Ryan Lobo: Photographing the hidden story

Prevoditelj: Ana Mikacic Recezent: Nenad Maljković

My name is Ryan Lobo,

Zovem se Ryan Lobo,

and I've been involved in the documentary

i bavim se snimanjem dokumentaraca

filmmaking business all over the world for the last 10 years.

širom svijeta posljednjih 10 godina.

During the process of making these films

Tijekom snimanja tih filmova

I found myself taking photographs,

počeo sam fotografirati,

often much to the annoyance of the video cameramen.

što filmske snimatelje često zna uzrujati.

I found this photography of mine almost compulsive.

Fotografiram skoro kompulzivno,

And at the end of a shoot, I would sometimes feel that

a na kraju snimanja katkad bih osjećao

I had photographs that told a better story

da moje fotografije bolje pričaju tu priču

than a sometimes-sensational documentary.

nego ponekad stvarno izvrstan dokumentarac.

I felt, when I had my photographs,

Osjećao sam da svojim fotografijama

that I was holding on to something true,

hvatam nešto duboko istinito,

regardless of agendas or politics.

neovisno o ciljevima ili politici.

In 2007, I traveled to three war zones.

2007. sam posjetio tri ratne zone.

I traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and Liberia.

Bio sam u Iraku, Afganistanu i Liberiji.

And over there I experienced

Tamo sam iskusio

other people's suffering, up close and personal,

tuđe patnje, izbliza i osobno,

immersed myself in some rather intense and emotional stories,

bio sam uvučen u jako snažne i potresne priče,

and at times I experienced great fear for my own life.

ponekad se i bojao za vlastiti život.

As always, I would return to Bangalore,

Kao i uvijek, vratio bih se u Bangalore,

and often to animated discussions at friend's homes,

i često u žučne rasprave u domovima mojih prijatelja,

where we would discuss various issues

u kojima smo pretresali različite probleme,

while they complained bitterly about the new pub timings,

a oni bi se gorko žalili na novo radno vrijeme pubova

where a drink often cost more than what they'd paid

u kojima jedno piće često plaćaju više nego

their 14-year-old maid.

svoju 14-godišnju sluškinju.

I would feel very isolated during these discussions.

Osjećao bih se jako osamljenim u tim raspravama.

But at the same time, I questioned myself

Istovremeno, propitivao sam sebe,

and my own integrity and purpose in storytelling.

vlastitu čast i ulogu u pričanju priča.

And I decided that I had compromised,

I shvatio sam da sam radio kompromise,

just like my friends in those discussions,

baš poput mojih prijatelja u tim raspravama,

where we told stories

kada smo pričali priče

in contexts we made excuses for,

u kontekstu izgovora

rather than taking responsibility for.

umjesto da preuzmemo odgovornost.

I won't go into details about what led to a decision I made,

Ne bih detaljno o tome što me navelo na moju odluku,

but let's just say it involved alcohol, cigarettes,

recimo samo da je uključivalo alkohol, cigarete,

other substances and a woman.

ostala opojna sredstva i jednu ženu.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I basically decided that it was I,

U osnovi sam shvatio da sam ja,

not the camera or the network,

a ne kamera, ni TV mreža,

or anything that lay outside myself,

niti bilo što drugo izvan mene,

that was the only instrument in storytelling

jedini instrument u pričanju priča

truly worth tuning.

koji zasta treba naštimati.

In my life, when I tried to achieve things

Kada sam u životu pokušavao nešto postići,

like success or recognition, they eluded me.

poput uspjeha ili priznanja, to mi je izmicalo.

Paradoxically, when I let go of these objectives,

Paradoksalno, kad sam odustao od tih ciljeva

and worked from a place of compassion and purpose,

i radio sa suosjećanjem i svrhom,

looking for excellence, rather than the results of it,

želeći postići izvrsnost, a ne rezultat,

everything arrived on its own, including fulfillment.

sve je stizalo samo od sebe, pa i ostvarenje.

