Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED

Translator: Raquel Caamaño Reviewer: Patricia Álvarez

I'm a storyteller.

Son escritora.

And I would like to tell you a few personal stories

E gustaríame contarvos un par de historias persoais

about what I like to call "the danger of the single story."

sobre o que me gusta chamar "O perigo dunha única historia".

I grew up on a university campus in eastern Nigeria.

Crecín nun campus universitario no leste de Nixeria.

My mother says that I started reading at the age of two,

A miña nai di que empecei a ler ós dous anos,

although I think four is probably close to the truth.

pero eu creo que catro é unha cifra máis certa.

So I was an early reader,

Así que fun unha lectora temperana e o que lía

and what I read were British and American children's books.

eran libros infantís británicos e estadounidenses.

I was also an early writer,

Tamén fun unha escritora temperana.

and when I began to write, at about the age of seven,

E cando comecei a escribir, sobre os sete anos,

stories in pencil with crayon illustrations

historias en lapis con ilustracións en ceras

that my poor mother was obligated to read,

que a miña pobre nai estaba obrigada a ler,

I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading:

escribía exactamente o tipo de historias que lía.

All my characters were white and blue-eyed,

Todas as miñas personaxes eran brancas e de ollos azuis.

they played in the snow,

Xogaban na neve.

they ate apples,

Comían mazás.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

and they talked a lot about the weather,

E falaban moito sobre o tempo,

how lovely it was that the sun had come out.

o bonito que era que saíra o sol.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Now, this despite the fact that I lived in Nigeria.

E todo isto malia o feito de que vivía en Nixeria.

I had never been outside Nigeria.

Nunca estivera fóra de Nixeria.

We didn't have snow, we ate mangoes,

Non tiñamos neve. Comiamos mangos.

and we never talked about the weather,

E nunca falabamos sobre o tempo,

because there was no need to.

porque non había necesidade.

My characters also drank a lot of ginger beer,

As miñas personaxes tamén bebían cervexa de xenxibre

because the characters in the British books I read

porque as personaxes dos libros británicos que lía

drank ginger beer.

bebían cervexa de xenxibre.

Never mind that I had no idea what ginger beer was.

Tanto tiña que non tivera nin idea do que era.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And for many years afterwards,

E durante moitos anos tería un desexo desesperado

I would have a desperate desire to taste ginger beer.

de probar a cervexa de xenxibre.

But that is another story.

Pero esa é outra historia.

What this demonstrates, I think,

Creo que o que isto demostra

is how impressionable and vulnerable we are

é o impresionable e vulnerable que somos

in the face of a story,

fronte a unha historia,

particularly as children.

sobre todo de nenos.

Because all I had read were books in which characters were foreign,

Como todo o que lera eran libros

nos que as personaxes era estranxeiras

I had become convinced that books

estaba convencida de que os libros

by their very nature had to have foreigners in them

por natureza tiñan que ter estranxeiros neles,

and had to be about things with which I could not personally identify.

e tiñan que tratar sobre cousas

coas que non me podía identificar.

Now, things changed when I discovered African books.

As cousas cambiaron cando descubrín libros africanos.

There weren't many of them available,

Non había moitos dispoñibles

and they weren't quite as easy to find as the foreign books.

e non eran tan sinxelos de atopar como os estranxeiros.

Pero grazas a escritores como Chinua Achebe e Camara Laye

But because of writers like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye,

I went through a mental shift in my perception of literature.

Atravesei un cambio mental na miña percepción

da literatura.

I realized that people like me,

Deime de conta de que xente coma min,

girls with skin the color of chocolate,

nenas coa pel da cor do chocolate,

whose kinky hair could not form ponytails,

co pelo enmarañado que non formaba coletas,

could also exist in literature.

tamén podían existir na literatura.

I started to write about things I recognized.

Comecei a escribir sobre cousas que recoñecía.

Now, I loved those American and British books I read.

Encantábanme eses libros británicos e estadounidenses que lía.

They stirred my imagination. They opened up new worlds for me.

Espertaban a miña imaxinación. Abríronme novos mundos.

