The Dire Human Rights Situation under the rule of the Taliban

Friday, December 13, 2024
Featured Guest: Hussain Rezai 

Hussain Rezai is the founder and director of the Najiba Foundation in Afghanistan, a memorial organization committed to promoting education in Afghanistan. He recently completed the European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratization at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice, Italy. Before this, he was a fellow of the Afghanistan Scholars and Students at Risk Project, where he contributed to the Global Campus journal and blog by analyzing the human rights landscape in Afghanistan. With over a decade of experience in research, governance, education, and human rights, Hussain’s current study and research engagement is the Hazara persecution in Afghanistan.

When I Cry, I Cry For My Mother

Friday, September 27, 2024
Featured Guest: Andrea Wedner, Tree of Life Congregation survivor 

On October 27, 2018 the deadliest attack on any Jewish community in the United States occurred at the Tree of Life Congregation of Pittsburgh during Shabbat morning services. Shortly after starting the prayer session a hate filled anti-semite entered the Tree of Life building and killed eleven people and wounded two congregants and subsequently four members of law enforcement. Andrea Wedner, a survivor of the synagogue massacre, recalled in her testimony during last year’s trial that Sabbath services had started just five minutes earlier when she heard a loud bang, followed by rapid gunfire, coming from the lobby. In that moment, her mom, Rose Mallinger, sitting next to her in the Pervin Chapel inside the Tree of Life Synagogue, asked “What do we do?” Andrea whispered “we need to get down” as they sought refuge under the pew. After the gunman methodically moved through the building, he made his way back to the chapel and started firing, where Andrea, who at that point made eye contact with the gunman, was wounded from the assault and realized that her 97-year-old mother had been shot. Andrea was on the phone with 911 when she and her mother were shot, and that horrific call was played to the jury. Even as she lay injured, Andrea was able to check her mom’s pulse and realized Rose would not survive.  Pittsburgh SWAT by that time had breached the building looking for victims and possible survivors and found a severely injured Andrea and escorted her to safety. But before leaving Andrea kissed her fingers, touched her mother’s skin and cried out “Mommy.” She needed to step over another victim on her way out, and saw other victims who had been killed on the stairway.  Andrea was the sole survivor of those shot in that section of the building. Please consider joining us, as Andrea will share her traumatic and heart wrenching story in hopes of turning hate to hope, as she combats against the rise of antisemitism.

Rebirth: Outliving the SOVIET GRIP on Both Sides of the ATLANTIC

Friday, May 17, 2024
Featured Guests: Ingrid Popa Fotino  

Ingrid Popa Fotino presents a window into the workings of the Soviet Union in a suspenseful drama of escape, survival, and achievement with a startling ending. Born in Romania in 1940, Ingrid experienced the Soviet occupation of her country and the regime of terror it imposed. As a nine-year-old prisoner facing the possibility of execution, she encountered hope, despair, and finally acceptance. Her perilous escape with her parents and her little sister led eventually to a new and fulfilling life in the United States but not to relief from the Soviet grip that even extended across the Atlantic. The spectacular fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union two years later, allowed Romania to be free again after more than 40 years of almost total isolation from the world outside the Soviet sphere. Ingrid, together with all the refugees in the East European diaspora, could reconnect at last with her family of birth and the world she lost at age 8. It felt like discovering that there is life after death: a rebirth. In Rebirth, Ingrid Popa Fotino vividly recalls her life experiences. Her purpose in writing this book is to expose the grievous effects of the Soviet Union in her lifetime, especially when Russian President Vladimir Putin bemoans its collapse. The moving combination of historical and personal narratives, particularly regarding the repercussions of Soviet Communism on both sides of the Atlantic, is the focus of her story.

The Hazaras of Afghanistan, and their Pursuit for Peace, Justice and Coexistence in the Face of Ongoing Hatred and Bigotry

Friday, April 19, 2024
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Nasir Kaihan

Nasir Kaihan is from the Hazara community within Afghanistan. Nasir is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Arizona State University, where he also serves as a project manager for the Education for Humanity. Nasir is a human rights defender with a track record of engagement, pertaining to individual rights in Afghanistan, while here in the United States. Nasir’s wife Zara, currently enrolled in ASU Law School, with an aspiration of soon becoming an immigration attorney. In Afghanistan, she was a legal advisor at Kateb University’s legal clinic, and a human rights defender engaged in the rights of individuals, especially women & children in Afghanistan. Together, Nasir & Zara reside in Tempe, AZ, and have two children. In 2011, Nasir started his work in human rights while a student at Kabul Education University. He started his pursuit for human rights during his college because it was full of exploitation, discrimination, prejudice, and ethnic mineralization. The inequality he observed while in college, led Nasir to be a voice for the Hazaras, an ethnic group in Afghanistan that is marginalized/minoritized. The Hazaras are the third largest minority group in Afghanistan that extend from Shia Muslims. For Nasir, his academic/scholarly pursuits led him to become a Fulbright Scholar, and eventually made his way to the United States. However, the unspeakable persecution and trauma perpetrated by the Taliban continue to date, and Nasir is on a mission to educate the community on the horrors that are directly impacting his people.  Please join us for this special, featured education program, where Nasir will discuss the background of the trauma his people continue to endure, today.  

