Peace Alliance PSA

Peace Alliance PSA by Azim Khamisa

Washington, D.C. -- March 31, 2008 -- The Peace Alliance marked the start of National Youth Violence Prevention Week 2008 today with the launch of its I Stand for Peace education and awareness campaign. I Stand for Peace focuses attention on the systemic cycle of youth violence in the U.S. and provides the public and communities with access to nationally recognized solutions to combat this issue.

A PSA titled "Stand Up and Be Counted" will begin airing nationwide today. Produced in partnership with The Peace Alliance by graduate students from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, the 30-second spot tells Azim Khamisa's personal story of losing his son Tariq to gang violence in 1995. Seeing victims on both ends of the gun, Khamisa started The Tariq Khamisa Foundation (www.tkf.org) in his son's honor, and invited the grandfather of his son's killer to join him. Together they have successfully taught children the principles of nonviolence and peacemaking for over 13 years.

"Tariq was murdered by a 14-year-old gang member," said Khamisa, a noted public speaker and expert on youth violence prevention. "This violence must end. Giving children the tools they need to nonviolently resolve conflict must be a national priority. The Peace Alliance's I Stand for Peace campaign, like TKF, will bring further awareness to this issue, its urgency, and solutions to keep kids from killing kids."

In addition to the PSA, an informational website, www.thepeacealliance.org/stand, is available for the public to access statistical data, prevention programs and links to a variety of resources.

According to a 2007 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), homicide in the U.S. is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10 through 24, and of those deaths, 81 percent were killed with a firearm. In 2005, this same group accounted for almost 50 percent of homicide-related arrests and 62 percent of arrests related to robbery. Additionally, according to a 2004 World Health Organization report, the cost of interpersonal violence in the U.S reaches upwards of $300 billion annually. The same report estimates the cost to victims at more than $500 billion per year. These costs exclude expenses associated with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

"Our goal is to reignite awareness of the youth violence epidemic in the U.S. and educate the public and community leaders that there is essentially a 'cure,'" said Peace Alliance Managing Director Wendy Greene. "There are proven solutions out there, but they're meaningless if we don't use them. Our young people deserve better. They deserve to live in a country where reducing and preventing youth violence a national priority. They deserve to be safe and to grow up without fear."

Please stand with us.

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