But the unintended consequence

Pero a consecuencia non deliberada

was that I did not know that people like me

foi que non souben que a xente coma min

could exist in literature.

podía existir na literatura.

So what the discovery of African writers did for me was this:

Así que o que o descubrimento dos escritores africanos fixo por min foi isto:

It saved me from having a single story of what books are.

Salvoume de ter unha única historia

do que eran os libros.

I come from a conventional, middle-class Nigerian family.

Eu proveño dunha familia convencional de clase media nixeriana.

My father was a professor.

O meu pai era mestre.

My mother was an administrator.

A miña nai era administradora.

And so we had, as was the norm,

Tiñamos, como era a norma,

live-in domestic help, who would often come from nearby rural villages.

axuda doméstica residente, que a cotío viñan de vilas rurais próximas.

So, the year I turned eight, we got a new house boy.

No ano en que cumprín oito tiñamos a un novo neno na casa.

His name was Fide.

Chamábase Fide.

The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was very poor.

O único que nos dixo a miña nai sobre el

foi que a súa familia era moi pobre.

My mother sent yams and rice, and our old clothes, to his family.

A miña nai enviou ñame, arroz

e roupa vella a súa familia.

And when I didn't finish my dinner, my mother would say,

E cando non remataba a cea a miña nai dicía:

"Finish your food! Don't you know? People like Fide's family have nothing."

"¡Acaba a comida! ¿Non sabes que xente como a familia de Fide non teñen nada?"

So I felt enormous pity for Fide's family.

Entón sentía unha mágoa enorme pola familia de Fide.

Then one Saturday, we went to his village to visit,

Un sábado fomos de visita á súa vila.

and his mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket

E a súa nai amosounos unha cesta maravillosamente estampada,

made of dyed raffia that his brother had made.

feita con rafia tinguida, que fixera o seu irmán.

I was startled.

Asusteime.

It had not occurred to me that anybody in his family

Non se me ocorrera que alguén da súa familia

could actually make something.

puidera realmente facer algo.

All I had heard about them was how poor they were,

Todo o que escoitara deles era o pobres que eran,

so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor.

así que érame imposible miralos

como algo máis que pobres.

Their poverty was my single story of them.

A súa pobreza era a miña única historia deles.

Years later, I thought about this when I left Nigeria

Anos máis tarde, pensei nisto cando deixei Nixeria.

to go to university in the United States.

para ir a universidade nos Estados Unidos.

I was 19.

Tiña 19.

My American roommate was shocked by me.

A miña compañeira de cuarto americana sorprendeuse.

She asked where I had learned to speak English so well,

Preguntoume onde aprendera a falar inglés tan ben

and was confused when I said that Nigeria

e estaba desconcertada cando lle dixen que en Nixeria

happened to have English as its official language.

tiña o inglés como lingua oficial.

She asked if she could listen to what she called my "tribal music,"

Preguntoume se podería escoitar o que ela chamou a miña "música tribal",

and was consequently very disappointed

e en consecuencia se desilusionou moito

when I produced my tape of Mariah Carey.

cando lle ensinei a miña cinta de Mariah Carey.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

She assumed that I did not know how to use a stove.

Asumiu que non sabía

como usar unha estufa.

What struck me was this:

O que me paralizou foi isto: ela sentía mágoa de min

She had felt sorry for me even before she saw me.

incluso antes de verme.

Her default position toward me, as an African,

A súa posición por defecto cara a min, como africana,

was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity.

era un tipo de mágoa condescendente e benévola.

My roommate had a single story of Africa:

A miña compañeira de cuarto tiña unha única historia de África.

a single story of catastrophe.

Unha única historia de catástrofe.

In this single story,

Nesta única historia non había a posibilidade

there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way,

de que os africanos foran semellantes a ela dalgunha maneira.

no possibility of feelings more complex than pity,

Non había a posibilidade de sentimentos máis complexos cá mágoa.

no possibility of a connection as human equals.

Non había a posibilidade dunha conexión como humanos iguais.

I must say that before I went to the U.S.,

Debo dicir que antes de ir ós EE.UU non me identificaba

I didn't consciously identify as African.

conscientemente como africana.

