What it was like to grow up under China's one-child policy | Nanfu Wang

Translator: Penny Martínez Reviewer: Mario Cal

My name is Nanfu.

Chámome Nanfu.

In Chinese, "nan" means "man."

En chinés, "nan" significa "home".

And "fu" means "pillar."

E "fu" significa "pilar"

My family had hoped for a boy,

A miña familia desexara un neno,

who would grow up to be the pillar of the family.

que ao medrar se convertese no pilar da familia.

And when I turned out to be a girl,

E cando resultei ser unha nena,

they named me Nanfu anyway.

chamáronme igualmente Nanfu.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

I was born in 1985,

Nacín en 1985,

six years before China announced its one-child policy.

seis anos antes de que China anunciase a sua política do fillo único.

Right after I was born,

Xusto despois de nacer eu,

the local officials came and ordered my mom to be sterilized.

os funcionarios locais ordenáronlle á miña nai que se esterilizara.

My grandpa stood up to the officials,

O meu avó enfrontouse aos funcionarios,

because he wanted a grandson to carry on the family name.

porque quería un neto que perpetuara o apelido familiar.

Eventually, my parents were allowed to have a second child,

Ao final, permitíronlles aos meus pais ter un segundo fillo,

but they had to wait for five years

pero tiveron que agardar cinco anos

and pay a substantial fine.

e pagar unha elevada multa.

Growing up, my brother and I

Durante a nosa infancia, meu irmán e eu

were surrounded by children from one-child families.

estabamos rodeados de nenos de familias de fillos únicos.

I remember feeling a sense of shame

Lembro sentir vergoña

because I had a younger brother.

por ter un irmán menor.

I felt like our family did something wrong for having two children.

Sentíame como se a nosa familia fixese algo malo por ter dous fillos.

At the time, I didn't question

Nese momento, non me preguntaba

where this sense of shame and guilt came from.

de onde viña ese sentimento de vergoña e culpa.

A year and a half ago, I had my own first child.

Hai un ano e medio tiven o meu primero fillo.

It was the best thing that ever happened in my life.

Foi o mellor que me pasou na vida.

Becoming a mother

Converterme en nai

gave me a totally new perspective on my own childhood,

deume unha nova perspectiva da miña infancia,

and it brought back my memories of early life in China.

e revivín lembranzas da miña xuventude na China.

For the past three decades,

Nas últimas tres décadas,

everyone in my family had to apply for a permission from the government

todos na miña familia tiveron que solicitar un permiso do goberno

to have a child.

para ter un fillo.

And I wondered

E pregunteime:

what it was like for people who lived under the one-child policy.

Como era a vida para a xente que vivía baixo a política do fillo único?

So I decided to make a documentary about it.

E entón decidín facer un documental sobre isto.

One of the people I interviewed

Unha das persoas que entrevistei

was the midwife who delivered all of the babies born in my village,

foi a parteira que se encargou de todos os partos na miña aldea,

including myself.

incluíndo o meu.

She was 84 years old when I interviewed her.

Tiña 84 anos cando a entrevistei.

I asked her,

E pregunteille:

"Do you remember how many babies you delivered throughout your career?"

"Lembra cantos partos asistiu en toda a súa carreira?"

She didn't have a number for deliveries.

Dos partos non sabía a cifra.

She said she had performed

Dixo que practicara

60,000 forced abortions and sterilizations.

60 000 abortos forzados e esterilizacións.

Sometimes, she said,

Ás veces, explicoume,

a late-term fetus would survive an abortion,

un feto sobrevivía ao aborto,

and she would kill the baby after delivering it.

e ela mataba o bebé tralo parto.

She remembered how her hands would tremble

Ela lembraba como lle tremían as mans

as she did the work.

ao facelo.

Her story shocked me.

A súa historia impactoume.

When I set out to make the film,

Cando comencei a facer a película,

I expected it would be a simple story of perpetrators and victims.

esperaba que fose unha historia sinxela de responsábeis e vitimas.

