Musings: UN Speech

UN High Level Peace Forum Speech

The truth be known, our children are NOT Safe. Not here in the richest nation in the world, and not anywhere else in the world. This is unacceptable! Children killing children is not a mark of a civil society. Eighteen years ago, my 20-year-old son Tariq was murdered by a 14-year-old gang member. This sudden senseless death of an unarmed innocent human being brought my life to a crashing halt!

Although it was 18 years ago, those early days are etched deeply on my mind and soul; and forever relived with every birthday, holiday, or even a glance at another innocent child that reminds me of my son. I went through all the emotions you might expect as a parent – unbearable grief, hopelessness and despair. I did not know how to live without my son. I found out I was not alone; according to UNICEF data some 29,000 children die every day in the world.

I took a different response to this tragedy; instead of feelings of revenge – I saw that there were victims at both ends of the gun. It is easy to see my son was a victim of the 14-year-old gang member but more difficult to see that the shooter is also a victim of our society. Who is the enemy here? Is it the 14-year-old who killed my son or the societal forces that forced a young boy to join a gang at the age of 11 and then kill to my son to prove himself to the gang at the age of 14?

When my son was alive I worked as a financial adviser to the Child Safety Network. CSN was the one organization that was able to find my son’s killer and help bring him to justice. And now 18 years later after delivering over 400 keynote speeches all over the world and authoring four books on this topic it is my great honor to return to CSN as their President.

Our mission is to reduce the likelihood of children becoming victims of abuse, abduction, exploitation and injury. We accomplish our mission by developing and implementing educational safety programs on a global basis. CSN acts as a true “network” when it comes to implementation. We have worked with the world’s largest service organizations as well as local, state and federal agencies to accomplish our mission. Over 250 U.S. representatives including the current and past Presidential administrations have endorsed CSN’s efforts.

I would like to extend an invitation to those in the audience (and those reading this) who are working with children, youth and parents to join our efforts.

My journey has been of forgiveness – the destination I have arrived today is of peace. Eighteen years ago I chose forgiveness instead of revenge and had no clue that I would be doing this work or addressing the UN. When my son was alive I worked as an international investment banker – today I am a social worker much like most of you. I look at that as a step up in my career.

So how is this relevant to the UN and the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace? The UN’s major focus is Peace and Security. I have written and spoken extensively on how to shift conflict in to unity. My partner in TKF, who is the guardian of my son’s killer, is Christian and I practice as a Sufi Muslim. We would not have met had his grandson not killed my son. And now we are brothers. I have created a proven process and training on how to accomplish this through the practice of empathy, compassionate confrontation, forgiveness and redemption. Through CSN I offer this process to UN in the spirit of collaboration to help meet the UN mandate of Peace and Security. Beyond that I wholeheartedly invite you to join us especially in the area of creating a better world for our children, youth and families.

No single organization has the complete solution. However – I truly believe collectively we do have the complete solution. Part of my mandate at CSN is to spearhead the creation of the International Center for Child Safety and Parenting where all the organizations including the two I have founded will collaborate in a single effort to address issues that matter most to children, youth and family. While no one organization has the complete solution, I believe collectively we do have the complete solution.

As taught by Martin Luther King’s Jr: “Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”

Historically nonprofit organizations and agencies have not been effective in collaborating. Part of the mandate at CSN is to create an international Center of Child Safety and Parenting. The center will provide incentive to collaborate such as financial support, a venue free of rent, back office support, research and allow all parents to visit the Center through streaming video and free on-line parenting classes. Similar resources will be available in age appropriate best practice material for our children and youth. We will provide links to the collaborating organizations that have created successful programs around the globe with one single goal: to keep our children safe!

More importantly the various partnerships that will be formed by diverse organizations will help produce better outcomes and impact public policy to create real social transformation. A society where children are safe and thriving! It is the right of our children to be safe and the collective duty of everyone in the sound of my voice to make that happen!!!