Photography transcended culture, including my own.

Fotografija je nadišla kulturu, uključujući i moju vlastitu.

And it is, for me, a language which expressed the intangible,

Za mene je ona jezik koji izražava neopipljivo

and gives voice to people and stories without.

i daje glas ljudima i pričama koji ga nemaju.

I invite you into three recent stories of mine,

Pozivam vas u tri moje nedavne priče

which are about this way of looking, if you will,

koje govore o takvom gledanju na stvari,

which I believe exemplify the tenets

i za koje smatram da su primjer onog

of what I like to call compassion in storytelling.

što volim nazivati suosjećajnim pričanjem priča.

In 2007 I went to Liberia,

2007. sam otputovao u Liberiju

where a group of my friends and I

gdje sam s grupom prijatelja radio

did an independent, self-funded film, still in progress,

na našoj vlastitoj produkciji, još uvijek nedovršenoj,

on a very legendary and brutal war-lord

o legendarnom i okrutnom vojnom zapovjedniku

named General Butt Naked.

zvanom general Gologuzi.

His real name is Joshua, and he's pictured here in a cell

Njegovo pravo ime je Joshua, i ovdje ga vidite u ćeliji

where he once used to torture and murder people,

u kojoj je i sam nekoć mučio i ubijao ljude,

including children.

uključujući i djecu.

Joshua claims to have personally killed

Joshua tvrdi da je osobno ubio

more than 10,000 people during Liberia's civil war.

preko 10.000 ljudi tijekom građanskog rata u Liberiji.

He got his name from fighting stark naked.

Nadimak je dobio jer se borio potpuno gol.

And he is probably the most prolific mass murderer

I najvjerojatnije je najveći živući

alive on Earth today.

masovni ubojica na svijetu.

This woman witnessed the General murdering her brother.

Ova žena je gledala kako joj general ubija brata.

Joshua commanded his child-soldiers to commit unspeakable crimes,

Joshua je naređivao svojim vojnicima-djeci da čine neopisive zločine,

and enforced his command with great brutality.

i svoje je zapovjedi provodio uz strašne okrutnosti.

Today many of these children are addicted to drugs like heroin,

Mnoga ova djeca danas su ovisnici o drogama poput heroina,

and they are destitute, like these young men in the image.

i žive u bijedi, kao ovi mladi ljudi na slici.

How do you live with yourself

Kako živjeti sam sa sobom

if you know you've committed horrific crimes?

znajući da si počinio takve jezovite zločine?

Today the General is a baptized Christian evangelist.

General je danas kršteni kršćanski evangelist.

And he's on a mission.

I ima misiju.

We accompanied Joshua, as he walked the Earth,

Pratili smo Joshuu, dok je šetao zemljom,

visiting villages where he had once killed and raped.

posjećujući sela u kojima je nekoć ubijao i silovao.

He seeked forgiveness,

Tražio je oprost,

and he claims to endeavor to improve

tvrdeći kako će se truditi poboljšati

the lives of his child-soldiers.

živote svojih vojnika-djece.

During this expedition I expected him

Tijekom ove ekspedicije, očekivao sam da će

to be killed outright, and us as well.

biti ubijen na licu mjesta, i mi skupa s njim.

But what I saw opened my eyes

Ali, ono što sam vidio otvorilo mi je oči

to an idea of forgiveness

prema ideji oprosta

which I never thought possible.

kojeg sam smatrao nemogućim.

In the midst of incredible poverty and loss,

Usred nevjerojatnog siromaštva i gubitka,

people who had nothing absolved a man

ljudi bez ičega opraštali su grijehe

who had taken everything from them.

onome koji im je oduzeo sve.

He begs for forgiveness,

Moli za oprost

and receives it from the same woman

i dobija ga od žene

whose brother he murdered.

čijeg je brata ubio.

