to a terror beyond terror: the loneliness, the fear, the panic that this would last forever&#8230;.. The hard, brittle casing which then developed was a direct response to the hurt experienced, and in silence I slipped away into a place I did not know and where it was too painful to feel or understand the state I was in.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But I carried on as &#8216;usual&#8217;. Crippled and missing legs, disabled thinking and frozen emotions encased me, but my soul was missing, so where was I? The sense of immobility and lack of feeling is truly disabling, in body, mind and spirit&#8230;. no wonder so many &#8216;survivors&#8217; find survival an impossible option in the aftermath and take their own lives.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dying would have been easier; surviving is the hard bit, not least because it goes on and on and on….</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My silent wilderness lasted for 10 years, not intentionally, as I was merely being washed downstream by things around me, confused and &#8216;absent without soul.&#8217; Blocked in and locked in, in every direction. During this time little morsels of healing came in various art forms. <a title="Michael Leunig Cartoons" href="http://www.leunig.com.au/cartoons/" target="_blank">Michael Leunig’s cartoons </a>offered an incredible insight to me, which helped me realise other people had noticed the irony of our profanity and our divinity.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Artworks in mental health exhibitions put into pictures other peoples’ vulnerability when they had been exposed to themselves and the world….these revelations of other peoples’ inner worlds were enlightening and humbling and so comforting—appreciating that there are fellow inmates within the silence, all around.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Writing and drawing, colouring and doodling offered alternative modes of expression as I tried to create some sense out of nonsense. I used puppetry with my nephews and nieces and developed happy, silly characters who wanted to play, have fun, be silly, and express their ability and courage to live.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Music such as Bach’s <em>Bist Du bei Mir</em> held me and comforted me in my isolation. Drumming with Aboriginal people in Australia created a situation where my soul started to feel it could begin it’s return to my body…and I created the term &#8216;Jetlag of the soul&#8217; as I began to feel reconnected with my inner life and that I was on the journey home. <a title="Maddy Prior" href="http://www.maddyprior.co.uk/index.htm" target="_blank">Maddy Prior’s circular dancing</a> and music offered some restoration at a cellular level, slowly and gradually healing started finding its way to find me, in conjunction with my healing from the inside out.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Being &#8216;found out&#8217; and having to face myself in my naked humanity, I resisted and delayed and truly wanted to avoid this rendezvous with myself. And yet this is where the real art of forgiveness took place, when I found a place to forgive myself for living. The survival guilt had been too painful to address. How could I have dared to live when the man next to me had been killed, which saved my life? Once I had accepted forgiveness for myself from myself, there was nothing else to fear and nothing else to forgive. What a miracle that this happens surreptitiously over time within us. It creeps up on us in many forms and guises… and what a release when it comes and one realises that this is where the true healing and restoration lies, and it has been happening in silence all along! And all along I was known, loved and forgiven intimately, but I had been rejecting my own forgiveness.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What a blessing now to share healthy times with myself and with others, once again at home in my body, accepting, loving and trusting all that is, knowing that there is now no resistance to the love which surrounds me and dwells within me. The pain and trauma can be honoured along with equal amounts of fun and friendship, and my personal experiences now enable me to engage in trauma work with other individuals of all ages for our mutual benefit in a profound knowledge that we are sharing the journey.”</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #000000;">I invited Andrew, an artist-in-prison to respond to Sue’s article. Andrew wrote this description of his illustration of Sue’s story:</span></strong></span></span></p>