Reliving Native Tribal Atrocities 

Friday, March 8, 2024
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Deb Krol

Debra Utacia Krol is an award-winning journalist with an emphasis on Indigenous, environmental and science issues who's fond of averring that "My beat is Indians." She is an enrolled member of the Xolon (also known as Jolon) Salinan Tribe from the Central California coastal ranges. In addition to more than a dozen other awards, including the National Press Foundation's Feddie Award, a Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Reporting Award, a Society of Environmental Journalists Award and the Society of Features Journalism, Krol was named Best Beat Environmental Reporter by the Native American Journalists' Association. Please join us in March for a special program that will discuss the senseless genocide of Indigenous tribes of California.

The Art of Peace, in time of Crisis

Friday, February 9, 2024
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Former Ambassador, Edward O’Donnell

Ambassador O’Donnell teaches the ASU course (Policy Design Studio POS 494 and Washington Internship POS 484) “Diplomacy in Action, the Embassy Country Team” in Washington, D.C. and launched a Master of Arts in International Affairs and Leadership.  He is a member of the ASU Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab (LDNS Lab).  He is a Professor of Practice in the School of Politics and Global Studies (SPGS) The Barrett Honors Faculty.  He teaches courses in the World War II MA program and is on the Board of the Genocide Awareness Week (2022).

Ambassador O’Donnell retired from the career U.S. Foreign Service in 2007, after 33 years in Latin America, German-speaking Europe and other positions in Washington, D.C. He served in Germany, Austria, Panama, Colombia and Paraguay, as Charge, Deputy Chief of Mission, Consul General (Principal Officer), Economic Counselor and Commercial Attaché. In Washington D.C., he was a negotiating Ambassador concentrating on Holocaust issues; a Democratic Charter for the Americas and civil aviation rights. He was Executive Assistant to three Under Secretaries and Special Assistant, Policy Planning Staff.

O’Donnell served in the Active U.S. Army Reserve for 30 years with tours in Germany, Panama and the United States. A Foreign Area Officer in Europe and Latin America, as Colonel he commanded two Military Intelligence Detachments, supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was commissioned in Military Intelligence at Fort Belvoir, Engineer Officer Candidate School and was airborne-qualified.

Since retirement from the State Department, he was Senior Strategy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security (2014-2018), Senior Mentor/Advisor to the Afghanistan Government Minister of Counter Narcotics in Kabul (2011-2014) and State Department inspector (2010 – 2011) in the Middle East Regional Office of the Inspector General. From 2009 – 2011 he was Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Congressional Relations Bureau and earlier managed the State Department Liaison Office to the House of Representatives.

Education: Ambassador O’Donnell is from Memphis, Tennessee, was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Southern Methodist University, received a Master of Arts in International Studies from American University and studied economics at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

Closing the Circle: A Memoir of Cuba, Exile, the Bay of Pigs, & a Trans-island Bike Journey

Friday, January 12, 2024
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Cuban Refugee, Professor, & Author, Robert H. Miller

Closing the Circle: A Memoir of Cuba, Exile, the Bay of Pigs and a Trans-Island Bike Journey is a family memoir in three parts intricately interwoven with historical events, tied to the personal narrative of Cuban Refugee, Robert H. Miller. This special presentation will discuss Robert’s immediate family, beginning with his contractor grandfather's involvement under then-President Machado building first the National Theater, then the Carretera Central, Cuba's trans-island highway and Cuba's capitol building, and later the federal prison on the Isle of Youth where both Castro and two of the author's cousins, grunts in the Bay of Pigs invasion, did time eight years apart during the Cuban Missile Crisis-in the very same cell. Robert’s grandmother emigrated from the Canary Islands, while his father, founding CFO of AIG, introduced VW to Cuba, and he-by chance-rented their first home in Havana to David Atlee Phillips, the CIA operative most responsible for the success of the overthrow of the Arbenz regime in Guatemala in 1954. Phillips was later put in charge of propaganda for the Bay of Pigs operation. Robert’s  mom sparred with Hemingway. They lived next door to the mayor of Havana, a big power broker before the Batista coup of 1952. The family went into exile in 1960; and in 1972 the author planted the Cuban flag atop Mt. McKinley, North America's highest peak. Additionally, Robert will share the survival experiences of his extended family: It focuses on the story of the Bay of Pigs from the perspective of two cousins, and their subsequent 20 month stint in Cuban prisons, followed by their-and yet another cousin's-exploits during the Kennedy administration's infiltration operations after their repatriation by JFK. One cousin was personally interrogated by Che Guevara after his capture at Playa Girón.

Finally, Bob will discuss what it was like to step back in time to retrace his family’s steps, with a trans-island bike ride along the road the Robert's grandfather built, where he returns and connects with his family's memories, one of which was finding his grandmother's grave in the famous Cementerio Colón. The bike route included a detour to the Bay of Pigs area where he was able to physically connect with his cousins' battleground at Playa Larga. The bike ride took place in 2016 when the author led an educational reconnaissance group to Cuba. They stayed at a distant relative's home, which included memorable discussions and the opportunity to travel back in time to relive the obstacles faced.

Witnessing the Horrors of Hamas

Friday, December 8, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Steven J. Hilton 

Steven J. Hilton is the co-founder, executive chairman, & former CEO of Meritage Homes Corporation. Steve is also the son of Holocaust survivor & US Korean War Veteran, Samuel Hilton, who survived multiple Nazi death camps, including Majdanek, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, & was liberated at Theresienstadt.

On Oct. 7, Hamas killed more Jews since the Holocaust in a senseless & egregious act of terrorism on Israel. Just two days later, Arizona resident, Steven J. Hilton traveled to Israel in the aftermath of the brutal massacre, rape, and kidnapping of thousands of Israeli civilians by the terror organization Hamas. Please join us, on Dec. 8, as Mr. Hilton will discuss what he experienced and witnessed, less than a month ago in Israel during his visit, as well as the many ways he and others like him provided aid and comfort to the victims of these atrocities, perpetrated by Hamas. 

