Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana

Prevoditelj: Katarina Smetko Recezent: Zlatko Smetisko

I was born in Switzerland

Rođen sam u Švicarskoj,

and raised in Ghana, West Africa.

a odrastao u Gani, u zapadnoj Africi.

Ghana felt safe to me as a child.

Dok sam bio dijete, mislio sam da je Gana sigurna.

I was free, I was happy.

Bio sam slobodan, bio sam sretan.

The early 70s

Početkom 70-ih godina

marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.

procvale su glazba i umjetnost u Gani.

But then by the end of the decade,

No, do kraja tog desetljeća

the country had fallen back into political instability

u zemlji je ponovno došlo do političke nestabilnosti

and mismanagement.

i lošeg vodstva.

In 1979,

1979. godine

I witnessed my first military coup.

doživio sam svoj prvi vojni puč.

We the children had gathered at a friend's house.

Mi, djeca, okupili smo se u kući jednog prijatelja.

It was a dimly lit shack.

Bila je to slabo osvijetljena koliba.

There was a beaten up black and white television

U njoj se nalazio oronuli crno-bijeli televizor,

flickering in the background,

iz kojeg je slika treperila u pozadini.

and a former head of state and general

Bivši šef države i general

was being blindfolded

imao je povez preko očiju

and tied to the pole.

i bio je zavezan za stup.

The firing squad aimed, fired --

Streljački vod je naciljao, opalio --

the general was dead.

general je bio mrtav.

Now this was being broadcast live.

I to je bilo prenošeno uživo.

And shortly after, we left the country,

Nedugo nakon toga, otišli smo iz zemlje

and we returned to Switzerland.

i vratili se u Švicarsku.

Now Europe came as a shock to me,

Europa mi je bila šok

and I think I started feeling the need

i mislim da sam počeo osjećati potrebu

to shed my skin in order to fit in.

da se riješim svoje kože kako bih se uklopio.

I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.

Htio sam se stopiti s masom poput kameleona.

I think it was a tactic of survival.

Mislim da je to bila taktika za preživljavanje.

And it worked, or so I believed.

I uspjelo mi je, barem sam tako mislio.

So here I was in 2008

I tako sam se 2008. godine

wondering where I was in my life.

počeo pitati gdje sam u životu.

And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.

Imao sam osjećaj da su mi kao glumci neprestano dodjeljivani isti tipovi uloga.

I was always playing the exotic African.

Uvijek sam glumio egzotičnog Afrikanca.

I was playing the violent African,

Glumio sam nasilnog Afrikanca,

the African terrorist.

afričkog terorista.

And I was thinking,

I mislio sam,

how many terrorists could I possibly play

koliko terorista uopće mogu odglumiti

before turning into one myself?

prije nego i sam postanem jedan od njih?

And I had become ashamed of the other,

Počeo sam se sramiti drugoga,

the African in me.

onog afričkog u sebi.

And fortunately I decided in 2008

2008. godine, na sreću,

to return to Ghana,

odlučio sam se vratiti u Ganu,

after 28 years of absence.

nakon 28 godina izbivanja.

I wanted to document on film

Htio sam zabilježiti na filmu

the 2008 presidential elections.

predsjedničke izbore održane 2008. godine.

And there, I started by searching

Kad sam stigao, počeo sam tražiti

for the footprints in my childhood.

tragove svojeg djetinjstva.

And before I even knew it,

Nisam se ni okrenuo,

I was suddenly on a stage

a odjednom sam se našao na pozornici

surrounded by thousands of cheering people

okružen tisućama uzbuđenih ljudi

during a political rally.

na političkom skupu.

And I realized that, when I'd left the country,

Shvatio sam da su, kad sam otišao iz zemlje,

free and fair elections in a democratic environment

slobodni i pošteni izbori u demokratskom okruženju

were a dream.

bili san.

And now that I'd returned, that dream had become reality,

Sad kad sam se vration, taj je san postao stvarnost,

though a fragile reality.

iako vrlo krhka.

And I was thinking,

Mislio sam,

was Ghana searching for its identity

traži li i Gana svoj identitet

like I was looking for my identity?

kao što ja tražim svoj?

Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor

Je li to što se događalo u Gani bilo metafora

for what was happening in me?

onoga što se događalo u meni?