Senegalese, the young man seated on the wheelchair here,

Senegalac, mladi čovjek sa slike u invalidskim kolicima,

was once a child soldier, under the General's command,

jednom je bio vojnik-dijete pod generalovim zapovjedništvom

until he disobeyed orders,

dok se nije oglušio o zapovjedi

and the General shot off both his legs.

zbog čega mu je general propucao obje noge.

He forgives the General in this image.

Na ovoj slici on oprašta generalu.

He risked his life as he walked up to people

Riskirao je život dok je išao prema ljudima

whose families he'd murdered.

čije je obitelji poubijao.

In this photograph a hostile crowd in a slum surrounds him.

Ovdje je okružen neprijateljskom svjetinom u jednoj siromašnoj četvrti.

And Joshua remains silent

Joshua stoji šutke

as they vented their rage against him.

dok na njemu iskaljuju svoj bijes.

This image, to me, is almost like from a Shakespearean play,

Ovo me gotovo podsjeća na neku Shakespearijansku dramu

with a man, surrounded by various influences,

sa čovjekom koji se, usred najrazličitijih utjecaja,

desperate to hold on to something true within himself,

grčevito trudi zadržati neku svoju unutarnju istinu,

in a context of great suffering that he has created himself.

u kontekstu strašne patnje koju je sam izazvao.

I was intensely moved during all this.

Sve me to jako dirnulo.

But the question is,

No pitanje je...

does forgiveness and redemption replace justice?

mogu li oprost i iskupljenje zamijeniti pravdu?

Joshua, in his own words, says that he does not mind

Joshua, kako sam kaže, nema ništa protiv

standing trial for his crimes,

da mu se za njegove zločine sudi,

and speaks about them from soapboxes across Monrovia,

i o njima progovara s improviziranih govornica širom Monrovije,

to an audience that often includes his victims.

publici u kojoj su često i njegove žrtve.

A very unlikely spokesperson for the idea of

Vrlo nevjerojatan zagovornik ideje o

separation of church and state.

odvajanju crkve od države.

The second story I'm going to tell you about

Druga priča koju ću vam ispričati

is about a group of very special fighting women

je o skupini vrlo posebnih žena boraca

with rather unique peace-keeping skills.

s jedinstvenim vještinama očuvanja mira.

Liberia has been devastated by one of Africa's

Liberija je opustošena u jednom od

bloodiest civil wars,

najkrvavijih afričkih građanskih ratova,

which has left more than 200,000 people dead,

u kojem je poginulo preko 200.000 ljudi,

thousands of women scarred by rape and crime

a na tisuće žena bilo izloženo silovanju

on a spectacular scale.

i zločinima strašnih razmjera.

Liberia is now home

Liberija danas udomljuje

to an all-woman United Nations contingent

ženski kontingent mirotvorkinja

of Indian peacekeepers.

UN-a iz Indije.

These women, many from small towns in India,

Ove žene, od kojih mnoge dolaze iz malih indijskih gradova,

help keep the peace, far away from home and family.

pomažu očuvanju mira, daleko od svojih domova i obitelji.

They use negotiation and tolerance

Služe se pregovorima i tolerancijom

more often than an armed response.

češće nego oružjem.

The commander told me that a woman could gauge

Zapovjednik mi je rekao da žene znaju ocijeniti

a potentially violent situation

potencijalno opasnu situaciju

much better than men.

mnogo bolje od muškaraca,

And that they were definitely capable of diffusing it non-aggressively.

i da su je one definitivno u stanju ublažiti na neagresivan način.

This man was very drunk,

Ovaj čovjek je bio jako pijan,

and he was very interested in my camera,

i zanimao ga je moj foto-aparat,

until he noticed the women, who handled him

dok nije primijetio žene, koje su mu se obratile

with smiles, and AK-47s at the ready, of course.

s osmjesima, i naravno, pripravnim Kalašnjikovom.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

This contingent seems to be quite lucky,

Čini se da ovaj kontingent ima prilično sreće

and it has not sustained any casualties,

i nije imao žrtava,

even though dozens of peacekeepers have been killed in Liberia.

iako je u Liberiji ubijeno na desetke mirotvoraca.

