In september of 2001 rais bhuiyan was working at a gas station convenience store in dallas texas when a day laborer named mark stroman walked into the store and shot bhuiyan. Reporter anand giridharadas wins 2015 helen bernstein book. For many of us, this is a day for cookouts and fireworks. But it is also a chance to think about freedom including the freedom to decide what it means to be an american. I deplore the acts of violence and hatred that are wrongly performed in the name of my religion, they do not represent me or my beliefs, and they do not reflect the lessons taught in. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the true american. Rais bhuiyan envisioning a world without violence, a. Hear the all things considered program for june 19, 2011. Youtube video my american dream turned into a nightmare a former pilot in bangladesh, bhuiyan immigrated to the u. And several years after the incident, rais spoke to npr. In the true american, victim of attempted murder tries to save. In one of his roles, rais bhuiyan pronounced race booyon is a sixfigureayear supervisor of global it for a travel company, responsible for teams of systems engineers in india, the. Rais bhuiyan, from bangladesh, survived a killing spree targeting muslims in the us days after sept.
Rais bhuiyan was shot in the face by mark stroman in 2001. Raisuddin bhuiyan one book one lcc 201516 the true. His book the true american chronicles the stories of rais bhuiyan. Stroman was on a shooting spree, targeting people who appeared to be muslim or of. We thought this would be a good day to hear encore conversations with people who thought a lot. He then spent years fighting to save the shooters life, and now runs a nonprofit called world. Rais bhuiyan was almost killed in a hate crime back in 2001. In the wake of the september 11th attacks, rais bhuiyan was shot in the face by mark stroman as an act of revenge. His neardeath experience and subsequent religious pilgrimage sparked a profound journey for rais, including an international campaign advocating to save his. Ten days after 911, rais was the victim of a horrific hate crime. Rais bhuiyan speakers bureau and booking agent info.
Last month i posted about rais bhuiyan, the muslim hate crime victim who is advocating that his attacker, who shot bhuiyan as part of a post911 shooting spree in which two other victims were killed, be spared the death penalty. Rais bhuiyan making a courageous stand to end cycles of violence flowing from 911 read more 9. Stroman was on a shooting spree, targeting people who appeared to be muslim or. And several years after the incident, rais spoke to npr about what happened.
A victim of 911 hate crime fights for attackers life. Rais bhuiyan is a peace activist and an it professional. Rais bhuiyan making a courageous stand to end cycles of violence flowing from 911 read more 911. We actually have some tape of this from npr s all things considered, where he. After being shot in the face, rais bhuiyan becomes. Rais bhuiyan profile rais bhuiyan americans of the year 2011. Why a hate crime survivor tried to save the life of his wouldbe killer. He went to new york city to study computer technology. Earlier i spoke with the author of the book, new york times columnist anand giridharadas. Rais bhuiyan is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. He came to the station with a gun pointing towards me. Workshops are fully customized as participants engage in highly participatory and multifaceted storytelling. Ted talk anand giridharadas spent two years researching a man who. Murder and mercy in texas norton 2014, scheduled to be made into a major motion picture.
Murder and mercy in texas inspired by rais bhuiyan. I am an american muslim and survivor of a violent post 911 hate crime. Murder and mercy in texas kindle edition by giridharadas, anand. Rais bhuiyan generally travels from and can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Rais bhuiyan survived and, a decade later, tried to stop stromans execution. The purpose of the law is serve justice and not, as i said previously, to avenge victims whether they want it or not. Shot in the face for looking muslim, rais bhuiyan explains.
Bhuiyan survived, and later founded a nonprofit, world without hate, to help end the behaviors that fuel racism. The journey ive taken moved me from a place of pain on the deepest level to a place of hope for a kinder world, a world without violence, a world without victims, and a world without hate. If you could face him again, on your terms, what would you do. Keynote speakers were author anand giridharadas and the book s inspiring subject, rais bhuiyan. World without hates signature empathy ambassadors leadership training is a multidisciplinary, multicultural, development program in which participants discover, or rediscover, and connect, reconnect, or expand how they live and interact in the world, both within and around them. May 27, 2015 journalist anand giridharadas has won the new york public library s 2015 helen bernstein book award for excellence in journalism for his groundbreaking work, the true american. Ten days after 911, rais was shot from point blank range by a white supremacist in dallas, tx. Murder and mercy in texas, journalist anand giridharadas follows both the victim and the perpetrator of a brutal crime after the sept.
This rampage left two dead and raisuddin rais bhuiyan critically injured. Nonfiction imagine that a terrorist tried to kill you. Could you forgive the man who shot you in the face. That someone is rais bhuiyan, that crimes victim and, ultimately, this storys. Rais bhuiyans extraordinary story has been chronicled in the true american. Stroman was on a shooting spree, targeting people who. Part of the reason to write this book is to ask, what is really a true american. In the days after 911, a dallas man named mark stroman went on a revenge killing spree. The true american reveals a hopeful, complicated country. Rais bhuiyan came to public attention again when he decided to argue against the death penalty for mark stroman. Hear his inspiring story about mercy and having second chances. A film trailer for a documentary film by ilan ziv, an eye for an eye, that tells the story of mark stroman, a former extremist who shot rais bhuiyan and killed two others.
After serving as a pilot officer in the bangladesh air force, rais moved to the united states in 1999 to study computer technology. The only surviving victim was a bangladeshi minimart clerk, raisuddin bhuiyan, who goes by the name rais. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Rais bhuiyan after he was shot in the face on sept. In an interview with timothy williams, bhuiyan s comments reinforce. He then founded a nonprofit organization called, world without hate. In dallas in 2001, rais bhuiyan was shot in the face by a white supremacist, revenge for 911.
703 128 69 1505 1167 1516 890 387 855 1238 1136 1220 542 1188 254 86 279 160 761 1139 653 1277 1614 901 1026 300 1483 187 1461 309 874 552 1367 1167 1371 467 712 599 1274 217 986 9