Michael Rain: What it's like to be the child of immigrants | TED

Prevoditelj: Katarina Lukec Recezent: Sanda L

I remember one morning when I was in the third grade,

Sjećam se jednog jutra kad sam bio u trećem razredu,

my mom sent me to school with a Ghanaian staple dish called "fufu."

mama me je poslala u školu s ganskim jelom naziva "fufu".

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Fufu is this white ball of starch made of cassava,

Fufu je bijela kugla od škroba, napravljena od kasave

and it's served with light soup, which is a dark orange color,

i servira se s laganom juhom, tamnonarančaste boje

and contains chicken and/or beef.

te sadrži piletinu i/ili govedinu.

It's a savory, flavorful dish

To je ukusno jelo, puno bogatih okusa

that my mom thought would keep me warm on a cold day.

za koje je moja mama smatrala da će me zagrijati u hladne dane.

When I got to lunch and I opened my thermos,

Kad sam došao na ručak i otvorio svoju termosicu,

releasing these new smells into the air,

puštajući nove mirise u zrak,

my friends did not react favorably.

moji prijatelji nisu dobro reagirali.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

"What's that?" one of them asked.

"Što je to?", jedan od njih je pitao.

"It's fufu," I responded.

"To je fufu.", odgovorio sam.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

"Ew, that smells funny. What's a fufu?" they asked.

"Fuj, čudno miriše. Što je fufu?", pitali su.

Their reaction made me lose my appetite.

Zbog njihove reakcije izgubio sam apetit.

I begged my mother to never send me to school with fufu again.

Molio sam majku da me nikad više ne pošalje u školu s fufuom.

I asked her to make me sandwiches or chicken noodle soup

Zamolio sam je da mi napravi sendvič ili pileću juhu s rezancima

or any of the other foods that my friends were eating.

ili bilo koje drugo jelo koje su jeli moji prijatelji.

And this is one of the first times

I ovo je jedan od prvih puta

I began to notice the distinction between what was unique to my family

da sam počeo primjećivati razliku između onoga specifičnog za moju obitelj

and what was common for everyone else,

i onoga što je uobičajeno za sve druge,

what was Ghanaian and what was African

što je gansko i afričko,

and what was American.

a što je američko.

I'm a first-generation American.

Ja sam Amerikanac prve generacije.

Both of my parents are immigrants.

Oba moja roditelja su imigranti.

In fact, my father, Gabriel, came to the US almost 50 years ago.

Zapravo, moj otac, Gabriel, došao je u SAD prije gotovo 50 godina.

He arrived in New York

Stigao je u New York

from a city called Kumasi in a northern region of Ghana,

iz grada koji se zove Kumasi, u sjevernom području Gane,

in West Africa.

u Zapadnoj Africi.

He came for school, earning his bachelor's degree in accounting

Došao je radi školovanja, da stekne prvostupničku diplomu iz računovodstva

and eventually became an accountant.

i s vremenom je postao računovođa.

My mother, Georgina, joined him years later.

Moja majka Georgina pridružila mu se kasnijih godina.

She had a love of fashion

Voljela je modu

and worked in a sewing factory in lower Manhattan,

i radila je u tvornici šivanja na donjem Manhattanu,

until she saved up enough to open her own women's clothing store.

sve dok nije uštedjela dovoljno da otvori svoju trgovinu ženskom odjećom.

I consider myself an American

Smatram se Amerikancem

and an African

i Afrikancem

and a Ghanaian.

i Ganijcem.

And there's millions of people around the world

I postoji milijun ljudi diljem svijeta

who are juggling these different classifications.

koji žongliraju ovim različitim klasifikacijama.

They might be Jamaican-Canadians or Korean-Americans or Nigerian-Brits.

Mogu biti jamajčanski Kanađani, korejski Amerikanci ili nigerijski Britanci.

But what makes our stories and experiences different

Ali ono što naše priče i iskustva čini drugačijima,

je činjenica da smo rođeni i odgojeni u drugačijoj zemlji od naših roditelja

is that we were born and raised in a country different than our parents,

and this can cause us to be misunderstood

i zato možemo biti pogrešno shvaćeni

when being viewed through a narrow lens.

kada se na nas tako usko gleda.

I grew up in New York, which is home to the largest number of immigrants

Odrastao sam u New Yorku, koji je dom najvećem broju imigranata

anywhere in the United States.

u čitavim Sjedinjenim Državama.