Ordeals of a Journalist under the Duvalier Regime

Friday, Oct. 27, 2023

Featured Guest; Haitian Refugee, Owen Georges Leroy

Owen Leroy is a Haitian Refugee who worked as an art critique at the Le Nouveau Monde, the largest newspaper in Haiti, from 1974-1979. Owen also worked as a producer at the Radio National in Haiti during 1977-1980. He had to leave Haiti due to the massive political unrest in February 1980. Please join us on Oct. 27 to hear the life ordeals of a Haitian journalist refugee. 

How the Holocaust Influenced the Modern War Crimes Tribunals

Friday, August 25, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Former U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, David J. Scheffer

Former U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, David J. Scheffer is the Professor of Practice at Arizona State University (Washington DC) & is a Senior Fellow of the Council of Foreign Relations (Washington Office). From 2006 through 2020 Professor Scheffer was the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law & Director Emeritus of the Center for International Human Rights. Professor Scheffer was the first US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues (1997-2001) and led the US delegation to the U.N. talks establishing the International Criminal Court. Further, he negotiated the creation of five war crimes tribunals and chaired the Atrocities Prevention Inter-Agency Working Group (1998-2001). He served on the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council and as Senior Adviser and Counsel to Dr. Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, from 1993-1996. His latest publications include, “All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals,” and “The Sit Room: In the Theater of War and Peace.” Please join us on Friday, August 25, 2023 as Ambassador Scheffer will share how the Holocaust influenced the Modern War Crimes Tribunals.

The Sunflower
The Bear
The Necessary End of Russian Influence in Ukraine

Friday, July 21, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Ukrainian-American, Nikole Jelden

Nikole Jelden is a former diplomat with the Government of Ukraine assigned to Italy. She studied Ukrainian history and language as an undergraduate and received a Masters degree in Foreign Policy from Shevchenko National University in Kiev, Ukraine. Upon graduation she joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During her tenure with MFA of Ukraine,Nikole served as a diplomat at the Embassy of Ukraine in Rome. Join us, as Nikole will make an emotional connection as she discusses the developments unfolding throughout the war in Ukraine. 

The Agony of Kachin: An Outcry for Justice, Freedom, and Hope

Friday, June 16, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Zaw Tu Hkawng

Zaw Tu Hkawng comes from a family of persecution, torture, and arbitrary arrest by the ruthless military in Myanmar since his grandfather's time.

Zaw Tu Hkawng is a humanitarian worker and an anti-military coup activist from Myanmar. He is a founder of the “Through the Eyes of Agony” art program for Myanmar’s internally displaced children, which strives to promote the well-being of persecuted, tormented, and traumatized children through the medium of art. Zaw has been the subject of violence, arbitrary arrest, and persecution as a result of his effort to protest, support activists, and assist members of the civil disobedience movement. Zaw sought refuge in the Kachin jungle, which is closed to China due to his security concerns. Zaw has trained a diverse group of leaders across Myanmar to become Character-Driven-Leaders who respect human rights and embrace democratic values. In addition, Zaw has worked for BBC Media Action Myanmar as a project coordinator for the nationally broadcast radio drama called “Tea Cup Diaries,” which supports peace and social cohesion among its varied ethnic and religious communities. Moreover, Zaw has provided special assistants to Myanmar refugees in Malaysia and rehabilitated drug users in Myanmar. 

A Sad Chapter

Friday, May 12, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Japanese-American Internee, Dr. Richard Matsuishi  

Dr. Richard Matsuishi was 4 years old when President Franklin Roosevelt approved and signed Executive Order 9066. This document allowed the US Government to force his family from their California home and incarcerated them in the Poston Relocation Center, an isolated camp near Parker, which is along the Colorado river in Western Arizona. For 3 1/2 years, his family and other persons of Japanese ancestry were in the custody of the US Government. He makes an emotional connection through his own story highlighting America's mistake and discusses what was learned and how we can prevent future unconstitutional tragedies.

Walking in Each Other's Shoes

Friday, April 28, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: 9/11 Survivor, Dan Holdridge 

All Americans remember where they were on September 11, 2001. When the Pentagon was attacked on 9-11, 184 heroes as little as 10 feet away from author Dan Holdridge were killed. In an upcoming program, Dan Holdridge will relate every detail of the attack and his suspenseful escape, as well as the angel who rescued him from the Pentagon that day. He weaves the stories of colorful family members and a country childhood into the horrible events of 9-11. Although he writes that he can never again be the same person, he has devoted the rest of his life to telling the story of his 184 colleagues, and the cigarette and clipboard that saved his life. Dan Holdridge was a prayer away from death, and his tale is as heartwarming and tear-jerking as it is riveting.

Jumping Over the Ram

Friday, March 17, 2023
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

Featured Guest: Deng Atem

Born in what is now South Sudan, Deng Mayik Atem, who now resides in Phoenix, Arizona, was one of the first “Lost Boys of Sudan” to come to America, Deng’s journey is an extraordinary and universal story about survival and determination - how a child can face the most difficult of situations and find a way through them. In fact, Deng Atem is the definition of resilience, as a young South Sudanese who endured every hardship of South Sudan's final war of liberation under the Sudan liberation army (SPLA), who watched his village being burned and his people being killed. He was only seven years old when the militia came into his village. Like much of his generation, he survived all the ordeals of the last South Sudan war of independence.

