Is your country at risk of becoming a dictatorship? Here's how to know | Farida Nabourema

Translator: Karen Winardi Reviewer: Ade Indarta

A few weeks ago,

Beberapa minggu lalu,

somebody tweeted during the midterm elections in the United States

ada yang men-tweet saat pemilu paruh waktu di AS

that Election Day should be made a holiday.

bahwa hari pemilu harus dijadikan tanggal merah.

And I retweeted, saying,

Lalu, saya retweet, dan bilang,

"Well, you're welcome to come to my country and vote.

"Kamu bisa datang ke negara saya dan ikutan coblos.

You'll get the whole week off to allow the military to count it."

Kamu akan libur semingguan penuh selama pihak militer merekap hasilnya."

I come from Togo, by the way.

Saya berasal dari Togo.

It is a beautiful country located in West Africa.

Itu adalah negara indah di Afrika Barat.

There are some cool, interesting facts about my country.

Ada beberapa fakta keren dan menarik tentang negara saya.

Togo has been ruled by the same family for 51 years,

Togo sudah dikuasai lini keluarga yang sama selama 51 tahun,

making us the oldest autocracy in Africa.

jadi negara kami ini penganut sistem otokrasi tertua di Afrika.

That's a record.

Itu adalah sebuah rekor.

We have a second-coolest record:

Rekor kedua terkeren dari Togo:

we have been ranked three times as the unhappiest country on earth.

Togo sudah 3 kali dapat peringkat negara paling tidak bahagia di dunia.

You are all invited.

Kalian semua datanglah kemari.

(Laughter)

(tertawa)

So just to let you know,

Sekadar memberitahu,

it's not very cool to live under an autocracy.

Hidup di bawah otokrasi sama sekali tidak keren.

But the interesting thing is that I have met, throughout the course of my activism,

Tapi menariknya, saya sudah bertemu banyak orang dari berbagai negara

so many people from different countries,

berkat aktivisme saya,

and when I tell them about Togo, their reaction is always,

dan reaksi mereka selalu begini saat bercerita tentang Togo,

"How can you guys allow the same people to terrorize you for 51 years?

"Kok orang yang sama bisa berkuasa selama 51 tahun di negara kalian?

You know, like, you Togolese, you must be very patient."

Yah, kalian orang Togo pasti sabar banget."

That's their diplomatic way of saying "stupid."

Itu bahasa diplomatis mereka yang arti aslinya "bodoh."

(Laughter)

(tertawa)

And when you live in a free country,

Dan saat kalian hidup di negara bebas,

there's this tendency of assuming that those who are oppressed

ada kecenderungan berasumsi orang-orang yang tertindas

tolerate their oppression or are comfortable with it,

menerima penindasan itu atau malah merasa nyaman,

and democracy is projected as a progressive form of governance

dan demokrasi digambarkan sebagai wujud pemerintahan yang progresif

in such a way that those people who don't live under democratic countries

dengan cara menganggap warga negara non-demokrasi

are seen as people who are not intellectually or maybe morally

sebagai rakyat yang tidak maju secara intelek atau mungkin moral

as advanced as others.

sama seperti yang lain.

But it's not the case.

Tapi sebenarnya bukan begitu.

The reason why people have that perception

Alasan mengapa bisa ada persepsi seperti itu

has to do with the way stories are covered about dictatorships.

berkaitan erat dengan bagaimana cerita kediktatoran dibungkus.

In the course of my activism,

Selama saya berkampanye,

I have had to interview with so many news outlets out there,

saya pernah harus melakukan wawancara dengan banyak media berita di luar sana,

and usually it would always start with, "What got you started?

dan biasanya permulaannya selalu, "Apa motivasimu memulai ini?

What inspired you?"

Apa yang menginspirasimu?"

And I reply, "I wasn't inspired. I was triggered."

Lalu saya bilang, "Saya tidak terinspirasi, malah terpicu."

And it goes on. "Well, what triggered you?"

Masih ada lanjutannya. "Apa yang memicumu?"

And I go on about how my father was arrested when I was 13, and tortured,

Saya bercerita tentang ayah saya yang ditangkap dan disiksa saat saya 13 tahun,

all the history ... I don't want to get into details now,

saya tidak mau ceritakan sampai ke detailnya,

because you'll start sleeping.

nanti kalian bisa ketiduran.

But the thing is, at the end of the day, what interests them the most is:

Intinya, di akhir, yang paling menarik buat mereka adalah:

How was he tortured?

