The Chris Voss Show - The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Learning America: One Woman’s Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children by Luma Mufleh

Episode Date: April 4, 2022

Learning America: One Woman's Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children by Luma Mufleh It was a wrong turn that changed everything. When Luma Mufleh—a Muslim, gay, refugee woman f...rom hyper-conservative Jordan—stumbled upon a pick-up game of soccer in Clarkston, Georgia, something compelled her to join. The players, 11- and 12-year-olds from Liberia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, soon welcomed her as coach of their ragtag but fiercely competitive group. Drawn into their lives, Mufleh learned that few of her players, all local public school students, could read a single word. She asks, “Where was the America that took me in? That protected me? How can I get these kids to that America?” Learning America traces the story of how Mufleh grew a group of kids into a soccer team and then into a nationally acclaimed network of schools for refugee children. The journey is inspiring and hard-won: Fugees schools accept only those most in need; no student passes a grade without earning it; the failure of any student is the responsibility of all. Soccer as a part of every school day is a powerful catalyst to heal trauma, create belonging, and accelerate learning. Finally, this gifted storyteller delivers provocative, indelible portraits of student after student making leaps in learning that aren’t supposed to be possible for children born into trauma--stories that shine powerful light on the path to educational justice for all of America’s most left-behind.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You wanted the best. You've got the best podcast, the hottest podcast in the world. The Chris Boss Show, the preeminent podcast with guests so smart you may experience serious brain bleed. Get ready, get ready, strap yourself in. Keep your hands, arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Because you're about to go on a monster education roller coaster with your brain now here's your host chris voss hi folks make sure you're strapped in and ready to go and you've got your hands and legs and arms feet head all inside of the whatever the chair the cabin you know the drill you've you've you've flown before welcome to the show guys we certainly appreciate you guys tuning in be sure to refer
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Starting point is 00:01:30 For those of you who might be seeing this 10 years ago, or 10 years ago, 10 years from now, we have videos you can see from 10 years ago too. So there's front and back. Her new book that comes out April 5th, 2022, is Learning America, One Woman's Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children. Luma Mufle is in the show with us today.
Starting point is 00:01:55 She is the founder of the Fugis family. I believe I got that right, too. The Fugis family. Fugis family. There you go. That's Fugis. There you go. There you go. With schools now in Georgia and Ohio and an expanding footprint bringing educational equity to refugee settlement communities across America. Her TED Talk is pretty amazing. I was just watching it on educational
Starting point is 00:02:20 justice for refugee families was viewed more than 1.7 million times. Welcome to the show, Luma. How are you? Good. Thank you for having me, Chris. Thank you for coming, and congratulations on the new book. These are always a lot of work and then a lot of fun when you finally get it published, huh? Yeah, it was definitely a lot of work.
Starting point is 00:02:39 I never imagined I would write one, and I did it during the pandemic. There you go. That pandemic's your help. That's when I wrote my first book I did it during the pandemic. There you go. That pandemic's your help. That's when I wrote my first book, too, was the pandemic. So give us your dot coms. Where can people find you on the interwebs and learn more? Fujisfamily.org for our organization. At Luma underscore Mufleh on Twitter.
Starting point is 00:02:58 And coach.luma on Facebook. And Luma underscore Mufleh on Instagram. There you go. So F-U-G-E-E-S dot com? F-U-G-E-S family dot org. Oh, okay. Family dot org. Okay.
