Why I love a country that once betrayed me | George Takei

Translator: Yuan Fun Kan Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

I'm a veteran of the starship Enterprise.

Jeg er en veteran fra stjerneskibet Enterprise.

I soared through the galaxy

Jeg svævede gennem galaksen,

driving a huge starship

styrede et umådeligt stjerneskib

with a crew made up of people

med et mandskab sammensat af folk

from all over this world,

fra hele denne verden

many different races, many different cultures,

Folk af forskellige racer, forskellige kulturer,

many different heritages,

af forskellige herkomster.

all working together,

Alle arbejdede sammen.

and our mission was to explore strange new worlds,

Vores mission var at udforske nye ukendte verdener,

to seek out new life and new civilizations,

at søge nye liv og nye civilisationer,

to boldly go where no one has gone before.

at modigt bevæge sig hen, hvor ingen før havde været.

Well —

(Applause) —

I am the grandson of immigrants from Japan

Jeg er barnebarnet af japanske immigranter,

who went to America,

som rejste til Amerika.

boldly going to a strange new world,

Modigt rejste de til en ny ukendt verden

for at søge nye muligheder.

seeking new opportunities.

My mother was born in Sacramento, California.

Min mor blev født i Sacramento, Californien.

My father was a San Franciscan.

Min far var fra San Fransisco.

They met and married in Los Angeles,

De mødtes og blev gift i Los Angeles,

hvor jeg blev født.

and I was born there.

I was four years old

Jeg var fire år gammel,

when Pearl Harbor was bombed

da Pearl Habor, den 7. december 1941,

on December 7, 1941 by Japan,

blev bombarderet af Japan.

and overnight, the world was plunged

På en nat blev verdenen

kastet ind i en verdenskrig.

into a world war.

America suddenly was swept up

Amerika blev pludselig grebet af hysteri.

by hysteria.

Japanese-Americans,

Japan-amerikanere,

American citizens of Japanese ancestry,

amerikanske borgere med japansk baggrund,

were looked on

blev set på med mistro, frygt

with suspicion and fear

and with outright hatred

og decideret had

simply because we happened to look like

af den simple grund, at vi tilfældigvis lignede

de folk, som bombarderede Pearl Habor.

the people that bombed Pearl Harbor.

And the hysteria grew and grew

Og hysteriet blev større og større

until in February 1942,

indtil februar 1942,

the president of the United States,

hvor den amerikanske præsident,

Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

Franklin Delano Roosevelt,

ordered all Japanese-Americans

beordrede, at alle japan-amerikanere

on the West Coast of America

på den amerikanske vestkyst

to be summarily rounded up

uden videre skulle samles

with no charges, with no trial,

uden tiltale, uden retslig behandling

og uden rettergang.

with no due process.

Due process, this is a core pillar

Retfærdig rettergang er en bærende søjle

i vores retssystem.

of our justice system.

That all disappeared.

Men det hele forsvandt.

We were to be rounded up

Vi blev samlet

and imprisoned in 10 barbed-wire prison camps

og fængslet i fængselslejre , indhegnet med pigtråd

i nogle af de mest afsides steder i USA:

in some of the most desolate places in America:

the blistering hot desert of Arizona,

den glohede ørken i Arizona,

de trykkende sumpområder i Arkansas,

the sultry swamps of Arkansas,

the wastelands of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado,

ødemarkerne i Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado

and two of the most desolate places in California.

og to af de mest øde steder i Californien.

On April 20th, I celebrated my fifth birthday,

Den 20. april fejrede jeg min 5-års fødselsdag,

and just a few weeks after my birthday,

og blot et par uger efter min fødselsdag

my parents got my younger brother,

hentede mine forældre min lillebror,

my baby sister and me

min lillesøster og mig

up very early one morning,

en tidlig morgen,

and they dressed us hurriedly.

og de klædte os hurtigt på.