People who carried out the policy

De persoas que executaban a política

and people who are living with the consequences.

e persoas que vivían coas consecuencias.

But that wasn't what I saw.

Pero iso non foi o que atopei.

As I was finishing my interview with the midwife,

Cara ao remate da miña entrevista coa parteira,

I noticed an area in her house

vin unha área da casa

that was decorated with elaborate homemade flags.

que estaba decorada con elaboradas bandeiras caseiras.

And each flag has a picture of a baby on it.

E cada bandeira tiña a foto dun bebé.

These were flags that were sent by families

As bandeiras eran presentes enviados polas familias

whom she helped treat their infertility problems.

cuxos problemas de infertilidade ela axudara a tratar.

She explained that she had had enough

Ela contoume que se fartara

of performing abortions and sterilizations --

de practicar abortos e esterilizacións,

that the only work she did now was to help families have babies.

e que agora só traballaba en axudar ás familias a ter fillos.

She said she was full of guilt

Díxome que se sentía chea de culpa

for carrying out the one-child policy,

por levar a cabo a política do fillo único

and she hoped that by helping families have babies,

e esperaba que ao axudar ás familias a ter fillos,

she could counteract what she did in the past.

puidera compensar o que fixo no pasado.

It became clear to me she, too, was a victim of the policy.

E fíxoseme claro que ela tamén era unha vítima da política.

Every voice was telling her

Todos lle dicían

that what she did was right and necessary for China's survival.

que o seu labor era correcto e necesario para a supervivencia de China.

And she did what she thought was right for her country.

E fixo o que creu que era correcto para o seu país.

I know how strong that message was.

Eu sei o forte que era esa mensaxe.

It was everywhere around myself when I grew up.

Podía velo en todas partes mentras medraba.

It was printed on matches,

Imprimíase en caixas de mistos,

playing cards,

en naipes,

textbooks, posters.

libros, pósters.

The propaganda praising the one-child policy

A propaganda que eloxiaba esa política

was everywhere around us.

estaba por todas partes.

[Anyone who refuses to sterilize will be arrested.]

[Aquel que se negue a ser esterilizado será detido.]

And so were the threats against disobeying it.

Así como as ameazas por desobediencia.

The message seeped into our minds

A mensaxe filtrouse tanto nas nosas mentes

so much so that I grew up feeling embarrassed

que medrei sentíndo vergoña

for having a younger brother.

de ter un irmán menor.

With each person I filmed,

En cada persoa que filmei,

I saw how their minds and hearts can be influenced by the propaganda,

puiden ver como as súas mentes e corazóns foran influenciados pola propaganda,

and how their willingness to make sacrifices for the greater good

e como a súa disposición a sacrificarse por un ben maior

can be twisted into something very dark and tragic.

fora distorsionada en algo moi escuro e tráxico.

China is not the only place where this happens.

A China non é o único lugar onde pasa isto.

There is no country on earth where propaganda isn't present.

Non hai país no mundo onde non haxa propaganda.

And in societies that are supposed to be more open and free than China,

Nas sociedades que supostamente son máis abertas e libres que a China,

it can be even harder to recognize what propaganda looks like.

pode ser aínda máis difícil detectar a propaganda.

It hides in plain sight as news reports,

Escóndese a simple vista nas noticias,

TV commercials, political campaigning

nos anuncios, nas campañas políticas

and in our social media feeds.

e nas nosas redes sociais.

It works to change our minds without our knowledge.

Está deseñada para cambiar a nosa opinión sen que nos decatemos.

Every society is vulnerable to accepting propaganda as truth,

Toda sociedade é vulnerable a aceptar a propaganda como verdade,

and no society where propaganda replaces the truth

e unha sociedade non pode ser verdadeiramente libre

can be truly free.

se a propaganda substitúe a verdade.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)