Deng holds a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from Phoenix University. He is an active member of the South Sudanese community in diaspora and publishes Ramciel Magazine, the goal of which is to connect those in diaspora with the homeland. Deng is also certified as a translator and often translates between Dinka and English for various government agencies. He is currently the Executive Director of South Sudan Twic Mayardit Community of Arizona, a nonprofit organization that responds to the needs of the South Sudanese Americans in Arizona.

To purchase the book “My View From the Back of the Bus”, please CLICK HERE.

My View From the Back of the Bus

Friday, January 6, 2023, 10AM-12PM (MST)
A VIRTUAL/IN-PERSON SEMINAR
Featured Guest: Merritt D. Long

Through his lens as a "colored" child, "Negro" teenager, "Black" young man, and finally successful African American state official, this education program will reveal how Merritt D. Long was shaped by - and helped to shape - American history.

Jim Crow laws, segregation and the civil rights movement are the backdrop to Long's childhood and youth in Alabama in the 1950's and 1960's. As a child, the color of Long's skin dictated what doors he could walk through, where he could sit on the bus, where he could eat, and what water fountains he could use. But like many other southern Black people, the powerful pride of his family and community steeled him against the incessant insults of racism. And the civil rights movement help fuel his determination to become an educated, successful professional.

Along the way, including a Morehouse College education in Atlanta, he met and was inspired by Muhammed Ali, Rosa Parks, and Julian Bond. But even at the pinnacle of his professional success as the head of several major state agencies, he continued to experience racist reactions to his authority and leadership.

His journey led him to become a widely admired community leader, a loving husband and father, and a mentor and benefactor to the next generation of young people who struggle to overcome economic hardship and the still-present barriers of entrenched, systemic racism. Join us for the Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday for a very special education program, featuring Merritt D. Long.

Uncovering the Secret War in Laos

Friday, December 9, 2022
SPEAKER: Khamsone Sirimanivong

And now, our featured guest… Khamsone Sirimanivong was born in Laos just one year before Laos changed political governments in 1975. Although she was just an infant when her family was exiled because of her father’s involvement with the Lao military, Khamsone can remember quite a bit of the dramatic journey as it took them six years to escape. Her family finally fled to the states in 1981. Her father never talked about Laos or the American secret war when she was a child and sadly, he never would. He died when Khamsone was a teenager and his passing raised so many questions and inspired Khamsone to research her family history and that is how she came upon the Secret War. Years later, Khamsone discovered the mission of Legacies of War and she knew she had found her purpose, as she currently serves as a board member. Khamsone feels deeply connected to her father, her history and her roots through this opportunity to serve on the Legacies of War Board of Directors and help further the great humanitarian work of Legacies for the people of Laos.

From Assad's Slaughterhouse to Columbia: A Fight for Syria's Freedom

Friday, November 4, 2022
SPEAKER: Qutaiba Idlbi, Syrian Survivor/Refugee

Qutaiba Idlbi is a Syrian survivor & refugee who experienced the atrocities committed in Syria, under Assad’s slaughterhouse regime. Qutaiba can recall the traumatic experiences, where he and his neighbors, friends, and family were senselessly detained. For instance, one of his friends were arrested, with his father, in early 2013 for simply being his neighbor. After two weeks his neighbor’s body could not handle any further torture, so they brought him back to his cell to be with his dad, and while he rested his head down on his dad’s lap, the only words he could say; “I don’t want to die, dad - And the Syrian people don’t want to die. They are not coming out to the streets to die; they are not staying inside Syria to die. They are fighting and struggling to live.” Fortunately, Qutaiba was able to flee Syria thanks in part to the US Department of Defense, and later attended Columbia University.

To date, Qutaiba is a Syria Fellow at the International Center for Transitional Justice, researching the framework of political imprisonment in Syria. His past research experiences include researching refugee entrepreneurship markets in Jordan and Turkey with Building Markets, analyzing security policy in the Middle East at the Global Policy Institute, and developing governance and security atmospheric reports for the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command with Pechter Polls and for USAID’s Office of Transitional Initiatives with Caerus Associates. Qutaiba was also Co-Founder and Vice President of People Demand Change (PDC), where he managed and evaluated governance, civil society strengthening, and peacebuilding programs in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. He currently serves as a board member for multiple organizations providing educational support for Syria’s displaced.

Please join us on November 4, as Qutaiba relives Assad’s slaughterhouse with this special presentation.

Earliest Memories: Barbed-wire Fences & Tall Men with Big Guns

Friday, October 14, 2022
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

SPEAKER: Marian Tadano Shee

Marian Tedano Shee was just 4 years old when President FDR approved and signed Executive Order 9066. The US Government imprisoned her and family in Crystal City, Texas at an isolated camp. For 2 years, Ms. Tadano was in the custody of the US Government. Marian has given many talks about her experiences and makes an emotional connection through his own story of highlighting America’s mistakes and discusses what was learned and how we can prevent future tragedies, similar to Executive Order 9066. Marian is a retired Vice President of Academic Affairs of Phoenix College. Join us as she will relate her experience as a toddler incarcerated because of her Japanese American ethnicity in a US Department of Justice, Alien Enemy Detention Facility in Crystal City Texas, during World War II.

Humanity At A Crossroads: Surviving The Uyghur Genocide

Friday, September 2, 2022
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

SPEAKER: Tursunay Ziyawudun

Over the past few years, the Uyghur population’s rights have been violently stripped away, with millions detained in detention camps in China for “re-education.” Millions more are being used as slaves while Western companies profit off of their labor. The Uyghur situation was rightfully declared as genocide last month, by the United States, a title long affirmed by human rights groups. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum declared last year that there was reason to believe that the Chinese regime was committing crimes against humanity.  

Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Campaign For Uyghurs for a special program. We will hear from Tursunay Ziyawudun.

We hope that this program, and hearing her story, will inspire us all to be Upstanders at present in this dire situation that has implications not just for the Uyghurs, but for the world.

My Dad Survived the Armenian Genocide, & Fought the Fascists Under 3 Flags

Friday, August 19, 2022
Featured Guest: The Hon. Socrates Manoukian, son of Armenian Genocide Survivor, Manasseh M. Manoukian

Manasseh Moses Manoukian, was a two-time genocide survivor, who did not receive an education until age 9. Manasseh was a rising Soccer star, turned soldier, having fought the Fascists under three flags. Major Manasseh M. Manoukian, M.D. United State Army, Medical Corps. Chief of Orthopedics, Fort. Ord, California, physician and philosopher who disliked birthday parties because her never knew his own. In fact, he was told to find a birthday when he entered the American University of Beirut in 1938, so he picked 29 February 1916, which he thought was close enough. By August of 1941, he was taken to Aleppo, Syria to serve His Royal Majesty, King George VI. Throughout the war, he was affectionately called "The Interrupter" because of his phenomenal soccer talent as a defenseman, who spoke English, French, Turkish, Arabic and Armenian. Later, when he brought Socrates to the US in 1950, he thought he entered the Land of the Gods. Manasseh was a Clinical adjunct faculty, School of Medicine, Stanford University. Please join us in August when we will learn how Manasseh survived Armenian Genocide, and then fought the Fascists under three flags. Not a bad run for a kid who never attended school until he was nine years old.

Look Beyond the Fire: Daily Life Under Saddam’s Regime

Friday, July 22, 2022
Featured Guest: Assyrian Iraqi Christian Refugee, Mona K. Oshana

Was life really that bad under the Saddam Hussein regime? Look Beyond the Fire: Daily Struggles Under Saddam's Regime is Mona K. Oshana's heart-rending account of the struggle to live and ultimately escape the cruel totalitarian rule of Saddam Hussein. In this seminar, Oshana will vividly capture the thoughts and suppressed way of life of the forgotten, misunderstood people of Iraq and how decades of oppression have affected their state of mind. Drawing on her own life experiences, she will illustrate the anguish and the suffering of her people that is rarely seen or covered by the media. This education program, based on her published work, will offer a true glimpse inside Iraq beyond the controversy, beyond the politics and beyond the line of fire to the heart of the country and the people.

The Improbable Journey of a Liberian Refugee

Friday, June 3, 2022
SPEAKER: Prince L. Murray

Growing up in Liberia, West Africa, a country that has been fighting fourteen years of brutal civil war, was one of the most difficult challenges a kid at the age of thirteen could experience. The unexpected gunshots from different areas, as well as the mental and physical abuse, are always remembered. Join us on June 3, as Prince L. Murray will share his survival, and senseless murder of his brother during the terrible 2nd Liberian Civil War, as well as it’s detrimental effects on human lives. Prince will revisit the trek he and his stepmother took, walking to a nearby village when the rebels forcibly entered their city, just to avoid war. Join us for this story that must be told in order to raise awareness about autocratic rulers who kill innocent people, deliberately engage in crimes against humanity, and promulgate genocide in order to achieve their evil acts. Since coming to the United States, Prince has been involved politically, and appreciates/credits President George W. Bush‘s generosity, as well as the American people for helping him survive. If it wasn't for their love for humanity, Prince feels he wouldn’t be alive today.

Defying a Dictator

Friday, May 13, 2022
SPEAKER: Shin Dong-hyuk (North Korean Defector)

Shin Dong-hyuk is one of the only North Korean defectors who was a prisoner in Camp 14, who successfully escaped from a “total-control zone” grade internment camp in North Korea, under the brutal dictatorship of Kim Jong-un. Shin’s overall goal is to raise awareness of the ongoing situation in North Korea, especially the perpetually ongoing inhumane treatment within the internment and concentration camps throughout North Korea. Inside the North Korea, Shin experienced the atrocities firsthand, inside North Korean camps by a member of the United Nations' first commission of inquiry into human rights abuses of North Korea. Please join us as Shin will recount what his life was like in Camp 14, as well as what life was like under the brutal totalitarian North Korean regime. Today, Shin is a human rights activist and was the subject of a biography, Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, by Blaine Harden, a former Washington Post journalist.

The Day After 9/11

Friday, April 15, 2022
SPEAKER: Brother of Sikh Hate Crime Victim, Rana Singh Sodhi

The day after 9/11 brought hate with it, especially in Mesa, Arizona; over 2,000 miles from the site of the 9/11 terrorist attack carried out on the World Trade Center. On September 15, 2001, a little more than 20 years ago, that Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh immigrant from the Indian Punjab, was fatally shot and killed, in an act of racism and hatred. Prior to the act of senseless trauma/violence, Balbir was planting flowers around the parking lot of his new business, a Mesa gas station, to commemorate the victims of 9/11.

Now, 20 years later, a memorial sits on the site where Balbir’s life was taken, becoming the first American victim of a fatal hate crime in the aftermath of 9/11. Join us on April 15, as Balbir’s younger brother, Rana Singh Sodhi, will share his brother’s story, as well as his call to action, to promote love, kindness, and compassion. Rana is on a pursuit to eradicate hate by unifying the community, as he makes it a point to speak with students, teachers, and countless others around the country, willing to promote peace and discuss the peaceful tenets of Sikhism.