<p>“<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>A lone female (Sue) sits naked offering her unconditional forgiveness and bravely hiding nothing. Light swirls are touching her body representing that her soul is returning to her. Music is dancing back into her life replacing the numbness she has felt for so long. The silent chains are what have prevented Sue from reaching her lost soul though they are broken. A wolf sits patiently beside her protecting her during the most vulnerable experiences she encounters. The Wolf is also Sue’s quiet companion to keep her spirits glowing. The heart belongs to Sue. Its presence shows how genuine she really is. It is a symbol of the enormous amount of love she is yet to receive.</em></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>The whole picture has space, emphasizing that Sue’s progress will be slow and painful. In her own time, the emptiness will be filled by her own achievements. Sue is an incredible lady whose suffering can never be measured or justified. Her forgiveness must be like picking flowers from a field of nettles, she knows it will be painful, but the flowers are worth picking whatever the cost.</em></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>My heart goes out to someone I don’t even know and I will never forget.” </em></span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Miguellewis</name>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[atoms]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/atoms/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=47061</id>
		<updated>2012-03-08T21:55:31Z</updated>
		<published>2012-03-06T04:01:06Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="People. Poetry. Peace." />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[&#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; Atoms make molecules. Molecules make minerals. Minerals make cells. Cells make tissues. Tissues make organs. Organs make organisms. Organisms make populations. Populations make planets. Planets make solar systems. Solar systems make galaxies. Galaxies make universes. Universes make atoms.]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/atoms/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/molecule.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/03/atoms/molecule/" rel="attachment wp-att-47062"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-47062" title="molecule" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/molecule.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="582" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h1>Atoms make molecules.<br />
Molecules make minerals.<br />
Minerals make cells.<br />
Cells make tissues.<br />
Tissues make organs.<br />
Organs make organisms.<br />
Organisms make populations.<br />
Populations make planets.<br />
Planets make solar systems.<br />
Solar systems make galaxies.<br />
Galaxies make universes.<br />
Universes make atoms.</h1>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Sayra Mobeen</name>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Bloom After Blast]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/bloom-after-blast/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=46077</id>
		<updated>2012-03-06T03:56:23Z</updated>
		<published>2012-02-29T03:31:43Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 26" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The twin blasts in my University that day changed my life, as it was the first strike on women students in Islamabad. This incident left a deep effect on my life. Bringing me face to face with a disaster which in its wake brought a lot of challenges.

Sadly I am a victim of that incident, but I have been lucky to survive to tell my story, and look at life in a different perspective.]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/bloom-after-blast/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Flower_Ashes_2_by_DennisAllendorf-1024x768.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><div id="attachment_46078" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 665px"><a href="http://dennisallendorf.deviantart.com/art/Flower-Ashes-2-167746483"><img class=" wp-image-46078  " title="Flower_Ashes_2_by_DennisAllendorf" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Flower_Ashes_2_by_DennisAllendorf-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="655" height="491" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">©2010-2012 ~DennisAllendorf dennisallendorf.deviantart.com</p></div>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The morning of 0ctober 20th 2009 was delightful and astonishing for me, but not for Pakistan. I was happy to go to classes for my studies and be with my friends, ignoring the years of unending dilemma of my country facing the threat of terrorism; that every face showed pain did not matter to me.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am not a keen follower of the news, and that is why I could not feel the pain people faced by being in a bomb blast, or of losing a loved one in a terrorist attack.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The twin blasts in my University that day changed my life, as it was the first strike on women students in Islamabad. This incident left a deep effect on my life. Bringing me face to face with a disaster which in its wake brought a lot of challenges.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sadly I am a victim of that incident, but I have been lucky to survive to tell my story, and look at life in a different perspective.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I remember that day after classes I came back in my hostel room at about 2:45 pm. My friend Umme Kalsoom came to my room and asked me to accompany her to the cafeteria, so I got up and we left.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We went to the cafeteria fruit shop but they had sold out. I don’t know why we were in hurry that day to go in the café, as we both ignored our class fellows who were sitting outside the café asking us to join them, and entered the main hall of the cafeteria.