History vs. Christopher Columbus - Alex Gendler

Christopher Columbus li Dadgeha Dîrokî - Alex Gendler

Translator: Mehmet Sıddık Dilek Reviewer: ronya bewran

Many people in the United States and Latin America

Li Amerîkayê gellek mirov ji biçûkatiyê ve

have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage,

salvegera Sefera Christopher Columbusî pîroz dikin.

but was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together

Gelo Christopher Columbus ew keşfdar bû ku her du dinya gihandin hev?

or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery?

an zordarekî bû ku mêtingerî û koletî anî Amerîkayê?

And did he even discover America at all?

Gelo bi rastî wî Amerîka keşf kir?

It's time to put Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus.

Niha dem ew dem e ku em Christopher Columbus darizînin.

"Order, order in the court.

"Bêdeng bin, bêdeng bin di dadgehê de,

Wait, am I even supposed to be at work today?"

Ma divê ez îro bişixulim?"

Cough

"Yes, your Honor.

"Belê, birêz dadger,

From 1792, Columbus Day was celebrated in many parts of the United States

Ji 1792'an û vir ve 12ê Kewçêrê, li gelek deverên Amerîkayê

on October 12th, the actual anniversary date.

wek roja Columbus tê pîrozkirin.

But although it was declared an official holiday in 1934,

Di sala 1934an de, ev roj bi awayê fermî wek betlane hat pejirandin,

individual states aren't required to observe it.

lê parêzgeh li ser vê biryarê neman.

Only 23 states close public services,

Bi tenê 23 parêzgehan, ev roj wek betlane qebûlkir,

and more states are moving away from it completely."

parêzgehên din karên xwe ranewestandin"

Cough

"Xebînet e, heyf e,

"What a pity.

In the 70s, we even moved it to the second Monday in October

di salên 70yî de me bi sê rojan betlane dikir û

so people could get a nice three-day weekend,

em sê rojan bi şahî dijîn,

but I guess you folks just hate celebrations."

lê mirovên vê heyamê ji pîrozbahiyan fahm nakin''

"Uh, what are we celebrating again?"

"Uh, Em dîsa çi pîroz dikin?"

"Come on, Your Honor, we all learned it in school.

"Birêz dadger, em hemû li dibistanê hîn bûn.

Christopher Columbus convinced the King of Spain to send him on a mission

Christopher Columbus qralê Spanyayê qaneh kir ku

to find a better trade route to India,

rêyeke nû ya Hîndîstanê bibîne,

not by going East over land but sailing West around the globe.

lê ne di rojhilatî re, di rojavayî re.

Everyone said it was crazy because they still thought the world was flat,

Hemû kesî got tu dîn î, dinya rast e,

lê wî bêhtir dizanî.

but he knew better.

And when in 1492 he sailed the ocean blue,

Dema di 1492yan de bi rê ket,

he found something better than India:

wî ciyekî ji Hîndîstanê çêtir dît:

a whole new continent."

parzemîneke nû."

"What rubbish.

"Tev derew e.

First of all, educated people knew the world was round since Aristotle.

Ya ewil, însanên zanyar dizanîn ku dinya gulover e.

Secondly, Columbus didn't discover anything.

Ya duyem Columbusî tiştek keşf nekir.

There were already people living here for millennia.

Ji hezar sal zêdetir bû, mirov li wir dijîyan,

And he wasn't even the first European to visit.

û beriya ku Columbus biçe, Ewrûpî hatibûn Amerîkayê.

The Norse had settled Newfoundland almost 500 years before."

500 sal beriya Columbus biçe, Vîkîng hatibûn Amerîkayê."

"You don't say, so how come we're not all wearing those cow helmets?"

"Nexwe çima li serê me hemûyan mîxferên Vîkîng'ê tune?"

"Actually, they didn't really wear those either."

"Bi rastî tu car ew mîxfer bi kar neanîn."

Cough

"Who cares what some Vikings did way back when?

"Xema kê ye ku Vîkîng hatine?

Those settlements didn't last, but Columbus's did.

Vîkîngan dewam nekir, wenda bûn, lê Colombous'i dewam kir,

And the news he brought back to Europe spread far and wide,

û xeber gihişt hemû Ewrûpayê ,

inspiring all the explorers and settlers who came after.

gellek mirov hatin li Amerîkayê bi cî bûn.

Without him, none of us would be here today."

Ne ji wî bibûya yek ji me îro ne li vir bû."

"And because of him, millions of Native Americans aren't here today.

"Û bi xêra wî bi mîlyonan niştecihên Amerîkayê îro ne li vir in.

Colombous, tu dizanî di mêtingehan de çi kir, dema ew der ava kirin?

Do you know what Columbus did in the colonies he founded?

He took the very first natives he met prisoner

Niştecihên ku yekem car dîtî, dîl girt

and wrote in his journal about how easily he could conquer and enslave all of them."

û nivîsî ku çawa niştecihên Amerîkayê bi hêsanî tên girtin û dibin kole.

"Oh, come on. Everyone was fighting each other back then.

"Of, hemî kes bi hev re şer dike.

Didn't the natives even tell Columbus

Beriya Colombousî jî eşîrên Amerîkayê

about other tribes raiding and taking captives?"

bi hev re şer dikir û hev dîl digirt.

"Yes, but tribal warfare was sporadic and limited.

"Erê, lê şerê eşîran hinek xwezayî bû û

It certainly didn't wipe out 90% of the population."