Starting point is 00:03:13 I was going off of, I was just reading the name here off the bio. So tell us what motivated you want to write this book and give us a little bit of origin if you would. Yeah. I mean, I think it's the book I wish I had when I started this work. I wanted a book that would tell me how messy this work is, not something that glamorizes it. It was authentic and real about how hard to work with kids and how hard it is to adjust to life in America. For me, it was personal as well. I came to the United States when I was 18 and was granted
Starting point is 00:03:42 political asylum at age 22. So I was born and raised in the Middle East. But it's a story of the organization I founded, Schools for Refugees, but it's through storytelling and weave some of my backstory into it as well to give people the reasons why. And what brought you to this country? What country did you come from? What was the origin story there of your experience? My experience. So I think it goes way back to my grandmother and mother. They are Syrian and they fled Syria during the first Assad regime back in the 60s. Another group was trying to overthrow the government. My grandmother's maternal instincts kicked in and said, we need to go. It's not safe. So she packed up her five children. She was pregnant with her sixth and fled to
Starting point is 00:04:25 neighboring Jordan. My grandfather refused to go. He's like, ah, it's just another coup attempt. It's going to blow over. But this time it was different. They seized his factory and then arrested his brothers and they disappeared. Never seen them since. And so then he came and they started from scratch. My mom was 16 when she left. And then fast forward, I was sent to college in the United States. I'm gay. In Jordan, you can get the death penalty for being gay. So I applied for asylum.
Starting point is 00:04:56 I actually had my asylum hearing four days after graduation. So, yeah. Congratulations for making it here. It's sad that people have to leave their home country because, I mean, that's a place where you – that's your home. Yeah. Yeah. Is it still that way? Depending on who wants to enforce the law.
Starting point is 00:05:12 Like, you don't know. Like, on the books, that is it, right? And then when – in countries where there aren't democracies or rights, that's what happens. It's like, okay, today I'm going to take everybody in. And so it's still that, even though on the surface, Jordan can appear to be modern. It's not. We think we live in a world of human rights and everybody's equal. And sometimes you get spoiled when you live here in America, especially Americans that were born and raised here. We just kind of think like, well, everybody has the same sort of thing going on. We do. And they don't. And it's unfortunate. So you come to America and where does this lead into the
Starting point is 00:05:46 foundation that you start with in your book? Yeah, I mean, I struggled after college trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was just owned by my family, you know, so when I got asylum, I lost everything, you know, my Jordanian citizenship, my family. And so I had to start from scratch and, you know, jumped around from job to job. I eventually ended up in Atlanta. And then one day as I was driving to pick up groceries from an authentic Middle Eastern store, I missed my turn back home and I had to U-turn into this apartment complex. And I felt I was transported into a different part of the world. There was a mosque, a Buddhist temple on that street. And then when I turned into that apartment complex,
Starting point is 00:06:25 there were a group of kids playing soccer with a raggedy soccer ball and rock set up stones. That group of boys, they were from Afghanistan, Liberia, and Sudan. I'd coach club soccer for a long time. That's the universal language. They reminded me of home. So I grabbed the soccer ball out of my trunk.
Starting point is 00:06:44 They saw it. They wanted the ball. I wanted to play. We haggled. I I grabbed the soccer ball out of my trunk. They saw it. They wanted the ball. I wanted to play. We haggled. I ended up playing and they got the ball and that's how it all started. So where does this journey lead from there? It all comes down to a U-turn. It's interesting the path we end up in life just sometimes by accident. Yeah. At first it was that group of kids and I got to know them. We formed a soccer team and then their siblings wanted to join. So we ended up forming more soccer teams. And, you know, I'm a coach that really looks at the whole player. You know, I was like, yeah, we had great athletes, but, you know, it was really important for me that they were doing
Starting point is 00:07:19 well in school. So they had turned in their report cards and they didn't pass, they didn't play. And several times after practice, kids would ask with help from their homework. So we'd turn in their report cards, and they didn't pass, they didn't play. And several times after practice, kids would ask for help from their homework. So we'd hang out at the park and do homework, and there's this one situation that really stands out for me. One kid, he's quiet, doesn't cause a lot of trouble, verbally fluent in English. He's telling me, he's like, Coach, I have a headache. Can you read to me? And so I sat next to him, read to him, filled out the worksheet. Second day, he did the same thing. Oh, by the third day, I was like, there's something going on. So I said, no, Louis, I have a headache.
Starting point is 00:07:53 You know, he's like, no, I have a headache. And I was like, I'm more stubborn. And so waited him out. And then he eventually looked up at me and said, coach, I can't read. And that broke me. You know, my parents sent me to British and American schools growing up. And so I believed every school in America was like the state department run high school I went to in Hamman, Jordan. And that was not the case. I didn't understand how a kid who'd been in public school for three years could not read. Yeah. And I said, if this was my kid, what would I do? And did you find a lot of kids that were immigrant refugees that were having that issue too? The vast majority were.
