another blow to his ego. he was electrocuted, and he couldn t work because of his injury and we were on food stamps. he became very withdrawn and started spending more and more time reading his koran and becoming more introverted. the afghan war was raging at the time and muslims from all over the world were traveling to afghanistan tofying the soviet union. around the world, public demonstrations of outrage against the soviet invasion of afghanistan mount. my father very much wanted to go, to be a part of something greater than himself after take these knocks to his self-esteem. zach s father found that sense of purpose right here in jersey city. actually, there s the mosque right up there. that s where my father started spending more and more time and less time with our family. as a kid, zach often attended mosque with his father. it s here they would listen to a
beliefs matter and understanding them matter. ladies and gentlemen, here s zach ibrahim. this is model united nations. thousands of high school students from all over the world have gathered here to learn how to become future leaders and now zach has their full attention. i was 7 years old when my father went to prison and there s not a day that goes by that i don t wish he had chosen a peaceful path. instead, he exposed me from a very young age to the intolerance and radical nature of extremism. yet i stand before you all today with this simple message. that no matter the level of violence you ve been exposed to, it doesn t have to define your character. in all of us is the ability to change our paths. jen and zach s stories are
a q&a with me! join for free on the xfinity app. our thanks your rewards. this is 34-year-old zach ibrahim. once again, he s leaving town. he has moved more than 30 times and even changed his name. a nomadic life that began when he was just a little boy. in 1983, zach was born in pittsburgh to an american schoolteacher and an egyptian industrial engineer. elsayid nosair.
as a young kid, the main thing for me was just that our family would never be together again. did you realize at the time that he was conspiring to commit something catastrophic? no. we had no clue. his actions were such a betrayal to my family. my mother divorced my father not long after the bombing. the idea that our family might someday be together again was tossed out the window. overcome with shame and condemned by outsiders, zach and his family once again began a new round of moving and hiding their identity. i spent a lot of time feeling abandoned by my father. it s not an exaggeration to say that i was bullied every single day, and i was getting into a physical fight every other day. school was torment for me.
very, very different but strangely enough, they are very similar. they are both very protective of their mothers and they re both very passionate about their mission. in many ways, their childhoods and adult lives have been defined by what their fathers have done but they have chosen to spread messages of life and not death. being a child of a killer is a silent burden but jen and zach are no longer hiding. in the past i was trying to atone for my father s crimes and now i know i cannot bring back his victims. i can t pay this debt. it is not my debt. of course. thank you. there are people out there who would not listen to me if it weren t for the fact that my father committed horrible crimes. as the son of an extremist, i have the insight and the