I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace | Zak Ebrahim

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Madeleine Aronson

Translator: Nana Ginnerup Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

On November 5th, 1990,

Den 5. november 1990

a man named El-Sayyid Nosair walked

gik en mand ved navn El-Sayyid Nosair

into a hotel in Manhattan

ind på et hotel i Manhattan

and assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane,

og myrdede Rabbi Meir Kahane,

the leader of the Jewish Defense League.

lederen af Jewish Defense League.

Nosair was initially found not guilty of the murder,

Nosair blev fundet ikke skyldig i mordet,

but while serving time on lesser charges,

men mens han afsonede for mindre forseelser,

he and other men began planning attacks

begyndte han med nogle andre mænd at planlægge angreb

on a dozen New York City landmarks,

på et dusin af New Yorks vartegn,

including tunnels, synagogues

deriblandt tunneler, synagoger,

and the United Nations headquarters.

og FN's hovedkvarter

Thankfully, those plans were foiled

Heldigvis blev disse planer forpurret

by an FBI informant.

af en af FBI's meddelere.

Sadly, the 1993 bombing

Desværre blev 1993 bombningen

of the World Trade Center was not.

af World Trade Center ikke.

Nosair would eventually be convicted

Nosair blev til sidst dømt

for his involvement in the plot.

for hans involvering i plottet.

El-Sayyid Nosair is my father.

El-Sayyid Nosair er min far.

I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Jeg blev født i Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

in 1983 to him, an Egyptian engineer,

i 1983, til ham, en egyptisk ingeniør,

and a loving American mother and grade school teacher,

og en kærlig amerikansk mor og folkeskolelærer,

who together tried their best

der sammen gjorde deres bedste

to create a happy childhood for me.

for at give mig en lykkelig barndom.

It wasn't until I was seven years old

Det var først, da jeg var 7 år,

that our family dynamic started to change.

at vores familiedynamik begyndte at ændre sig.

My father exposed me to a side of Islam

Min far udsatte mig for en side af islam,

that few people, including the majority of Muslims,

som få folk, inklusiv størstedelen af muslimer,

get to see.

får at se.

It's been my experience that when people

Det har været min opfattelse, at når folk tager tid

take the time to interact with one another,

til at interagere med hinanden,

it doesn't take long to realize that for the most part,

tager det for det meste ikke lang tid at indse,

we all want the same things out of life.

at vi alle vil have de samme ting ud af livet.

However, in every religion, in every population,

Dog er der i hver religion, i enhver befolkning,

you'll find a small percentage of people

en lille procentdel,

who hold so fervently to their beliefs

der brænder så inderligt for deres tro,

that they feel they must use any means necessary

at de føler, at de må bruge alle midler,

to make others live as they do.

for at få andre til at leve, som de gør.

A few months prior to his arrest,

Nogle få måneder før hans anholdelse,

he sat me down and explained that

satte han mig ned og forklarede,

for the past few weekends, he and some friends

at i de sidste par uger havde han og nogle venner

had been going to a shooting range on Long Island

taget til en skydebane på Long Island

for target practice.

for at øve målskydning.

He told me I'd be going with him the next morning.

Han sagde til mig, at jeg ville tage med ham den næste morgen.

We arrived at Calverton Shooting Range,

Vi ankom til Calverton Skydebane,

which unbeknownst to our group was being watched

der, ubekendt for vores gruppe, blev overvåget

by the FBI.

af FBI.

Da det var min tur hjalp min far mig med at holde riflen til skuldren,

When it was my turn to shoot,

my father helped me hold the rifle to my shoulder

and explained how to aim at the target

og forklarede, hvordan man sigter på målet 30 meter væk.

about 30 yards off.

That day, the last bullet I shot

Den sidste kugle, jeg skød den dag,

hit the small orange light that sat on top of the target

ramte det lille, orange lys på toppen af målet,

and to everyone's surprise, especially mine,

og til alles overraskelse, især min,

the entire target burst into flames.

brød hele målet ud i flammer.

My uncle turned to the other men,

Min onkel vendte sig mod de andre mænd

and in Arabic said, "Ibn abuh."

og sagde på arabisk: "Ibn abduh."

Like father, like son.

Som far, så søn.

They all seemed to get a really big laugh out of that comment,

De virkede alle til at more sig over den kommentar,

but it wasn't until a few years later

men det var ikke før nogle år senere,

that I fully understood what they thought was so funny.

at jeg fuldt ud forstod, hvad de syntes var så sjovt.

They thought they saw in me the same destruction

De troede, de havde set samme destruktion i mig,

my father was capable of.

som min far havde i sig.

Those men would eventually be convicted

Disse mænd ville i sidste ende blive dømt

of placing a van filled with 1,500 pounds of explosives

for at placere en varevogn fyldt med 680 kg sprængstof

into the sub-level parking lot of the World Trade Center's North Tower,

i den underjordiske parkeringsplads i World Trade Centers nordlige tårn,

causing an explosion that killed six people

der var skyld i en eksplosion, der dræbte seks mennesker

and injured over 1,000 others.

og skadede over 1000 andre.