Bagaimana penyiksaannya?

For how many days? How many people died?

Berapa hari? Berapa banyak yang meninggal?

They are interested in the abuse, in the killing,

Mereka malah tertarik pada kekerasan dan pembunuhannya,

because they believe that will gain attention and sympathy.

sebab menurut mereka, itu akan memancing perhatian dan simpati.

But in reality, it serves the purpose of the dictator.

Sebenarnya, itu malah menguntungkan si diktator.

It helps them advertise their cruelty.

Itu membantu mempromosikan kekejamannya.

In 2011, I cofounded a movement I call "Faure Must Go,"

Tahun 2011, saya ikut mendirikan gerakan yang saya sebut "Faure Must Go,"

because Faure is the first name of our president.

karena Faure adalah nama presiden pertama kami.

Togo is a French-speaking country, by the way,

Togo negara berbahasa Perancis, omong-omong,

but I chose English because I had my issues with France as well.

tapi saya lebih pilih bahasa Inggris karena berbahasa Perancis sulit.

But then --

Tapi --

(Laughter)

(tertawa)

But then, when I started Faure Must Go,

Tapi saat saya memulai gerakan Faure Harus Pergi,

I made a video, and I came on camera,

Saya membuat video, dan muncul di layar,

and I said, "Well, Faure Gnassingbé, I give you 60 days to resign as president,

kemudian saya bilang, "Faure Gnassingbé, Anda punya waktu 60 hari untuk mundur,

because if you don't,

karena jika Anda menolak,

we the youth in Togo will organize and we will bring you down,

kami, muda-mudi Togo, akan bersatu untuk melengserkan Anda,

because you have killed over 500 of our countrymen

sebab Anda sudah membunuh lebih dari 500 orang warga negara kami

to seize power when your father died.

untuk berkuasa saat ayah Anda wafat.

We have not chosen you.

Kami tidak memilih Anda.

You are an imposter, and we will remove you."

Anda hanyalah gadungan, dan Anda akan dilengserkan."

But I was the only known face of the movement.

Tapi hanya saya yang dikenal dalam gerakan ini

Why? Because I was the only stupid one.

Mengapa? Soalnya hanya saya yang bodoh.

(Laughter)

(tertawa)

And the backlashes followed.

Lalu ada reaksi-reaksi perlawanan.

My family started receiving threats.

Keluarga saya mulai diancam.

My siblings called me one morning.

Kakak adik saya pernah menelepon pada suatu pagi.

They said, "You know what?

Mereka bilang, "Kamu tahu?

When they come here to kill you, we don't want to die with you,

Kalau mereka kemari membunuhmu, kami ogah mati bersamamu,

so move out."

jadi minggat sana."

So yes, I moved out.

Ya, saya sungguhan minggat dari rumah.

And I'm so angry at them, so I haven't talked to them in five years.

Saking marahnya, saya belum bicara dengan mereka selama 5 tahun.

Anyway, moving forward ...

Oke, mari kita lanjut ...

For the past nine years, I have been working with countries

Selama 9 tahun belakangan ini, saya terus bekerja sama dengan banyak negara

to raise awareness of Togo,

untuk meningkatkan perhatian terhadap Togo,

to help the people of Togo overcome their fear

membantu mengatasi ketakutan rakyat Togo

so they, too, can come and say they want change.

supaya mereka juga bisa maju dan bilang mereka ingin perubahan.

I have received a lot of persecution

Saya telah menerima banyak penghakiman

that I cannot disclose,

yang tak bisa saya beberkan,

a lot of threats, a lot of abuse,

banyak ancaman, kekerasan,

psychologically.

semuanya bersifat psikis.

But I don't like talking about them,

Tapi saya tidak suka membicarakan itu,

because I know that my job as an activist is to mobilize,

karena saya tahu, tugas aktivisme saya adalah menggalang perhatian,

is to organize,

mengorganisir gerakan,

is to help every single Togolese citizen understand that, as citizens,

membantu setiap orang Togo paham bahwa sebagai warga negara,

we hold the power,

kitalah yang punya kuasa,

we are the boss and we decide.

kitalah bos yang membuat keputusan.

And the punishment that the dictators are using to intimidate them

Lalu, hukuman yang dipakai para diktator untuk mengintimidasi

must not prevent us from getting what we want.

tidak boleh menghalangi kita mencapai apa yang kita inginkan.

