What I discovered in New York City trash | Robin Nagle

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Senzos Osijek

I was about 10 years old

Imala sam 10 godina

on a camping trip with my dad

kada sam otišla na kampiranje s tatom

in the Adirondack Mountains, a wilderness area

u planine Adirondack, divlje područje

in the northern part of New York State.

u sjevernom djelu države New York.

It was a beautiful day.

Bio je to prekrasan dan.

The forest was sparkling.

Šuma je blistala.

The sun made the leaves glow like stained glass,

Sunce je činilo da lišće svijetli kao ukrašeno staklo,

and if it weren't for the path we were following,

i da nije bilo staze koju smo slijedlili,

we could almost pretend we were

gotovo smo se mogli pretvarati da smo

the first human beings to ever walk that land.

prva ljudska bića koja su hodala tom zemljom.

We got to our campsite.

Došli smo do našeg mjesta za kampiranje.

It was a lean-to on a bluff

Bilo je to sklonište na strmini

looking over a crystal, beautiful lake,

koja je gledala na kristalno, prekrasno jezero,

when I discovered a horror.

kada sam oktrila užas.

Behind the lean-to was a dump,

Iza skloništa bilo je smetlište,

maybe 40 feet square

veliko 40 stopa kvadratnih

with rotting apple cores

sa trulim ogriscima jabuka

and balled-up aluminum foil,

i zgužvanom alu folijom

and a dead sneaker.

i mrtvom tenisicom.

And I was astonished,

I bila sam zapanjena,

I was very angry, and I was deeply confused.

bila sam ljuta i jako zbunjena.

The campers who were too lazy

Izletnici su bili prelijeni

to take out what they had brought in,

da iznesu ono što su donijeli,

who did they think would clean up after them?

što su mislili tko će čistiti za njima?

That question stayed with me,

To pitanje ostalo je samnom,

and it simplified a little.

i malo se pojednostavilo.

Who cleans up after us?

Tko čisti za nama?

However you configure

Kako god podesite

or wherever you place the us,

ili gdje god da stavite nas,

who cleans up after us in Istanbul?

tko čisti za nama u Istanbulu?

Who cleans up after us in Rio

Tko čisti za nama u Riu

or in Paris or in London?

Parizu ili Londonu?

Here in New York,

Ovdje u New Yorku,

the Department of Sanitation cleans up after us,

Odjel za Čistoću čisti za nama,

to the tune of 11,000 tons of garbage

u pjesmi 11000 tona smeća

and 2,000 tons of recyclables every day.

i 2000 tona reciklaže svakog dana.

I wanted to get to know them as individuals.

Htjela sam ih upoznati kao pojedince.

I wanted to understand who takes the job.

Htjela sam razumjeti tko radi taj posao.

What's it like to wear the uniform

Kako je nositi uniformu

and bear that burden?

i imati taj teret?

So I started a research project with them.

Tako da sam započela istraživački projekt s njima.

I rode in the trucks and walked the routes

Vozila sam se u kamionima i šetala rutama

and interviewed people in offices and facilities

i intervjuirala ljude u uredima i postrojenjima

all over the city,

po cijelom gradu,

and I learned a lot,

i puno toga naučila,

but I was still an outsider.

ali sam još uvijek bila outsider.

I needed to go deeper.

Morala sam otići dublje.

So I took the job as a sanitation worker.

Tako da sam počela raditi kao čistač.

I didn't just ride in the trucks now. I drove the trucks.

Nisam se samo vozila u kamionima. Vozila sam kamion.

And I operated the mechanical brooms and I plowed the snow.

I upravljala mehaničkim metlama i čistila snijeg.

It was a remarkable privilege

To je bila iznimna privilegija

and an amazing education.

i odlično obrazovanje.

Everyone asks about the smell.

Svi pitaju za miris.

It's there, but it's not as prevalent as you think,

Tu je, ali ne prevladava toliko koliko mislite,

and on days when it is really bad,

i na dane kada je izrazito loš,

you get used to it rather quickly.

brzo se naviknete.

The weight takes a long time to get used to.

Teško se naviknuti na težinu.

I knew people who were several years on the job

Znala sam ljude koji su radili nekoliko godina

whose bodies were still adjusting to the burden

a tijela su im se još prilagođavala na teret

of bearing on your body

nošenja na vašem tijelu

tons of trash every week.

tone smeća svakog tjedna.