Starting point is 00:08:28 The way we do it right now is a kid comes into the country, we place them in the age-appropriate class. So if you're 12 or 13, we're going to put you in 7th or 8th grade. You might get one or two hours of support a day of English language learning, but the rest you're supposed to function with your peers. And it doesn't make sense. Like if you don't know the alphabet and remember, like how do you, it's so like illogical.
Starting point is 00:08:54 Um, and so many of my, uh, players were in that position. Um, and so it's like, what's the point of soccer if they're just going to play games and then what, right?
Starting point is 00:09:04 Yeah. You've got to do something to build a life here and be able to, you know, around the thing. If you want to maximize your opportunities, you don't have to learn the language. I mean, I know there's a lot of people in California and I think New York and maybe other places that never learned the language. There's little barrios you can go in in California. I've met people who are incredible restaurateurs and stuff, and they've never really learned much English. But they're really good at the food and what they do, and no one cares. But, no, it helps open more opportunities.
Starting point is 00:09:45 The funny thing about America is I know a lot of people who were born here still don't know how to read, write properly. Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's just a problem for refugee kids, but I think we highlight it a lot more, right? Definitely, definitely, definitely so. So what did you do? What actions did you take and what pathway did you go with that? I ended up starting a school for six of my players, hired a teacher, got a church basement donated. We're like, all right, how quickly can we get them to learn so they're at grade level and then mainstream them back in? After the first six months, more kids were asking to be in it, and it just continued to grow. And we ended up opening another school in Ohio four years ago, three and a half years ago.
Starting point is 00:10:21 Awesome. So you build this academy, and you're helping people. And I would imagine because a lot of these folks are refugees, they bond together because of their experience. You know, there's, there's a lot of things that people that were born and raised in America probably don't understand from that experience, what it's like, the trauma, things of that nature. And I, and I imagine it, it's, it gives a bit of solace and help or a community, if you will, to help people that have gone through kind of the same experience and can help carry each other or help each other. Yeah. I mean, I think there's nothing more powerful to heal trauma than being
Starting point is 00:10:57 around others who've been through it, right? So you're not alone. I mean, we have kids from warring factions. We have kids from every corner of the world but for them to say oh wait it's not just me yeah right yeah we had dave navarro from one of the several different bands on last uh week or two and we talked about trauma and yeah that whole concept of you're not alone there's a whole lot of other people are suffering and stuff and And, you know, that's really important. Let's talk about as the academy grew, what are the things that you do in building a mission, student population, et cetera, et cetera? How did you get it to grow and be successful? I mean, I think it was adapting as quickly as possible to the community needs.
Starting point is 00:11:42 You know, we start off as a soccer team. So that's still very core in our school design. Every kid in the school plays soccer. Every kid's part of a team. We have a lot of music and arts integration, celebrate everything in the building. So literally every other week there's a party celebrating something, whether it's holy or aid or Christmas, something's being celebrated and kids are being taught about everyone that they interact with. And we have fun, you know,
Starting point is 00:12:08 but we also have a lot of high expectations of the kids because they're so far behind. And it's like, all right, you gained this much. Now we need to get you up here. Now we need to get you up here and really build their confidence that they don't see themselves as less than that.
Starting point is 00:12:24 They are capable and strong and can do anything they want to do. Yeah. And I think this is beautiful because you, you take this from your experience as a refugee and, and being accepted in society, you know, sometimes by society and people that are really ugly. I mean,
Starting point is 00:12:39 we see what's going on in like Florida right now. I'm just like, what are we in the 80s? What the fuck? But hopefully that whole thing goes to court and stuff but you know you you dealt with stuff there's an ugly thing that people do here that are that are either racist or hateful or i don't know pick pick all of the above where they say go back to where you came from and i imagine you experienced your deal with that at your academy where students are told this and they've got to deal with some of the ugliness that they get from maybe very mean, ugly Americans here.
