Boniface Mwangi: The day I stood up alone

Translator: Helena Galbava Reviewer: Katka Kostkova

People back home call me a heckler,

Ľudia v mojej zemi ma nazývajú provokatér,

a troublemaker, an irritant,

výtržník, burič,

a rebel, an activist,

rebelant, aktivista,

the voice of the people.

hlas ľudu.

But that wasn't always me.

Taký som ale vždy nebýval.

Growing up, I had a nickname.

Ako chlapec som mal prezývku.

They used to call me Softy,

Volali ma Softy,

(smiech)

meaning the soft, harmless boy.

čo v preklade znamená jemný, neškodný chlapec.

Like every other human being, I avoided trouble.

Vyhýbal som sa problémom rovnako, ako každý iný.

In my childhood, they taught me silence.

V detstve ma učili byť ticho.

Don't argue, do as you're told.

Nehádať sa a robiť to, čo povedia.

In Sunday school, they taught me don't confront, don't argue,

V nedeľnej škole, ma učili to isté. Nehádať sa, neoponovať.

even if you're right, turn the other cheek.

Dokonca aj vtedy, keď mám pravdu.

This was reinforced by the political climate of the time.

Politická situácia v krajine to ešte upevňovala.

(smiech)

(Laughter)

Keňa je krajinou, v ktorej si vinný,

Kenya is a country where you are guilty

until proven rich.

kým sa neukáže, že si bohatý.

(smiech)

(Laughter)

Ak si chudobný,

Kenya's poor are five times more likely

je päťkrát väčšia pravdepodobnosť,

to be shot dead by the police who are meant to protect them

že budeš zastrelený políciou, ktorá ťa má chrániť

than by criminals.

ako to, že budeš zastrelený kriminálnikom.

This was reinforced by the political climate of the day.

Toto upevňovala politická situácia v krajine.

We had a president, Moi, who was a dictator.

Keňský prezident Moi bol diktátor.

He ruled the country with an iron fist,

Krajinu spravoval železnou päsťou

and anyone who dared question his authority

a ktokoľvek, kto pochyboval o jeho autorite,

was arrested, tortured, jailed or even killed.

bol zatknutý, mučený, uväznený,

alebo dokonca zabitý.

That meant that people were taught to be smart cowards, stay out of trouble.

Ľudí teda učili byť šikovnými zbabelcami

a vyhýbať sa problémom.

Being a coward was not an insult.

Byť zbabelcom nebola urážka.

Being a coward was a compliment.

Byť zbabelcom bol kompliment.

We used to be told that a coward goes home to his mother.

Hovorili nám, že zbabelec sa vráti domov k matke.

What that meant: that if you stayed out of trouble you're going to stay alive.

To znamenalo, že ak sa vyhneme problémom,

zostaneme nažive.

I used to question this advice,

Zvykol som o tom pochybovať.

and eight years ago we had an election in Kenya,

Pred ôsmimi rokmi sme mali v Keni voľby

a výsledky boli prudko spochybnené.

and the results were violently disputed.

What followed that election was terrible violence, rape,

Čo nasledovalo potom,

bolo strašné násilie, znásilňovanie

and the killing of over 1,000 people.

a smrť vyše 1000 ľudí.

My work was to document the violence.

Mojou úlohou bolo zdokumentovať násilie.

As a photographer, I took thousands of images,

Ako fotograf som zachytil tisícky snímkov

and after two months,

a po dvoch mesiacoch,

the two politicians came together, had a cup of tea,

sa dvaja politici stretli,

dali si spolu čaj,

signed a peace agreement, and the country moved on.

podpísali mierovú dohodu a krajina fungovala ďalej.

I was a very disturbed man because I saw the violence firsthand.

Bol som veľmi znepokojený,

pretože som videl násilie na vlastné oči.

I saw the killings. I saw the displacement.

Videl som zabíjanie. Videl som vysťahovanie.

I met women who had been raped, and it disturbed me,

Stretol som ženu, ktorú znásilnili,

to ma znepokojilo, no všetci o tom mlčali.

but the country never spoke about it.

We pretended. We all became smart cowards.

Predstierali sme.

Všetci sme sa stali šikovnými zbabelcami.