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We bought salad and some other eatables and sat inside the café on the left side of the hall, we still did not join our friends outside! We realized that we had not bought soft drinks so I went and bought some.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I reached near the fountain in the hall, on my way back to our table, I suddenly heard a dreadful sound, and saw lots of smoke. My ears were deafened. I felt as if I had been hit by something forcefully. I was disoriented and fell down. The pain made me realize I was hurt and I could feel it on my body, arms, legs, forehead and chest. Later I found that the major injuries I received were on my chest.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Humble thanks to Almighty Allah that I was in my senses and tried to walk away from the cafeteria to save myself, but could not. I then saw my friends coming back to look for me. My shirt was full of blood which was coming from the wounds on my head and chest. When Umme Kulsoom saw me in this critical condition she started crying.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I asked Umme Kulsoom to look for my cell phone which I lost in this melee so I could call my family. She asked a female employee of café to look after me while she went to look for help.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was feeling afraid because of the blast, not for the pain or my injuries. The café staff told me I had severe injuries so I should go to the hospital, and tried to put me in a taxi. I refused because I did not want to go alone by taxi. The staff then left me and walked away, which hurt me more. I missed my family and friends and started to cry.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, my friends came looking for me, and picked me up. I was in great pain, and they took me to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). The doctors decided to undertake surgery because of the nature of my injuries. I was very afraid because I knew my family was not with me, and I did not know what would be the result of the operation. But that is perhaps what saved my life.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After initial treatment in the PIMS, and in view of the nature of my injuries, I was sent to the Combined Military Hospital at Mangla Cantonment for treatment. I underwent treatment at Mangla and suffered lots of pain and surgical interventions for approximately four months. During this period my family and I suffered a lot, as they had to arrange for a place to live at Mangla, and commute from Abbottabad to Mangla regularly.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My injuries were similar to the injuries that soldiers receive on the battlefield. The doctors at Mangla took great pains to remove the pieces of shrapnel and other stuff in my body, but even then, they could not remove all, and some non-life-threatening pieces of the material that was used in the suicide jacket are still in my body and will remain in me for my life. It hurts at times, but at least I am alive.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I said, I did not pay attention to news of bomb blasts when I saw it on television, or read about it in the newspapers, therefore I could not assess the pain of others—especially those who suffered during terrorist or suicide attacks. </span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Since my ordeal, I can recognize the pain and difficulties of survivors and victims like me, and Allahmdolliah I can empathize with them and help them in their recovery from trauma.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This unpleasant incident did not close the door of life on me; it showed me the other and pleasant direction of life. I am happy, and grateful to Allah that I am passing my life normally, thanks to my family, friends, and many other people who helped me recover, and this has strengthened my belief in the saying, “Obstacles come in life to crush one, or make one like a diamond.”</span></span></p>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Angela King</name>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Road We Walk]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/the-road-we-walk/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=45587</id>
		<updated>2012-02-28T18:54:58Z</updated>
		<published>2012-02-23T03:43:36Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 25" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[February 21, 2012, marked the forty-seventh anniversary of the murder of Malcolm X. What does that mean for us? What should it mean for us? As individuals? As a community that wages peace? If one described Malcolm X’s life in accordance with the information proffered by mainstream American history, it would be easy to say [...]]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/the-road-we-walk/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/i25cover.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/the-road-we-walk/i25cover/" rel="attachment wp-att-45588"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-45588" title="i25cover" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/i25cover.jpg" alt="" width="459" height="659" /></a></p>
<p>February 21, 2012, marked the forty-seventh anniversary of the murder of Malcolm X. What does that mean for us? What should it mean for us? As individuals? As a community that wages peace?</p>