And it was as if through the standards of my Western life,

Bilo je kao da po standardima svojeg zapadnjačkog života

I hadn't lived up to my full potential.

nisam ostvorio svoj puni potencijal.

I mean, nor had Ghana,

Mislim, nije ni Gana,

even though we had been trying very hard.

iako smo se doista trudili.

Now in 1957,

1957. godine

Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country

Gana je bila prva subsaharska zemlja

to gain its independence.

koja je stekla nezavisnost.

In the late 50s,

Krajem 50-ih godina

Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.

Gana i Singapur imali su jednak BDP.

I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country

Danas je Singapur zemlja Prvog svijeta,

and Ghana is not.

a Gana nije.

But maybe it was time to prove to myself,

Možda je bilo vrijeme da dokažem sam sebi

yes, it's important to understand the past,

kako jest važno razumjeti prošlost,

it is important to look at it in a different light,

kako je važno gledati je u drugom svjetlu,

but maybe we should look at the strengths in our own culture

ali možda bismo se trebali usredotočiti na prednosti naše kulture

and build on those foundations in the present.

i graditi sadašnjost na tim temeljima.

So here I was, December 7th, 2008.

I tako sam se našao 7. prosinca 2008.

The polling stations opened to the voters at 7:00 AM,

na glasačkim mjestima koja su za glasače bila otvorena u 7 sati ujutro.

but voters, eager to take their own political fate into their hands,

No glasači, željni preuzeti svoju političku sudbinu u vlastite ruke,

were starting to line up at 4:00 AM in the morning.

su počeli pristizati već u 4 sata ujutro.

And they had traveled from near, they had traveled from far,

Neki su živjeli blizu, neki su doputovali iz daleka,

because they wanted to make their voices heard.

jer su željeli da se njihovi glasovi čuju.

And I asked one of the voters, I said, "Whom are you going to vote for?"

Pitao sam jednog od glasača: "Za koga ćete glasati?"

And he said, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

A on je odgovorio: "Žao mi je, ne mogu vam reći."

He said that his vote was in his heart.

Rekao je da je njegov glas u njegovom srcu.

And I understood, this was their election,

Razumio sam to, radilo se o njihovim izborima,

and they weren't going to let anyone

i nisu namjeravali nikome dopustiti

take it away from them.

da im ih oduzmu.

Now the first round of the voting didn't bring forth a clear winner --

Nakon prvog kruga glasovanja nije bilo jasnog pobjednika --

so nobody had achieved the absolute majority --

nitko nije dobio apsolutnu većinu glasova --

so voting went into a second round three weeks later.

tako da je drugi krug glasovanja održan tri tjedna kasnije.

The candidates were back on the road; they were campaigning.

Kandidati su se ponovno aktivirali, radili su na svojim kampanjama.

The rhetoric of the candidates, of course, changed.

Naravno, retorika kandidata se promijenila.

The heat was on.

Stvari su se zakuhavale.

And then the cliche came to haunt us.

A onda se pojavio jedan kliše.

There were claims of intimidation

Pričalo se o zastrašivanju

at the polling stations,

na glasačkim mjestima,

of ballot boxes being stolen.

o krađi glasačkih kutija.

Inflated results started coming in

Počeli su pristizati lažni rezultati

and the mob was starting to get out of control.

i svjetina se počela otimati kontroli.

We witnessed the eruption of violence in the streets.

Doživjeli smo erupciju nasilja na ulicama.

People were being beaten brutally.

Ljude su brutalno premlaćivali.

The army started firing their guns. People were scrambling.

Vojska je počela pucati. Ljudi su bježali u panici.

It was complete chaos.

Bio je to potpun kaos.

And my heart sank,

Srce mi se steglo

because I thought, here we are again.

jer sam mislio, evo ga opet.

Here is another proof

Evo još jednog dokaza

that the African is not capable of governing himself.

da se Afrikanci ne znaju brinuti sami za sebe.

And not only that, I am documenting it --

I ne samo to, ja to snimam --

documenting my own cultural shortcomings.

snimam nedostatke vlastite kulture.

So when the echo of the gunshots

Dok je zvuk pucnjave

had lingered,

još odjekivao,

it was soon drowned by the chanting of the mob,

ubrzo su ga nadglasali ljudi koji su pjevali,

and I didn't believe what I was hearing.

a ja nisam mogao vjerovati svojim ušima.

