环球英语 — 393：Hatred and Humanity: Azim Khamisa

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santeee
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
A beautiful phoenix³ spreads out its red and golden wings. The phoenix is a bird of fire. As it flies, it lights the sky red. It collects branches to make its home - its nest. This nest is the last one it will ever build. When it is complete, the bird will set fire to the nest - and itself! The bird knows that it must die. Because it is from the ashes, that a new phoenix is born. This is its life - the wondrous⁴ phoenix.
Voice 2
The phoenix is an imaginary⁵ character - a bird from an ancient story. The most painful point in its life is also the most important point. It is necessary for new life - change - to come. This image helps some people in real life. They look at their most painful points in life. And they see those points as defining⁶ events. From these events can come beauty and change. One such person is Azim Khamisa. Today we tell his story as one of our programmes on Hatred⁷ and Humanity⁸.
Voice 1
What would you do if someone killed one of your family members? It could be a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter. Would you try to harm the killer⁹ - with violence? Azim Khamisa sometimes begins his public talks with questions like these. Then, he shares his own story about his son, Tariq;
Voice 2
Tariq’s family say that Tariq ‘loved life.’ And at the age of twenty [20], it looked like he had a bright future. He was studying at university in San Diego, in the U S A. Here, he had also met the woman he planned to marry. To earn money, Tariq worked part time at an eating place selling pizzas. People ordered pizzas from their homes. And Tariq took their orders to them.
On January 21, 1995, Tariq was at work. Someone telephoned for a pizza. They gave an address. And Tariq got in his car to take the pizza there. But when Tariq got there, a group of boys were waiting outside for him. The boys were part of a gang¹⁰. They caused trouble in the streets. They ordered Tariq to give them his money and the pizza. Tariq refused. And he began to walk away. However, that night, the older boys were testing one of the younger boys - Tony Hicks. An older boy told Tony to use a gun. Tony obeyed. He pointed¹¹ the gun at Tariq - and fired. Tony Hicks shot and killed Tariq Khamisa. Hicks was just fourteen [14] years old.
Tariq’s father, Azim, remembers the day the police called him:
Voice 3
‘They told me that Tariq had been shot and killed. I remember I had never felt pain like that before. It felt like a nuclear bomb had exploded in my body.’
Voice 2
However, the way Azim reacted was unusual. He did not seek to injure Tony Hicks. Instead, he saw Tony as a victim. He said;
Voice 3
‘I saw victims on both ends of the gun. I will mourn Tariq’s death for the rest of my life. But now my mourning has turned into a powerful desire for change. We urgently¹² need change in a world where children kill children.’
Voice 2
How did Azim manage to see things this way - without anger and hatred? Azim explains that he did a lot of inner¹³ searching. He describes his road to forgiveness as ‘spiritual’. There was a defining point for him. It was ten weeks after Tariq’s death. Azim said;
Voice 3
‘I drove to Mammoth¹⁴ Mountain in Southern California. I wanted to spend a few days alone. I wanted to think - to help calm my inner storms. I knew that Tariq was at peace, even though I was not. I began to understand that I needed to find something that I could do for Tariq. My deep sadness had to stop - or be set aside...
‘So I was high up in the mountains. It was a cold April night. And I was in front of a fire. Here, I had my first thought. What if I became an enemy? Not an enemy of the boy who killed my son. An enemy of the forces behind the killing¹⁵. What if I devoted¹⁶ myself to stopping young people’s violence?’
Voice 2
Here, on the mountain the idea for TKF began. TKF is the Tariq Khamisa Foundation¹⁷. Azim wanted to establish an organisation¹⁸ in his son’s name. TKF would be for Tariq, his country and himself. Azim came down from the mountain with a new purpose.
Voice 2
After months of hard work, Azim had his first TKF meeting. Fifty [50] people gathered in his home. They shared the same desire - to stop violence among young people. From this first small meeting grew an amazing organisation.
Voice 1
Today the Tariq Khamisa Foundation has reached over eight million [8,000,000] students. It provides educational programs to schools. The programmes seek to empower children to say ‘no’ to gangs¹⁹, guns and violence.
Voice 2
Azim also uses his own experiences to help others. He encourages people to give up their feelings of resentment²⁰ - that is hate, dislike and anger. He sometimes uses words from Nelson Mandela: ‘Resentment is like drinking a poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.’ Azim tells how he reached out to the people that hurt him - Tony Hicks and his family.
Voice 1
Azim met Tony Hicks’ grandfather, a man named Ples Felix. Azim learned²¹ that Ples also had a burning desire to end violence among young people. And Ples wanted to help with the work of TKF. And so, in an amazing way the two men began working together.
Voice 2
Today, Azim and Ples travel together. They tell people how they lost two boys to violence. Azim lost Tariq to murder. And Ples lost Tony to prison. Tony has expressed deep sadness and regret for his crime - but he is serving a twenty five year sentence for Tariq’s murder. Azim and Ples have a strong message. It reaches millions of young people. But it is only possible because they chose the path of forgiveness, instead of hatred. Azim says;
Voice 3
‘I truly believe that through forgiveness we can create peace in our lives - the lives of our families, our community, our country and the world.’
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

4 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

5 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

6 defining   

规定( define的现在分词 )； 使明确； 精确地解释； 画出…的线条

参考例句：

• You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集，您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为，通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。
• This point can be put another way in defining poverty. 这一点还能从另一方面来加以说明以佐证贫困的涵义。 来自英汉非文学 - 新闻报道

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 gang   

n.一伙，一帮；结伴的朋友

参考例句：

• The gang live abroad,beyond reach of the British police.这帮匪徒住在国外，英国警方鞭长莫及。
• Some gang came in and shot the place up.有股匪帮进来对这个地方开枪扫射。

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 urgently   

ad.紧急地，紧迫地

参考例句：

• You would be well advised to tackle this problem urgently. 你还是抓紧处理这个问题为好。
• Please send us the material at once; it's urgently needed. 请把材料赶紧送来，有急用。

13 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

14 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

17 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

18 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

19 gangs   

n.（罪犯有组织的）一帮( gang的名词复数 )；一伙；（闹事青少年的）一群；（工人有组织的）一队

参考例句：

• Gangs of youths went on the rampage in the city yesterday. 成群结伙的年轻人昨天在城里横冲直撞。
• a vicious turf war between rival gangs of drug dealers 对立贩毒团伙之间的猛烈火并

20 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

21 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。