Imtiaz Sooliman – MOVERS & SHAKERS ll Episode 5

Imtiaz Sooliman
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AI: Summary ©

Dr. Imtiaz campaigns on helping people of all cultures to address the crisis in South Africa. He describes his mission to form an organization to help people of all races, political affiliations, and geographical locations. He also talks about his responsibility to save lives and prevent war, as well as his experience with a seven-year-old walking with a bowl of olives. He emphasizes the importance of protecting people's privacy and the need for people to trust leaders.

AI: Summary ©

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			I know him as a very passionate
and compassionate human being.
		
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			He's driven by vision and by
purpose, and this you see,
		
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			translated into everything that
the gift of the givers does.
		
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			Africa has a reputation for being
on the receiving end of aid, but
		
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			one man's mission is helping to
change this perception. Today,
		
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			we're taking you to the very heart
of humanitarianism and bringing
		
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			you the story of Dr Imtiaz
Suleiman, the founder of the
		
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			largest response agency of African
origin, the gift of the givers in
		
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			1990 following a civil war in
Mozambique, a young Dr Suleman,
		
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			who had only been practicing
medicine for four years, led a
		
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			team of volunteers to deliver aid
and Benoit to him. This would be
		
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			the beginning of a lifelong
mission and a calling of sorts.
		
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			But the thing that finally changed
was in 1990 when I went to
		
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			Mozambique. But what struck me
more than anything else, without
		
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			the fighting, I saw these two
little black kids. They were
		
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			digging a hole, and I thought they
were building a sand castle, and
		
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			when the hole was about half a
meter deep, they actually put
		
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			their hand in the bottom to drop
some water. And I asked my guide.
		
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			I said, today people must have
been doing water this way. Why is
		
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			are these kids doing this? Is it
some kind of a game they play?
		
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			Said, my friend, there's a drought
in Mozambique. There's no water.
		
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			We've got big rivers, we've got
the big sea, but there's no
		
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			drinking water. And I froze. It
hit me the reality of having no
		
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			water. I came back and I launched
a project to help people of
		
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			Mozambique. We put in 30 wells, we
supported the hospital, we paid
		
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			salaries of doctors. And that was
the first project. I thought,
		
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			okay, it's over. And just a few
weeks later, when the Gulf War
		
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			broke out, people said, You know
what, you've marketed Mozambique,
		
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			why don't you do something for the
Gulf War? And then I did that. And
		
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			then a few months later, there was
a cyclone in Bangladesh. And the
		
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			real change came in the same year
91 when I met a spiritual teacher
		
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			in Istanbul. It was as a result of
that cyclone that I was forced to
		
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			go to Turkey. Dr Suleiman is on a
spiritual mission. He was given an
		
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			instruction from a Sufi teacher to
actually put this organization in
		
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			place to help any nation, any
religion, any nationality, and he
		
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			lives by that credo. So for him,
it's a higher level purpose that
		
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			drives absolutely everything that
he does. Two years after getting
		
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			the instruction from his Sufi, he
quit his private practice and
		
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			traded his white coat for a life
of alleviating the suffering of
		
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			others on a much bigger scale. It
was a Thursday night, the sixth of
		
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			August, 1992 they had a spiritual
program. After the play, he just
		
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			turned and he looked at me, and he
said, You will form an
		
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			organization. The name will be
gift of the givers. You will not
		
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			I'm not asking you. I'm
instructing you. You will serve
		
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			all people of all religion of all
races, of all classes, of all
		
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			colors, of all political
affiliations and of any
		
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			geographical location, and you
will serve them unconditionally.
		
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			He had that spiritual link and
inclination that he will he is
		
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			being chosen to some degree that
he will provide assistance to
		
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			those in need in various forms and
fashions as a vehicle, and it's
		
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			God helping others through him.
What starts to happen to you as
		
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			you confront the magnitude of
seeing people in triage, and the
		
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			most important thing is you cannot
be emotionally attached. So when I
		
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			go to a war zone, people ask me,
how are you? I said, I have
		
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			compassion, and I'm ice cold at
the same time. They can't
		
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			understand that I have compassion
generally, people I need but I'm
		
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			ice cold when it comes to an
individual. I don't get attached
		
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			to an individual in the area that
I work in. The moment I get
		
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			attached, my mission is over
because I will not be able to
		
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			function. I'll start crying. I'll
get weak, you know? I won't be
		
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			able to concentrate. So I said,
Okay, when a child is dying in
		
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			front of me, I'm unmoved, sorry to
say that, but I'm unmoved. But if
		
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			I don't do that, I'm trying to
worry about one child, I lose the
		
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			1000s that I'm supposed to help.
It affects me. Yes, in terms of
		
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			the competition is getting
greater. Does it get heavy? Yes,
		
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			it gets very people call you a
number of things, you know, not
		
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			just doctor, but Dr, Savior. Do
you consider yourself a savior?
		