Ji 90%î gel nehat qirkirin.

"Hmm. Why is celebrating this Columbus so important to you, anyway?"

"Hmm. Çima pîrozkirina roja Columbus ji bo we ewqas girîng e?"

"Your Honor, Columbus's voyage was an inspiration

"Birêz dadgeh, Sefera Columbusî ji bo me

to struggling people all across Europe, symbolizing freedom and new beginnings.

sembola azadiyê û nîşaneya jiyaneke nû ye,

And his discovery gave our grandparents and great-grandparents

û keşfa Colombousî derfet çêkir ji bo kalikên me

the chance to come here and build better lives for their children.

ku bên vê derê, jiyaneke nû ava bikin.

Don't we deserve a hero to remind everyone that our country

Gelo mafê me tune ye em lehengê ku

was build on the struggles of immigrants?"

bûye sembola têkoşîna penaberan bibîr bînin?"

"And what about the struggles of Native Americans

''Tu qala berxwedana niştecihên Amerîkayê ku du re hemû hatin qetilkirin nakî

who were nearly wiped out and forced into reservations

û heta, îro jî zilm û zordarî li zarokên wan tên kirin

and whose descendants still suffer from poverty and discrimination?

û xizan in.

How can you make a hero out of a man who caused so much suffering?"

Çawa mirovekî ku bûye sedema ewqas zordariyê, dibe leheng?"

"That's history. You can't judge a guy in the 15th century by modern standards.

"Tu nikarî bi awayekî modern mirovekî ji sedsala 15an darizînî.

People back then even thought spreading

Ji bo mirovên wê serdemê

Christianity and civilization across the world was a moral duty."

belavkirina ola mesihî û şaristaniyê erkeke pîroz bû."

"Actually, he was pretty bad, even by old standards.

"Bi rastî ew li gor serdema xwe jî pir zordar bû.

While governing Hispaniola, he tortured and mutilated

Dema ku ew desthilatdarê Hispaniola bû,

natives who didn't bring him enough gold

li însanên ku zêr nedianîn, şkence dikir û ew însan seqet dibûn.

and sold girls as young as nine into sexual slavery,

Wî keçikên neh salî dikirin koleyên seksê,

and he was brutal even to the other colonists he ruled,

û ji mêtingehkarên din zêdetir zalim bû

to the point that he was removed from power and thrown in jail.

û di dawiyê de derb li desthilatdariya wî hat xistin û ket girtîgehê.

When the missionary, Bartolomé de las Casas,

''Gava ku mîsyoner, Bartolomé de las Casas,

visited the island, he wrote,

serdana giravê kir, nivîsî ku,

'From 1494 to 1508, over 3,000,000 people had perished

ji 1494an heta 1508an, nêzikê 3 mîlyon însan ji ber şer û koletiyê telef bûne.

from war, slavery and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this?'"

Di siberojê de dê kî, baweriya xwe bi we bîne?''

"Well, I'm not sure I believe those numbers."

"Bi rastî, ez ji van hejmaran bawer nakim.''

"Say, aren't there other ways the holiday is celebrated?"

"Awayekî din nîn e ku vê rojê pîroz bikin?"

"In some Latin American countries,

"Li hin welatên din yên Latîn Amerîkayê

they celebrate the same date under different names, such as Día de la Raza.

heman rojê bi navekî din pîroz dikin, wek Día de la Raza.

In these places, it's more a celebration of the native and mixed cultures

Li wan deran wek roja berxwedana çanda xwe

li hember mêtingehkariyê pîroz dikin.

that survived through the colonial period.

Some places in the U.S. have also renamed the holiday,

Hin deverên Amerîkayê, ev roj, bi navê

as Native American Day or Indigenous People's Day

Roja Binecihên Amerîkî tê pîrozkirin,

and changed the celebrations accordingly."

û wateya rojê jî diguhere.''

"So, why not just change the name if it's such a problem?"

"Ku pirsgirêk ev be, çima tenê nav naguherînin?"

"Because it's tradition.

"Ji ber ku ev kevneşopî ye.

Ordinary people need their heroes and their founding myths.

Ji mirovên ji rêzê re leheng û çîrokên wan pewîst in.

Can't we just keep celebrating the way we've been doing for a century,

Bêyî ku evqas lêkolînên tevlihev bikin,

without having to delve into all this serious research?

em nikarin weke ku em bi hezar salan dikin, pîroz bikin?

It's not like anyone is actually celebrating genocide."

Ev ne pîrozkirina komkujiyekê ye."

"Traditions change, and the way we choose to keep them alive

"Kevnoşopî diguherin û awayê ku em pîroz dikin

says a lot about our values."

nirxên me nîşan dide. "

"Well, it looks like giving tired judges a day off isn't one of those values, anyway."

"Baş e, ez jî westiyam, rojeke ku ne nirxê îro ye darizînim."

Kevnoşopî û pîrozbahî ji bo hemû çandan girîng in,

Traditions and holidays are important to all cultures,

but a hero in one era may become a villain in the next

lê lehengê çandekê belkî ji bo çandeke din zordar be.

as our historical knowledge expands and our values evolve.

Zanyariyên me yên dîrokî nirxên me jî diguherînin.

And deciding what these traditions should mean today

ji bo em bikarin wateya rastîn a kevneşopiyan fahm bikin,

is a major part of putting history on trial.

, hewce ye em wan di dadgeha dîrokî de darizînin.