Min bror og jeg var i stuen

My brother and I were in the living room

looking out the front window,

og kiggede ud af vinduet,

and we saw two soldiers marching up our driveway.

og vi så to soldater marchere ind i vores indkørsel.

They carried bayonets on their rifles.

De havde bajonetter på deres rifler.

They stomped up the front porch

De trampede op på verandaen

and banged on the door.

og hamrede på døren.

My father answered it,

Min far åbnede,

and the soldiers ordered us out of our home.

og soldaterne beordrede os ud af vores hjem

My father gave my brother and me

Min far gav min bror og mig

lidt bagage at bære,

small luggages to carry,

and we walked out and stood on the driveway

og vi gik ud og stod i indkørslen

waiting for our mother to come out,

og ventede på, at vores mor kom ud,

and when my mother finally came out,

og da hun endelig kom ud

she had our baby sister in one arm,

havde hun i den ene arm vores lillesøster

a huge duffel bag in the other,

og i den anden, havde hun en stor køjesæk.

and tears were streaming down both her cheeks.

Tårer strømmede ned af begge hendes kinder.

I will never be able to forget that scene.

Jeg vil aldrig glemme det syn.

It is burned into my memory.

Det er brændt ind i min hukommelse.

We were taken from our home

Vi blev taget fra vores hjem

and loaded on to train cars

og læsset ind i togvogne

with other Japanese-American families.

med andre japansk-amerikanske familier.

There were guards stationed

Der var vagter i begge ender af hver togvogn

at both ends of each car,

as if we were criminals.

som var vi kriminelle.

We were taken two thirds of the way across the country,

Vi blev ført tværs over landet,

rocking on that train for four days and three nights,

vuggende i toget i 4 dage og 3 nætter,

to the swamps of Arkansas.

indtil vi ankom til Arkansas sumpområder.

I still remember the barbed wire fence

Jeg husker stadig pigtråds-hegnet,

that confined me.

der indespærrede mig.

I remember the tall sentry tower

Jeg husker det store vagttårn

with the machine guns pointed at us.

med maskinpistoler, der pegede imod os.

I remember the searchlight that followed me

Jeg husker søgelyset, der fulgte mig,

when I made the night runs

når jeg om natten løb

from my barrack to the latrine.

fra min barak til latrinen.

But to five-year-old me,

Men det 5-år gamle jeg syntes nu,

I thought it was kind of nice that they'd lit the way

at det var meget rart, at de lyste vejen for mig,

for me to pee.

når jeg skulle tisse.

I was a child,

Jeg var et barn,

too young to understand the circumstances

for ung til at forstå grunden til min tilværelse.

of my being there.

Children are amazingly adaptable.

Børn er fantastisk gode til at tilpasse sig.

What would be grotesquely abnormal

Hvad der ville have været grotesk og unormalt

became my normality

blev min hverdag

som fange i en fængselslejr.

in the prisoner of war camps.

It became routine for me to line up three times a day

Det blev normalt at stå i kø tre gange om dagen

to eat lousy food in a noisy mess hall.

for at kunne spise elendig mad i en larmende spisesal.

Det blev normalt at følge med min far,

It became normal for me to go with my father

to bathe in a mass shower.

så vi kunne bade i et fællesbad med alle andre.

Being in a prison, a barbed-wire prison camp,

At være i et fængsel, et fængsel omhegnet af pigtråd,

became my normality.

blev min hverdag.

When the war ended,

Da krigen sluttede,

we were released,

blev vi løsladt,

and given a one-way ticket

og vi fik en enkeltbillet,

to anywhere in the United States.

der førte til hvor som helst i USA.

My parents decided to go back home

Mine forældre besluttede sig for at tage tilbage til Los Angeles,

to Los Angeles,

men i Los Angeles var vi ikke længere velkommen.

but Los Angeles was not a welcoming place.

We were penniless.

Vi havde ikke en krone på lommen.

Everything had been taken from us,

Alt var blevet taget fra os,

and the hostility was intense.

og fjendtligheden var intens.