Starting point is 00:13:12 Yeah, I mean, we see both extremes, like hate and then curiosity. And we want to welcome you. We want to understand. We definitely see it out on the soccer field, like when we're playing against teams. One memory really sticks out is we're playing against this team and a kid that newly arrived from afghanistan and this was 15 years ago when the first group of refuge afghan refugees came in and playing a game and then when the kids like told them you know we have to say our names during the game and so one kid it's like oh where are you from? You know, he's like Afghanistan.
Starting point is 00:13:45 He's like, are you Taliban? Why don't you go back there? And the kid like just walked off shaking because he left because of the Taliban. And here was, you know, and he was like so innocent when the kid asked him, where are you from? He thought, this is Korea. He wants to learn about me. He loves me, you know.
Starting point is 00:14:05 And it's just hard to learn that at such a young age that this is what's going to come your way over and over and over again. It definitely is. It saddens me that we haven't, I was born like 200 years too early or something. I don't know. I don't know if we can ever get the hate resolved in this country and racism. I mean, we've had 450 years of this thing and it's so interweaved in our idiot psyche. And then of course, some moron brought it back about five or six years ago. But yeah, it's an ugly thing. But it's great that you have what you're building so that there can be more integration. I've heard, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that America integrates better than any other country with people that come from other countries.
Starting point is 00:14:45 We're better at melting pot. We're not perfect, of course, as some of the topics we've talked about, but I've heard we do better than places like France and other places, England and stuff. I think they isolate them a lot in those countries. Is that true, or do we still need a lot of work to do? I think saying we're better than England and France is a low bar. It's not, right? It's rough there, right?
Starting point is 00:15:11 And England and France weren't built on the values of America. America was built on people fleeing for safety, right? And so we should be doing a lot better. I think we took several steps backwards over the last five to 10 years. I think there's still ways to do it so much better. I think Americans want to welcome and my own. It's like, let's learn about each other and build America for what it's supposed to be. That's the best thing for everyone is integration. Everyone getting to know each other. Everyone interacting with each other every day. Understanding people's differences.
Starting point is 00:16:00 I mean, that's really what made this country great. The great melting. You know, I think where would this country be? I mean, Steve Jobs was a Syrian refugee. His father, if he'd never been allowed in this country, we'd be in some pretty weird places. I don't know where he'd be. I guess we'd all own Blackberries or something.
Starting point is 00:16:16 But you see the industry that came out of the iPhone. I'm a part of that. You know, I can't think of where my job would be if, you know, he had to come around and build, you know, the whole industry of social media and everything else that came out of it. And, of course, Apple's been pretty integrate and pretty awesome for podcasts. But, you know, there's so many different immigrants. You've got the CEO of Google, who I believe was, if I recall right, was born and raised on a dirt floor in India in a hut. He's the CEO of Google now. This country has so
Starting point is 00:16:46 much, there's no limit to who can contribute anything. And other than the stupid stuff we do in society, but there's no monopoly on who has all the smart ideas. I learned that a long time ago in businesses, being the CEO, I don't have all the good ideas. And there's no limit to the contributions people can make. I believe one of the people who created the mRNA antivirus that we ended up using for COVID was an immigrant as well, if I recall rightly. And so there's no person that has good ideas. And what a lot of people don't understand in this country is we're a dwindling country population-wise. People aren't married.
Starting point is 00:17:29 They're not having kids anymore. We need more immigration. We need more people in this country because the thing that made America powerful was it was the largest marketplace in the world. And we were the dominant buyer and controller, especially when it came to our money. People don't realize that our money is actually what makes us powerful, our dollars. And it's what everyone trades on in the world because we used to be the largest marketplace and we're losing that ground to China. And just by the sheer billions of people that are in China, as they slowly adapt and grow and modernize,
Starting point is 00:18:01 they're going to become what we used to be. And they're not like the greatest country in the world. Let's put it that way. And so we're a fading empire when it really comes down to it. And people in America need to wake up and quit being entitled. So what are some of the great moments you've had that have come out of your academy? Some of the success stories maybe you want to share? I mean, it's like every day, you know, there's success, right? Like on Monday, we brought in eight Afghan students who had been on our military bases and then hotels for over eight months.
