March 28, 2024
Education News Canada

MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY
Sikh and former white supremacist share story of friendship and hope after fatal shooting

March 14, 2019

An unlikely friendship that emerged from violent tragedy shared a message of forgiveness and understanding from the Bella Concert Hall stage March 12.

On Aug.5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page walked into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., and shot five men and one woman to death. The horrific attack shattered families and drew worldwide outrage and grief, but from the ashes of that terrible day has come a campaign of hope.

Arno Michaelis was a founder of the white supremacist group to which the shooter belonged. Pardeep Singh Kaleka was the son of victim Satwant Singh Kaleka, the temple leader. Following the shooting, Kaleka and Michaelis, who had denounced his former affiliation in 1994, met and founded Serve2Unite, an award-winning, international peacebuilding and educational initiative. The two, along with New York Times writer bestselling author Robin Gaby Fisher, have collaborated on a book called The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist find Forgiveness after Hate, published in April 2018 by St. Martin's Press.

Michaelis and Kaleka spoke as part of Mount Royal University's Manmeet Bhullar Speaker at the Bella Concert Hall. The event included a panel discussion led by the late Bhullar's sister Tarjinder Bhullar. The pair also received the Arts Distinguished Speaker Award, which recognizes persons who through scholarship, advocacy or service are considered champions for advancing the importance of the arts and/or social sciences. The Faculty of Arts Distinguished Speaker Series and the Office of the Provost funded the event.

A former police officer, Kaleka is now a therapist specializing in holistic, trauma -informed treatment with survivors of assault, abuse and acts of violence. "It's really about nurturing that part of your human spirit that is forgiving," he says of the message behind the event.

Having spoken to groups over the last number of years, Michaelis, now a writer and filmmaker, says audiences have been receptive, although these themes can be difficult for some.

"We humans have far more in common than otherwise, and we all have the ability to heal, and to serve others, helping them heal," he says. "Reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, although the theme of oneness can be challenging to people with extreme political or religious views. We're fine with that."

These themes cut across many of the disciplines contained in MRU's faculty of Arts, says organizer Micheal Hawley, PhD, an associate professor of religious studies.

"It tells us of the value of what we do across the arts," says Hawley. "It really speaks to the value of all the disciplines in this faculty."

For more information

Mount Royal University
4825 Mount Royal Gate SW
Calgary Alberta
Canada T3E 6K6
www.mtroyal.ca


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