Maka dari itu, saya bilang penting untuk meliput cerita para aktivis

That is why I said it is very important to cover the stories of activists

dari sudut pandang yang membantu menggalang perhatian orang,

in the way that it helps mobilize people,

not in the way that it helps deter their action

bukannya semakin menghalangi aksi aktivisme

dan menambah kontrol dalam sistem yang menindas rakyat.

and force even more their subjugation to the oppressive system.

Bertahun-tahun saya menjadi seorang aktivis,

During these years that I've been an activist,

ada kalanya saya ingin berhenti karena sudah tidak kuat lagi.

there are days that I felt like quitting because I couldn't take it.

Lantas, apa yang memotivasi saya untuk tetap maju?

Well then, what kept me going?

The one thing that kept me going:

Satu hal yang memotivasi saya:

I remember the story of my grandfather,

Saya ingat cerita tentang kakek saya,

and how he used to walk 465 miles from his village to the city,

beliau dulu berjalan 748 kilometer dari desa ke kota

hanya untuk berdemonstrasi meminta kemerdekaan.

just to protest for independence.

Then I remember the sacrifice of my father,

Lalu, saya ingat tentang pengorbanan ayah saya,

who was tortured so many times

yang disiksa berkali-kali

for daring to protest against the regime.

karena berani berdemonstrasi melawan rezim.

Back in the '70s, they would write pamphlets

Dulu, pada tahun 70-an, mereka biasa membuat banyak pamflet

to raise awareness on the dictatorship,

supaya orang-orang tahu tentang rezim otoriter,

dan karena mereka tidak punya uang untuk menduplikat pamfletnya,

and because they couldn't afford to make copies,

they would reproduce the same pamphlet 500 times each

mereka membuat ulang pamflet yang sama sebanyak 500x

and distribute them.

dan menyebarkan semuanya.

It got to a point where the military knew their handwriting,

Pihak militer sampai hafal tulisan tangan mereka,

so as soon as they stumbled upon one, they'd go and get them.

jadi begitu ketemu satu lembar, pihak militer bakal menangkap mereka.

But I look at that and I'm like, you know, today you have a blog.

Tapi saya merasa, zaman sekarang sudah ada blog.

Saya tidak perlu menulis hal yang sama sebanyak 500 kali.

I don't have to copy the same thing 500 times.

Ribuan orang membaca tulisan blog saya.

I blog and thousands of people read it.

By the way, in Togo, they like calling me the WhatsApp girl,

Oh ya, di Togo, saya suka disebut sebagai "si gadis WhatsApp,"

because I am always on WhatsApp attacking the government.

karena saya selalu menyerang pemerintah di WhatsApp.

(Laughter)

(tertawa)

Jadinya lebih gampang.

So it's much easier.

When I'm angry at the government, I just make an angry note,

Kalau lagi marah sama pemerintah, saya cukup bikin ujaran amarah,

lalu saya kirim tulisan saya, dan ribuan orang membagikannya.

and I send it out and thousands of people share it.

I'm rarely this composed. I'm always angry, by the way.

Saya jarang sekalem ini. Saya malahan marah terus.

(tertawa)

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(sorakan dan tepuk tangan)

So I was talking about the necessity to showcase our stories,

Jadi, saya membicarakan tentang pentingnya bercerita tentang Togo,

because when I think about the sacrifices that were made for us,

karena kalau saya ingat banyaknya pengorbanan demi Togo,

saya jadi tetap bersemangat.

it helped me keep going.

One of the very first actions of our Faure Must Go movement

Salah satu aksi pertama dari gerakan Faure Must Go

was to come up with a petition, asking citizens to sign

adalah membuat petisi dan meminta tanda tangan orang-orang

so that we can demand new elections, as the constitution allows.

supaya kami bisa meminta pemilu baru, seperti dalam konstitusi negara kami.

Orang-orang takut nama mereka tercantum

People were scared to put their names

because, they said, they don't want to get in trouble.

karena kata mereka, mereka tidak mau bermasalah.

Even in the diaspora, people were scared.

Bahkan orang-orang diaspora ketakutan.

They were like, "We have family at home."

Reaksi mereka, "Ada keluarga di rumah."

But there was this woman who was in her 60s.

Tapi ada suatu wanita berumur 60-an.

When she heard about it, she took the petition,

Habis mendengar tentang gerakan kami, kertas petisinya dia ambil,

lalu dia pulang,

and she went home,

dan dia mengumpulkan lebih dari 1000 tanda tangan sendirian.

and by herself she collected over 1,000 [signatures].