Starting point is 00:18:33 And they're so excited to learn and are eager. And one of them said, good morning today, which is a step up from Monday because those two words did not exist. And then, you know, kids who are illiterate. So I got a FaceTime call from one of my seniors on Monday and she'd gotten accepted into Kennesaw State University, her first choice. I met her seven years ago. She's from Sudan, couldn't put a sentence together. And we ended up holding her back a year because she didn't grow, was not ready for high school as quickly as we thought she would be. And she talks to that moment of like, if you hadn't held me back, what would have happened?
Starting point is 00:19:11 I wouldn't have been ready. I would have failed. I would have dropped out. And she's so excited. And her mom is like over the moon. She's one of six kids and always says like, this couldn't have happened in Sudan. Right. This is happening here.
Starting point is 00:19:24 Right. Our school couldn't happen anywhere in the world. It's happening here. Do you see your school growing and spreading across the nation so that it can serve as more refugees? We had, of course, the folks that just came over from Afghanistan that were evacuated, and then the Ukrainians. We're going to take 100,000 Ukrainians, I think they've agreed to,
Starting point is 00:19:42 according to Biden, as of this moment. Yeah, I mean, we just launched a partnership with Bowling Green, Kentucky. So we're working with their school district to implement our model for all their refugee and immigrant kids. And they're super excited. And yeah, we want to impact as many kids coming into this country. So when they get here, they have a softer landing place, and they're set up for success, and then they're contributing members and strong citizens.
Starting point is 00:20:11 Do you guys seek out investors and people that can help grow the academy and make it bigger? Always. That's part of my job. You know, when you're CEO, you're doing, like, everything, but fundraising is a big part of it. Awareness and bridge building is another part of it. But we want as many people as possible helping us out because this is not just, it's a movement, right?
Starting point is 00:20:32 And yeah, we want our team to be the biggest and strongest in the country. Definitely. So are there ways that people can help out, contribute, donate? You know, we're seeing a lot of donations that people are always doing. Americans are usually good people for donating and helping out with charity. Is there any sort of system that people can give that maybe wouldn't involve money or
Starting point is 00:20:53 you know, I don't know. Yeah, I mean, so there's always donating, giving money. If you're in Atlanta or Columbus, we always look for volunteers to come tutor our students and, you know and get to know our families. We're working on other ways to get other people involved that is not necessarily location specific. And I think reading the book and understanding this is what it is and
Starting point is 00:21:16 humanizing people, not vilifying. And I think that's what I try to do in the books. I believe that Americans, when they understand the story, the hate becomes less. It's not right. The guard comes down. It's like, oh, we're more similar. We're not other. And, you know, one thing I've been speaking about with the Ukrainian experience, because it's a really good example how, you know, I mean, five or six weeks ago, they were living much like us in a pseudo-democracy. I'm not sure how democratic fully they were, but they were in a fairly good democracy. They were living out their lives just
Starting point is 00:21:57 like most Americans are. And within overnight, the apple cart gets overturned and it can happen anywhere. I mean, if you've studied history, things can go really bad anywhere. I mean, if it wasn't for a vice president's decision and two people at the Division of Justice and the Attorney General's office, we would probably be in a civil war and not have a democracy at this point. And we would have gone full Hungarian with the loss have a democracy at this point and we would have gone full hungarian with the loss of a democracy so and and also if madison hadn't made it so the states oversaw the election they knew that somehow he knew and so there was three of them that knew in the future that if they if they let these election be overheld by the federal by federally that it could be more easily grasped and seized which was the attempt as we know if you remember what he was thinking like what they were thinking back then
Starting point is 00:22:50 that you know kind of prevented what would have happened here yeah if you read the federalist papers it's really interesting how insightful they are and we've had a lot of great historians on the show that have talked about it they really saw 200 000 year or 2000 year 200 2000 it's probably 2000 hopefully i don't knock on wood if it lasts that long at this pace after 220 or 2022 and the house gets overturned we'll see how far we get with this democracy but people don't realize how fragile they are i mean just you know we watched hungary hung Hungary slide into an authoritarian rule over 2020. Turkey slide in. Turkey as well.
