I survived a terrorist attack. Here's what I learned | Gill Hicks

Translator: Patrícia Proksová Reviewer: Lenka Felberová

I could never have imagined

Nikdy sa mi ani nesnívalo,

that a 19-year-old suicide bomber

že 19 ročný samovrah s bombou

would actually teach me a valuable lesson.

mi dá tak cennú lekciu do života.

But he did.

Ale dal.

He taught me to never presume anything

Naučil ma, že o mne neznámych ľuďoch

about anyone you don't know.

nemôžem nikdy nič predpokladať.

On a Thursday morning in July 2005,

V júli 2005, v to utorkové ráno

the bomber and I, unknowingly,

som nič netušiaca nastúpila

boarded the same train carriage at the same time,

do toho istého vozňa metra,

ako bombový útočník,

standing, apparently, just feet apart.

muselo nás deliť len pár centimetrov.

I didn't see him.

Nevidela som ho.

Actually, I didn't see anyone.

Vlastne, nevidela som nikoho.

You know not to look at anyone on the Tube,

V metre sa naučíte nikoho si nevšímať,

but I guess he saw me.

ale myslím, že on si ma všimol.

I guess he looked at all of us,

Myslím, že si obzrel nás všetkých,

as his hand hovered over the detonation switch.

vo chvíli keď vyťahoval rozbušku.

I've often wondered: What was he thinking?

Často som sa zamýšľala: Na čo myslel?

Especially in those final seconds.

Hlavne v tých posledných sekundách.

I know it wasn't personal.

Viem, že to nebolo osobné.

He didn't set out to kill or maim me, Gill Hicks.

Zabiť alebo zmrzačiť nechcel mňa, Gill Hicks.

I mean -- he didn't know me.

Vlastne... On nevedel, kto som.

No.

Nie.

Instead, he gave me

Namiesto toho mi však dal,

an unwarranted and an unwanted label.

neodvôdnenú a nechcenú nálepku.

I had become the enemy.

Stala som sa nepriateľom.

To him, I was the "other,"

Bola som medzi tými "druhými,"

the "them," as opposed to "us."

"oni" ako protiklad "nás."

The label "enemy" allowed him to dehumanize us.

Nálepka "nepriateľ" mu stačila na to, aby nás zbavil ľudskosti.

It allowed him to push that button.

Aby stlačil ten gombík.

And he wasn't selective.

Nevyberal si.

Twenty-six precious lives were taken in my carriage alone,

Len v mojom vozni zomrelo 26 vzácnych životov,

and I was almost one of them.

a mne veľa nechýbalo.

In the time it takes to draw a breath,

Vtedy sme len zalapali po dychu,

we were plunged into a darkness so immense

a zrazu sme sa ocitli v tme tak hustej,

that it was almost tangible;

že sa dala krájať.

what I imagine wading through tar might be like.

Akoby sme sa brodili asvaltom.

We didn't know we were the enemy.

Nevedli sme, že sme nepriatelia.

We were just a bunch of commuters who, minutes earlier,

Boli sme len hŕstka cestujúcich, ktorí ešte pred pár minútami

had followed the Tube etiquette:

dodržiavali pravidla cestovania metrom:

no direct eye contact,

nepozerať priamo do očí,

no talking

byť ticho

and absolutely no conversation.

a hlavne sa s nikým nerozprávať.

But in the lifting of the darkness,

Ale ako nás obklopovala temnota,

we were reaching out.

nahmatávali sme jeden druhého.

We were helping each other.

Pomáhali sme si.

We were calling out our names,

Vykrikovali sme svoje mená,

a little bit like a roll call,

ako keď sa robí "prezenčka",

waiting for responses.

čakali sme, kto sa ozve.

"I'm Gill. I'm here.

"Ja som Gill. Tu som.

I'm alive.

Živá.

OK."

V poriadku."

"I'm Gill.

" Som Gill.

Here.

Tu.

Alive.

Živá.

OK."

V poriadku."