We decided to stay out of trouble and not talk about it.

Rozhodli sme sa nerobiť problémy a byť ticho.

Ten months later, I quit my job. I said I could not stand it anymore.

O 10 mesiacov neskôr som odišiel z práce.

Už som to viac nemohol vydržať.

After quitting my job, I decided to organize my friends

Po odchode z práce, som zmobilizoval mojich priateľov,

to speak about the violence in the country,

aby rozprávali o násilí v krajine,

to speak about the state of the nation,

o stave nášho národa.

and June 1, 2009 was the day that we were meant to go to the stadium

A tak sme sa rozhodli, že

1. júna 2009 pôjdeme na štadión

and try and get the president's attention.

a pokúsime sa získať prezidentovu pozornosť.

It's a national holiday,

Je to národný sviatok,

it's broadcast across the country,

ktorý je vysielaný po celej krajine.

and I showed up at the stadium.

Prišiel som teda na štadión,

My friends did not show up.

no moji priatelia tam neboli.

I found myself alone,

Zostal som tam sám

and I didn't know what to do.

a nevedel som, čo robiť.

Bol som vydesený,

I was scared,

but I knew very well that that particular day,

ale veľmi dobre som vedel, že v ten deň sa musím rozhodnúť.

I had to make a decision.

Was I able to live as a coward, like everyone else,

Som schopný žiť ako ostatní?

Žiť ako zbabelec?

or was I going to make a stand?

Alebo vstanem?

And when the president stood up to speak,

A keď prezident začal svoju reč,

I found myself on my feet shouting at the president,

zrazu som stál na nohách a kričal naňho.

telling him to remember the post-election violence victims,

Kričal som, aby si spomenul na obete násilia po voľbách,

to stop the corruption.

aby zastavil korupciu,

And suddenly, out of nowhere,

keď vtom sa na mňa vrhla polícia ako supy.

the police pounced on me like hungry lions.

They held my mouth

Chytili mi ústa a

and dragged me out of the stadium,

vyvliekli ma zo štadiónu.

where they thoroughly beat me up and locked me up in jail.

Vonku ma zmlátili a zavreli do väzenia.

I spent that night in a cold cement floor in the jail,

Tú noc som strávil na studenej

betónovej zemi vo väzení

and that got me thinking.

a to ma prinútilo rozmýšľať.

What was making me feel this way?

Rozmýšľať, prečo sa cítim takto.

My friends and family thought I was crazy because of what I did,

Moji priatelia a rodina si mysleli, že som blázon, kvôli tomu, čo som spravil,

and the images that I took were disturbing my life.

no tie fotky ma stále znepokojovali.

The images that I took were just a number to many Kenyans.

Fotky, ktoré som zachytil, boli pre ľudí len ďalšie obrázky

Most Kenyans did not see the violence.

Väčšina z nich nevidela násilie.

It was a story to them.

Bol to pre nich len príbeh.

And so I decided to actually start a street exhibition

Tak som sa rozhodol, že spravím pouličnú výstavu,

to show the images of the violence across the country

aby som ukázal obrazy násilia celej krajine

a prinútil ľudí sa zamyslieť.

and get people talking about it.

We traveled the country and showed the images,

Precestovali sme krajinu a ukázali fotky.

and this was a journey that has started me to the activist path,

A táto púť ma priviedla na cestu aktivistu,

where I decided to become silent no more,

keď som sa rozhodol nebyť už viac ticho

to talk about those things.

ale hovoriť o týchto veciach.

We traveled, and our general site from our street exhibit

Cestovali sme

a hlavná časť našej výstavy

became for political graffiti about the situation in the country,

bola určená pre politické grafity,

týkajúce sa situácie v krajine,

talking about corruption, bad leadership.

korupcie a zlej vlády.

We have even done symbolic burials.

Dokonca sme spravili symbolické pohreby.

We have delivered live pigs to Kenya's parliament

Do parlamentu sme priniesli živé prasatá,

as a symbol of our politicians' greed.

ako symbol nenásytnosti politikov.

It has been done in Uganda and other countries,

Urobili to aj v Ugande a v iných krajinách,

and what is most powerful is that the images have been picked by the media

no najdôležitejšie je, že obrázky si všimli médiá

a rozšírili ich po celej krajine a kontinente.

and amplified across the country, across the continent.

