Rebuilding Lives in the City of Second Chances

Dear Friends –

I started my journey as executive director of PTV last month, and each passing day deepens my sense that this is where I belong. Perhaps it was listening to Rossana, who fled El Salvador after being beaten and raped by death squads. “I had no job, no home, no family,” said Rossana. “I wanted to die. PTV saved my life, and I am now able to help others in Los Angeles without fear I will be tortured.”

Julie Gutman

Or maybe it was meeting Kyaw, who was an activist fighting for freedom and democracy in Burma before the military regime put him in prison and tortured him six times. “When I escaped to the U.S., I felt my life was over until I found PTV,” stated Kyaw. “PTV helped me start again.”

Kyaw, Survivor

Hearing stories like this takes me back to my childhood. I will never forget sitting around the dining room table with my cousin Irma Gutman, a Holocaust survivor who endured torture at the hands of the Nazis, and whose parents and siblings died in concentration camps. Though I was just a girl, listening to her tales of courage in the face of unspeakable horror left an indelible impression.

I have dedicated my career as an attorney to working on behalf of the oppressed – from human rights work in Guatemala with the families of the disappeared to advocating for low-wage immigrant workers and communities of color in California, most recently as a city commissioner and senior advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

And who is more oppressed than those who come to this country not just with nothing, but also with the burden and trauma of the torture they fled and must relive as they embark upon the arduous asylum process?

Abandoned and aggrieved by their own countries, the thousands of men and women who have walked through our doors from over 65 different countries have sought a new beginning here in Los Angeles – the city of second chances, and the largest home to torture survivors in the U.S. Thanks to the remarkable efforts of PTV, they have found that new beginning, re-entering society and the workforce and becoming contributing members of our community.

Later this month, the Los Angeles City Council, local businesses and our clients, staff and allies will kick off PTV’s 30th anniversary year by commemorating U.N. International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Please join us (see sidebar for details).

I eagerly embrace the challenge of advancing and expanding the vital work of PTV – work that, more than ever, needs your support. In the months and years ahead, I know we will do great things together. I hope you will join me in this journey.

Warmly,

Julie Gutman Executive Director jgutman@ptvla.org www.ptvla.org

Join us in celebrating 30 years of service and rebuilding lives by donating to PTV.