[Applause]
what would you do if you were shot in
the face and left for dead
imagine you’re minding your own business
went for no reason that you could fathom
a stranger comes straight for you it
raises a shotgun aims it at your face
and pulls the trigger if you survived
what would you do with the show of hand
how many of you would want to seek
revenge I see some brave hurts it is
natural to want to fight back and there
is nothing shameful in having that
instinct but sometimes instinct does not
serve us well in the long run living in
a diverse society they are bound to be
conflicts social cultural religious
personal and professional we’re living
in a time where the escalation of these
conflicts means more innocent people are
paying the price
all too often with their lives
unfortunately the increase in conflicts
misunderstanding
violence creates only more victims more
laws more division and ultimately solves
nothing I can speak to this from
personal experience I was one of these
innocent victims I became a survivor not
satisfied though I eventually began to
thrive utilizing the tools that this
great country provides and choosing the
path of mercy compassion and forgiveness
which ultimately brought me here today
after graduating as a pilot officer from
Bangladesh Air Force Academy I did not
feel my destiny was there when I got a
chance to come to the United States for
additional higher education I took it
I left my family my home my fiance my
career to come to the United States to
fulfill my educational pursuits but also
hoping to experience the American dream
but within a short time my American
dream
turned into an American Nightmare
shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks
in white supremacist in Dallas was in a
shooting rampage killing Muslims I was
one of his victims on September 21st ten
days after the attacks I was working in
a friend’s gas station when a man
wearing a bandana sunglasses and a
baseball cap holding a sawed-off
double-barreled shotgun burst in he
pointed the gun directly at my face
having been robbed before I opened the
cash register and offered him money
instead of taking it his gauge remained
fixed and then he asked what are you
from and before I could say anything
more then excuse me he pulled the
trigger from point and blank range
I felt it first like a million bees were
stinging my face and then I hearted the
explosion I looked down and so blood was
pouring like it opened faucet from the
right side of my head frantically and
instinctively I place both hands on my
head thinking I had to keep my brain
from spilling out I heard myself
screaming then notice the gunman is
still standing there and I thought if I
did not appear to be dying he would
shoot me again I fell to the floor he
finally left I grabbed the phone but I
couldn’t not dial nine-one-one I ran to
the barber shop next door and three men
inside looked at me in horror and
assuming the gunman was right behind me
scramble to escape out back I screamed
grabbing one of them and begging him to
call 9-1-1 as he did I caught myself in
the mirror the image reflected back was
gruesome like something straight
out of a horror movie in an instant it
takes to pull the trigger
I had become disfigured was losing blood
and strength
rapidly fighting to stay awake fighting
to stay alive the EMTs arrived on scene
found me running around the parking lot
screaming barefoot shirtless on my way
to the hospital I began losing
consciousness images of my mother my
father my other siblings and my fiance
appeared before my eyes and then a
graveyard I promised God if you let me
live I would do good things with my life
there was so much I had wanted to
accomplish and contribute five hours
after I was shot I finally lost
consciousness and was put on life
support the next thing I remember I was
asking who where am I thinking I had
died I ain’t just been waited and when I
heard
good morning mr. Bryant here in the
hospital it was one of the most
beautiful moments of my life my eyes are
full of tears not from the pain but from
the joy of still being alive but the joy
did not last long within a few hours the
hospital which was private and expensive
and I didn’t have health insurance at
that time discharged me and expected I
would arrange follow-up medical
treatments at my own the second part of
my American nightmare just began as a
result of the shooting incident I
underwent several surgeries
unfortunately though I ended up losing
sight in one eye the right side of my
face and head was and remains peppered
with more than three dozen bullet
fragments I lost my home my job my sense
of security and my fiance but gained
more than $60,000 in medical bills
I reached out to Red Cross
but then for me I was only qualified for
one week’s worth of groceries when my
father heard what happened to me he
suffered a stroke thankfully he survived
I was extremely fortunate
the gunman mark strowman killed two
South Asian man
during his 911 Italian shooting his pre
he claimed he was hunting a rabs
but not one of his three victim was
Middle Eastern after his arrest he told
news media he had done what most
Americans who wanted to do they just
didn’t have the guts he claimed he was
the true American a patriot he blamed me
and my kind for 9/11 and he said America
is no place for Muslims until I started
campaign to try to save his life with
the support of Amnesty International was
the big elephant of America
I ran a campaign to save the life of my
attacker working with reprieve a
