Captain Ali Al-Wahabi - Saddam Hussein's former personal pilot who made a heart-stopping escape from the iron fortress of Baghdad 20 years ago, today is a commercial airline pilot with one of the world's major airlines.  For nearly a decade Ali has called Australia home, living in Sydney with his German Catholic wife and two children.  Recently Ali joined forces with co-writer, Lynn Santer, to document his experiences in Iraq, citing facts about the former iron-fisted ruler of his country that are unlikely to ever be revealed elsewhere.  His autobiography, Farewell Brave Babylon was released in 2006 and has now become in hot demand not only across Australia but indeed across the world.  Raised in Baghdad believing everyone from the West to be a potential enemy, Ali's eyes were opened when, ironically, he was sent to pilot cadet school in the UK. After seeing that the propaganda he'd been raised with wasn't as true as he once believed, Ali viewed everything with different eyes.  His first-hand observations of the ruling élite in Iraq disclosed a rare insight into their private lives, leading Saddam's personal pilot to a fateful decision.  Torn between the love of his homeland and his burning desire to flee from the Mukhabarat (Iraqi Intelligence Service) who were pressuring him to betray a close friend, Ali conceived a daring plan to escape, an escape which very nearly cost him his life.



Passion For Peace

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Rabbi Nir Gurevitch - Israeli born Chassidic (ultra orthodox) Rabbi of Russian descent, trained by the legendary Rabbi Schneerson in New York, Rabbi Nir Gurevitch is father of nine and leader of the Gold Coast's Hebrew congregation.  The Rabbi asks, 'Is peace really achievable or is it just wishful thinking?'  At Passion for Peace sessions, in using a range of analogies, along with his trademark humor, the Rabbi very eloquently points out that there is no need for us to lose our individuality to achieve peace.  Whatever our differences we all have one undeniable fact in common we are all members of the same race, the human race.  Our blood is all red and our tears are all salty.  The word shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, is derived from a word that means whole, and the Rabbi argues that as such we should recognize we are all part of the same environment that binds us together and only in unison of vision, while retaining our individual beliefs, can there be completeness.



Robyn Wigmore - former spokesperson and campaigner for the Christian aid organisation, World Vision, qualified teacher and tour guide, Robyn recently led a group of 20 school children on a historical journey through Japan.  A mother of two, Robyn has used her demonstrably solid faith to steer her through several life changing tragedies while retaining a sense of humor, a joyous spirit, and positive attitude.  Her experiences as an exchange student in Japan were equally life-changing when she found herself living in the home of a man who had been on the opposite side of a war with members of Robyn's family.  The buoyant personality and effervescent nature of this lady are infectious and the observations she's made and lessons she's learned from her life experiences are inspirational.



Lynn Santer - founder and manager of the Passion for Peace team, Lynn is a best-selling author and awarded screenwriter who has been an active campaigner for wildlife conservation since she was a small child.  Her first award for animal welfare was presented when she was just eleven years old, and she sent her first manuscript to a publisher at the ripe old age of nine!  Today that manuscript 'The Magical Scarecrows' has been rewritten and illustrated and is being produced by Lynn specifically and solely to be donated to children's hospitals and children's charities.  Lynn is the co-author of Ali's autobiography 'Farewell Brave Babylon', a member of Rabbi Gurevitch's Hebrew Congregation, and close friend to Robyn Wigmore.  

Peace, Salaam, Shalom!