Itu sangat menginspirasi saya sampai saya merasa,

That inspired me so much, and I was like,

if a 60-year-old that has nothing more to gain in this regime

kalau ada orang umur 60-an yang tidak bisa dapat apa-apa lagi dalam rezim ini

can do this for us, the young ones,

malah bisa melakukan ini untuk yang masih muda,

then why should I quit?

terus kenapa saya malah menyerah?

It is the stories of resistance, the stories of defiance,

Justru cerita-cerita perlawanan,

cerita-cerita tentang ketangguhan,

the stories of resilience,

menginspirasi orang-orang agar ikut beraksi,

that inspire people to get involved,

bukannya cerita tentang kekerasan, pembunuhan, dan rasa sakit,

not the stories of abuse and killings and hurt,

because as humans, it's only natural for us to be scared.

karena sebagai manusia, wajar kalau kita ketakutan.

I would like to share with you a few characteristics of dictatorships

Saya ingin membagikan kepada kalian sebagian ciri-ciri kediktatoran

so that you can assess your own country

supaya kalian bisa menilai negara kalian sendiri

and see if you are also at risk of joining us.

dan tahu apakah kalian berisiko senasib dengan kami.

(Laughter and cheers)

(tertawa)

(tepuk tangan)

(Applause)

Number one thing to look at: concentration of power.

Hal pertama yang harus diawasi: pemusatan kekuasaan.

Is the power in your country concentrated in the hands of a few, an elite?

Apakah negara kalian dikuasai oleh orang-orang tertentu saja?

It can be a political elite, ideological elite.

Bisa jadi kelompok politik atau ideologi tertentu.

And you have a strongman,

Dan kalian punya seorang tiran,

because we always have one guy who is presented as the messiah

karena di sekitar kita selalu ada yang digambarkan sebagai mesias

yang akan menyelamatkan kita dari dunia ini.

who will save us from the world.

Poin kedua adalah propaganda.

The second point is propaganda.

Dictators feed on propaganda.

Itu adalah bahan bakar diktator.

They like giving the impression that they are the saviors,

Mereka suka memberi kesan bahwa mereka adalah juru selamat,

and without them, the country will fall apart.

dan tanpa mereka, negara akan runtuh.

And they are always fighting some foreign forces, you know?

Kau tahu, mereka juga suka melawan sejenis kuasa luar.

The Christians, the Jewish, the Muslims,

Orang Kristen, Yahudi, Muslim,

the voodoo priests are coming for you.

pendeta voodoo, semuanya mengincarmu.

Kita semua akan miskin dengan komunis di negara kita.

The Communists, when they get here, we'll all be broke.

These kinds of things.

Hal semacam itulah.

Presiden kami, sebagai contoh, dia melawan bajak laut.

And our president, in particular, he fights pirates.

(Laughter)

(tertawa)

I am very serious.

Saya benar-benar serius.

Last year, he bought a boat that's 13 million dollars to fight pirates,

Tahun lalu, dia membeli perahu seharga 13 juta dolar untuk melawan bajak laut,

and 60 percent of our people are starving.

padahal 60% rakyat kami kelaparan.

Jadi, mereka selalu melindungi kita dari semacam kekuasaan asing.

So they are always protecting us from some foreign forces.

And this leads to point three: militarization.

Nah, ini ada kaitannya dengan poin ketiga: militerisasi.

Dictators survive by instigating fear,

Diktator bertahan hidup dengan menyebarkan ketakutan,

and they use the military to suppress dissident voices,

dan mereka menggunakan militer untuk meredam opini berlawanan,

even though they try to give the impression

meskipun mereka mencoba membawa kesan

that the military is to protect the nation.

militer ada untuk melindungi negara.

And they suppress institutions and destroy them

Mereka juga menekan dan menghancurkan badan-badan institusi

so that they don't have to be held accountable.

agar mereka tidak perlu disuruh bertanggung jawab.

So do you have a heavily militarized country?

Jadi, apa negara kalian sangat berbasis militer?

And this leads to point four, what I call human cruelty.

Lanjut ke poin keempat yang saya sebut kekejaman terhadap manusia.

You know when we talk about animals,

Kalau kita lagi bicara tentang hewan,

we say animal cruelty when animals are abused,

kekejaman terhadap hewan adalah menyiksa hewan,

because there's no charter acknowledged by the UN

karena tidak ada piagam resmi dari PBB

yang namanya piagam hak hewan.

saying animal rights charter.

