Letter from Sunny Zia, Founder & Chair

Dear Friends and Family,

On behalf of City of Irvine, Mayor Beth Krom and the Humanity Unites team, I extend my heart-felt invitation to you to join us for the second annual "Walk For Unity" October 4th at Irvine's Bill Barber Park.

The purpose of the annual Walk For Unity is to unite people from different parts of the world and all walks of life in celebrating and embracing humanity. A word and concept that is at stake in today's world.

I would like to share with you a personal experience, one which I haven’t often shared in the past for reasons such as fear of being vulnerable, being misunderstood or weak. I have transformed that selfish mental fear and wish to share it with you, perhaps you may gain value. I thank you in advance for your generous reading.

“It is approximately 4 P.M. as I am watching Saddam Hussein’s fighter planes bomb my city, Tehran. One after the other, buildings crumble right before my eyes. As my mother is trying to rush me to the emergency shelter, I think to myself that peace is never possible! How could it be, when bombs are coming down hard and heavy, what is one to do, watch?” And ever since that year and until my personal transformation, I lived my life thinking of words such as harmony, peace, and unity nothing but illusions and the "real world” a game of survival—kill or get killed.

So you may ask yourself, why on earth, would someone with my background, be committed to causing peace and harmony in the world by uniting people. The reason is simple: I got tired of myself and people around me complaining, being resigned, or blaming others! I got tired of people killing each other off for their commitment to being “right, and proving the other wrong”!

I realized that it’s not just about me, the Iranian- American kid. It’s about that Israeli kid, that Palestinian kid, the Iraqi kid, it’s about all of us! You could say I transformed my mindset and got access to what is possible. A day where no child is dying for dirt!

Now you may ask yourself: "Even if it is possible, how is it achieved? Moreover, what is a Walk going to accomplish?" Perfectly reasonable questions to ask and here’s my answer:

The “How” is achieved through Education, Education, Education. and not the ordinary education we are accustomed to! The kind of education where we are bridging into each other’s hearts and overcome the stereotypical definitions about each other that we have been conditioned to believe as “The Truth”. It is about being extraordinary and through this type of education realizing that we are the same.

If you look at the world from a distance, you see no borders nor boundaries, what a simple, yet powerful concept! I ask of us, what are we before we're Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Democrat, Republican ...? We are human beings. Let's not wear our labels of diversity as shields but rather as access to cause harmony!

It is easy to focus on what has happened in the past and that global harmony has not been accomplished. I invite you to also consider that the same approach has been taken and therefore the same disastrous results! It is time to bring forth committed and proactive action in making a lasting impact in a world that truly deserves it! How much more tragedies can we be at the effect of?

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the people I’ve seen sacrificed due to war and human atrocities. Although I can’t save their lives, I have vowed that I will take every pro-active action to cause a future of justice and peace for our children and our children’s children.

If you are inspired by a future of peace for our generation and those to follow, if you are in inquiry about the practicality of the possibility, or even would like to challenge it, I invite you to join us on September 29th as we come together as one village, one nation, one world and take action!

If you don't believe it's possible, I invite you to ask yourself, "What if Martin Luther King, Gandhi, or our nation's Founding Fathers thought what they were about to do was impossible?”. They believed in their possibility and gave their commitment to it!” If there’s a Will, there’s a Way”. They also had at least one thing in common and that was that they didn’t do it for themselves, they did it for all of us!

The world does not need any more selfish people. Let's be inspired and inspire! Let's BE the cause and the leaders starting from our fortunate and privileged country, the United States, where we have the world represented! Lets cause Unity through our humanity!

It is not only a pleasure for me to invite you, but a profound privilege to have the opportunity to make a difference and have you as partners! On behalf of the Humanity Unites team, we look forward to having you walk with us on Saturday, October 4th at Bill Barber Park in Irvine!

Warmest Wishes,

Sunny Zia