He’s Not Finished with You Yet

Friday, March 18,
SPEAKER: 9/11 (S Tower 104th Floor - WTC) Survivor, Tom Duke

On September 11, 2001, Tom Duke, was working at the WTC’s, South Tower and can vividly recount how the day unfolded, working at a principal banking investment firm; Sandler, O’Neill & Partners. On 9/11, Tom arrived to work that day at 8 am and usually commuted on an early flight to NYC. After hearing and feeling an explosion, Tom was told by a coworker that the North tower was struck by a plane. At that moment, Tom, with several other office colleagues made the decision to leave the building, by descending 104 floors of stairs, rather than taking the elevator. Prior to existing via the stairwell, Tom retrieved his suit jacket from his office, unaware of the events that would transpire next; “I lost 66 co-workers that day. I lost my best friends. … It was an evil act. I don’t know how you justify an act like this. It’s horrendous that so many people should have to suffer.” Please join us on March 18, as 9/11 survivor, Tom Duke, relives his experience, 20 years ago. Tom resides in Alexandria, VA and is in his 11th year as an Adjunct Professor at Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia.

Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer: Undocumented

Friday, February 25, 2022 at 10AM (MST)
SPEAKER: Dr. Alberto Ledesma

Dr. Alberto Ledesma was born in Jalisco, Mexico, in 1965. He was brought to Oakland, California, at eight years old as an undocumented immigrant. Since then, Alberto has graduated from Berkeley three times and has held faculty positions at Cal State University, Monterey Bay, and UC Berkeley. From undocumented little boy to “hyper documented” university professor, Ledesma recounts how even now, he sometimes finds himself reverting to the child he was, recalling his father’s words: “Mijo, it doesn’t matter how good you think your English is, la migra will still get you.”

Exploring Ledesma’s experiences from immigrant to student to academic, Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer presents a humorous, gritty, and multilayered portrait of undocumented immigrant life in urban America. Ledesma’s vignettes about life in the midst of ongoing social trauma give voice to a generation that has long been silent about its struggles. Delving into the key moments of cultural transition throughout his childhood and adulthood—police at the back door waiting to deport his family, the ex-girlfriend who threatens to call INS and report him, and the interactions with law enforcement even after he is no longer undocumented—Ledesma, through his art and his words, provides a glimpse into the psychological and philosophical concerns of undocumented immigrant youth who struggle to pinpoint their identity and community.

Fear, Adrenaline & Excitement

Friday, January 21, 2022
SPEAKER: US WWII (Pearl Harbor survivor) Veteran, Jack Holder

Jack’s story begins at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Through the next four years his life changes forever, as he feels the fear, adrenaline, and excitement of a war that would take him to Midway, Guadalcanal, the English Chanel, and many other places fighting for what he believed in. And his story continues…

Gukurahundi: A Campaign of Genocide Denial

Friday, December 3, 2021
SPEAKER: Featuring a Witness of the Accounts of Gukurahundi, Gugulethu Moyo

Scholars recognize that genocide takes place in a series of stages, of which mass murder is only one; the last stage is denial. Genocide does not end until denial ends. The Zimbabwean Genocide of the 1980s, known as Gukurahundi, is one in which the population targeted by mass slaughter has been subjected to the ongoing injustice of a sustained campaign of genocide denial (led by perpetrators, some of whom remain in positions of state authority). This campaign of denial is an affront to the survivors of this genocide, preventing accountability, reconciliation and healing.

Gugulethu Moyo will speak about her experiences escaping violence during the Gukurahundi in the early 1980s and growing up in the shadow of denial of the mass slaughter in which at least civilians were murdered in southern Zimbabwe. She will address how denial has kept the genocide alive and set up pernicious patterns that still affect the people of Zimbabwe 35 years later. 

Gugulethu Moyo is a Zimbabwean-born human rights lawyer, activist, educator and curator who serves on the board of the Council of American Jewish Museums. 

Daughter of the Killing Fields

Friday, November 19th, 2021
SPEAKER: Cambodian Genocide Survivor, Theary Seng

Daughter of the Killing Fields is an inspiring personal testimony by Theary Seng of her family's survival of the Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia's recent history. She has combined her own earliest memories with the collective recall of her four brothers and close relatives to produce a powerful and fascinating memoir.

Born in Phnom Penh in 1971, she lost her father in the flight from the capital four years later. Under the Khmer Rouge she lived in the Svay Rieng province bordering Vietnam, where the killings were most intense and where she spent five months in prison. One night she fell asleep in her mother's embrace and woke up to find her gone forever. Theary and her surviving family members, thirty people in total, trekked across the border to Thailand in late 1979 and emigrated to the United States a year later. Today, she's a successful lawyer and has recently returned to live in the country of her birth, not as a prisoner, but out of choice.

Child Refugee of Kosovo; Surviving the Kosovo War; War Through the Eyes of a Child and Mother

Friday, October 8, 2021 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (MST)
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR

SPEAKER: Rina Hajra, An Ethnic Albanian Refugee from Kosovo and Yetta Kodra

Rina Hajra was seven years old when her family was forced to flee the raging war in their hometown of Kosovo. After being sent to the Stankovec Refugee Camp II in Macedonia, and subsequently, with nearby family members, Rina and her family were granted refugee asylum in the United States. Now, twenty-two years later, Rina will share her memories as a young, terrified child, and her reflections on violence, war, the struggles of refugees and the hardship of starting anew. As an actor, filmmaker, and instructor, Rina has continually explored human rights themes in her works. However, this is the first time she will be sharing her direct experience with an audience.

