Abstract Nelofer Pazira was born in India and grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan during the Russian occupation of her country. The Paziras fled the war in 1989, when Nelofer was sixteen. After living as refugees in Pakistan for a year, the family migrated to Canada. She obtained a degree in Journalism and English Literature from Carleton University in Ottawa, and completed her MA thesis (Anthropology/Sociology and Religion) at Concordia University, Montreal. She received an honorary doctorate of laws,...

Abstract Rev. Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph.D. Suggested donation $10 In 2014 America will end combat in its longest war in history, the war in Afghanistan. What does that mean for veterans returning to civilian society? After experiencing the dehumanizing atrocities of war, how do veterans repair morally and spiritually? How can we help? Author and minister Rev. Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph.D. discusses the challenges inherent in recovering morally and spiritually from war, and what we can do to...

Abstract Film Screening and Dialogue Heather Courtney Suggested donation $10In light of the withdrawal of the majority of combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Where Soldiers Come From is a timely, Emmy-award winning documentary by Heather Courtney that follows the four-year journey of childhood friends forever changed by America’s longest war. Where Soldiers Come From looks beyond the guns and policies of an ongoing war to tell a human story about family, friendship, and...