Rick Sanchez from CNN interviews Kia Scherr
Transcript from CNN interview between Rick Sanchez and Kia Scherr
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Now the story of a man suspected of plotting a terror attack that killed at least 160 people in Mumbai, India. Here is the point, he is an American, an American from Chicago, David Headley is his name. He said in court today that he is not guilty.
Now, let me ask you a question, if you lost your family in an attack like Mumbai, could you deal with it? Could you forgive the terrorists? In just a moment, I'm going to talk to a woman who was forced to answer those questions in real life. Her husband and her daughter were gunned down in Mumbai.
But first, I want to show you just how bad it was inside of this hotel Oberoi. It is so graphic, this report, that at times you may even want to look away. It is from the HBO documentary "Terror in Mumbai" that we are showing on CNN this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, NARRATOR (voice-over): As scores of people were being gunned down at the railway station, another pair of clean-cut Pakistani boys in the early 20s blasted through the entrance of one of Mumbai's top five-star hotels, the Trident Oberoi. The lead gunman was wore Fahad Ullah, who wore black.
Fahad Ullah and his accomplice killed nine staff and three guests in the lobby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Kia Scherr's husband and 13-year-old daughter were inside a restaurant at the Oberoi when the terrorists struck.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Kia, thanks so much for being with us. You and I spoke just a little while ago, but let me just offer our condolences on behalf of all of us here at CNN, first of all.
KIA SCHERR, LOST HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER IN MUMBAI ATTACK: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: How have you been able to deal with the fact that your husband and daughter were killed mercilessly? And, how are you not angry?
SCHERR: Well, first of all, remember that I had the support not only of the spiritual director of Synchronicity, my family, and I discovered that I have a world family, because right away, messages of love and condolence came in from all over the world, through our Web site directly to me, very heart-felt messages from Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, people of all countries, as far away as Peru.
And it showed me that as human beings, we are all connected because we value life. And when life is lost so tragically, it brings home how much we really do value life. And that's the conversation that we want to continue by forming an organization to provide a context to do that. And that is One Life Alliance.
SANCHEZ: Do you forgive the people who shot and killed your husband and daughter?
SCHERR: I do. I find I can't do otherwise. I have been a meditator for over 36 years. That experience has brought me to experience a deeper connection to all in my world and in my life. And I know that by holding on to anger, judgment, hatred, revenge, resentment, it is like poison. That's like holding myself hostage.
SANCHEZ: But it is also a human instinct -- I mean, it's almost a natural...
SCHERR: It is.
SANCHEZ: ... human reaction.
SCHERR: Yes, yes.
SANCHEZ: And one would think that on any given day that feeling has to enter your thinking, does it not?
SCHERR: It is not so much thinking. My mind was kind of blasted away by all of this and I am left with my heart, which the essence of which is love, and I have experienced that on a deeper level than ever before. But I was just -- it is funny that you brought that up about the instincts, because, yes, as human beings and life in general has two polarities, negative and positive, and I was reading this beautiful -- and you've probably heard this, it is well-known.
A Cherokee story about the young man who goes to his grandfather and says, I am feeling a fight within me, because one of his friends had betrayed him and he was feeling hatred, and the grandfather told him about his experience that he had two wolves inside of him.
And one of the wolves was full of hatred, anger, revenge and wanted to kill. And the other wolf was full of peace, love, compassion, harmony. And the little boy said, well, which one is winning out? And the grandfather said, the one that I feed. That is a very important point. Don't both of us have both of those inside of us? And aren't we at choice? Aren't we at choice?
SANCHEZ: Well, you make a decision, you make a choice, and it seems in your case that you are handling it very, very well. My thanks to you for joining us, for taking us through this very personal situation you are in, And once again, our condolences for your loss.
SCHERR: Thank you.
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