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			No, I just consider myself
fortunate to be, maybe
		
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			presumptuous to be but to be
selected to do what I do, because
		
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			they said that's only a grace and
a favor from God Almighty. Most
		
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			recently, Dr Suleiman and his team
defied the South African
		
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			government and went into Syria,
risking their lives and the wrath
		
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			of the country's army, all in a
bid to bring much needed relief to
		
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			the afflicted. The world was not
responding to Syria, and the world
		
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			really is still not responding to
Syria. We are into trouble for
		
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			that as well. Yes, and I mean, I
mean the question with the SA
		
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			government, like, how could you do
that? Who authorized you to go
		
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			there? No, no, it wasn't so it
wasn't so brave. And they told.
		
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			I had a discussion, pre discussion
with them, and they told me, You
		
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			know what, we will be unhappy if
you go into Serbia, probably
		
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			security concerns, you know,
diplomacy, diplomacy issues. You
		
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			don't seem to be deterred by that.
No, you I told him, I'll go in
		
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			illegally. I said it bluntly, I
will go in illegally. You know, we
		
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			will stop me. I said, the world
spends a lot of money planning how
		
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			to bomb other people, how to
destroy lives, but they spend very
		
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			little time in planning how to
save lives. And I don't follow
		
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			international law. I follow God's
law. So if somebody wants to stop
		
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			it, they're welcome to shoot me.
You know, have you been stopped?
		
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			No.
		
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			Nobody didn't stop me. It will be
a bullet. Nothing else, nothing,
		
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			nothing. I crossed the borders
illegally. We have to do that. And
		
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			I did it, and we were not silent
about it. We filmed it, and
		
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			immediately I showed it to the
world, and we did it okay, but
		
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			that makes your rogue, that makes
your target, that makes you
		
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			someone. People want to stop, yes,
well, they're welcome to do that,
		
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			but it doesn't deter me. It's
simply for that reason. People
		
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			have been 120,000
		
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			people have died in Syria, because
everybody is saying, You know
		
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			what, you can't do this. You can't
do that. Who determines that by
		
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			what law? Sure, so sorry. So it's
about the end for you, not the
		
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			means. No, it's the end. The end
is saving lives. And if people
		
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			fight, saving lives offensive, so
be it. What are the highlights of
		
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			this job for you? What's a good
day for you? The Good day to be to
		
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			see a smile on his face, just
unpracticed for me, the smile I'm
		
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			talking about is not an orderly
smile. It's a smile masking
		
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			something very intense. Take
Syria, for example. A seven year
		
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			old walks with a bowl of olives
towards you, and we ask, what is
		
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			this? They say, You got to eat. I
said, Why do we have to eat? It's
		
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			a war situation. They say, You're
the guest. They the host. The
		
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			teaching is that the guest takes
priority over everything else. I
		
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			said, if I eat the food, there'll
be nothing left. They said, That's
		
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			not your concern. You have to eat,
otherwise you insult them. To
		
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			finish the bowl of olives with
other people around you quietly in
		
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			discussion, you hear the next meal
they will get is in 10 days. You
		
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			finish olives, the child gives you
a smile, a big smile, because She
		
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			fulfilled her duty to you as a
host and you were the guest, but
		
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			that same smile covers the fact
that for the next 10 days she's
		
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			not going to eat food. She may
have to drink boiled grass water.
		
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			That's not an orderly smile. So
when I tell you, I put a smile on
		
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			the faces of people, not me. It's
the God's grace. You see, when
		
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			people get the aid, when they get
their supplies, when they get the
		
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			food, I know the background where
the smile is coming from. Since
		
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			its establishment 21 years ago,
the organization has given more
		
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			than a billion random aid in 37
countries, including South Africa.
		
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			But what keeps volunteers going
back to danger zones and disaster
		
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			areas where no safety is
guaranteed? There's two parts to
		
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			this. First of all, it's the
quality of South Africans, the
		
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			Ubuntu driven nature of our
people. They couldn't have got
		
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			that after talking to me for five
minutes on the phone. It has to be
		
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			something that's innate within
them. The second thing is, many of
		
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			those people have been on missions
with me before, and it may not be
		
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			necessarily a war, it earthquake
or something else, and they've
		
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			seen that, and they like the
system that we take a lot of
		
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			precautions. I go myself alone
first to check and because of
		
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			that, they trust me, and I never
allow anybody to go without me,
		
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			especially in a disaster at a
dangerous zone. But you can get
		
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			shot. I'm the leader. So something
happens. I get shot first. His
		
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			passion for humanity is much more
fervent than it was 21 years ago
		
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			when his mission began. He's not
only elevated the country's image
		
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			and its spirit of Ubuntu, but he
has brought hope in the face of
		
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			carnage and human suffering,
restoring faith that there are a
		
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			lot of good men and women out in
the world. His big heart and
		
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			selflessness will forever be the
gift that keeps on giving
		
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			you.