Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana

Translator: Ade Indarta Reviewer: handarmin -

I was born in Switzerland

Saya dilahirkan di Swiss

and raised in Ghana, West Africa.

dan dibesarkan di Ghana, Afrika Barat.

Ghana felt safe to me as a child.

Bagi saya yang seorang anak, Ghana terasa aman.

I was free, I was happy.

Saya bebas, saya bahagia.

The early 70s

Awal tahun 70-an

marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.

menandai era kesempurnaan musik dan artistik di Ghana.

But then by the end of the decade,

Tapi pada akhir dekade itu,

the country had fallen back into political instability

negara ini telah jatuh kembali ke ketidakstabilan politik

and mismanagement.

dan kesalahan pengelolaan.

In 1979,

Pada tahun 1979,

I witnessed my first military coup.

saya menyaksikan kudeta militer pertama saya.

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

Kami anak-anak berkumpul di rumah teman.

It was a dimly lit shack.

Itu gubuk dengan sedikit penerangan.

There was a beaten up black and white television

Ada sebuah televisi hitam putih yang sudah usang

flickering in the background,

menyala di ruangan itu,

and a former head of state and general

dan mantan kepala negara dan jenderal

was being blindfolded

yang ditutup matanya

and tied to the pole.

dan diikat di tiang.

The firing squad aimed, fired --

Regu menembak membidik, menembak -

the general was dead.

jenderal itu tewas.

Now this was being broadcast live.

Ini disiarkan secara langsung.

And shortly after, we left the country,

Setelah itu, kami meninggalkan negara itu.

and we returned to Switzerland.

dan kembali ke Swiss.

Now Europe came as a shock to me,

Ternyata Eropa sangat mengejutkan bagi saya,

and I think I started feeling the need

dan saya mulai merasa perlu

to shed my skin in order to fit in.

berganti kulit agar bisa membaur.

I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.

Saya ingin membaur seperti bunglon.

I think it was a tactic of survival.

Itu semacam taktik untuk bertahan hidup.

And it worked, or so I believed.

Dan itu berhasil, atau setidaknya menurut saya.

So here I was in 2008

Jadi di sinilah saya tahun 2008

wondering where I was in my life.

bertanya-tanya di mana tempat saya.

And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.

Saya seperti aktor yang hanya bermain peran khusus.

I was always playing the exotic African.

Saya selalu berperan sebagai orang Afrika.

I was playing the violent African,

Saya berperan sebagai orang Afrika yang liar,

the African terrorist.

teroris Afrika.

And I was thinking,

Dan saya berpikir,

how many terrorists could I possibly play

berapa banyak peran teroris harus saya mainkan

before turning into one myself?

sebelum saya benar berubah menjadi teroris?

And I had become ashamed of the other,

Saya menjadi malu dengan sebagian diri saya,

the African in me.

diri Afrika.

And fortunately I decided in 2008

Untungnya tahun 2008, saya memutuskan

to return to Ghana,

untuk kembali ke Ghana,

after 28 years of absence.

setelah pergi 28 tahun.

I wanted to document on film

Saya ingin membuat film dokumenter

the 2008 presidential elections.

pemilihan presiden tahun 2008.

And there, I started by searching

Di sana saya mulai dengan mencari

for the footprints in my childhood.

jejak kaki masa kecil saya.

And before I even knew it,

Sebelum saya sadar,

I was suddenly on a stage

tiba-tiba saya berada di panggung

surrounded by thousands of cheering people

dikelilingi oleh ribuan orang bersorak-sorai

during a political rally.

dalam pawai politik.

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

Saya ingat bahwa, saat saya pergi dari negara itu,

free and fair elections in a democratic environment

pemilihan yang bebas dan adil di lingkungan yang demokratis

were a dream.

hanyalah mimpi bagi kami.

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

Sekarang saat saya kembali, mimpi itu telah menjadi nyata,

though a fragile reality.

meski pun kenyataan yang masih rentan.

And I was thinking,

Saya berpikir,

was Ghana searching for its identity

Apakah Ghana mencari identitasnya

like I was looking for my identity?

seperti saya mencari identitas saya?

Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor

Apakah yang terjadi di Ghana adalah metafora

for what was happening in me?

untuk apa yang terjadi pada diri saya?

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

Seakan-akan, dilihat dari standar hidup Barat saya,

I hadn't lived up to my full potential.

saya belum hidup secara maksimal.

I mean, nor had Ghana,

Maksud saya, begitu pula Ghana,

even though we had been trying very hard.

meskipun kami sudah berusaha keras.

Now in 1957,

Di tahun 1957,

Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country

Ghana adalah negara sub-Sahara pertama

to gain its independence.

yang merdeka.

In the late 50s,

Di akhir tahun 50-an,

Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.

Ghana dan Singapura punya GDP yang sama.

I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country

Sekarang, Singapura adalah negara Dunia Pertama

and Ghana is not.

dan Ghana bukan.

But maybe it was time to prove to myself,

Tapi mungkin ini saatnya membuktikan diri saya,

yes, it's important to understand the past,

ya, memang penting memahami masa lalu,

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

penting untuk melihatnya dari sisi yang berbeda,

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

tapi mungkin kita harus melihat keunggulan budaya kita sendiri

and build on those foundations in the present.

dan membangun di atasnya di masa ini.

So here I was, December 7th, 2008.

Jadi di sini saya, 7 Desember 2008.

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

Tempat pemungutan suara buka pukul 7 pagi,

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

tapi pemilih yang bersemangat menentukan nasib politik negara,

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

sudah mulai mengantre dari pukul 4 pagi.

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

Mereka datang dari sekitar, datang dari jauh,

because they wanted to make their voices heard.

karena ingin suara mereka didengar.

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

Saya bertanya kepada salah satu pemilih, "Siapa yang akan Anda pilih?"

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

Dia bilang, "Maaf, saya tidak bisa bilang."

He said that his vote was in his heart.

Dia bilang suaranya rahasia.

And I understood, this was their election,

Saya mengerti, ini pemilihan mereka,

and they weren't going to let anyone

dan mereka tidak ingin orang lain

take it away from them.

mengambilnya dari mereka.

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

Putaran pertama pemilu itu tidak menghasilkan pemenang --

so nobody had achieved the absolute majority --

tidak ada yang mencapai hasil mayoritas --

so voting went into a second round three weeks later.

jadi pemilihan diteruskan ke putaran kedua tiga minggu kemudian.

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

Para calon kembali turun ke jalan, berkampanye.

The rhetoric of the candidates, of course, changed.

Tentu saja, retorika para calon berubah.

The heat was on.

Suasana semakin panas.

And then the cliche came to haunt us.

Kemudian kenangan buruk menghantui.

There were claims of intimidation

Banyak klaim adanya intimidasi

at the polling stations,

di tempat pemungutan suara,

of ballot boxes being stolen.

kotak suara dicuri.

Inflated results started coming in

Kabar hasil perhitungan yang dicurangi mulai muncul

and the mob was starting to get out of control.

dan massa semakin tidak terkendali.

We witnessed the eruption of violence in the streets.

Kami menyaksikan pecahnya kekerasan di jalanan.

People were being beaten brutally.

Orang-orang dipukuli secara brutal.

The army started firing their guns. People were scrambling.

Tentara mulai menembakkan senjata. Orang-orang berlarian.

It was complete chaos.

Sangat kacau.

And my heart sank,

Hati saya sesak,

because I thought, here we are again.

karena saya pikir, kita mulai lagi.

Here is another proof

Inilah bukti lainnya

that the African is not capable of governing himself.

bahwa orang Afrika tidak mampu mengelola dirinya sendiri.

And not only that, I am documenting it --

Tidak hanya itu, saya mendokumentasikannya --

documenting my own cultural shortcomings.

mendokumentasikan kegagalan budaya kami.

So when the echo of the gunshots

Jadi ketika dentum suara tembakan

had lingered,

perlahan hilang,

it was soon drowned by the chanting of the mob,

suaranya semakin tenggelam oleh teriakan massa,

and I didn't believe what I was hearing.

dan saya tidak percaya apa yang saya dengar.

They were chanting, "We want peace.

