Waleed J. Iskandar
(1967-2001)
"Wherever he was, that became the best place in the world to be"
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2 0 0 4 01/01/2004 |
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Sister Maria brought us a gift. It is a crystal cube. Inside it, one can see "The World Trade Center" buildings. It is so beautiful. 
01/01/2004 |
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California Vicitm Compensation and Claims Board will be creating a "Remembrance Book" for the family members and survivors to share the lessons and experiences of the last two years. The following is what I wrote: "Nothing in the world hurts more than the loss of a child. No one can understand it unless he loses one. I have gone through this experience. I know how much it aches. This horrible and tragic act of terror has changed my life. The loss of a son has transformed me into another human being. When I lost our son, it was as if I lost a part of myself. There is a deep wound in my heart. The wound will never heal. My view of life has changed. My priorities in life have been altered. I no longer enjoy what I used to enjoy. My joy does not last long. My grief is with me all the time. As William Shakespeare once wrote “Everyone can master a grief but he that has it”. Since the death of our son, I became more accepting. I can tolerate whatever bad things get in my way. I am more considerate to the moaning of friends. I listen to people's complaints. I am more compassionate. I sympathize with others’ grievances. I am more caring. I pay attention to others' mischief. I am more concerned with the everyday events. I take note of neighbors' complaints. I am more benevolent. I eavesdrop to others’ protests and objections. I am more persistent. I have increased my endurance. I am more tolerant. I accept pain. I have much satisfaction in connecting with the Lord. I have Pleasure in serving Him. Yes, we lost a son but we gained many friends. The help and the support of all the people around us were immeasurable. Staring with our next door neighbors, the parishioners of our church, the officials of our government and the members of the Support Group of the September 11th victims families and survivors, they all were compassionate, kind, supportive and loving. I can see that the world is not only those who executed the act of terror on that horrible day. I believe that the world is full with compassionate and caring people. A friend sent me this saying “All the wealth of the world cannot buy you a friend neither pay you for the loss of one”. At our Parish in Northridge, a friend told me to think of it this way: “Every day that passes by brings me one day closer to meet Waleed in our eternal rest place”. During one of the California Family Members of September 11th.Victims and Survivors meetings, Dr. Ken Druke said that “The best gift we can give our lost one is SURVIVAL”. By surviving, we can keep the memory of our beloved alive. In one of those meetings one of the members recited this saying ”When someone has a tragedy at home he has the choice of getting BITTER or BETTER". I have chosen to be BETTER. I will pray for a world free of terrorism. I will mourn Waleed’s painful death. I will keep his memory alive. I will learn to adjust and live with my grief. I will think of him and I will smile. I will reflect on all the good things that he has left behind. I will cherish his memory and make it live forever. I will live the rest of my life by these four words, Forgiving, Kind, Merciful and Patient. When our son died I used to ask God a million times a day “Please show me how to say goodbye to Waleed?” God listened to me and He showed me HOW." 01/10/2004 |
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Hello. My name is Terry Thomas. I was the Performing Arts Director at the American School of Kuwait from 1983-1986. I currently live in Florida and work at Walt Disney World. Yesterday I was moving some things around in my home, and found an old folder of sentimental items I had kept throughout the years, so of course I sat down and started looking through them. I found a card from a student of mine at the American School, Waleed Iskandar, that was sent to me while he was at Stanford. I remembered Waleed so fondly that I thought today I would get on the computer and try to find out where Waleed now lived? and was faced with the terrible information about the nature of his passing away. Waleed was a senior during my first year in Kuwait, and that first senior class of mine has always held a special place in my heart. Waleed and I had a wonderful teacher-student relationship....I was only about 9 years older than his senior class, and I had such a great time with them. Waleed was always up, always accepting, and willing to try anything. I remember the joy he gave to doing Snoopy in that first production I did at the American School, ( YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN). I noticed that some of the pictures of our trip to Cairo are on the website, and I'm actually in one of the pictures. I can't begin to tell you how touched I am to know that that experience was important to him and all of you. I've often wondered about my students from Kuwait, because of course they all lived all over the world. If you have the time, I would appreciate any knowledge you might have about some of Waleed's classmates. Waleed was a wonderful, wonderful part of my Kuwait experience. I cannot imagine the sadness you must have experienced by his passing, but know that even today in Florida of all places he is being remembered with affection and joy. Please keep in touch if you would like. Terry Thomas N.B. For Waleed's classmates at ASK, please send me your e-mail if you are interested to correspond with an old teacher of yours. I promise to send it to him. 01/26/2004 |
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For the first time since September 11 2001, I went to a movie theater. I saw "The Passion of the Christ". Much controversy was written and said about this powerful and very touching movie. During the whole movie,I never felt any anti-Semitic feeling. On the contrary, for 2 hours and 6 minutes, I lived the last twelve hours of Jesus life. I experienced the agony and the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. After seeing this movie, one feels that we all are in need of more compassion and LOVE. Jesus loved mankind so much that he came down, was persecuted hideously, tortured gruesomely and sentenced unjustly to save us from our sins. If we spread LOVE and understanding all around us, if we start caring and loving one another a little more, we can create a better world. Then our children will live in a safe and hate-free WORLD. 02/26/2004 |
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