<p>If one described Malcolm X’s life in accordance with the information proffered by mainstream American history, it would be easy to say he was no more than a racist who advocated violence. Sadly, history is not always forthright, and in this case, it regularly paints a picture amiss of an accurate account of Malcolm X’s life. There is no denying that for a portion of his life Malcolm X espoused separatist beliefs. However, to focus solely on that period of thought is to effect a disservice that neglects mitigating factors: Malcolm X experienced violence and racism directed toward himself as well as his family, which began before he was born and continued throughout his life. While there is no place for violence among those who are sincere about waging peace, the circumstances of his life, and specifically, the mistreatment and oppression he and other African-Americans faced, must not be ignored. As much as this is incontrovertibly true, another truth is that by the time Malcolm X was assassinated, Islam had evolved his world view into a desire for peace.</p>
<p>In an interview given in January 1965, the month before his death, Malcolm X is quoted thus: “I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.”</p>
<p>Had he not been murdered forty-seven years ago, I have no doubt that Malcolm X would be walking the road of peace with us today. The forty-seventh anniversary of his death signifies not only the devastating effects of violence, or the loss of human life, it also signifies the fact that forty-seven years ago we lost a human being with enormous potential as an agent of change, as an example of the innate human need to give and receive compassion, and as a beacon exemplifying the transformative, raw power of waging peace. As such, Life After Hate honors Malcolm X for the remarkable transformation he exhibited, and for the effort he put forth to ensure human rights for all human beings.</p>
<p>When asked to write the editorial for the 25th Issue of Life After Hate, my mind went into overdrive. With so much going on in the world, with so many things that matter to so many people, how could I narrow it down and keep from writing an entirely new Issue; Issue 26, perhaps?</p>
<p>After rereading the incredibly moving pieces that make up Issue 25, as well as a thread about the forty-seventh anniversary of Malcolm X’s death, which unfolded on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lifeafterhate/posts/10150681712870239?ref=notif&amp;notif_t=feed_comment">Life After Hate’s Facebook </a>page, I knew I’d found my road &#8211; our road.</p>
<p>I arrived on this road of peace after renouncing my own racist beliefs &#8211; I am a former white supremacist who was involved in the racist underground for nearly a decade. I have now been waging peace for more than a decade. It is with gratitude, love, and respect that I find myself included with others who walk this road of peace &#8211; those who share their experiences, thoughts, hardships, triumphs, and personal accounts of the paths they took to arrive on this road.</p>
<p>Issue 25 illustrates that although we did not all take the same paths, arrive at the same time, or in the same way(s), this is a road that we walk together &#8211; a road of peace.</p>
<p>Charles Ryder presented us with the first of what we hope will be many more thought-provoking pieces chronicling the intricacies and far-reaching power of forgiveness with <a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/01/the-art-of-forgiveness-part-1/">The Art of Forgiveness: Part 1</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/01/in-captivity-the-sky-is-always-there-stories-of-healing/">In Captivity &#8230; The Sky is Always There: Stories of Healing</a>, penned by LAH friend and author Kathrina Hren, is a powerful interview with Camilla Carr and Jonathan James, who were kidnapped by Chechen rebels and held in captivity for nearly 15 months. Kathrina’s own introspection during the course of her meeting with Camilla and Jonathan embodies the organic power of healing and forgiveness that they exude.</p>
<p>Callen Harty, another inspiring forward-thinker and LAH regular, challenged us to continue striving toward equality for all human beings with <a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/a-day-for-us/">A Day For Us</a>.</p>
<p>Jo Berry, of the <a href="http://www.againstviolentextremism.org/">A.V.E.</a> network, honored us with her first LAH piece, <a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/bridges-can-be-built/">Bridges Can Be Built</a>, which is a poem she wrote and shared with the man who killed her father. Jo’s reflection on the loss of her father and the courage to forgive the man who took his life deeply humbles and inspires us to continue reaching across the lines that divide us.</p>
<p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/o-mundo-e-sua-historia-foram-construidos-por-guerreiros/">O Mundo e Sua História Foram Construídos Por Guerreiros</a>, written by Carlos Eduardo De Oliveira Ramalho, enlightened us about the inspiring work of Chico Mendes, and reminded us that true warriors do not wage battles with weapons and destruction, they wage peace, instead, with words and compassion.</p>
<p>It is an honor to walk this road of peace with each of you.</p>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira Ramalho</name>