Our first home was on Skid Row

Vores første hjem var i et slumkvarter

in the lowest part of our city,

i den fattigste del af byen.

living with derelicts, drunkards

Vi var omringet af menneskevrag, drankere

and crazy people,

og galninge.

the stench of urine all over,

Stanken af urin hærgede

on the street, in the alley,

i både gader og stræder

in the hallway.

og entreen.

It was a horrible experience,

Det var en forfærdelig oplevelse,

and for us kids, it was terrorizing.

og for os børn var det skræmmende.

I remember once

Jeg husker en gang,

a drunkard came staggering down,

hvor en dranker kom vaklende hen ad gaden

fell down right in front of us,

og faldt lige for øjnene af os,

and threw up.

og kastede op.

My baby sister said, "Mama, let's go back home,"

Min lille søster sagde: "Mor, lad os tage hjem",

because behind barbed wires

for det at være indespærret af pigtråd,

was for us

var for os

hjem

home.

My parents worked hard

Mine forældre arbejdede hårdt

to get back on their feet.

for at komme på rette spor.

We had lost everything.

Vi havde mistet alt.

They were at the middle of their lives

De var midt i deres liv

and starting all over.

og skulle til at starte forfra.

They worked their fingers to the bone,

De sled dem selv halvt ihjel og til sidst,

and ultimately they were able

lykkedes det dem

to get the capital together to buy

at få råd til

a three-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood.

et tre-værelses hjem i et ordentligt nabolag.

And I was a teenager,

Jeg blev teenager,

and I became very curious

og jeg blev nysgerrig

about my childhood imprisonment.

omkring min barndom i fangenskab.

I had read civics books that told me about

Jeg havde læst samfundsbøger

the ideals of American democracy.

om idealerne i det amerikanske demokrati.

All men are created equal,

Alle mennesker er skabt lige,

we have an inalienable right

vi har en umistelig ret til liv,

to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,

frihed og stræben efter lykke,

and I couldn't quite make that fit

og jeg kunne ikke få de idealer til at stemme overens

with what I knew to be my childhood imprisonment.

med min barndom i fangenskab.

I read history books,

Jeg læste historiebøger,

and I couldn't find anything about it.

men kunne intet finde om det.

And so I engaged my father after dinner

Så efter aftensmaden førte jeg lange

in long, sometimes heated conversations.

og sommetider ophedede samtaler med min far,

We had many, many conversations like that,

Vi førte mange af sådanne samtaler,

and what I got from them

og det jeg fik ud af dem

was my father's wisdom.

var min fars visdom

He was the one that suffered the most

Han var den, som led mest

under those conditions of imprisonment,

under forholdene i fangenskab,

and yet he understood American democracy.

men alligevel forstod han det amerikanske demokrati.

He told me that our democracy

Han fortalte mig, at vores demokrati,

is a people's democracy,

er folkets demokrati.

and it can be as great as the people can be,

Det kan være lige så storslået som folket kan være,

but it is also as fallible as people are.

men det kan også være lige så fejlfuldt som mennesker er.

He told me that American democracy

Han fortalte mig at amerikansk demokrati

is vitally dependent on good people

er afhængig af gode mennesker,

who cherish the ideals of our system

som værdsætter idealerne i vores system

and actively engage in the process

og aktivt deltager i processen om

of making our democracy work.

at få vores demokrati til at fungere.

And he took me to a campaign headquarters —

Han tog mig med til hoved- kvarteret for en kampagne —

guvernøren for Illinois stillede op til præsidentvalget —

the governor of Illinois was running for the presidency —

and introduced me to American electoral politics.

og introducerede mig for den amerikanske valgpolitik.

And he also told me about

Han fortalte mig også om

young Japanese-Americans

unge japan-amerikanere

during the Second World War.

under 2. verdenskrig.