But in the U.S., whenever Africa came up, people turned to me.

Pero nos EE.UU cada vez que xurdía África a xente volvíase cara a min.

Never mind that I knew nothing about places like Namibia.

Non importaba que non soubera nada de lugares como Namibia.

But I did come to embrace this new identity,

Pero cheguei a aceptar esa nova identidade.

and in many ways I think of myself now as African.

E agora en moitos aspectos penso en min mesma como africana.

Although I still get quite irritable when Africa is referred to as a country,

Mesmo que aínda me alporizo

cando se refiren a África como un país.

the most recent example being my otherwise wonderful flight

O exemplo máis recente foi no meu voo, doutra maneira marabilloso,

from Lagos two days ago,

dende Lagos hai dous días,

in which there was an announcement on the Virgin flight

no que houbo un anuncio no voo de Virgin

about the charity work in "India, Africa and other countries."

sobre unha organización benéfica que traballa en "India, África e outros países".

(Laughter)

(Risas)

So, after I had spent some years in the U.S. as an African,

Así que tras un par de anos nos EE.UU como africana

I began to understand my roommate's response to me.

comecei a entender a resposta da miña compañeira de cuarto.

If I had not grown up in Nigeria,

Se non crecera en Nixeria e todo o que soubera de África

and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images,

saíra das imaxes xeneralizadas

I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes,

tamén eu crería que África é un lugar

de bonitas paisaxes e animais

beautiful animals,

and incomprehensible people,

e xente incomprensible

fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and AIDS,

loitando en guerras sen sentido, morrendo de pobreza e SIDA,

unable to speak for themselves

incapaces de falar por eles mesmos

and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner.

e agardando ser salvados

por un amable estranxeiro branco.

I would see Africans in the same way that I,

Miraría ós africanos da mesma maneira

as a child, had seen Fide's family.

que de nena miraba á familia de Fide.

This single story of Africa ultimately comes, I think, from Western literature.

Creo que a única historia de África provén da literatura occidental.

Now, here is a quote from the writing of a London merchant called John Lok,

Esta é unha cita sacada

dos escritos dun mercante londiniense chamado John Locke,

who sailed to west Africa in 1561

que navegou ata o oeste de África en 1561,

and kept a fascinating account of his voyage.

e plasmou un fascinante relato da súa viaxe.

After referring to the black Africans as "beasts who have no houses,"

Tras referirse ós africanos negros

como "bestas que non teñen casas"

he writes, "They are also people without heads,

escribiu: "tamén son persoas sen cabeza,

having their mouth and eyes in their breasts."

teñen a boca e os ollos no peito".

Now, I've laughed every time I've read this.

Eu río cada vez que leo isto.

And one must admire the imagination of John Lok.

Debemos admirar a imaxinación de John Locke.

But what is important about his writing

Pero o que importa dos seus escritos

is that it represents the beginning

é que representa o comezo

of a tradition of telling African stories in the West:

da tradición de contar historias africanas en occidente.

A tradition of Sub-Saharan Africa as a place of negatives,

A tradición de identificar á África subsahariana como un lugar

of difference, of darkness,

de negacións, de diferenzas, de escuridade,

of people who, in the words of the wonderful poet Rudyard Kipling,

de xente que, en palabras do marabilloso poeta

Rudyard Kipling

are "half devil, half child."

son "metade diaños, metade nenos".

And so, I began to realize that my American roommate

Entón comecei a decatarme de que a miña compañeira de cuarto

must have throughout her life

debeu, ó longo da súa vida,

seen and heard different versions of this single story,

ver e escoitar diferentes versións

desta única historia,

as had a professor,

como un profesor que tiven,

who once told me that my novel was not "authentically African."

que me dixo unha vez que a miña novela non era "autenticamente africana".

Now, I was quite willing to contend

Estaba disposta a argüír que había un par de cousas

that there were a number of things wrong with the novel,

que estaban mal na novela,

that it had failed in a number of places,

que puxera mal un par de lugares.

but I had not quite imagined that it had failed

Pero non podía imaxinar que fracasara

at achieving something called African authenticity.

en conseguir algo chamado a autenticidade africana.