Point one: all animals are created equal. So you don't have that.

Alasan pertama: semua binatang diciptakan sama, jadi tidak ada begituan.

So whenever animals are abused, we say animal cruelty.

Ketika hewan disiksa, kita bilang itu kekejaman terhadap hewan.

But when it comes to humans, we say human rights abuses,

Namun, kalau bicara tentang manusia, ada istilah pelanggaran HAM,

because we assume that all humans have rights.

kita berasumsi semua manusia memiliki hak asasi

But some of us are actually still fighting for our right to have rights.

Tapi beberapa dari kita masih memperjuangkan hak asasi kita.

So in that condition, I don't talk about human rights abuse or violation.

Jika demikian, saya tidak bicara tentang pelanggaran atau kekerasan HAM.

When you live in a country and you have an issue with the president

Kalau kalian bermasalah dengan presiden di negara kalian,

and the worst thing that can happen is he bans you from the presidency,

palingan kalian hanya dilarang mencalonkan diri jadi presiden,

kalian masih beruntung.

you are lucky.

Kalau kalian keberatan dengan presiden di negara saya,

When you come to my country and have an issue with the president,

sebaiknya kalian kabur; lenyap dari alam semesta,

you just run, disappear; you vanish from the universe,

because they can still find you in Turkey.

karena mereka masih bisa menemukanmu di Turki.

So people like myself, we don't get to live in Togo anymore.

Orang-orang macam saya tidak bisa tinggal di Togo lagi.

And people like myself,

Orang-orang seperti saya,

we don't get to live in the same place for more than a month,

tidak bisa menetap selama lebih dari sebulan,

because we don't want to be traced.

karena kami tidak mau dilacak.

Cara mereka menyiksa orang,

The way they abuse people,

the type of cruelty that happens in all impunity under dictatorships

kekejaman yang bebas dari pidana di bawah rezim kediktatoran,

are beyond human imagination.

berada di luar pemikiran manusia.

The stories of some of the activists that were killed,

Cerita tentang beberapa pegiat yang dibunuh,

jenazah mereka dibuang ke laut,

their bodies dumped in the sea,

that were tortured

menjadi korban penyiksaan

to the point where they lost their hearing or their sight --

hingga buta atau tuli --

those stories still haunt me.

kisah seperti itu masih menakutiku.

And sometimes, as an activist,

Terkadang, sebagai seorang pegiat,

I am less concerned about dying than how it will happen.

saya lebih peduli bagaimana saya akan mati daripada kematian sendiri.

Sometimes I just sit down and I imagine all scenarios.

Ada kalanya saya terdiam dan membayangkan semuanya.

What are they going to do? Are they going to cut my ears first?

Apa yang akan mereka lakukan? Memotong telinga saya dulu?

Or are they going to cut my tongue because I'm always insulting them?

Atau memotong lidah saya karena saya selalu menghina mereka?

It sounds cruel, but it is the reality.

Kedengarannya kejam, tapi begitulah realitanya.

We live in a very cruel world.

Kami hidup di dunia yang sangat kejam.

Dictators are cruel monsters,

Diktator adalah monster kejam,

dan saya tidak sedang memperhalus kata-kata saya.

and I am not saying it to be nice.

Jadi begitu ciri terakhirnya.

So yes, that is the final characteristic.

The list goes on,

Masih ada banyak lagi,

but that's the final thing that I want to share about autocracies,

tapi itu hal terakhir yang mau saya bagikan tentang otokrasi,

supaya kalian bisa mencari ciri-ciri tersebut dalam negara kalian.

so that you look at your country and see if there are risks there.

Menyadari kebebasan yang kalian miliki hari ini begitu penting.

It is important that you acknowledge the gains of freedom that you have today,

because some people had to give their lives for you to have it.

karena beberapa orang harus mengorbankan nyawa mereka demi kebebasan kalian.

So don't take this for granted.

Jangan menganggap enteng kebebasan.

But then at the same time, you also need to know

Tapi, di saat bersamaan, kalian juga harus tahu

that no country is actually destined to be oppressed,

tidak ada negara yang sebenarnya ditakdirkan untuk ditindas,

while at the same time,

tapi di satu sisi,

no country or no people are immune to oppression and dictatorship.

tidak ada negara atau orang yang kebal terhadap penindasan atau kediktatoran.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

(Applause)

(tepuk tangan)