Where I used to stand up alone seven years ago,

Pred 7 rokmi som tam stál sám,

now I belong to a community of many people who stand up with me.

no dnes patrím do komunity ľudí, ktorí držia so mnou.

I am no longer alone when I stand up to speak about these things.

Už nie som sám, keď vstanem a hovorím o tomto všetkom.

I belong to a group of young people who are passionate about the country,

Patrím do skupiny mladých, ktorí sú zapálení pre krajinu,

ktorí chcú priniesť zmenu

who want to bring about change,

and they're no longer afraid, and they're no longer smart cowards.

a už sa viac neboja.

Už to viac nie sú šikovní zbabelci.

So that was my story.

Toto bol môj príbeh.

That day in the stadium,

V ten deň na štadióne

I stood up as a smart coward.

som vstal ako šikovný zbabelec.

A tým jedným činom

By that one action, I said goodbye to the 24 years living as a coward.

som dal zbohom 24 rokom zbabelca.

There are two most powerful days in your life:

V živote sú 2 najsilnejšie dni:

the day you're born, and the day you discover why.

deň, keď sa narodíš, a deň,

keď skutočne zistíš prečo.

That day standing up in that stadium shouting at the President,

V ten deň na štadióne, keď som kričal na prezidenta,

I discovered why I was truly born,

som zistil, prečo som sa narodil.

that I would no longer be silent in the face of injustice.

Zistil som, že ak pôjde o nesprávosť,

už nebudem viac ticho.

Do you know why you were born?

A TY už vieš, prečo si sa narodil?

Thank you.

Ďakujem.

(Applause)

(potlesk)

Tom Rielly: It's an amazing story.

Tom Rielly: Bol to úžasný príbeh.

I just want to ask you a couple quick questions.

Mám len pár otázok.

So PAWA254:

Takže, PAWA254:

you've created a studio, a place where young people can go

Vytvorili ste štúdio,

miesto, kam môžu mladí ísť

and harness the power of digital media

a využiť silu digitálnych médií.

to do some of this action.

What's happening now with PAWA?

Čo sa deje s PAWA teraz?

Boniface Mwangi: So we have this community of filmmakers,

Boniface Mwangi: Máme komunitu filmárov, grafikov

graffiti artists, musicians, and when there's an issue in the country,

hudobníkov, a keď je v krajine problém,

stretneme sa, uvažujeme a hľadáme vysvetlenie.

we come together, we brainstorm, and take up on that issue.

So our most powerful tool is art,

Náš najmocnejší nástroj je teda umenie.

because we live in a very busy world where people are so busy in their life,

Pretože žijeme v unáhlenom svete

and they don't have time to read.

a ľudia nemajú čas ani čítať,

So we package our activism and we package our message in art.

ukrývame našu aktivitu a posolstvo do umenia.

So from the music, the graffiti, the art, that's what we do.

Takže robíme hudbu, grafity a umenie.

Can I say one more thing?

Môžem ešte niečo dodať?

TR: Yeah, of course. (Applause)

TR: Samozrejme. (potlesk)

BM: Napriek tomu, že som bol zatknutý, zbitý a ohrozený,

BM: In spite of being arrested, beaten up, threatened,

od tej chvíle, ako som našiel odvahu,

the moment I discovered my voice,

that I could actually stand up for what I really believed in,

odvahu vstať za niečo, v čo skutočne verím,

už sa viac nebojím.

I'm no longer afraid.

I used to be called softy, but I'm no longer softy,

Volali ma Softy, no to už viac nie som ja,

because I discovered who I really am, as in, that's what I want to do,

pretože som zistil, kto skutočne som.

A čo chcem skutočne robiť.

and there's such beauty in doing that.

A robiť to, je tak nádherné.

There's nothing as powerful as that, knowing that I'm meant to do this,

Nie je nič silnejšie, ako vedieť,

že toto je moje poslanie.

because you don't get scared, you just continue living your life.

Pretože nebudete vystrašení, budete si len ďalej žiť svoj život.

Thank you.

Ďakujem.

(potlesk)

(Applause)