These were the men I looked up to.

Disse var mænd, jeg så op til.

These were the men I called ammu, which means uncle.

Disse var mænd, jeg kaldte ammu, hvilket betyder onkel.

By the time I turned 19,

Da jeg fyldte 19,

I had already moved 20 times in my life,

havde jeg allerede flyttet 20 gange i mit liv,

and that instability during my childhood

og den ustabilitet i løbet af min barndom

didn't really provide an opportunity

gav mig ikke rigtig muligheden

to make many friends.

for at få venner.

Each time I would begin to feel comfortable around someone,

Hver gang jeg begyndte at føle mig tryg omkring en person,

it was time to pack up and move to the next town.

så var det tid til at pakke sammen og flytte til den næste by.

Being the perpetual new face in class,

Altid at være den nye i klassen

I was frequently the target of bullies.

gjorde at jeg ofte var et mål for bøller.

I kept my identity a secret from my classmates

Jeg skjulte min identitet for mine klassekammerater

to avoid being targeted,

for at undgå at blive ramt,

but as it turns out, being the quiet, chubby new kid in class

men det viste sig, at det at være den stille, buttede nye dreng,

was more than enough ammunition.

var mere end nok ammunition.

So for the most part, I spent my time at home

Så det meste af tiden brugte jeg hjemme

reading books and watching TV

på at læse bøger og se tv

or playing video games.

eller spille videospil.

For those reasons, my social skills were lacking,

Af disse årsager, manglede jeg sociale færdigheder,

to say the least,

for at sige det mildt,

and growing up in a bigoted household,

og min opvækst i et fanatisk hjem havde ikke forberedt mig på den virkelige verden.

I wasn't prepared for the real world.

I'd been raised to judge people

Jeg var blevet opdraget til at dømme folk baseret på tilfældige ting,

based on arbitrary measurements,

like a person's race or religion.

såsom en persons race eller religion.

So what opened my eyes?

Så hvad åbnede mine øjne?

One of my first experiences

En af de første oplevelser,

that challenged this way of thinking

der satte spørgsmålstegn ved min tankegang,

was during the 2000 presidential elections.

var under præsidentvalget i år 2000.

Through a college prep program,

Under et college-program,

I was able to take part

fik jeg muligheden til

in the National Youth Convention in Philadelphia.

at deltage i the National Youth Convention i Philadelphia.

My particular group's focus was on youth violence,

Min gruppes fokus var på vold blandt unge,

and having been the victim of bullying for most of my life,

og efter at have været offer for mobning så længe,

this was a subject in which I felt particularly passionate.

var dette et emne, jeg var særligt passioneret omkring.

The members of our group came from many different walks of life.

Mine gruppemedlemmer havde mange forskellige livserfaringer.

One day toward the end of the convention,

En af dagene, mod slutningen af konventionen,

I found out that one of the kids I had befriended

fandt jeg ud af, at en af børnene, jeg var blevet ven med,

was Jewish.

var jødisk.

Now, it had taken several days

Det havde taget dagevis,

for this detail to come to light,

før denne detalje var kommet frem,

and I realized that there was no natural animosity

og jeg indså, at der ikke var nogensomhelst naturlig fjendtlighed

between the two of us.

mellem os.

I had never had a Jewish friend before,

Jeg havde aldrig haft en jødisk ven før,

and frankly I felt a sense of pride

og ærligt talt følte jeg mig stolt over

in having been able to overcome a barrier

at have kunnet overkomme en barriere,

that for most of my life I had been led to believe

jeg stort set altid, var blevet ledt til at tro,

was insurmountable.

var uovervindelig.

Another major turning point came when

Et andet vigtigt vendepunkt kom,

da jeg fik et sommerjob hos Busch Gardens,

I found a summer job at Busch Gardens,

an amusement park.

en forlystelsespark.

There, I was exposed to people from all sorts of faiths and cultures,

Der så jeg folk fra alle mulige trosretninger og kulturer,

and that experience proved to be fundamental

og den oplevelse viste sig, at være fundamental

to the development of my character.

for udviklingen af min karakter.

Most of my life, I'd been taught

Jeg har fået af vide,

that homosexuality was a sin, and by extension,

at homoseksualitet var en synd, og derved,

that all gay people were a negative influence.

at alle homoseksuelle var en negativ indflydelse.

As chance would have it, I had the opportunity

Ved tilfældet havde jeg muligheden for

to work with some of the gay performers

at arbejde med homoseksuelle performere ved et show der

at a show there,

and soon found that many were the kindest,

og fandt hurtigt ud af, at mange af dem var de venligste, mindst dømmende folk

least judgmental people I had ever met.

jeg nogensinde har mødt.