london-based nonprofit organization I
took my campaign to the European Union
Parliament and German parliament at the
headquarter of lundvik the lethal
injection manufacturer in Denmark we
convinced him to write a letter to the
governor of Texas not to use their
product to kill human being after our
visit lambic also announced that they
would stop supplying this drug to the US
prisons that carry out executions in the
meantime marked him to know a little bit
about me and the diverse coalition I
formed with the help of Muslims Jews
Hindus Christian and atheists who
rallied together to get him removed from
death row I was told he was stunned he
was touched by our efforts this was not
something he expected from a Muslim in a
statement he said
in a free world I was free but I was
locked up in a prison inside myself
because of the hate I carried in my
heart it is due to a racist message of
forgiveness and more content now than
I’ve ever been
he also wrote a long letter to me where
he said my stepfather embedded some
lessons that I should have never learned
I haven’t learned some of them and I’m
still working on some of them I don’t
know who your parents were but it is
obvious they’re wonderful people to lead
you to act this way what happened as a
result of the shooting
mark was tried and convicted and he was
sentenced to death by lethal injection
in 2002 when he heard about my campaign
and contribution for the Muslim
community he thanked the entire Muslim
community condemned his own acts of
violence and called me brother in a
phone conversation it moves me
profoundly to think that the man who
tried to kill me because of the ways in
which I was different learn to see the
ways in which we were the same enough to
call me brother before he was executed
his last words were called for an end to
hatred saying hate is going on
everywhere it has to stop hate causes a
lifetime of pain it seems to me that all
the retaliation is a natural response it
does not make you feel as good as you
think it will any harm you inflate or
hopeless inflicted against another human
being winds up hurting you too we are
all cut from the same cloth when one of
us bleeds we all bleed when I was able
to see mark as a human like me learn
more about his life and that he had to I
was able to forgive him and that took
any hint of bitterness away from my
heart and allowed me to be whole again
he hated me when he didn’t know me but
in the end said he loved me
once you get to know the other it is
hard for you to hate them forgiveness
and kindness had a transformative effect
on Mark’s Roman life challenges us every
day I have traveled to many cities and
small towns across America that are
going through challenges meeting many
people struggling to make ends meet
stressed living in fear of the other and
looking for change I understand their
fear their pain and suffering the other
is not the enemy
ignorance and hate is the enemy and
unfortunately it has created so much
mistrust fear intolerance and keep
continues dividing us if we commit and
work together we can overcome the
challenges we can overcome the issues
that plague in American families in
destroying lives and communities there
is nothing that America cannot fix
together we can build a stronger more
prosperous and accepting world and in
turn compassionate and empathetic human
being but how do you bring about this
change as Gandhi said you must be the
change you want to see in the world I
wanted this world to be more merciful
forgiving and accepting I have suffered
a lot lost a tremendous amount because
of someone else’s head shed but the
tragedy helped me to see the possibility
of a world without hate a world full of
love compassion and empathy I could not
save the lack of marks Truman but
perhaps I can help save feature marks
Truman through my nonprofit world
without hate I dedicated my life working
to prevent
ignorant and violence ready getting
hatred by educating people about the
transformational power of mercy and
forgiveness empowering people to connect
with others unlike them and to encourage
everyone
to take time from learn one another
instead of the stereotypes and labels
society has imposed I believe we all
want it better just in more forgiving
world but what are we prepared to do to
get it I believe it starts within each
of us taking a moment to check where
your moral compass lies take a moment to
soften your heart make your tone a
little bit friendlier take time to
connect with others unlike you stand up
against all manifestations of hate take
a moment to forgive someone who hurt you
in the past extend a helping hand
reaching out to your family friends
neighbors who may be going through some
challenges in a sort of ignoring them
because by doing so you could positively
affect an event save innocent lives
together we must stand up against human
suffering even if we think we may not
like the victims the challenges Muslims
Jews Mexicans african-americans women
the LGBTQ community and all who are
suffering right now may not affect your
or your loved ones like today but may
indeed tomorrow I would like to leave
you with this as Martin numr the German
theologian said at first they came for
the Communists and I didn’t speak out
because I was not a communist then they
came for the trade unionist and I did
not speak out because I was not a trade
unionist then they came for the Jews and
I didn’t speak out because I was not as
you and then they came for me and there
was no one to speak for me thank you
[Applause]
what would you do if you were shot in
