KathyEldon

So now I've got tears streaming down my face. Get out of the hospital and tackle your next safari. Come and visit me at the Dan Eldon Center for Creative Activism and know that Dan's crazy spirit is on your shoulder nudging you and won't leave until you can soar again. Can't wait to meet you!

What a great question. Thank you so much. If you really want to read about the writings of forgiveness, I would recommend Fred Luskin, who examines what forgiveness is and isn't. Forgiveness is not forgetting, nor desiring justice, but it's releasing the emotion around the act. It's for you, not for the other person, and it really makes you the hero, not the victim. It stops the cycle of revenge, it can go on for generations, as we see exhibited so clearly in the world today. I found Luskin's work revelatory. I'd also recommend the film "Beyond Right & Wrong" which looks at three situations which seemed unforgivable, and shows how the "victims" truly became heroes. You can view the film on FilmRaise for free, and if you would, please choose Creative Visions and our foundation will get $0.50 per view.

Glad you asked! Sorry to leave you hanging. Amy and I returned to America as angry with Somalis as we had been when we left. We finished the film about journalists at risk, "Dying to Tell the Story," which was to premiere at the United Nations. The day of the premiere, Amy and I crawled into a taxi to head to the UN and to our amazement, the taxi driver was Somali. We looked at each other, what do we do now? I decided to tell him everything. On that journey, I shared how my son had been beaten and stoned to death by a Somali mob. I had no idea how he would react. When we arrived at the United Nations, I could see the flags fluttering in the background, and was ready to leave the car, when the driver turned around, and I could see that there were tears glistening in his eyes. "My name is Ibrahim and I know everything about your son and his friends. They were trying to help and they should never have been killed." Then, he looked at me and said, "On behalf of Somalis, I ask your forgiveness." I took a deep breath, and realized the truth of Gandhi's words, "If the world is to change, we have to be the change." "Thank you Ibrahim. I understand why the Somalis did what they did and I forgive the people who killed my son." With that, I felt as if a sky light opened in my soul and released a tremendous burst of energy. It flowed through me and I believe that energy is what has fueled the work I have done together with Amy since that day. For anyone interested in learning about the power of forgiveness, please view the film "Beyond Right & Wrong" - available for free on FilmRaise. Typing in "Creative Visions Foundation" on the site will help to benefit our foundation.

In 1996, my daughter Amy and I returned to Somalia to visit the site where my son was killed with three young colleagues. I recall the visit vividly and have described it in my memoir, "In the Heart of Life." It was painful beyond measure to see the impact of the bombing of a villa where UN and US forces thought a warlord was hiding. Instead, there was a peace meeting attended by elders of the community, religious leaders, and architects who were planning a peaceful future. They were served by women and children. The bombing took out the staircase so that no one could escape. The survivors ran to the journalists hotel to beg Dan and his colleagues to come and photograph the carnage. Tragically, when the young journalists arrived, the people were so enraged that they beat and stoned the journalists to death. I knew this story when I arrived on the scene, but witnessing the reality of the devastation shattered both Amy and me. However, we had to leave quickly because our presence there upset Somali men and women - many of whom had been at the scene 3 years before and were angry that we had come to remind them of what had happened. They pounded on our vehicle and angrily demanded that we leave. It was very frightening and I left the scene feeling as hurt as I had been when I arrived. What happened next is the really interesting bit.

My favorite photo is a picture of his little sister Amy, aged about 13, peeking around the side of his beloved Land Rover, Deziree. I'll post it on my Facebook page after this interview! It captures the confusion of a 13-year-old who was just about to fly.