And yes, all of those people killed were male.

Da, svi ubijeni bili su muškarci.

Many of the women are married with children,

Mnoge od tih žena imaju muževe i djecu

and they say the hardest part of their deployment

i kažu da im je najteži dio njihovog zadatka

was being kept away from their children.

to što su odvojene od svoje djece.

I accompanied these women on their patrols,

Pratio sam ove žene pri patrolama

and watched as they walked past men,

i promatrao dok su prolazile pored muškaraca,

many who passed very lewd comments incessantly.

od kojih su mnogi neprestano dobacivali lascivne komentare.

And when I asked one of the women about the shock and awe response,

A kada sam zapitao jednu od njih o strahopoštovanju koje izazivaju,

she said, "Don't worry, same thing back home.

rekla mi je "Ne brini, i kod kuće imamo takve.

We know how to deal with these fellows,"

Znamo kako izaći na kraj s ovakvim momcima,"

and ignored them.

i ignorirala ih je.

In a country ravaged by violence against women,

U zemlji u kojoj hara nasilje nad ženama,

Indian peacekeepers have inspired many local women

indijske mirotvorkinje potakle su brojne lokalne žene

to join the police force.

da se pridruže policijskim snagama.

Sometimes, when the war is over and all the film crews have left,

Ponekad, kad je rat gotov i kad filmske ekipe odu,

the most inspiring stories are the ones

najinspirativnije priče su one

that float just beneath the radar.

koje ćete naći tik ispod radara.

I came back to India and nobody was interested in buying the story.

Vratio sam se u Indiju, a priču nitko nije želio kupiti.

And one editor told me that she wasn't interested

Jedan izdavač mi je rekao da je ne zanimaju

in doing what she called "manual labor stories."

"priče o fizičkom radu", kako ih je nazvala.

In 2007 and 2009 I did stories on the Delhi Fire Service, the DFS,

2007. i 2009. radio sam na pričama o Vatrogasnoj službi u Delhiju,

which, during the summer, is probably the world's most active fire department.

koji je tijekom ljeta vjerojatno najaktivniji vatrogasni odjel na svijetu.

They answer more than 5,000 calls in just two months.

Odgovaraju na više od 5.000 dojava u samo dva mjeseca.

And all this against incredible logistical odds,

I sve to u nevjerojatno teškim logističkim uvjetima

like heat and traffic jams.

kao što su vrućine i prometni metež.

Something amazing happened during this shoot.

Tijekom ovog snimanja dogodilo se nešto čudesno.

Due to a traffic jam, we were late in getting to a slum,

Zbog prometnih gužvi, kasnili smo u jednu veliku

a large slum, which had caught fire.

siromašnu četvrt koja se bila zapalila.

As we neared, angry crowds attacked our trucks

Dok smo se približavali, bijesna svjetina napala je naša vozila

and stoned them, by hundreds of people all over the place.

i gađala ih kamenjem, na stotine ljudi svuda uokolo.

These men were terrified,

Vatrogasci su bili u strahu

as the mob attacked our vehicle.

dok je rulja napadala naše vozilo.

But nonetheless, despite the hostility,

Ali, svejedno, usprkos neprijateljstvu,

firefighters left the vehicle and successfully fought the fire.

izašli su iz vozila i uspješno gasili vatru,

Running the gauntlet through hostile crowds,

trčeći kroz neprijateljsku hordu,

and some wearing motorbike helmets to prevent injury.

neki s motociklističkim kacigama kako bi izbjegli ozljedama.

Some of the local people forcibly took away the hoses

Nekoliko ljudi im je na silu oduzelo cijevi

from the firemen to put out the fire in their homes.

kako bi gasili vatru u svojim domovima.

Now, hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Na stotine je kuća bilo uništeno.