They were chanting, "We want peace.

Pjevali su: "Želimo mir.

We want peace."

Želimo mir."

And I realized it had to come from the people.

Shvatio sam da je to moralo krenuti od ljudi.

After all, they decide,

Na kraju krajeva, oni odlučuju,

and they did.

i točno su to i učinili.

So the sounds that were before distorted and loud,

Zvukovi koji su prije bili nepravilni i glasni

were suddenly a melody.

odjednom su postali melodija.

The sounds of the voices were harmonious.

Zvukovi glasova bili su skladni.

So it could happen.

Znači, to je ipak bilo moguće.

A democracy could be upheld peacefully.

Demokracija se može mirno održati.

It could be, by the will of the masses

Može se, ako je to volja mase,

who were now urgently pressing

koja je sada tražila

with all their heart and all their will

svim srcem i svim umom

for peace.

mir.

Now here's an interesting comparison.

Evo zanimljive usporedbe.

We in the West,

Mi na Zapadu

we preach the values,

zagovaramo vrijednosti,

the golden light of democracy,

zlatno svjetlo demokracije,

that we are the shining example of how it's done.

misleći kako smo svijetli primjer kako se to radi.

But when it comes down to it,

Ali na kraju se sve svodi na to

Ghana found itself in the same place

da se Gana našla u istoj situaciji

in which the U.S. election stalled

u kojoj je zapeo i SAD

in the 2000 presidential elections --

na predsjedničkim izborima 2000. godine --

Bush versus Gore.

Bush protiv Gorea.

But instead of the unwillingness of the candidates

No, umjesto nevoljkosti kandidata

to allow the system to proceed and the people to decide,

da prihvate sustav i dopuste ljudima da odluče,

Ghana honored democracy

Gana je odala počast demokraciji

and its people.

i svojim ljudima.

It didn't leave it up to the Supreme Court to decide;

Nije prepustila odluku Vrhovnom sudu,

the people did.

već ljudima.

Now the second round of voting

No, ni drugi krug glasovanja.

did not bring forth a clear winner either.

nije donio pobjednika.

I mean, it was so incredibly close.

Mislim, bilo je toliko blizu.

The electoral commissioner declared,

Povjerenik za izbore odlučio je,

with the consent of the parties,

uz pristanak stranaka,

to run an unprecedented

da se po prvi put provede

second re-run.

još jedan krug glasovanja.

So the people went back to the polls

Ljudi su ponovno otišli na glasačka mjesta

to determine their own president,

kako bi izabrali svojeg predsjednika,

not the legal system.

a ne pravni sustav.

And guess what, it worked.

I pogodite što, uspjelo je.

The defeated candidate

Poraženi se kandidat

gave up power

odrekao vlasti

and made way for Ghana to move into a new democratic cycle.

i omogućio Gani da započne nov demokratski ciklus.

I mean, at the absolute time

Hoću reći da u apsolutnom vremenu

for the absolute need of democracy,

s apsolutnom potrebom za demokracijom

they did not abuse their power.

nisu zloupotrijebili svoju vlast.

The belief in true democracy and in the people runs deep,

Duboka je vjera u pravu demokraciju i u ljude,

proving that the African is capable of governing himself.

što dokazuje da su Afrikanci sposobni brinuti se sami za sebe.

Now the uphill battle for Ghana and for Africa

Naporna borba za Ganu i za Afriku

is not over,

nije gotova,

but I have proof that the other side of democracy exists,

ali imam dokaze da postoji druga strana demokracije

and that we must not take it for granted.

i da je ne smijemo uzimati zdravo za gotovo.

Now I have learned

Naučio sam

that my place is not just in the West or in Africa,

da moje mjesto nije samo na Zapadu ili u Africi.

and I'm still searching

Još uvijek tražim

for my identity,

svoj identitet,

but I saw Ghana

ali vidio sam kako Gana

create democracy better.

na bolji način stvara demokraciju.

Ghana taught me

Gana me naučila

to look at people differently

da ljude gledam drugačije

and to look at myself differently.

i da sebe gledam drugačije.

And yes,

I da,

we Africans can.

mi Afrikanci to možemo.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)