When Pearl Harbor was bombed,

Da Pearl Harbor blev bombarderet,

young Japanese-Americans, like all young Americans,

skyndte unge japan-amerikanere sig, ligesom andre unge amerikanere,

rushed to their draft board

at melde sig som frivillige i hæren

to volunteer to fight for our country.

for at kæmpe for vores land.

That act of patriotism

Den patriotiske handling

was answered with a slap in the face.

blev besvaret med et slag i ansigtet.

We were denied service,

Vi blev nægtet at tjene i hæren

and categorized as enemy non-alien.

og blev kategoriseret som "ikke-fremmede fjender".

It was outrageous to be called an enemy

Det er oprørende at blive kaldt en fjende,

when you're volunteering to fight for your country,

når du frivilligt melder dig for at kæmpe for dit land,

but that was compounded with the word "non-alien,"

men det var sammensat med ordene "ikke-fremmed",

which is a word that means

som betyder

"citizen" in the negative.

"statsborger".

They even took the word "citizen" away from us,

De tog ordet "statsborger" fra os,

and imprisoned them for a whole year.

og fængslede dem i et helt år.

And then the government realized

Og så indså regeringen,

that there's a wartime manpower shortage,

at der i krigstiden var mangel på arbejdskraft,

and as suddenly as they'd rounded us up,

og lige så pludseligt som de havde samlet os,

they opened up the military for service

lige så pludseligt åbnede hæren for op for tilmeldinger

by young Japanese-Americans.

af japan-amerikanere.

It was totally irrational,

Det var fuldstændigt irrationelt,

but the amazing thing,

men det mest fantastiske

the astounding thing,

og det mest forbløffende var,

is that thousands of young

at tusindvis af unge

Japanese-American men and women

japansk-amerikanske mænd og kvinder

again went from behind those barbed-wire fences,

trådte ud af pigtrådshegnene,

put on the same uniform as that of our guards,

iførte sig samme uniform, som vores vagter

leaving their families in imprisonment,

og efterlod deres familier i fangenskab

to fight for this country.

for at kæmpe for dette land.

They said that they were going to fight

De sagde, at de ville kæmpe,

not only to get their families out

ikke kun for at få deres familier ud

from behind those barbed-wire fences,

af pigtrådshegnene,

but because they cherished the very ideal

men fordi de værdsatte det selvsamme ideal

of what our government stands for,

som vores regering står for,

should stand for,

burde stå for,

and that was being abrogated

og det var ved at blive afskaffet

by what was being done.

af det, som var blevet gjort.

All men are created equal.

Alle mennesker er skabt lige.

And they went to fight for this country.

Og de gik i krig for at kæmpe for dette land.

They were put into a segregated

De blev placeret i en særskilt

all Japanese-American unit

enhed kun for japan-amerikanere

and sent to the battlefields of Europe,

og derefter sendt afsted til krigsmarkerne i Europa,

and they threw themselves into it.

og de kastede dem selv ind i krigen.

They fought with amazing,

De kæmpede med fantastisk,

incredible courage and valor.

utrolig mod og tapperhed.

They were sent out on the most dangerous missions

De blev sendt ud på de mest farlige missioner

and they sustained the highest combat casualty rate

og i krigen pådrog de sig den højeste dødsrate

of any unit proportionally.

blandt alle enheder.

There is one battle that illustrates that.

Der er en kamp, som illustrerer dette.

It was a battle for the Gothic Line.

Det var kampen om den gotiske linje.

The Germans were embedded

Tyskerne havde rodfæstet sig

in this mountain hillside,

i denne bjergskråning,

rocky hillside,

en bjergskråning med masser af sten,

in impregnable caves,

i utilgængelige huler,

and three allied battalions

og tre allierede bataljoner

had been pounding away at it

havde hamret løs på den

for six months,

i 6 måneder

and they were stalemated.

og de var i dødvande.

The 442nd was called in

Enhed 442 blev tilkaldt

to add to the fight,

for at deltage i kampen,

but the men of the 442nd

men mændene i enhed 442

came up with a unique

fandt på en unik,

but dangerous idea:

men farlig ide:

The backside of the mountain

Bagsiden af bjerget

was a sheer rock cliff.

var intet andet end en klippesten.

