BY :Iliana Limon

Amid the shrapnel, sorrow and hate in the West Bank, Brian Avery was moved by an enchanting spirit.While nursing wounds that will scar him forever, the peace activist felt the seeds of hope and peace flourish."It was the hundreds of letters and phone calls and e-mails while I was in the hospital that inspired me," Avery said Sunday while relaxing on a friend's porch in northeast Albuquerque. "So many people sending words of encouragement were touched by my work. How could I turn my back on it?"Avery, a New Mexico peace activist who says he was struck in the face April 5 by Israeli bullets, will continue his work by speaking at a benefit Tuesday night in Albuquerque."It's part of the healing process," he said. "I need help paying for medical expenses and get to share my experience with others."The 24-year-old grew up in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, the son of a submarine officer.He attended a year of college before his passion for music lured him away. Political activism followed, and he began working on social justice projects and community farms in North Carolina, Chicago and Western Europe.Along the way, he was drawn to learning more about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a complex web of pain and hatred he admits is difficult to decipher.