Starting point is 00:23:27 Turkey, you know, is the third largest democracy in the world in two years, no longer. Yeah, over. And they've got rampant inflation. I mean, you think your gas prices are bad. You know, it's crazy. And all because of one jerk. And I think Putin's a good example of how simply things can be. For two decades, the Russians have sold their soul to him
Starting point is 00:23:51 because he provided jobs and economy. And that was what the last guy who was elected five years ago or six years ago now, I'm losing track. But people willing to sell their soul for money. And the problem is when it goes bad, it goes bad. I mean, you look at Pinochet, Duterte, Silvio Berscoloni, we go down the list of all the monsters, all the monsters and dictators where everyone sold their souls to them for jobs and money and economy. And that's what happens, you know, Mussolini, you know, people, sure, fashions are bad, but they make their trains run on time so we'll sell our souls to them and people don't realize how bad it can be
Starting point is 00:24:28 and it can happen anywhere and to anyone and so when you look at refugees when you look at people who are immigrants this country realize within a week it can be you i mean we had one day january 6th and fortunately what they wanted didn't happen, but we came really darn close a couple of times and it wouldn't, it wouldn't have taken, all it needed was the decision of one man to throw us, you know, 250, 240 somewhat years of this Republic. And, and we would have been on, on the fence. Anyway, anything more you want to touch on about your book and what you do with Academy? No, I mean like the chap, what you mentioned right now, I actually have a chapter in the middle of the book that's titled Imagine. And it kind of walks
Starting point is 00:25:11 you through if Ohio and Indiana went to war, what would happen. And the hard part about that chapter, like it gets your heart racing. It makes you feel what it's like to be a refugee and leaving your country, what decisions you have to make. But I was writing that. I finished it up right before January 6th. Wow. January 6th happened. I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Starting point is 00:25:33 This can't happen. And I grew up in the Middle East. I've seen these. That's how it starts. I was terrified. Our families were terrified. And I'm so glad the democracy was strong and stable to survive one crazy person so far i know sorry i hate to be i hate to be that way but i'm trying to warn
Starting point is 00:25:53 people that you know it's it's people don't realize in this country i mean you do because like you say you guys have seen it as refugees here, we're spoiled little brats who go, oh, this thing will be around forever. I don't know. I'll just follow it in today. But no, I forget the line, but basically democracy, and it may come from Ben Franklin, but it's something that all of us have to appreciate. All of us have to work at every single day. There's that old saying of when Ben Franklin came out of the conference and a woman greeted
Starting point is 00:26:24 him and she said, what do we have? Do we have a monarchy? Do we have a king? Do we have a democracy? And he says, you have a republic as long as you can keep it. So we are all the caretakers of this beautiful, it's not always been beautiful, I should say, of this experiment, but democracy isn't perfect, but it's the best damn thing that's out there so far. If you can find a better place to it that doesn't move you. There isn't. There isn't.
Starting point is 00:26:52 There isn't. You know, when I've talked to people about immigration and refugees and, you know, we've had the discussion on the show or whether I talk about it on Facebook and stuff, people need to realize that this country is so vaulted for its freedom, its freedom of press, the virtues that were given to us by these makers of our Constitution. They are willing to die to come to this country. What does that tell you? I mean, what does it tell you that people are willing to die to make the trip, to make
Starting point is 00:27:25 the journey, to fight their way into this country, to get here, to take a part of the American pie and around the world, we're renowned for that, even though we're pretty ugly people when it comes down to it, the asshole American, I should say. But, but, you know, that's, that's the thing that we need to wake up to. And a lot of people are born and raised here. Even I went through that when my younger years, were just spoiled. You know, you don't see, like you said, the experience of being in other countries where there's war and there's crazy dictators. And, you know, one minute everything's calm and suddenly everyone's apple carts turned upside down.
