Ali Abdul Karim, a Muslim man from Brooklyn is a private investigator, security manager and a teacher to many kids.  He grew up on the rough streets of Brooklyn and knows how difficult it is to stay above and strive to be the best.  So, to give back to his community and teach the kids a successful way of life and being, he became a muslim and then started to teach kids martial arts and life lessons.  He has now been doing this for over 30 years, creating basketball teams, teaching kids lifestyle lessons and the martial arts to keep them off of a destructive path.  He said, ” That in life these kids who grow up in high crime and gun violence areas need help to stay away from guns and violence and a terrible life of encarciration and uneducation.”  He is continuing his work and has no plan on stopping.  He thinks that more people should get involved in gun violence awareness.

1. What do you think went well during your workshop? Name at least two things.

I think that the prensentation of the information went well in my workshop.  The kids all understood and interpreted a large amount of facts about gun violence and how it effects the world.  I think this really helped get the workshop moving and gave the kids a chance to have more fun doing the activities.  The activities also went well.  The kids got the choice of doing a poster, skit or song.  The kids for the most part, split up equally by interests and learned how to incorporate real world things into there topics.

2.What did you think about being a “teacher” for two hours?  What was exciting/challenging? How did you manage, as a team, to address what came up?

I think that teaching is hard word and takes focus and and understanding of interactions.  It wasw exciting because we had all of the power and got to get some of the perspective of the job.  It was challenging because you had to keep on task, meanwhile teaching, meanwhile controlling the room.  All in All, bewcaue there were a couple of “teachers” my group and I worked together and came out on top.

3. What would you have done differently in your workshop, if you could?

I would made it so we had more time and had more reflection upon the topic

4. What lasting learning do you leave with about your topic and/or social justice activism?

That gun violence is a topic that will always be there and that it is something that shouldn

5. What went well with your set up groups? What are your thoughts about the assemblies?

What went well my set up group was how we allocated the work.  We made it so each person had somehting to do and did that thing. I thought ther assemblies were good because everyone was really into what was going on.

6. Comment on the process that led up to the Teach-In? What did you like? What suggestions do you have for next year?

The process was very tedious and took a lot of work.  I liked that we had a lot of time to work on the project in school.  I think we should start the project earlier next year, possibly having more required visits.

7. Anything else?

Nothing really, except that this for all groups and all topics, something humbles us and something we cherish for a long time.

Today, I met and visited with one Merill Moore.  He is a police officer in the NYPD.  Day in and Day out he works to stop cirme all over the city.  He specifically does a lot fo work to stop gun violence in all neignborhoods and boroughs.  I spoke with him about the probes and tactics that the police use to stop gun violence in the city.  Some of the tactics that are being used are guns for money, gun drives, tip lines, gun search warrants and frisking and debreifing on the rise.  Cops are now supposed to and they are allowed to search any person in their custody for guns.  There are now specific units and task forcesmade to stop gun violence.  I spoke to another detective, who told about being on one of these anti-crime task forces.  he said that the captain would send him and 5 other detectives out to patrol the neighborhood but in normal clothes.  Making them seem normal but they are really detectives looking for men and ttenagers who look like they’re could have a gun or know information.  The main reason why the NYPD created these things is to get these illegal and dangerous guns off the street.  Form a cop’s perspective the less guns on the street the better.  But when i was talking to Mr. Moore he also told me that he think that laws shoiuld be changed that deal with guns.  He feels that criminals, in America and overseas are way too easily let in and out of jail if they are convicted of gun charges.  Officers are now losing power, the force once had 45,000 men and women, now it is closer to 35,000.  More potential officers are finding other jobs because they are afraid or aren’t willing to risk their lives and not be properly cared for or that justice will be sought out.  But, there are still those like officer Moore and Detective Carl who still work to stop specifically gun violence all over this great city.  Saving the lives of innocent people like me and you.

Today, we had a very important conference at the U.N.  We were speaking to people who came to this annual event and this was the first time any teenagers or kids had ever spoken at this event.  It was in Conference Room C in the North Lawn Building.  We were all pretty cool before we got to the building.  We had rehearsed the night before and earlier that day.  But, once we got up there and realized how many people would be there, (around 70) and how important it is, (this being the only conference of this type at the U.N every year) my group and i got nervous.  But, we had practiced many times and were very well prepared for the event.  There were 7  people on the panel that we were on.  These people were somewhat  well known and had been working to help stop gun violence for up to 15 years.  The coolest part of our panel was that all of us panelists brought a different perspective to gun violence.  One women was from Congo and talked their gun violence problems, Another women was from Columbia and talked about their problems, Another was from Guyana and talked about their problems.  Then, the U.N Ambassador for dissarmament affairs spoke and he talked on a worldwide and international scale.  Saying stats and views of people in many different places across the globe.  But, even with all of those esteemed professionals there, and the media surrounding them taking pictures, we seemed to intrigue the pople the most.  It was our perspective, our views, our statistics that seemed to hit home the hardest.  When we spoke we got the loudest appalause because the people around us realized how serious we were about gun violence prevention.  Many people, who were from places overseas that had gun violence problems were surprised to hear about America’s gun violence problems but they do exist and is something tha needs to be adressed by the president, by the Senate, the House, our governors and our mayors.  Because if we dont act now soon there will be no hope to act upon.

 

When I arrived at the IANSA offices, i expected to walk into a room with tons of high-tech gear and people working at high rate.  On the phone, typing reports and other office like things.  But, when I went upstairs and walked into the room,  I saw almost the complete opposite.  I saw a man, Mark Marge, dressed in a suit, in front a normal computer at an old-school desk.  There also tons of posters on the walls, talking about peace for all,  human rights, civil rights and many other U.N related issues.  After I settled into the room with my group, we introduced ourselves to Sarah Masters, a woman who is big exec in the IANSA world that works in London but came over for the event that we were going to tomorrow.  My group and I then rehearsed our piece in front of Ms. Masters multiple times so we could do our best tomorrow at our Conference at the U.N.  After we rehearsed, we got to learn a little about Ms. Masters and her work and how she got into gun violence.  She is a person who is well known in the gun violence world, and we were all very lucky to have the opportunity to meet her.