I’m Not Leaving

Friday, September 10, 2021
SPEAKER: Rwandan Genocide Upstander, Carl Wilkens

Why did Carl Wilkens decide to remain in Rwanda in 1994, with a genocide swirling around him? How did he and his wife Teresa maintain communication during the one-hundred days of terror when Tutsis were being hounded to death by Hutu militia extremists? How does the only American who chose to stay-in order to protect two Tutsi household workers-look back on that fearful time? In this seminar Carl reconstructs in fascinating detail both personal and political events triggered by the April 6 plane crash assassination of the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. He takes us through the poignant good-bye to his family, as they join the mass exodus of expatriates leaving this dangerous situation; the horrors of Rwandan Genocide.

The Meaning of Matthew, My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed

Friday - August 20, 2021
SPEAKER: SPEAKER: Dennis and Judy Shepard

In October 1998, Judy and Dennis Shepard lost their 21-year old son, Matthew, to a murder motivated by anti-gay hate. Matthew’s death moved many thousands of people around the world to attend vigils and rallies in his memory. Determined to prevent others from suffering their son’s fate, Judy and Dennis decided to turn their grief into action and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation to carry on Matthew’s legacy. The Foundation is dedicated to working toward the causes championed by Matthew during his life: social justice, diversity awareness & education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Oh My God, What Was That?

Friday, July 9, 2021
SPEAKER: 9/11 Survivor, Lou Giaccardo

Lou Giaccardo, father of two boys, who was on the 87th floor of the South Tower when the first plane struck the North Tower. With the aid of fellow employees he was able to clear approximately 40+ people off the floor before the second plane hit the South Tower. He made his way to safety getting out of the South Tower approximately 25 minutes before it fell. He now gives speeches each year about 9/11 in hope that people never forget and to educate the students who were not alive when this happened or too young to remember.

Is Forgiveness Necessary, as Truth is, for Reconciliation?

Friday, June 25, 2021
SPEAKER: Joe Campbell, Belfast Child

Joe Campbell is the son of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Sergeant Joseph Campbell who was shot dead in February 1977 outside his police station in Cushendall, County Antrim, in Ireland.  

The RUC was the police force in Northern Ireland during its most recent period of conflict, known as “The Troubles”.  The RUC was predominantly Protestant with many members sympathetic to the goals and methods of Loyalist terrorists, and the ranks of the RUC had been infiltrated by Loyalist paramilitaries.

Joe’s father was murdered because he was a good cop who reported the illegal importation of arms, by Loyalists, to his RUC superiors who, the Campbell family believes, had him murdered by the notorious RUC Special Branch and MI5 agent, Robin Jackson, who was also present at The Miami Showband Massacre in 1975.

Nevertheless, true to the values of his late father, Joe has, from the very beginning, rejected all calls for retaliation against the perpetrators and continues to pursue justice through the courts with remarkable courage and dignity. 

Joe is a founder and UK Ambassador and Events Coordinator for Truth and Reconciliation Platform (TaRP).

Surviving The 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Friday, May 14, 2021
SPEAKER: Emmanuel Habimana

Emmanuel Habimana from Kigali, Rwanda, was nine years old at the time of the Rwandan genocide. He is now a filmmaker, public speaker, and activist who engages audiences on the topics of genocide, forgiveness, and dealing with trauma. According to his press release, “His work began as a youth activist in Kigali where he collaborated with peers to assist other orphans of the 1994 Tutsi Genocide.”

You Are Not Forgotten

Friday, April 9, 202

SPEAKER: Col. Thomas Kirk, US Vietnam Veteran and 5.5 YR POW at the Hanoi Hilton

On October 28, 1967, Col. Kirk, US Veteran of the Korean & Vietnam Wars, was forced to eject from his F-105 Thunderchief when it was hit by anti-aircraft fire over North Vietnam. He was immediately captured and taken as a Prisoner of War at the Hanoi Hilton. Col. Kirk spent 2.5 years in solitary confinement. After spending the next 1,964 days in captivity, he was released during Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973. His powerful testimony of survival while in Hanoi, teaches us what it means to be American, and reinforces the ideals of compassion, love, freedom, patriotism, resilience, and honor.

Humanity At A Crossroads
Surviving The Uyghur Genocide

Friday, March 5, 2021
SPEAKER: Uyghur Survivor, Zumret Dawut

Over the past few years, the Uyghur population’s rights have been violently stripped away, with millions detained in detention camps in China for “re-education.” Millions more are being used as slaves while Western companies profit off of their labor. The Uyghur situation was rightfully declared as genocide last month, by the United States, a title long affirmed by human rights groups. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum declared last year that there was reason to believe that the Chinese regime was committing crimes against humanity.  

Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Campaign For Uyghurs for a special program. We will hear from Zumret Dawut, who was a camp detainee, and was forcibly sterilized. 

We hope that this program, and hearing her story, will inspire us all to be Upstanders at present in this dire situation that has implications not just for the Uyghurs, but for the world.

Attaining Equal Justice:
Lessons Learned Defending an Alleged 9/11 Terrorist

Friday, February 19, 2021
SPEAKER: Attorney, Howard Cabot

Noor Uthman Muhammed was born in Sudan during the late 1960s. The land was engulfed in a civil war and prolonged economic depression. Seeking an escape, he was drawn to Afghanistan and settled at Camp Khalden, continuing his religious studies and received some basic military training until 2000 when the camp closed. Noor was captured during a massive raid, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mr. Cabot will share his experiences representing Noor within the U.S. military commission system, a conundrum of balancing national security and human rights while trying to afford defendants equal justice and due process of law.