Starting point is 00:28:03 You know, we've never really had bread lines here. I think the closest we ever came to experience something like that was, well, the Great Depression. And then, of course, recently with coronavirus, I remember going to the store and the bread lines were empty. So I think this is really beautiful, what you're doing, and more people need to support, especially with what's going on. Anything more you want to touch on or tease out before we go? No, I mean, I think nobody should take their rights for granted. This democracy is sacred. My kids are always like, they're young, they're eight, seven and three and a half. And they see this look in my face. They're like, please don't tell us the stories like when you're back in Jordan. I'm like, no, you don't understand what you have, right? I'm constantly like,
Starting point is 00:28:42 want them to understand like how beautiful and valuable it is and don't take it for granted. Like it's a huge responsibility to be born in America and a huge privilege. It really is. It really is. And people don't realize how fragile it is. I mean, read the federalist papers, uh, everyone out there in the audience, sit down and read the constitution. I mean, I've, I keep a copy of the constitution my desk a lot of the great journalists that we have from the media they keep in their pocket they have it on them at all times that freedom of the press that the you know i've been in courtrooms where i've usually for speeding tickets where i've had to declare my ability to call a witness ask for some sort of evidence
Starting point is 00:29:18 in my right to defend myself in a court of law. People don't realize how important those factors are until you get into the law or study law and they're just not afforded anywhere else. And we need our right to criticize our president and our government. Right. When I first got here, it was like a peak of the Clinton. And I remember sitting in the dorm, a living room and everybody's like criticizing it.
Starting point is 00:29:42 And I just kept looking out the window waiting for the FBI to come in and arrest us. We're criticizing the president and we're talking all this stuff about him. I was like, oh, nothing happened? This is awesome. We can call it what it is. Yeah. I mean, you look at Pinochet. I mean,
Starting point is 00:29:59 thousands or tens of thousands of people disappeared into secret prisons and secret graves. The same thing with Assad and his regime. secret prisons, Liberia, I think, or Libya. Libya, Liberia, with Charles Taylor. And it's all darkness and people disappear and they're never heard from again. I believe there's probably some of that going on in Ukraine. Anyway, thank you for coming on and thank you for the work you're doing. We really appreciate it. Thank you so much
Starting point is 00:30:26 for having me, Chris. I really enjoyed it. And I hope people reach out to you in our audience and offer to help or send stuff. I've been really encouraged by seeing a lot of people trying to send stuff to Ukraine, whether it's helping with B&B purchases that they'll never use,
Starting point is 00:30:41 or like I've seen a lot of the fire and police departments are sending like hats and stuff over there so i hope people reach out to you guys and send some stuff because you know these these these folks are kids and we want them to grow up we want to be in a great society because they're going to come up with science and and research and technology and all sorts of new stuff and and they're hungry for it too where most americans are kind of like yeah my belly's full and I think that's what the beauty is of what people bring to this country because they come here
Starting point is 00:31:09 and they just, they see the wonderment and the beauty of it where we're just kind of jaded as that's why we continue to have innovations because we have cycles that are coming in who are hungry and keep pushing us to be better, right? The great melting pot America, so yeah, anyway thanks so much for tuning in, give me your plugs one more time are hungry and keep pushing us to be better. The great melting pot, America.
Starting point is 00:31:25 So, yeah. Anyway, thanks so much for tuning in. Give me your plugs one more time so we can find you on the interwebs. Yep. So, fujisfamily.org, Luma underscore Mufleh at Twitter and Instagram, and then Fujis Family on Facebook. There you go. Thank you, Luma.
Starting point is 00:31:41 Thank you. And thanks so much for tuning in. Go to youtube.com, Forge S. Chris Voss, hit the bell notification. Go to goodreads.com, For Luma. Thank you. And thanks, my audience, for tuning in. Go to youtube.com forward slash Chris Voss. Hit the bell notification. Go to goodreads.com forward slash Chris Voss. See everything we're reading and reviewing over there. Go to all our groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. Join the big LinkedIn newsletter and all that good stuff.
Starting point is 00:31:55 Thanks for tuning in. Be good to each other. Stay safe, and we'll see you guys next time.

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