the face and left for dead
imagine you’re minding your own business
went for no reason that you could fathom
a stranger comes straight for you it
raises a shotgun aims it at your face
and pulls the trigger if you survived
what would you do with the show of hand
how many of you would want to seek
revenge I see some brave hurts it is
natural to want to fight back and there
is nothing shameful in having that
instinct but sometimes instinct does not
serve us well in the long run living in
a diverse society they are bound to be
conflicts social cultural religious
personal and professional we’re living
in a time where the escalation of these
conflicts means more innocent people are
paying the price
all too often with their lives
unfortunately the increase in conflicts
misunderstanding
violence creates only more victims more
laws more division and ultimately solves
nothing I can speak to this from
personal experience I was one of these
innocent victims I became a survivor not
satisfied though I eventually began to
thrive utilizing the tools that this
great country provides and choosing the
path of mercy compassion and forgiveness
which ultimately brought me here today
after graduating as a pilot officer from
Bangladesh Air Force Academy I did not
feel my destiny was there when I got a
chance to come to the United States for
additional higher education I took it
I left my family my home my fiance my
career to come to the United States to
fulfill my educational pursuits but also
hoping to experience the American dream
but within a short time my American
dream
turned into an American Nightmare
shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks
in white supremacist in Dallas was in a
shooting rampage killing Muslims I was
one of his victims on September 21st ten
days after the attacks I was working in
a friend’s gas station when a man
wearing a bandana sunglasses and a
baseball cap holding a sawed-off
double-barreled shotgun burst in he
pointed the gun directly at my face
having been robbed before I opened the
cash register and offered him money
instead of taking it his gauge remained
fixed and then he asked what are you
from and before I could say anything
more then excuse me he pulled the
trigger from point and blank range
I felt it first like a million bees were
stinging my face and then I hearted the
explosion I looked down and so blood was
pouring like it opened faucet from the
right side of my head frantically and
instinctively I place both hands on my
head thinking I had to keep my brain
from spilling out I heard myself
screaming then notice the gunman is
still standing there and I thought if I
did not appear to be dying he would
shoot me again I fell to the floor he
finally left I grabbed the phone but I
couldn’t not dial nine-one-one I ran to
the barber shop next door and three men
inside looked at me in horror and
assuming the gunman was right behind me
scramble to escape out back I screamed
grabbing one of them and begging him to
call 9-1-1 as he did I caught myself in
the mirror the image reflected back was
gruesome like something straight
out of a horror movie in an instant it
takes to pull the trigger
I had become disfigured was losing blood
and strength
rapidly fighting to stay awake fighting
to stay alive the EMTs arrived on scene
found me running around the parking lot
screaming barefoot shirtless on my way
to the hospital I began losing
consciousness images of my mother my
father my other siblings and my fiance
appeared before my eyes and then a
graveyard I promised God if you let me
live I would do good things with my life
there was so much I had wanted to
accomplish and contribute five hours
after I was shot I finally lost
consciousness and was put on life
support the next thing I remember I was
asking who where am I thinking I had
died I ain’t just been waited and when I
heard
good morning mr. Bryant here in the
hospital it was one of the most
beautiful moments of my life my eyes are
full of tears not from the pain but from
the joy of still being alive but the joy
did not last long within a few hours the
hospital which was private and expensive
and I didn’t have health insurance at
that time discharged me and expected I
would arrange follow-up medical
treatments at my own the second part of
my American nightmare just began as a
result of the shooting incident I
underwent several surgeries
unfortunately though I ended up losing
sight in one eye the right side of my
face and head was and remains peppered
with more than three dozen bullet
fragments I lost my home my job my sense
of security and my fiance but gained
more than $60,000 in medical bills
I reached out to Red Cross
but then for me I was only qualified for
one week’s worth of groceries when my
father heard what happened to me he
suffered a stroke thankfully he survived
I was extremely fortunate
the gunman mark strowman killed two
South Asian man
during his 911 Italian shooting his pre
he claimed he was hunting a rabs
but not one of his three victim was
Middle Eastern after his arrest he told
news media he had done what most
Americans who wanted to do they just
didn’t have the guts he claimed he was
the true American a patriot he blamed me
and my kind for 9/11 and he said America
is no place for Muslims until I started
campaign to try to save his life with
the support of Amnesty International was
the big elephant of America
I ran a campaign to save the life of my
attacker working with reprieve a
london-based nonprofit organization I