I didn't know Alison.

Nevedela som, kto je Alison.

But I listened for her check-ins every few minutes.

Ale každých pár minút som počula, ako sa nám hlási.

I didn't know Richard.

Nevedela som, kto je Richard.

But it mattered to me that he survived.

Ale záležalo mi na tom, že prežil.

All I shared with them

Jediné, čo o mne vedeli,

was my first name.

bolo moje krstné meno.

They didn't know

Oni nevedeli,

that I was a head of a department at the Design Council.

že som vedúca oddelenia v Rade dizajnu.

And here is my beloved briefcase,

A tu je moja milovaná aktovka,

also rescued from that morning.

tiež sa ho v to ráno podarilo zachrániť.

They didn't know that I published architecture and design journals,

Oni nevedeli, že publikujem v časopisoch o architektúre a dizajne,

that I was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts,

že som Člen Kráľovskej spoločnosti umenia,

that I wore black --

že nosím čiernu,

still do --

ešte stále...

that I smoked cigarillos.

Že som fajčila mini cigary.

I don't smoke cigarillos anymore.

Mini cigary už nefajčím.

I drank gin and I watched TED Talks,

Že som zvykla piť gin a pozerať TED talky,

of course, never dreaming that one day I would be standing,

samozrejme, nikdy by som neverila, že jedného dňa,

balancing on prosthetic legs,

sa tu budem pred vami kolísať na umelých nohách

giving a talk.

a hovoriť.

I was a young Australian woman doing extraordinary things in London.

Bola som mladá Austrálčanka, ktorá v Londýne robila výnimočné veci.

And I wasn't ready for that all to end.

A nebola som pripravená o to všetko prísť.

I was so determined to survive

Moje odhodlanie prežiť bolo tak veľké,

that I used my scarf to tie tourniquets around the tops of my legs,

že som si zo šálu urobila škrtidlo a obmotala som si ním nohy,

and I just shut everything and everyone out,

vypustila som z hlavy všetko naokolo

to focus, to listen to myself,

a započúvala som sa do svojho vnútra

to be guided by instinct alone.

nechala som sa viesť len inštinktom.

I lowered my breathing rate.

Začala som dýchať pomalšie.

I elevated my thighs.

Zdvihla som stehná.

I held myself upright

Vzpriamila som sa

and I fought the urge to close my eyes.

a zo všetkých síl som sa snažila zostať pri vedomí.

I held on for almost an hour,

Takto som bola asi hodinu,

an hour to contemplate the whole of my life

hodinu som premýšľala nad celým svojim životom

up until this point.

až do toho momentu.

Perhaps I should have done more.

Možno som mohla urobiť viac.

Perhaps I could have lived more, seen more.

Možno som toho mohla prežiť viac, vidieť viac.

Maybe I should have gone running, dancing, taken up yoga.

Možno som mala chodiť behať, tancovať, začať s jógou.

But my priority and my focus was always my work.

Ale pre mňa bola vždy na prvom mieste moja práca.

I lived to work.

Žila som pre prácu.

Who I was on my business card

To, čo som mala na vizitke

mattered to me.

pre mňa veľa znamenalo.

But it didn't matter down in that tunnel.

Ale dole, v tom tuneli to bolo jedno.

By the time I felt that first touch

Kým som zacítila dotyk

from one of my rescuers,

jedneho z mojich záchrancov,

I was unable to speak,

som sa nezmohla ani na slovo,

unable to say even a small word, like "Gill."

ani na jediné, ako "Gill."

I surrendered my body to them.

Len som im odovdzala svoje telo.

I had done all I possibly could,

Urobila som všetko, čo som mohla,

and now I was in their hands.

a môj život bol vtedy už v ich rukách.

I understood

Pochopila som,

just who and what humanity really is,

čo vlastne naozaj znamená ľudskosť,

when I first saw the ID tag

práve v momente, keď som si všimla identifikačný štítok,

that was given to me when I was admitted to hospital.

ktorý mi dali pri príchode do nemocnice.