In fact, I did not know what African authenticity was.

De feito non sabía

o que era a autenticidade africana.

The professor told me that my characters were too much like him,

O profesor díxome que as miñas personaxes

parecíanse demasiado a el,

an educated and middle-class man.

un home douto de clase media

My characters drove cars.

As miñas personaxes conducían coches.

They were not starving.

Non morrían de fame.

Therefore they were not authentically African.

Polo tanto non eran auténticos africanos.

But I must quickly add that I too am just as guilty

Pero debo engadir que eu tamén son responsable

in the question of the single story.

na cuestión da única historia.

A few years ago, I visited Mexico from the U.S.

Hai uns anos visitei México dende ós EE.UU.

The political climate in the U.S. at the time was tense,

O clima político nos EE.UU. nese momento era tenso.

and there were debates going on about immigration.

E había en curso debates sobre a inmigración.

And, as often happens in America,

E, como pasa a cotío en Estados Unidos,

immigration became synonymous with Mexicans.

a inmigración converteuse en sinónimo de mexicanos.

There were endless stories of Mexicans

Había innumerables historias de mexicanos

as people who were fleecing the healthcare system,

como xente

que desplumaba ó sistema sanitario,

sneaking across the border,

que se coaba pola fronteira,

being arrested at the border, that sort of thing.

detidos nas fronteiras, ese tipo de cousas.

I remember walking around on my first day in Guadalajara,

Lembro pasear por Guadalaxara o primeiro día,

watching the people going to work,

mirando á xente indo ó traballo,

rolling up tortillas in the marketplace,

dándolle volta as tortillas na praza do mercado,

smoking, laughing.

fumando, rindo,

I remember first feeling slight surprise.

Lembro sentirme primeiro un pouco sorprendida.

And then, I was overwhelmed with shame.

E logo arrelada pola vergoña.

I realized that I had been so immersed in the media coverage of Mexicans

Decateime de que estivera tan sumida

na cobertura mediática sobre os mexicanos

that they had become one thing in my mind,

que se converteran en unha soa cousa na miña mente:

the abject immigrant.

un abxecto inmigrante.

I had bought into the single story of Mexicans

Aceptara a única historia dos mexicanos

and I could not have been more ashamed of myself.

e non podía estar máis avergoñada de min mesma.

So that is how to create a single story,

Así é cómo se crea unha única historia:

show a people as one thing,

amosar á xente como unha única cousa,

as only one thing,

como só unha cousa,

over and over again,

unha e outra vez,

and that is what they become.

e niso é no que se converten.

It is impossible to talk about the single story

É imposible falar da historia única

without talking about power.

sen falar do poder.

There is a word, an Igbo word,

Hai unha palabra en Igbo

that I think about whenever I think about the power structures of the world,

que se me ocorre cada vez que penso

nas estructuras de poder do mundo, e é "nkali".

and it is "nkali."

It's a noun that loosely translates to "to be greater than another."

É un nome que ben dicindo

"ser máis grande có outro."

Like our economic and political worlds,

Coma os nosos mundos económicos e políticos

stories too are defined by the principle of nkali:

as historias tamén se definen

polo principio do nkali.

How they are told, who tells them,

Como se fala delas, quen as di,

when they're told, how many stories are told,

cando as din, cantas historias se contan

are really dependent on power.

depende moito do poder.

Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person,

O poder non é só a habilidade de contar a historia de outra persoa,

but to make it the definitive story of that person.

senón de facer dela a historia definitiva desa persoa.

The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes

O poeta palestino Mouris Barghouti escribiu

that if you want to dispossess a people,

que se queres desposuír á xente

the simplest way to do it is to tell their story

a maneira máis sinxela é contar a súa historia

and to start with, "secondly."

e comezar con "en segundo lugar".

Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans,

Comeza a historia coas frechas dos nativos americanos

and not with the arrival of the British,

en vez de coa chegada dos británicos

and you have an entirely different story.

e terás unha historia totalmente diferente.

Start the story with the failure of the African state,

Empeza a historia

co fracaso do estado africano

and not with the colonial creation of the African state,

en vez de coa creación colonial do estado africano

and you have an entirely different story.

e terás unha historia totalmente diferente.