Finding Meaning After Terror: Bosnian

Friday, January 8, 2021
SPEAKER: Bosnian Genocide Survivor, Esad Boskailo

Esad Boskailo was practicing medicine is Bosnia in the 1980’s and 90’s. In 1992, a war broke out in Bosnia – Esad was working as a family medicine physician who was married and had two young children and went from one day, being in the hospital with his patients, to the next day, being forced to being on the front lines in a war, saving the life of civilians, including children and soldiers. Esad was separated from his family and then he was captured and spent over a year in six different concentration camps. He saw torture and killing on a daily basis and after two years, through the United Nations, Esad was brought to the United States, and was reunited with his family in Chicago. Esad, a Phoenix Psychiatrist, believes that his experience was unique and helped him to understand trauma and pain from both sides and using that experience on a daily basis to help psychiatric patients.

Personal Stories of Imprisonment

Friday, December 11, 2020
SPEAKER: Sam Mihara

Sam Mihara was 9 years old when President FDR approved and signed Executive Order 9066.  The US Government imprisoned him and family in Northern Wyoming, at an isolated camp. For 3 years, Mr. Mihara was in the custody of the US Government. Sam makes an emotional connection through his own story of highlighting America’s mistakes and discusses what was learned and how we can prevent future tragedies, similar to Executive Order 9066. 

Navajo Weapon

Friday, October 23, 2020
SPEAKER: Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald

Peter MacDonald Sr., a Navajo from Teecnospos, AZ, and at 15 years of age, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He did his training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego, CA and USMCB in Camp Pendleton, CA. While there, MacDonald, as well as other Navajo Marines were selected for a top secret Navajo Code School.

MacDonald, a hero from the greatest generation, participated in the final part of World War II. MacDonald served honorably in the South Pacific as Navajo Code Talker and North China with the Sixth Marine Division. If not for Peter MacDonald and the Navajo Code Talkers marines would never have taken the island of Iwo Jima, that’s how critical Navajo Code was to the war in the Pacific.

Honorably discharged with a rank of Corporal, MacDonald graduated from High School and Junior College in Muskogee, OK, MacDonald graduated from the University of Oklahoma with an Electrical Engineering degree (BSEE).

MacDonald served as Chairman of the Navajo Nation from 1971-1983 and 1987-91. MacDonald is the only Chairman in Navajo history that was re-elected to the Office of the Chairman four times. MacDonald is co-founder of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT), the National Tribal Chairman Association, the American Indian National Band and the Native American Prep School. 

MacDonald was featured in TIME magazine as one of 200 "Rising Leaders of America" in 1974.  He is the recipient of Congressional Silver Medal for heroic service to the nation as a USMC Navajo Code Talker and the University of Oklahoma Engineering Hall of Fame and Special Commendation by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon for "exceptional service to others".

MacDonald resides in Tuba City, AZ, with his wife, Wanda, five children and nine grandchildren. Currently, MacDonald is President of the Navajo Code Talkers Museum to honor Heroes of WWII.  Navajo Code Talkers helped to transmit top secret messages in every major battle in the pacific theatre. Additionally, Navajo Code was the only military code in modern history never broken by an enemy.

It Was A Beautiful Day In September

Friday, October 9, 2020
SPEAKER: Survivor Brian Branco

Brian Branco is a 9/11 survivor, who was on the 78th Floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center Complex.

On that morning, Brian took an express elevator to the ground after feeling the building vibrate and seeing papers flying outside his 78th floor office window. The initial plan was to go together with his friend, but Steven Weinberg went back to office to retrieve something, missing the elevator down.

Brian can recount 50 to 60 panicked people packed into the small space, going hysterical as the elevator slowly approached the ground floor. At one point, everyone in the elevator thought it was going back up, but then, the doors opened.

The events of the day, only got worse, leaving Brian, a New Jersey IT consultant, with PTSD and Survivor’s guilt.

To date, Brian talks to other survivors of 9/11 and other attacks through the WTC Survivors Network and other survivor groups. He and wife, Cynthia, lead tours at Ground Zero and donate time at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. Brian views sharing his story as a form of therapy.

The Miami Showband Massacre

Friday, August 14, 2020
SPEAKER: Survivor Stephen Travers

Before this revised 2017 edition, the first edition of The Miami Showband Massacre, published in 2007 was the long awaited inside story of the band, the massacre and its controversial aftermath. The atrocity was headlined all over Ireland and beyond as The Day the Music Died as The Miami Showband was the most popular band in Ireland at the time. On July 31st 1975 their mini bus was stopped by what looked like a British Army patrol but was in fact the Loyalist terrorist group's UVF's notorious Glenanne Gang, some of whom were in the British Army's locally recruited UDR regiment. The terrorists planted a bomb in the mini bush which exploded prematurely killing two of the bombers immediately. Their comrades then machine gunned the band, killing three and leaving the author, seriously injured Stephen Travers, to play dead in order to survive. Since publication much more of the Collusion between the UVF gang responsible and the British Military Intelligence has come to light and this 2017 edition includes pertinent revelations regarding Collusion, elements of which are now being exposed.

To purchase Stephen Travers & and Neil Fetherstonhaugh’s book, “The Miami Showband Massacre: A Survivor’s search for the truth” please click the button below.