Being bullied as a kid

At blive mobbet som et barn

created a sense of empathy in me

skabte en sans for indlevelse

toward the suffering of others,

i de lidelser andre har,

and it comes very unnaturally to me

og det falder mig meget unaturligt

to treat people who are kind

at behandle personer, der er venlige,

in any other way than how I would want to be treated.

på nogen som helst anden måde end hvordan jeg vil behandles.

Because of that feeling, I was able

På grund af den følelse, var jeg i stand

to contrast the stereotypes I'd been taught as a child

til at skelne mellem stereotyperne, jeg var blevet lært som barn,

with real life experience and interaction.

og mine reelle livs- erfaringer og interaktion.

I don't know what it's like to be gay,

Jeg ved ikke, hvordan det er at være homoseksuel,

but I'm well acquainted with being judged

men jeg er vant til at blive dømt

for something that's beyond my control.

for noget, jeg ikke har kontrol over.

Then there was "The Daily Show."

Så var der "The Daily Show".

On a nightly basis, Jon Stewart forced me

På en natlig basis tvang Jon Stewart mig

to be intellectually honest with myself about my own bigotry

til at være intellektuelt ærlig med mig selv om mit snæversyn

and helped me to realize that a person's race,

og hjalp mig til at indse, at en persons race,

religion or sexual orientation

religion eller seksuelle præference

had nothing to do with the quality of one's character.

ikke havde noget at gøre med kvaliteten af deres karakter.

He was in many ways a father figure to me

Han var på mange måder en fadefigur for mig,

when I was in desperate need of one.

når jeg desperat have brug for en.

Inspiration can often come from an unexpected place,

Inspiration kan ofte komme fra et uventet sted,

and the fact that a Jewish comedian had done more

og faktummet at en jødisk komiker havde gjort mere

to positively influence my worldview

for at influere mit verdenssyn positivt

than my own extremist father

end min egen ekstremistiske far,

is not lost on me.

er ikke gået tabt for mig.

One day, I had a conversation with my mother

En dag havde jeg en samtale med min mor om

about how my worldview was starting to change,

hvordan mit verdenssyn var begyndt at ændre sig,

and she said something to me

og hun fortalte mig noget,

that I will hold dear to my heart

jeg vil holde tæt på hjertet

for as long as I live.

så længe jeg lever.

She looked at me with the weary eyes

Hun kiggede udmattet på mig,

of someone who had experienced

som én, der havde oplevet

enough dogmatism to last a lifetime, and said,

dogmatisme nok til resten af livet, og sagde:

"I'm tired of hating people."

"Jeg er træt af at hade folk."

In that instant, I realized how much negative energy

I det øjeblik indså jeg hvor meget negativ energi

it takes to hold that hatred inside of you.

det kræver, for at holde det had inde i sig.

Zak Ebrahim is not my real name.

Mit rigtige navn er ikke Zak Ebrahim.

I changed it when my family decided

Jeg ændrede det, da min familie valgte

to end our connection with my father

at kappe vores bånd med min far

and start a new life.

og starte et nyt liv.

So why would I out myself

Så hvorfor vil jeg afsløre mig selv

and potentially put myself in danger?

og potentielt sætte mig selv i fare?

Well, that's simple.

Det er simpelt, virkeligt.

I do it in the hopes that perhaps someone someday

Jeg gør det i håbet om, at måske, en eller anden dag, vil nogen,

who is compelled to use violence

der føler sig nødsaget til at bruge vold

may hear my story and realize

høre min historie og indse,

that there is a better way,

at der er en bedre vej,

that although I had been subjected

at selvom jeg har været udsat

to this violent, intolerant ideology,

for den her voldelige, intolerante ideologi,

that I did not become fanaticized.

er jeg ikke blevet fanatiker.

Instead, I choose to use my experience

I stedet har jeg valgt at bruge min erfaring

to fight back against terrorism,

til at kæmpe mod terrorisme,

against the bigotry.

mod snæversyn.

I do it for the victims of terrorism

Jeg gør det for ofrene for terrorisme

and their loved ones,

og deres kære,

for the terrible pain and loss

for den forfærdelige smerte og tab

som terrorisme har påtvunget dem.

that terrorism has forced upon their lives.

For the victims of terrorism, I will speak out

Jeg vil råbe op for terrorofrene

against these senseless acts

mod disse meningsløse handlinger

and condemn my father's actions.

og fordømme min fars handlinger.

And with that simple fact, I stand here as proof

Og med det enkle faktum står jeg her i dag som bevis på,

that violence isn't inherent in one's religion or race,

at vold ikke er uløseligt forbundet med ens religion eller race,

and the son does not have to follow

og at sønnen ikke behøver at følge

the ways of his father.

sin fars veje.

I am not my father.

Jeg er ikke min far.

Thank you. (Applause)

Tak.

Thank you, everybody. (Applause)

Tak, alle sammen.

Thank you all. (Applause)

Tak til jer alle.

Thanks a lot. (Applause)

Mange tak.