The Germans thought an attack from the backside

Tyskerne troede, at et angreb fra bagsiden

would be impossible.

ville være umuligt.

The men of the 442nd decided to do the impossible.

Mændene i enhed 442 besluttede sig for at gøre det umulige.

On a dark, moonless night,

En mørk og måneløs nat

they began scaling that rock wall,

begyndte de at bestige klippevæggen,

a drop of more than 1,000 feet,

med et fald på mere end 304 meter,

in full combat gear.

i fuld krigsudstyr.

They climbed all night long

Hele natten klatrede de

on that sheer cliff.

op ad klippen.

In the darkness,

I mørket

some lost their handhold

mistede nogle deres håndfæste

or their footing

eller deres fodfæste

and they fell to their deaths

og de faldt i døden

in the ravine below.

i bjergkløften forneden.

They all fell silently.

De faldt alle i stilhed.

Not a single one cried out,

Ikke en eneste skreg,

so as not to give their position away.

for ikke at afsløre deres position.

The men climbed for eight hours straight,

Mændene klatrede i 8 timer

and those who made it to the top

og dem, som nåede toppen

stayed there until the first break of light,

blev der indtil morgengry,

and as soon as light broke,

og så snart lyset brød frem

they attacked.

angreb de.

The Germans were surprised,

Tyskerne blev overraskede

and they took the hill

og de tog klippen

and broke the Gothic Line.

og brød den gotiske linje.

A six-month stalemate

6-måneders dødvande

was broken by the 442nd

blev brudt af enhed 442

in 32 minutes.

på 32 minutter.

It was an amazing act,

Det var en fantastisk handling,

and when the war ended,

og da krigen sluttede,

the 442nd returned to the United States

vendte enhed 442 hjem til USA

as the most decorated unit

som den enhed med flest hædersbevisninger

of the entire Second World War.

i hele 2. verdenskrig.

They were greeted back on the White House Lawn

De blev budt velkommen på græsplænen ved Det Hvide Hus

by President Truman, who said to them,

af præsident Truman, som sagde:

"You fought not only the enemy

"I kæmpede ikke kun mod fjenden,

but prejudice, and you won."

men også mod fordomme, og I vandt."

They are my heroes.

De er mine helte.

They clung to their belief

De klyngede sig til deres tro

in the shining ideals of this country,

på dette lands skinnende idealer,

and they proved that being an American

og de beviste, at det at være amerikaner

is not just for some people,

ikke kun er for nogle mennesker,

that race is not how we define being an American.

at det at være amerikaner ikke defineres ud fra race.

They expanded what it means to be an American,

De udvidede forståelsen af det at være amerikaner

including Japanese-Americans

ved at inkludere japan-amerikanere

that were feared and suspected and hated.

som var frygtet, mistænkt og hadet.

They were change agents,

De skabte forandring,

and they left for me

og de efterlod mig

en arv.

a legacy.

They are my heroes

De er mine helte,

and my father is my hero,

og min far er min helt,

who understood democracy

som forstod demokrati

and guided me through it.

og vejledte mig igennem det.

They gave me a legacy,

De gav mig en arv,

and with that legacy comes a responsibility,

og med den arv følger der et ansvar,

and I am dedicated

og jeg er dedikeret

to making my country

til at gøre mit land

an even better America,

til et endnu bedre Amerika,

to making our government

til at gøre vores regering

an even truer democracy,

til et mere ægte demokrati

and because of the heroes that I have

og på grund af de helte jeg har,

and the struggles that we've gone through,

og de anstrengelser vi har været igennem,

I can stand before you

kan jeg stå her foran jer

as a gay Japanese-American,

som en homoseksuel japan-amerikaner.

but even more than that,

Men mere end det,

I am a proud American.

jeg er en stolt amerikaner.

Thank you very much.

Mange tak.

(Applause)