						<uri>http://www.ceoramalho.blogspot.com/</uri>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[O mundo e sua história foram construídos por guerreiros]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/o-mundo-e-sua-historia-foram-construidos-por-guerreiros/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=44844</id>
		<updated>2012-02-23T03:30:02Z</updated>
		<published>2012-02-16T07:01:27Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 25" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[(<a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/chico-mendes-english/">English translation</a>) O mundo e sua história foram construídos por guerreiros, que não se preocupavam em parecer loucos ou desordeiros, mas sim em mudar a dura realidade que viam em torno de si. Esses guerreiros não se preocupavam em respeitar os status quo, nem se prendiam no conservadorismo e, graças a esses grandes seres humanos o mundo vem mudando constantemente, nos dando a esperança sempre de que é possível sim sonhar com a paz. Guerreiros como Mahatma Gandhi, Madre Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Lech Wałęsa e tantos outros mudaram o mundo sem armas nas mãos, usando apenas as palavras e o amor pela humanidade.]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/o-mundo-e-sua-historia-foram-construidos-por-guerreiros/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Chico_Mendes_at_rubber_tree-1024x687.png" width="240" />
		</p><p align="JUSTIFY"><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/chico-mendes-english/chico_mendes_at_rubber_tree/" rel="attachment wp-att-44824"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-44824" title="Chico_Mendes_at_rubber_tree" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Chico_Mendes_at_rubber_tree-1024x687.png" alt="" width="738" height="494" /></a></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(<a title="Chico Mendes (English)" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/chico-mendes-english/">English translation</a>)</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> O mundo e sua história foram construídos por guerreiros, que não se preocupavam em parecer loucos ou desordeiros, mas sim em mudar a dura realidade que viam em torno de si. Esses guerreiros não se preocupavam em respeitar os </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>status quo, </em></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">nem se prendiam no conservadorismo e, graças a esses grandes seres humanos o mundo vem mudando constantemente, nos dando a esperança sempre de que é possível sim sonhar com a paz. Guerreiros como Mahatma Gandhi, Madre Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lech Wałęsa e tantos outros mudaram o mundo sem armas nas mãos, usando apenas as palavras e o amor pela humanidade. Dentre essas pessoas, há também um homem especial, que dedicou sua vida à luta pela liberdade: seu nome é Chico Mendes e vou apresentá-lo agora aos que ainda o desconhecem.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Francisco Alves Mendes Filho nasceu em 1944, em um seringal no interior do estado do Acre, noroeste do Brasil, em uma pobre e numerosa família de seringueiros. Francisco, que era conhecido como “Chico” presenciou desde cedo a luta dos povos da floresta, dentre os quais seringueiros e índios, pela posse de suas terras, pela não destruição da floresta e pela busca de dignidade para suas famílias, vivendo às margens da sociedade em um dos locais mais inóspitos do Brasil, próximo à fronteira com o Peru e a Bolívia. Chico Mendes tornou-se um líder local e como ele mesmo declarou, no decorrer de sua luta: “Primeiro, pensei estar lutando para salvar os seringais, depois para salvar a floresta Amazônica. Agora percebo que estou lutando pela humanidade”. A sua luta pelos Direitos Humanos chamou a atenção de várias pessoas ao redor do mundo, mas ao mesmo tempo, rendeu-lhe muitos inimigos, entre quais, os fazendeiros que eram donos das terras e queriam que a situação, tanto das pessoas que ali viviam, quanto da floresta, que estava sendo desmatada, permanecesse como estava.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mesmo sofrendo ameaças de morte, Chico Mendes liderou protestos contra a opressão e o desmatamento e liderou muitas vezes grupos que se abraçavam às árvores para impedir que essas fossem cortadas. Chico tinha uma visão muito ampla de como a humanidade deveria funcionar, protestando pelos direitos humanos e pela liberdade, em uma região em que a lei favorecia a minoria privilegiada da sociedade e oprimia ainda mais a grande maioria que vivia à margem da civilização. Ele lutou até o fim de sua vida, não desistindo em momento algum de sua causa e aos 44 anos foi assassinado por fazendeiros que se opunham a sua luta. Tal qual Luther King e Gandhi, Chico Mendes perdeu sua vida em prol da causa que defendia, mas sua luta não findou com sua morte, pois seu legado permaneceu. Foram criadas dezenas de reservas no estado do Acre desde então, garantindo aos seringueiros e demais povos da floresta, o direito de explorar a Amazônia de forma a mantê-la preservada. Diversas ONG’s foram criadas, seguindo seus passos na luta pelos Direitos Humanos e ele é reconhecido como um dos grandes “guerreiros” brasileiros, que lutaram pela dignidade de seu povo. A Amazônia, o Brasil e o mundo devem muito a Chico Mendes, alguém que provou que a paz só se conquista por meio da paz e que enquanto algo estiver errado ao nosso redor, é necessário lutar.