Minoo Homily spent four years in prison and was tortured in Iran in the early 1980s. One of the acts she endured was being forced to witness the brutal execution of her friends and cellmates.

"[T]his time that I went through and that hatred ... I don't want for that person who tortured me. I don't want that person [to] even be hurt a little bit ... Because there is no difference between him and me. Because that becomes a circle of hatred," says Minoo.

But Minoo didn't always feel that way. Years later, after coming to Canada, Minoo now assists other refugees as a volunteer. She says it's one of the things that has helped her transform the hate she felt toward her torturers into the desire to seek justice against the regime.