I recently spoke at a university

Hai pouco falei nunha universidade

where a student told me that it was such a shame

onde un estudante me dixo

que era unha mágoa

that Nigerian men were physical abusers

que os homes nixerianos fosen maltratadores

like the father character in my novel.

coma a personaxe do pai na miña novela.

I told him that I had just read a novel called "American Psycho" --

Díxenlle que acabara de ler a novela

titulada "American Psycho"...

(Laughter)

(Risas)

-- and that it was such a shame

e que era unha mágoa

that young Americans were serial murderers.

que os xoves estadounidenses fosen asasinos en serie.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Now, obviously I said this in a fit of mild irritation.

Obviamente lle dixen iso nun ataque de irritación.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

But it would never have occurred to me to think

Nunca se me ocorrería pensar

that just because I had read a novel in which a character was a serial killer

que só porque lera unha novela

na que unha personaxe é un asasino en serie

that he was somehow representative of all Americans.

este representa dalgunha maneira

a todos os estadounidenses.

This is not because I am a better person than that student,

Isto non é porque eu sexa unha persoa mellor ca ese estudiante,

but because of America's cultural and economic power,

pero debido ao poder económico e cultural dos EE.UU.

I had many stories of America.

teño moitas historia de EE.UU.

I had read Tyler and Updike and Steinbeck and Gaitskill.

Lin a Tyler, Updike, Steinbeck e Gaitskill.

I did not have a single story of America.

Non teño unha soa historia dos EE.UU.

When I learned, some years ago,

Cando aprendín, hai uns anos, que os escritores

that writers were expected to have had really unhappy childhoods

debían ter unha infancia realmente infeliz

to be successful,

para ter éxito

I began to think about how I could invent horrible things my parents had done to me.

comecei a pensar en como podía inventar

cousas horribles que me fixeran os meus pais.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

But the truth is that I had a very happy childhood,

Pero a verdade é que tiven unha infancia moi feliz,

full of laughter and love, in a very close-knit family.

chea de risos e amor nunha familia moi unida.

But I also had grandfathers who died in refugee camps.

Pero tamén tiven avós que morreron en campos de refuxiados.

My cousin Polle died because he could not get adequate healthcare.

A miña curmá Polle morreu porque non puido recibir coidados médicos adecuados.

One of my closest friends, Okoloma, died in a plane crash

Unha das miñas mellores amigas, Okoloma, morreu nun accidente aéreo

because our fire trucks did not have water.

porque os nosos coches de bombeiros non tiñan auga.

I grew up under repressive military governments

Crecín baixo gobernos militares represivos

that devalued education,

que infravaloraban a educación,

so that sometimes, my parents were not paid their salaries.

de maneira que as veces os meus pais non recibían os seus salarios.

And so, as a child, I saw jam disappear from the breakfast table,

E tamén, de nena, vin como a marmelada desaparecía do almorzo,

then margarine disappeared,

logo desapareceu a margarina,

then bread became too expensive,

despois o pan volveuse caro de máis,

then milk became rationed.

e logo racionábase o leite.

And most of all, a kind of normalized political fear

E sobre todo, un tipo de medo político normalizado

invaded our lives.

invadiu as nosas vidas.

All of these stories make me who I am.

Todas esas historias fixéronme quen son.

But to insist on only these negative stories

Pero insistir só nesas historias negativas

is to flatten my experience

é reducir a miña experiencia

and to overlook the many other stories that formed me.

e pasar por alto as outras moitas historias

que me formaron.

The single story creates stereotypes,

A única historia crea estereotipos.

and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue,

E o problema dos estereotipos

non é que non sexan certos

but that they are incomplete.

senón que están incompletos.

They make one story become the only story.

Fan que unha historia sexa a única historia.

Of course, Africa is a continent full of catastrophes:

Por suposto, África é un continente cheo de catástrofes.

There are immense ones, such as the horrific rapes in Congo

Algunhas son enormes, coma as horribles violacións no Congo.

and depressing ones,

Outras son deprimentes, como o feito

such as the fact that 5,000 people apply for one job vacancy in Nigeria.

de que 5.000 persoas se presenten para un só posto de traballo en Nixeria.