And you would think growing up in a place like New York,

I pomislili biste da odrastanje u gradu poput New Yorka

it would be easy for a first-generation person to find their place.

pojednostavljuje prvoj generaciji doseljenika da pronađu svoje mjesto.

But all throughout my childhood,

Ali kroz čitavo svoje djetinjstvo,

there were these moments that formed my understanding

bilo je trenutaka koji su formirali moje shvaćanje

of the different worlds I belonged to.

različitih svjetova kojima sam pripadao.

When I was in the fifth grade, a student asked me

Kada sam bio u petom razredu, učenik me pitao

if my family was refugees.

je li moja obitelj izbjeglička.

I didn't know what that word meant.

Nisam znao što ta riječ znači.

He explained to me that his parents told him

Objasnio mi je da su mu njegovi roditelji rekli

that refugees are people from Africa who come to the US

da su izbjeglice ljudi iz Afrike koji dolaze u SAD

to escape death, starvation and disease.

kako bi izbjegli smrt, glad i bolesti.

So I asked my parents, and they laughed a bit,

Stoga sam upitao roditelje i pomalo su se nasmijali,

not because it was funny but because it was a generalization.

ne zato što je to bilo smiješno, već zato što je to bila generalizacija.

And they assured me that they had enough to eat in Ghana

I uvjerili su me da su oni imali dovoljno hrane u Gani

and came to the US willingly.

i da su slobodnom voljom došli u SAD.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

These questions became more complex as I got older.

Takva pitanja postajala su kompleksnija kako sam odrastao.

Junior high school was the first time

U srednjoj školi sam po prvi put

I went to school with a large number of black American students,

išao na nastavu s velikim brojem crnih američkih učenika

and many of them couldn't understand why I sounded differently than they did

i mnogi od njih nisu mogli razumjeti zašto zvučim drugačije od njih,

or why my parents seemed different than theirs.

ili zašto se moji roditelji čine drugačijima od njihovih.

"Are you even black?" a student asked.

"Jesi li ti uopće crn?", upitao me učenik.

I mean, I thought I was black.

Mislim, ja sam mislio da sam crn.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I thought my skin complexion settled that.

Mislio sam da ten moje kože to pokazuje.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I asked my father about it, and he shared his own confusion

Pitao sam oca o tome i podijelio je sa mnom svoju zbunjenost

over the significance of that when he first came to the US.

oko značaja toga kad je prvi put stigao u SAD.

He explained to me that, when he was in Ghana, everyone was black,

Objasnio mi je da kad je bio u Gani, svi su bili crni

so he never thought about it.

pa nikad nije razmišljao o tome.

But in the US, it's a thing.

Ali u SAD-u, to je već nešto.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But he would say, "But you're African.

Ali bi mi rekao: "Ali ti si Afrikanac.

Remember that."

Zapamti to."

And he would emphasize this,

I naglašavao bi to,

even though many Africans in the continent would only consider me to be

iako bi me mnogi Afrikanci na kontinentu smatrali

just an American.

samo Amerikancem.

These misconceptions and complex cultural issues

Ove zablude i kompleksna kulturološka pitanja

are not just the inquiries of children.

nisu samo dječji upiti.

Adults don't know who immigrants are.

Odrasli ne znaju tko su imigranti.

If we look at current trends,

Ako pogledamo trenutne trendove,

if I asked you: What's the fastest-growing

ako bih vas upitao: Koja je demografski najbrže rastuća

immigrant demographic in the United States,

imigrantska populacija u Sjedinjenim Državama,

who would you think it was?

što biste pomislili?

Nine out of 10 people tell me it's Latinos,

Devet od deset ljudi rekli bi mi da su to Latinosi,

but it's actually African immigrants.

ali zapravo su to afrički imigranti.

How about in academics?

A u obrazovanju?

What's the most educated immigrant demographic?

Koja je demografski najobrazovanija imigrantska populacija?

A lot of people presume it to be Asians, but it's actually African immigrants.

Mnogo ljudi bi pretpostavilo da su Azijci, ali zapravo su afrički imigranti.

Even in matters of policy,

Čak i po pitanju politike,

did you know that three out of the eight countries

jeste li znali da su tri od osam zemalja

in the so-called "travel ban"

u tzv. zabrani putovanja,

are African countries?

afričke zemlje?