</span></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Diversos cantores, cineastas, escritores e jornalistas prestaram sua homenagem a Chico Mendes, divulgando sua luta e </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">agradecendo sua dedicação em prol dos Direitos Humanos. O grupo mexicano “Maná” lhe dedicou a canção “</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cuando los ángeles lloran” e Paul McCartney lhe dedicou a canção “How many people”, dentre tantas outras obras espalhadas pelo mundo.</span></span></p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/20YDYHNyZl4" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Longa vida ao legado de Chico Mendes e todos aqueles que lutaram e lutam pela humanidade, sem que uma arma seja empunhada e sem que uma bala seja disparada.</span></span></p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LUO5jUeQsh8" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe></p>
]]></content>
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	</entry>
		<entry>
		<author>
			<name>Jo Berry</name>
						<uri>http://www.buildingbridgesforpeace.org/</uri>
					</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Bridges Can Be Built]]></title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/bridges-can-be-built/" />
		<id>http://lifeafterhate.org/?p=44537</id>
		<updated>2012-02-16T07:01:59Z</updated>
		<published>2012-02-13T20:19:55Z</published>
		<category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Featured" /><category scheme="http://lifeafterhate.org" term="Issue 25" />		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Happy Birthday Dad, I miss you still and today I am reflecting of all you achieved, all the people who loved you, and all you gave me. I am also thinking of all the people who have lost loved ones and have been injured through violence, terrorism, war and genocide. My heart goes out to [...]]]></summary>
		<content type="html" xml:base="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/bridges-can-be-built/"><![CDATA[<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;">
		<img src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/forgiveness-pat-jo-1024x768.jpg" width="240" />
		</p><p>Happy Birthday Dad, I miss you still and today I am reflecting of all you achieved, all the people who loved you, and all you gave me. I am also thinking of all the people who have lost loved ones and have been injured through violence, terrorism, war and genocide. My heart goes out to all who are affected, whether recently or a long time ago.</p>
<p><a href="http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/02/bridges-can-be-built/forgiveness-pat-jo/" rel="attachment wp-att-44540"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-44540" title="forgiveness pat jo" style="margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-right: 10px;" src="http://lifeafterhate.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/forgiveness-pat-jo-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="922" height="691" /></a></p>
<p>I wrote this poem now 12 years ago and shared it at my first meeting with Pat, but for some reason I am thinking of it today.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Bridges Can Be Built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fires rage in my heart</p>
<p>the heat heals the pain</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>as a human being</p>
<p>I listen to your suffering</p>
<p>you offer me your story</p>
<p>the pain of the war</p>
<p>I learn</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>you are my enemy I was told</p>
<p>be a good girl</p>
<p>speak only our words</p>
<p>and then I met you</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>truth is more important</p>
<p>I will speak out for the healing of the world</p>
<p>take courage</p>
<p>take spirit</p>
<p>the game of the tribe is not for me</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>the clothes of prejudice now stripped away</p>
<p>as I open to you</p>
<p>leaving my bare soul</p>
<p>that can love you all</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>with the eyes of knowing</p>
<p>I move from us and them</p>
<p>our differences disappear</p>
<p>the unity of humanity remains</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>your sons could be mine</p>
<p>and I could be your brother</p>
<p>planting the bomb that killed the little boy</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>and now I stand alone with you who killed my Dad</p>
<p>there is a place inside me that knows you acted your truth</p>
<p>challenging injustice and oppression</p>
<p>my Dad was in the way</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I miss my Dad</p>
<p>and cry for the grandad my girls cannot know</p>
<p>tears of grief for all who suffer</p>
<p>we are one in our loss in our pain</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>sometimes I feel that my heart heals as Ireland heals</p>
<p>I am sorry for the suffering imposed by my tribe</p>
<p>I acknowledge your struggle</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>my heart burns for peace, justice and equality for all</p>
<p>the passion of knowing that</p>
<p>bridges can be built</p>
]]></content>
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