But there are other stories that are not about catastrophe,

Pero tamén hai outras historias que non falan de catástrofes.

and it is very important, it is just as important, to talk about them.

E é moi importante, tan importante, falar delas tamén.

I've always felt that it is impossible

Sempre pensei que é imposible

to engage properly with a place or a person

coñecer ben un lugar ou a unha persoa

without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person.

sen coñecer todas as historias dese lugar e persoa.

The consequence of the single story is this:

A consecuencia da historia única

It robs people of dignity.

é esta: roubar a dignidade das persoas.

It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult.

Fai o recoñecemento da nosa mesma condición humana difícil.

It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.

Enfatiza o que nos fai diferentes

no canto das nosas similitudes.

So what if before my Mexican trip,

¿Que pasaría se antes de viaxar a México

I had followed the immigration debate from both sides,

seguira os debates da emigración dende ambos os dous lados,

the U.S. and the Mexican?

dos EE.UU. e dos mexicanos?

What if my mother had told us that Fide's family was poor

¿Que pasaría se a miña nai nos contara que a familia de Fide

and hardworking?

era pobre e traballadora?

What if we had an African television network

¿Que pasaría se houbera unha cadea de televisión africana

that broadcast diverse African stories all over the world?

que emitira diversas historias africanas en todo o mundo?

What the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe calls "a balance of stories."

Habería o que o escritor nixeriano Chinua Achebe chamou

"un equilibrio de historias".

What if my roommate knew about my Nigerian publisher,

¿Que pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera o meu editor nixeriano

Muhtar Bakare,

Mukta Bakaray,

a remarkable man who left his job in a bank

un home extraordinario que deixou o traballo nun banco

to follow his dream and start a publishing house?

para seguir o seu soño e abrir unha editorial?

Now, the conventional wisdom was that Nigerians don't read literature.

A sabedoría convencional era que os nixerianos non len literatura.

He disagreed.

El non estaba de acordo.

He felt that people who could read, would read,

Pensaba que a xente que podía ler,

if you made literature affordable and available to them.

lería se a literatura era acadable para eles.

Shortly after he published my first novel,

Pouco despois de publicar a miña primeira novela

I went to a TV station in Lagos to do an interview,

fun a unha emisora de TV en Lagos para unha entrevista.

and a woman who worked there as a messenger came up to me and said,

E unha muller que traballaba alí como mensaxeira achegouse e me dixo:

"I really liked your novel. I didn't like the ending.

"Gustoume moito a túa novela, pero non me gustou o final.

Now, you must write a sequel, and this is what will happen ..."

Tes que escribir unha secuela e isto é o que vai pasar..."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And she went on to tell me what to write in the sequel.

E seguiu contándome o que tiña que escribir na secuela.

I was not only charmed, I was very moved.

Eu non estaba só encantada, senón moi conmovida.

Here was a woman, part of the ordinary masses of Nigerians,

Alí estaba unha muller, parte das masas ordinarias dos nixerianos,

who were not supposed to be readers.

que non debían de ser lectores.

She had not only read the book,

Ela non só lera o libro, senón que se apoderara del

but she had taken ownership of it

e tiña xustificación para dicirme

and felt justified in telling me what to write in the sequel.

que escribir na secuela.

Now, what if my roommate knew about my friend Funmi Iyanda,

¿Que pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera a miña amiga Fumi Onda,

a fearless woman who hosts a TV show in Lagos,

unha muller afouta que presenta un programa de TV en Lagos,

and is determined to tell the stories that we prefer to forget?

determinada a contar as historias que nós preferimos esquecer?

What if my roommate knew about the heart procedure

¿Qué pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera a intervención cardíaca

that was performed in the Lagos hospital last week?

que se realizou no hospital de Lagos a semana pasada?

What if my roommate knew about contemporary Nigerian music,

¿Qué pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera a música nixeriana actual?

talented people singing in English and Pidgin,

Xente con talento cantando en inglés e pidgin,

and Igbo and Yoruba and Ijo,

igbo, yoruba e ijo,

mixing influences from Jay-Z to Fela

mesturando influencias desde Jay-Z a Fela,

to Bob Marley to their grandfathers.

de Bob Marley ós seus avós.