And it read:

Bolo tam napísané:

"One unknown estimated female."

"jeden neznámy, pravdepodobne žena."

One unknown estimated female.

Jeden neznámy, pravdepodobne žena.

Those four words were my gift.

Tieto štyri slová boli pre mňa darom.

What they told me very clearly

Veľmi jasne som z nich pochopila,

was that my life was saved,

že môj život bol zachránený,

purely because I was a human being.

jednoducho len preto, že som ľudská bytosť.

Difference of any kind made no difference

Nič na svete sa nedá prirovnať,

to the extraordinary lengths that the rescuers were prepared to go

úžasnému nasadeniu záchranárov, s tým, čo boli pripravení podstúpiť,

to save my life,

aby mi zachránili život,

to save as many unknowns as they could,

aby zachránili čo najviac neznámych,

and putting their own lives at risk.

aby riskovali svoje vlastné životy.

To them, it didn't matter if I was rich or poor,

Im nezáležalo na tom, či som bohatá alebo chudobná,

the color of my skin,

akú mám farbu pleti,

whether I was male or female,

či som muž alebo žena,

my sexual orientation,

na mojej sexuálnej orientácii,

who I voted for,

koho som volila,

whether I was educated,

či som vzdelaná,

if I had a faith or no faith at all.

či som aspoň trochu veriaca, alebo vôbec.

Nothing mattered

Nezáležalo na ničom inom,

other than I was a precious human life.

než na tom, že som vzácny ľudský život.

I see myself as a living fact.

Samu seba vidím ako živý fakt.

I am proof

Som dôkazom,

that unconditional love and respect can not only save,

že bezpodmienečná láska a úcta má moc nielen zachrániť,

but it can transform lives.

ale aj premieňať životy.

Here is a wonderful image of one of my rescuers, Andy, and I

Tu je nádherná fotografia s jedným z mojich záchrancov, s Andym,

taken just last year.

to bolo minulý rok.

Ten years after the event,

Desať rokov po tej udalosti,

and here we are, arm in arm.

a pozrite, v objatí.

Throughout all the chaos,

Napriek všetkému tomu zmätku,

my hand was held tightly.

ma niekto pevne držal za ruku.

My face was stroked gently.

Niekto ma jemne hladkal po tvári.

What did I feel?

Čo som cítila?

I felt loved.

Že som milovaná.

What's shielded me from hatred and wanting retribution,

To, čo ma uchránilo od nenávisti a túžby po odplate,

what's given me the courage to say:

čo mi dalo odvahu povedať:

this ends with me

"mnou to končí "

is love.

je láska.

I was loved.

Bola som milovaná.

I believe the potential for widespread positive change

Verím, že potenciál pre rozsiahlu zmenu k lepšiemu

is absolutely enormous

je naozaj obrovský

because I know what we're capable of.

lebo viem, čoho sme schopní.

I know the brilliance of humanity.

Viem, že ľustvo môže zažiariť.

So this leaves me with some pretty big things to ponder

To ma núti zamyslieť sa nad pár celkom veľkými vecami

and some questions for us all to consider:

a otázkami, ktoré sa týkajú nás všetkých:

Is what unites us not far greater than what can ever divide?

Nie je to, čo nás spája väčšie, než to, čo nás rozdeľuje?

Does it have to take a tragedy or a disaster

Musí dôjsť k nešťastiu alebo pohrome

for us to feel deeply connected as one species,

aby sme cítili to hlboké prepojenie, ako jeden druh

as human beings?

ako ľudské bytosti?

And when will we embrace the wisdom of our era

Kedy uchopíme múdrosť našej doby,

to rise above mere tolerance

aby prevýšila obyčajnú toleranciu

and move to an acceptance

a naučila nás prijímať

for all who are only a label until we know them?

všetkých, ktorí sú pre nás len nálepkou pokiaľ ich nespoznáme?

Thank you.

Ďakujem.

(Applause)

(Potlesk)