took my campaign to the European Union
Parliament and German parliament at the
headquarter of lundvik the lethal
injection manufacturer in Denmark we
convinced him to write a letter to the
governor of Texas not to use their
product to kill human being after our
visit lambic also announced that they
would stop supplying this drug to the US
prisons that carry out executions in the
meantime marked him to know a little bit
about me and the diverse coalition I
formed with the help of Muslims Jews
Hindus Christian and atheists who
rallied together to get him removed from
death row I was told he was stunned he
was touched by our efforts this was not
something he expected from a Muslim in a
statement he said
in a free world I was free but I was
locked up in a prison inside myself
because of the hate I carried in my
heart it is due to a racist message of
forgiveness and more content now than
I’ve ever been
he also wrote a long letter to me where
he said my stepfather embedded some
lessons that I should have never learned
I haven’t learned some of them and I’m
still working on some of them I don’t
know who your parents were but it is
obvious they’re wonderful people to lead
you to act this way what happened as a
result of the shooting
mark was tried and convicted and he was
sentenced to death by lethal injection
in 2002 when he heard about my campaign
and contribution for the Muslim
community he thanked the entire Muslim
community condemned his own acts of
violence and called me brother in a
phone conversation it moves me
profoundly to think that the man who
tried to kill me because of the ways in
which I was different learn to see the
ways in which we were the same enough to
call me brother before he was executed
his last words were called for an end to
hatred saying hate is going on
everywhere it has to stop hate causes a
lifetime of pain it seems to me that all
the retaliation is a natural response it
does not make you feel as good as you
think it will any harm you inflate or
hopeless inflicted against another human
being winds up hurting you too we are
all cut from the same cloth when one of
us bleeds we all bleed when I was able
to see mark as a human like me learn
more about his life and that he had to I
was able to forgive him and that took
any hint of bitterness away from my
heart and allowed me to be whole again
he hated me when he didn’t know me but
in the end said he loved me
once you get to know the other it is
hard for you to hate them forgiveness
and kindness had a transformative effect
on Mark’s Roman life challenges us every
day I have traveled to many cities and
small towns across America that are
going through challenges meeting many
people struggling to make ends meet
stressed living in fear of the other and
looking for change I understand their
fear their pain and suffering the other
is not the enemy
ignorance and hate is the enemy and
unfortunately it has created so much
mistrust fear intolerance and keep
continues dividing us if we commit and
work together we can overcome the
challenges we can overcome the issues
that plague in American families in
destroying lives and communities there
is nothing that America cannot fix
together we can build a stronger more
prosperous and accepting world and in
turn compassionate and empathetic human
being but how do you bring about this
change as Gandhi said you must be the
change you want to see in the world I
wanted this world to be more merciful
forgiving and accepting I have suffered
a lot lost a tremendous amount because
of someone else’s head shed but the
tragedy helped me to see the possibility
of a world without hate a world full of
love compassion and empathy I could not
save the lack of marks Truman but
perhaps I can help save feature marks
Truman through my nonprofit world
without hate I dedicated my life working
to prevent
ignorant and violence ready getting
hatred by educating people about the
transformational power of mercy and
forgiveness empowering people to connect
with others unlike them and to encourage
everyone
to take time from learn one another
instead of the stereotypes and labels
society has imposed I believe we all
want it better just in more forgiving
world but what are we prepared to do to
get it I believe it starts within each
of us taking a moment to check where
your moral compass lies take a moment to
soften your heart make your tone a
little bit friendlier take time to
connect with others unlike you stand up
against all manifestations of hate take
a moment to forgive someone who hurt you
in the past extend a helping hand
reaching out to your family friends
neighbors who may be going through some
challenges in a sort of ignoring them
because by doing so you could positively
affect an event save innocent lives
together we must stand up against human
suffering even if we think we may not
like the victims the challenges Muslims
Jews Mexicans african-americans women
the LGBTQ community and all who are
suffering right now may not affect your
or your loved ones like today but may
indeed tomorrow I would like to leave
you with this as Martin numr the German
theologian said at first they came for
the Communists and I didn’t speak out
because I was not a communist then they
came for the trade unionist and I did
not speak out because I was not a trade
unionist then they came for the Jews and
I didn’t speak out because I was not as
you and then they came for me and there
was no one to speak for me thank you
[Applause]
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