Mereka berteriak, "Kami ingin damai.

We want peace."

Kami ingin damai."

And I realized it had to come from the people.

Saya sadar semua ini harus berasal dari rakyat.

After all, they decide,

Lagi pula, mereka yang memutuskan,

and they did.

dan mereka pun melakukannya.

So the sounds that were before distorted and loud,

Jadi teriakan yang sebelumnya sumbang dan keras,

were suddenly a melody.

tiba-tiba menjadi melodi.

The sounds of the voices were harmonious.

Suara teriakan itu menjadi harmoni.

So it could happen.

Jadi memang dapat terjadi.

A democracy could be upheld peacefully.

Demokrasi dapat ditegakkan dengan cara damai.

It could be, by the will of the masses

Dapat, dengan keinginan massa

who were now urgently pressing

yang sekarang menuntut

with all their heart and all their will

dengan segenap hati dan pikiran mereka

for peace.

perdamaian.

Now here's an interesting comparison.

Inilah perbandingan yang menarik.

We in the West,

Kita di Barat

we preach the values,

kita mengajarkan nilai-nilai,

the golden light of democracy,

sinar keemasan demokrasi,

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

bahwa kitalah contoh sempurna praktik demokrasi.

But when it comes down to it,

Tapi bicara tentang demokrasi,

Ghana found itself in the same place

Ghana berada di posisi yang sama

in which the U.S. election stalled

dengan Amerika ketika pemilihan

in the 2000 presidential elections --

presiden tahun 2000 berhenti --

Bush versus Gore.

Bush versus Gore.

But instead of the unwillingness of the candidates

Tapi alih-alih keengganan para calon untuk

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

mengizinkan sistem dilanjutkan dan rakyat menentukan,

Ghana honored democracy

Ghana menghormati demokrasi

and its people.

dan rakyatnya.

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

Ghana tidak membiarkan Mahkamah Agung memutuskan;

the people did.

rakyatlah yang melakukannya.

Now the second round of voting

Putaran kedua pemilihan

did not bring forth a clear winner either.

juga tidak menghasilkan pemenang.

I mean, it was so incredibly close.

Jumlahnya sangatlah dekat.

The electoral commissioner declared,

Komisi pemilihan umum mengumumkan,

with the consent of the parties,

dengan izin dari partai-partai,

to run an unprecedented

untuk mengulang

second re-run.

putaran kedua.

So the people went back to the polls

Jadi orang-orang kembali ke tempat pemungutan

to determine their own president,

untuk menentukan sendiri presiden mereka,

not the legal system.

dan bukan ditentukan oleh sistem hukum.

And guess what, it worked.

Coba tebak, itu berhasil.

The defeated candidate

Calon yang kalah

gave up power

menyerahkan kekuasaannya

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

dan memberi jalan kepada Ghana menuju siklus demokrasi yang baru.

I mean, at the absolute time

Maksud saya, pada waktu yang absolut

for the absolute need of democracy,

untuk tujuan demokrasi yang absolut,

they did not abuse their power.

mereka tidak menyalahgunakan kekuasaan mereka.

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

Kepercayaan akan demokrasi sejati dan akan rakyat memang ada,

proving that the African is capable of governing himself.

membuktikan orang Afrika mampu mengatur diri mereka sendiri.

Now the uphill battle for Ghana and for Africa

Perjuangan Ghana dan Afrika

is not over,

belum selesai,

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

tapi saya punya bukti bahwa ada sisi lain demokrasi,

and that we must not take it for granted.

dan kita tidak boleh menerimanya begitu saya.

Now I have learned

Saya belajar

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

bahwa tempat saya bukan hanya di Barat atau di Afrika,

and I'm still searching

dan saya masih mencari

for my identity,

identitas saya,

but I saw Ghana

tapi saat saya melihat Ghana

create democracy better.

membuat demokrasi menjadi lebih baik.

Ghana taught me

Ghana mengajarkan saya

to look at people differently

untuk melihat orang dengan cara berbeda

and to look at myself differently.

dan melihat diri saya dengan cara berbeda.

And yes,

Dan ya,

we Africans can.

kami orang Afrika mampu.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)