What if my roommate knew about the female lawyer

¿Qué pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera a avogada

who recently went to court in Nigeria to challenge a ridiculous law

que foi hai pouco ós xulgados en Nixeria

para cambiar a ridícula lei

that required women to get their husband's consent

coa que as mulleres precisaban o consentimento dos seus homes

before renewing their passports?

para renovar o pasaporte?

What if my roommate knew about Nollywood,

¿Qué pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera Nollywood,

full of innovative people making films despite great technical odds,

cheo de xente innovadora facendo películas a pesar das dificultades técnicas?

films so popular

Películas tan populares

that they really are the best example of Nigerians consuming what they produce?

que son o mellor exemplo

de nixerianos consumindo o que producen.

What if my roommate knew about my wonderfully ambitious hair braider,

¿Qué pasaría se a miña compañeira coñecera a miña ambiciosa trenzadora de cabelo

who has just started her own business selling hair extensions?

que acaba de abrir o seu propio negocio de venta de extensións?

Or about the millions of other Nigerians who start businesses and sometimes fail,

Ou se coñecera ós millóns de nixerianos

que abriron negocios e as veces fracasaron

but continue to nurse ambition?

pero continuaron albergando a ambición?

Every time I am home I am confronted

Cada vez que estou en casa enfróntome

with the usual sources of irritation for most Nigerians:

coas causas usuais de irritación da maioría de nixerianos:

our failed infrastructure, our failed government,

as nosas infraestructuras e gobernos fracasados.

but also by the incredible resilience

Pero tamén pola capacidade de recuperación da xente

of people who thrive despite the government,

que prospera a pesar do goberno

rather than because of it.

máis que grazas a el.

I teach writing workshops in Lagos every summer,

Imparto obradoiros de escritura en Lagos todos os veráns.

and it is amazing to me how many people apply,

É sorprendente a cantidade de xente que se apunta,

how many people are eager to write,

canta xente está impaciente por escribir,

to tell stories.

por contar historias.

My Nigerian publisher and I have just started a non-profit

O meu editor nixeriano e máis eu acabamos de abrir una ONG

called Farafina Trust,

chamada Farafina Trust.

and we have big dreams of building libraries

E temos grandes sonos de construcción de bibliotecas

and refurbishing libraries that already exist

da restauración das xa existentes

and providing books for state schools

e de proporcionar libros ás escolas do estado

that don't have anything in their libraries,

que non teñen nada nas súas bibliotecas

and also of organizing lots and lots of workshops,

e que tamén organizan moitos obradoiros

in reading and writing,

de lectura e escritura

for all the people who are eager to tell our many stories.

para toda a xente que quere contar as nosas moitas historias.

Stories matter.

As historias son importantes.

Many stories matter.

Moitas historias son importantes.

Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign,

As historias utilizáronse para desposuír e difamar.

but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.

Pero as historias poden usarse para dar poder e humanizar.

Stories can break the dignity of a people,

As historias poden romper a dignidade da xente.

but stories can also repair that broken dignity.

Pero as historias tamén poden reparar a dignidade perdida.

The American writer Alice Walker wrote this

A escritora estadounidense Alice Walker escribiu isto

about her Southern relatives who had moved to the North.

sobre os seu parentes do sur

que se desprazaran ó norte.

She introduced them to a book about

Presentoulles un libro

the Southern life that they had left behind.

sobre a vida do sur que deixaran atrás.

"They sat around, reading the book themselves,

"Sentáronse ó meu redor, lendo o libro eles mesmos,

listening to me read the book, and a kind of paradise was regained."

escoitándome ler o libro e recobrouse unha especie de paraíso".

I would like to end with this thought:

Gustaríame rematar con este pensamento:

That when we reject the single story,

Que cando rexeitamos a historia única,

when we realize that there is never a single story

cando nos decatamos de que non hai unha única historia

about any place,

sobre calquera lugar,

we regain a kind of paradise.

recuperamos unha especie de paraíso.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)