A lot of people assume those targeted Muslims only live in the Middle East,

Mnogo ljudi bi pretpostavilo da to samo uključuje muslimane s Bliskog Istoka,

but a lot of those banned people are Africans.

ali mnogi od tih "zabranjenih" ljudi su Afrikanci.

So on these issues of education and policy and religion,

Pa po pitanju ovih problema oko obrazovanja, politike i religije,

a lot of things we presume about immigrants are incorrect.

mnoge stvari koje pretpostavimo o imigrantima su netočne.

Even if we look at something like workplace diversity and inclusion,

Čak ako pogledamo raznolikost i uključenost na poslu,

if I asked you what gender-ethnicity combination

kad bih vas pitao o spolno-etničkoj kombinaciji

is least likely to be promoted to senior managerial positions,

koja ima najmanje šanse da bude promaknuta na viši rukovodeći položaj,

who would you think it was?

što biste pomislili?

The answer is not Africans this time.

Ovog puta nisu odgovor Afrikanci.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And it's not black women or men,

I nisu crne žene ili muškarci,

and it's not Latin women or men.

i nisu Latino žene ili muškarci.

It's Asian women who are least likely to be promoted.

Azijske žene su te koje imaju najmanje šanse za promaknućem.

Capturing these stories and issues is part of my work

Hvatanje ovih priča i problema dio je mog posla

as a digital storyteller

kao digitalnog pripovjedača,

that uses tech to make it easier for people to find these stories.

koji koristi tehnologiju kako bi olakšao ljudima da pronađu ove priče.

This year, I launched an online gallery of portraits and firsthand accounts

Ove godine lansirao sam online galeriju portreta i iskaza iz prve ruke

for a project called Enodi.

za projekt naziva Enodi.

The goal of Enodi is to highlight first-generation immigrants just like me

Cilj Enodija je naglasiti prvu generaciju imigranata poput mene

who carry this kinship for the countries we grew up in,

koja nosi sličnost prema zemljama u kojima smo odrasli,

for the countries of origin

zemljama našeg podrijetla

and for this concept called "blackness."

i konceptu nazvanog "crnina".

I created this space to be a cyberhome for many of us who are misunderstood

Kreirao sam taj prostor da bude cyber-dom mnogima od nas koji su neshvaćeni

in our different home countries.

u svojim različitim domovinama.

There are millions of Enodis

Postoje milijuni Enodija

who use hyphens to connect their countries of origin

koji koriste spojnice da povežu zemlje svog podrijetla

with their various homes in the US

sa svojim različitim domovima u SAD-u

or Canada or Britain or Germany.

ili Kanadi, Britaniji, Njemačkoj.

In fact, many people you might know are Enodi.

Zapravo, mnogi ljudi koje možda poznajete su Enodiji.

Actors Issa Rae and Idris Elba are Enodi.

Glumci Issa Rae i Idris Elba su Enodiji.

Colin Powell,

Colin Powell,

former Attorney General Eric Holder,

bivši državni odvjetnik Eric Holder,

former President of the United States, Barack Obama,

bivši Predsjednik SAD-a, Barack Obama,

are all the children of African or Caribbean immigrants.

svi su oni djeca afričkih ili karipskih imigranata.

But how much do you know about us?

Ali, koliko znate o nama?

This complicated navigation

Ova komplicirana navigacija

is not just the experience of first-generation folks.

nije samo iskustvo naroda prve generacije.

We're so intertwined

Toliko smo isprepleteni

in the lives and culture of people in North America and Europe,

u živote i kulture ljudi iz Sjeverne Amerike i Europe,

that you might be surprised how critical we are

da biste se iznenadili koliko smo kritični

to your histories and future.

prema vašoj povijesti i budućnosti.

So, engage us in conversation;

Stoga nas uključite u razgovor;

discover who immigrants actually are,

otkrijte tko su, zapravo, imigranti,

and see us apart from characterizations

pokušajte nas vidjeti izvan karakterizacija

or limited media narratives

ili ograničenih medijskih priča

or even who we might appear to be.

ili samo prvih dojmova.

We're walking melting pots of culture,

Mi smo hodajuća mješavina različitih kultura,

and if something in that pot smells new or different to you --

ako ti nešto u tome miriše na novo ili drugačije --

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

don't turn up your nose.

ne okreći nos.

Ask us to share.

Pitaj nas da to podijelimo.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)