But the question that lingered in my mind was,

Ali, pitanje koje mi se motalo po glavi je

what causes people to destroy fire trucks

što ljude tjera da uništavaju vatrogasna vozila

headed to their own homes?

koja im dolaze u pomoć?

Where does such rage come from?

Odakle stiže taj bijes?

And how are we responsible for this?

I na koji smo način mi za njega odgovorni?

45 percent of the 14 million people

45% od 14 milijuna ljudi koliko živi u Delhiju,

who live in Delhi live in unauthorized slums,

živi u bespravno sagrađenim četvrtima

which are chronically overcrowded.

koje su kronično pretrpane.

They lack even the most basic amenities.

Nedostaju im čak i najosnovniji priključci.

And this is something that is common to all our big cities.

A to je nešto što je zajedničko svim našim velikim gradovima.

Back to the DFS. A huge chemical depot caught fire,

Vraćam se na vatrogasce. Zapalilo se veliko kemijsko skladište,

thousands of drums filled with petrochemicals

na tisuće bačava s petrokemijskim sirovinama

were blazing away and exploding all around us.

plamtjelo je i eksplodiralo svud oko nas.

The heat was so intense, that hoses were used

Vrućina je bila tolika da su šmrkove koristili

to cool down firefighters

za rashlađivanje vatrogasaca

fighting extremely close to the fire, and with no protective clothing.

koji su gasili vatru iz neposredne blizine, bez ikakve zaštitne odjeće.

In India we often love to complain about our government bodies.

U Indiji se volimo žaliti na naše državne organe.

But over here, the heads of the DFS,

Ali ovdje su načelnici Vatrogasne službe,

Mr. R.C. Sharman, Mr. A.K. Sharman,

g. R. C. Sharman, g. A. K. Sharman,

led the firefight with their men.

gasili vatru u prvim redovima sa svojim ljudima.

Something wonderful in a country where

Nešto prekrasno za zemlju

manual labor is often looked down upon.

u kojoj se na fizički rad često gleda prezrivo.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Over the years, my faith in the power of storytelling has been tested.

Tijekom godina moja vjera u pričanje priča bila je na kušnji.

And I've had very serious doubt about its efficacy,

Imao sam ozbiljne sumnje u učinkovitost pričanja

and my own faith in humanity.

te vlastitu vjeru u čovječanstvo.

However, a film we shot still airs on the National Geographic channel.

Međutim, taj se film još uvijek prikazuje na National Geographic-u.

And when it airs I get calls from all the guys I was with

I dok traje, nazivaju me svi momci s kojima sam tamo bio

and they tell me that they receive hundreds of calls congratulating them.

da mi kažu kako dobijaju na stotine poziva s čestitkama.

Some of the firemen told me that they were also inspired

Neki od vatrogasaca su mi rekli da su osjetili poticaj

to do better because they were so pleased

da budu i bolji jer im je daleko draže

to get thank-yous rather than brick bats.

dobivati zahvale umjesto bačenih cigli.

It seems that this story helped change perceptions about the DFS,

Izgleda da je ova priča pomogla promijeniti predodžbe o vatrogascima

at least in the minds of an audience in part on televisions,

barem u umovima gledatelja pred TV ekranima,

read magazines and whose huts aren't on fire.

onih koji čitaju časopise i kojima kuće nisu u plamenu.

Sometimes, focusing on what's heroic, beautiful and dignified,

Katkad, fokusiranje na herojstvo, ljepotu i plemenitost,

regardless of the context,

bez obzira na kontekst,

can help magnify these intangibles three ways,

može uvećati ove neopipljive vrijednosti na tri načina,

in the protagonist of the story, in the audience,

kod protagonista priče, kod publike,

and also in the storyteller.

kao i kod onog koji priča priču.

And that's the power of storytelling.

I u tome je moć pričanja priča.

Focus on what's dignified, courageous and beautiful,

Usredotočite se na ono što je plemenito, hrabro i lijepo,

and it grows. Thank you.

i to raste. Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)