“The Talk” and “Big Brother” host Julie Chen revealed a tragic, heartbreaking story on “The Talk”.
Chen described the horrific kidnapping and murder of her great-grandmother, who was held hostage along with Chen’s aunt: “The bandits said they would kill them if a large ransom wasn’t paid.”
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The tense situation got even worse after the television host’s uncle was responsible for delivering the ransom: “[My uncle] double-crossed my grandfather and disappeared into the night with the money.”
After failing to deliver the ransom, the bandits murdered Chen’s great-grandmother and her aunt ultimately wed one of the kidnappers.
For some, such a tragedy would require justice — but for Chen’s grandfather vengeance wasn’t the answer. He instead blamed the incident on: “the fact that the bandits didn’t have an education.” Instead he found a school in his native Burma, now known as Myanmar.
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Years later, “The Talk” host visited the school and was positively overwhelmed: “I really felt this sense of gratitude…what my grandfather did essentially worked… I personally learned something very valuable.”
And it is a message she carries to this day: “When you’re faced with something so tragic, you can either choose the darkness or you can choose the light.”