Then there's the danger.

Onda ovdje je opasnost.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

Prema Birou za Statistiku Rada,

sanitation work is one of the 10 most dangerous

čišćenje je jedno je od 10 najopasnijih

occupations in the country,

zanimanja u zemlji,

and I learned why.

i naučila sam zašto.

You're in and out of traffic all day,

Ulazite i izlazite iz prometa svaki dan,

and it's zooming around you.

i zuji oko vas.

It just wants to get past you, so it's often

Želi vas samo obići, često su to

the motorist is not paying attention.

motoristi koji ne obraćaju pažnju.

That's really bad for the worker.

To je strašno loše za radnike.

And then the garbage itself is full of hazards

I samo smeće je puno opasnosti

that often fly back out of the truck

i često izlijeće iz kamiona

and do terrible harm.

i radi štetu.

I also learned about the relentlessness of trash.

Također sam naučila o ustrajnosti smeća.

When you step off the curb

Kada siđete s rubnjaka

and you see a city from behind a truck,

i vidite grad iza kamiona,

you come to understand that trash

poćnete shvaćati da smeće

is like a force of nature unto itself.

je samo po sebi sila prirode.

It never stops coming.

Nikad ne prestaje dolaziti.

It's also like a form of respiration or circulation.

To je i forma disanja i cirkulacije.

It must always be in motion.

Uvijek mora biti u pokretu.

And then there's the stigma.

A tu je i stigma.

You put on the uniform, and you become invisible

Stavite uniformu i postajete nevidljivi,

until someone is upset with you for whatever reason

dok god netko nije ljut na vas iz bilo kojeg razloga

like you've blocked traffic with your truck,

kao kad blokirate promet kamionom,

or you're taking a break too close to their home,

ili ste napravili pauzu preblizu njihova doma,

or you're drinking coffee in their diner,

ili pijete kavu u njihovoj zalogajnici,

and they will come and scorn you,

i oni će doći i grditi vas,

and tell you that they don't want you anywhere near them.

i reći vam da vas ne žele blizu sebe.

I find the stigma especially ironic,

Nalazim da je stigma posebno ironična,

because I strongly believe that sanitation workers

jer snažno vjerujem da su čistači

are the most important labor force

najvažnija radna snaga

on the streets of the city, for three reasons.

na ulicama grada, iz tri razloga.

They are the first guardians of public health.

Oni su prvi čuvari javnog zdravlja.

If they're not taking away trash

Ako ne odvoze smeće

efficiently and effectively every day,

učinkovito i uspješno svaki dan,

it starts to spill out of its containments,

počne ispadati iz kontejnera,

and the dangers inherent to it threaten us

i opasnosti povezane s tim počinju nam prijetiti

in very real ways.

na stvarne načine.

Diseases we've had in check for decades and centuries

Bolesti koje su desetljećima i stoljećima mirovale

burst forth again and start to harm us.

pojave se ponovno i počinju nam nanositi štetu.

The economy needs them.

Ekonomija ih treba.

If we can't throw out the old stuff,

Ako ne možemo baciti stare stvari,

we have no room for the new stuff,

nemamo mjesta za nove stvari,

so then the engines of the economy

tako da strojevi ekonomije

start to sputter when consumption is compromised.

počinju zastajkivati kada je konzumiranje ugroženo.

I'm not advocating capitalism, I'm just pointing out their relationship.

Ne potičem kapitalizam, samo ističem njihov odnos.

And then there's what I call

I onda imamo ono što zovem

our average, necessary quotidian velocity.

naša prosječna, potrebna brzina kretanja.

By that I simply mean

Time jednostavno mislim

how fast we're used to moving

kako smo se brzo navikli kretati

in the contemporary day and age.

u trenutnom vremenu i dobu.

We usually don't care for, repair, clean, carry around

Obično se ne brinemo, ne popravljamo, ne nosimo sa sobom

our coffee cup, our shopping bag,

svoju šalicu za kavu, ili vrećicu za trgovinu,

our bottle of water.

ili bocu vode.

We use them, we throw them out, we forget about them,

Koristimo ih, bacimo ih, zaboravimo na njih,

because we know there's a workforce

jer znamo da postoji radna snaga

on the other side that's going to take it all away.

s druge strane koja će to sve odnijeti.

So I want to suggest today a couple of ways

Danas želim predložiti nekoliko načina

to think about sanitation that will perhaps help

da razmislimo o čišćenju koji će možda pomoći

ameliorate the stigma

da se ukloni stigma

and bring them into this conversation

i da ih uključimo u ovaj razgovor

of how to craft a city that is sustainable and humane.

o izgradnji grada koji je održiv i human.

Their work, I think, is kind of liturgical.

Njihov rad, ja mislim, je pomalo liturgijski.

They're on the streets every day, rhythmically.

Svakog dana su na ulici, ritmično.

They wear a uniform in many cities.

Nose uniforme u mnogim gradovima.

You know when to expect them.

Znate kada ih trebate očekivati.

And their work lets us do our work.

I njihov rad nam omogućuje naš rad.

They are almost a form of reassurance.

Oni su forma osiguravanja.

The flow that they maintain

Tijek koji održavaju

keeps us safe from ourselves,

drži nas sigurnima od samih sebe,

from our own dross, our cast-offs,

našeg smeća, naših odbačenih stvari,

and that flow must be maintained always

i onda se tijek mora održavati stalno

no matter what.

bez obzira na sve.

On the day after September 11 in 2001,

Dan nakon 11. rujna 2001.,

I heard the growl of a sanitation truck on the street,

čula sam režanje kamiona za smeće na ulicama,

and I grabbed my infant son and I ran downstairs

i zgrabila sam svog novorođenog sina i potrčala dolje

and there was a man doing his paper recycling route

i ondje je bio čovjek koji je radio svoju rutu za recikliranje papira

like he did every Wednesday.

kao što je to činio svake srijede.

And I tried to thank him for doing his work

I pokušala sam mu zahvaliti jer je radio svoj posao

on that day of all days,

na taj dan od svih dana,

but I started to cry.

no počela sam plakati.

And he looked at me,

I pogledao me,

and he just nodded, and he said,

i samo je klimnuo i rekao,

"We're going to be okay.

"Bit ćemo dobro.

We're going to be okay."

Bit ćemo dobro."

It was a little while later that I started

Tek kasnije počela sam

my research with sanitation,

istraživati čišćenje,

and I met that man again.

i srela sam ponovno tog čovjeka.

His name is Paulie, and we worked together many times,

Njegovo je ime Paulie, i puno smo puta radili skupa,

and we became good friends.

i postali smo dobri prijatelji.

I want to believe that Paulie was right.

Želim vjerovati da je Paulie bio u pravu.

We are going to be okay.

Bit ćemo dobro.

But in our effort to reconfigure

Ali u našem trudu da podesimo

how we as a species exist on this planet,

kako kao vrsta postojimo na planetu,

we must include and take account of

moramo uključiti i uzeti u obzir

all the costs, including the very real human cost

sve troškove, uključujući i stvarni ljudski trošak

of the labor.

rada.

And we also would be well informed

I bili bismo mudri

to reach out to the people who do that work

kada bi stupili u kontakt s ljudima koji taj posao rade

and get their expertise

i stekli njihovu ekspertizu

on how do we think about,

o tome kako razmišljamo,

how do we create systems around sustainability

kako stvaramo sustave oko održivosti

that perhaps take us from curbside recycling,

koji nas vode od recikliranja uz cestu,

which is a remarkable success across 40 years,

koje je strašan uspjeh kroz 40 godina,

across the United States and countries around the world,

kroz cijeli SAD i zemlje širom svijeta,

and lift us up to a broader horizon

i podići nas na širi horizont

where we're looking at other forms of waste

gdje gledamo ostale oblike otpada

that could be lessened

koje možemo smanjiti

from manufacturing and industrial sources.

iz proizvodnje i industrije.

Municipal waste, what we think of when we talk about garbage,

Gradski otpad, na koji mislimo kada pričamo o smeću,

accounts for three percent of the nation's waste stream.

daje tri posto tijeka smeća nacije.

It's a remarkable statistic.

To je zapanjujuća statistika.

So in the flow of your days,

U toku vaših dana,

in the flow of your lives,

vaših života,

next time you see someone whose job is

kada vidite nekoga čiji je posao

to clean up after you,

da čisti za vama,

take a moment to acknowledge them.

uzmite trenutak da ih prepoznate.

Take a moment to say thank you.

Uzmite tren da im zahvalite.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)