A glimpse of life on the road | Kitra Cahana

Translator: Andreja Benčina Reviewer: Mojca Miklavec

As a little girl, I always imagined

Kot deklica sem si vedno predstavljala,

I would one day run away.

kako bom nekega dne pobegnila od doma.

From the age of six on,

Od šestih let naprej

I kept a packed bag with some clothes

sem imela vedno pripravljeno torbo z nekaj oblekami

and cans of food tucked away

in skrite konzerve s hrano zadaj v omari.

in the back of a closet.

There was a deep restlessness in me,

V meni je vladal globok nemir,

a primal fear that I would fall prey

prvinski strah, da bom podlegla

to a life of routine and boredom.

življenju v rutini in dolgočasju.

And so, many of my early memories involved

Tako je veliko mojih spominov iz otroštva vključevalo

intricate daydreams where I would walk across borders,

dodelane sanjarije, kjer sem prestopala meje,

forage for berries,

nabirala jagodičje in srečevala vse vrste čudnih ljudi,

and meet all kinds of strange people

living unconventional lives on the road.

ki so živeli neobičajno popotniško življenje.

Years have passed, but many of the adventures

Leta so minila, a veliko avantur, o katerih sem sanjarila kot otrok –

I fantasized about as a child --

traveling and weaving my way

potovanja in iskanje svoje poti med svetovi, drugačnimi od mojega –

between worlds other than my own —

have become realities through my work

se je uresničilo skozi moje delo dokumentarne fotografinje.

as a documentary photographer.

But no other experience has felt as true

A nobena druga izkušnja se ni tako približala

to my childhood dreams

mojim otroškim sanjam

as living amongst and documenting the lives

kot življenje med popotniki prek ZDA in dokumentiranje njihovega življenja.

of fellow wanderers across the United States.

This is the nomadic dream,

To so nomadske sanje,

a different kind of American dream

drugačna vrsta ameriških sanj,

lived by young hobos, travelers,

ki jih živijo mladi brezdomci, popotniki, štoparji, prosjaki in potepuhi.

hitchhikers, vagrants and tramps.

In most of our minds,

V večini naših glav je potepuh bitje iz preteklosti.

the vagabond is a creature from the past.

The word "hobo" conjures up an old

Beseda 'brezdomec' prikliče staro črno-belo sliko

black and white image

of a weathered old man covered in coal,

zdelanega starca, prekritega s premogovim prahom,

legs dangling out of a boxcar,

z nogami bingljajoč iz vagona,

but these photographs are in color,

a te fotografije so v barvah

and they portray a community

in upodabljajo skupnost, ki se vrtinči prek države,

swirling across the country,

fiercely alive and creatively free,

divje živa in ustvarjalno svobodna;

seeing sides of America that no one else

ki lahko vidi obraze Amerike, ki jih nihče drug ne more.

gets to see.

Like their predecessors, today's nomads

Podobno kot njihovi predniki, današnji nomadi

travel the steel and asphalt arteries

potujejo prek jeklenih in asfaltnih arterij Združenih držav.

of the United States.

By day, they hop freight trains, stick out their thumbs,

Čez dan skačejo na tovorne vlake, dvigajo palce

and ride the highways with anyone

in se vozijo po avtocestah s komerkoli, od tovornjakarjev do mam malih športnikov.

from truckers to soccer moms.

By night, they sleep beneath the stars,

Ponoči spe pod zvezdami, stisnjeni skupaj s svojimi krdeli psov,

huddled together with their packs of dogs,

cats and pet rats between their bodies.

mačk in udomačenih podgan, ki ležijo ob njihovih telesih.

Some travelers take to the road by choice,

Nekateri popotniki izberejo cesto zavestno,

renouncing materialism, traditional jobs

odrečejo se materializmu, tradicionalnim službam

and university degrees in exchange for a glimmer of adventure.

in univerzitetnim diplomam v zameno za kanček pustolovščine.

Others come from the underbelly of society,

Drugi prihajajo iz podtalja družbe,

never given a chance to mobilize upwards:

ker niso dobili priložnosti, da bi se socialno povzpeli:

foster care dropouts, teenage runaways escaping

iz rejniških družin,

najstniki, ki so pobegnili pred zlorabami in neprijaznimi domovi.

abuse and unforgiving homes.

Where others see stories of privation

Kjer drugi vidijo zgodbe pomanjkanja in ekonomskega propada,

and economic failure,

travelers view their own existence

popotniki vidijo svoj obstoj skozi prizmo osvoboditve in svobode.

through the prism of liberation and freedom.

They'd rather live off of the excess

Raje živijo od presežkov

of what they view as a wasteful consumer society

tistega, kar vidijo kot zapravljivo potrošniško družbo,

than slave away at an unrealistic chance

kot da bi garali za nerealno možnost

at the traditional American dream.

uresničenja tradicionalnega ameriškega sna.

They take advantage of the fact

Izkoriščajo dejstvo, da v Združenih državah Amerike

that in the United States,

up to 40 percent of all food ends up in the garbage

do 40 odstotkov vse hrane konča v smeteh

by scavenging for perfectly good produce

in brskajo za povsem dobrimi pridelki v kontejnerjih in smetnjakih.

in dumpsters and trash cans.

They sacrifice material comforts in exchange

Materialno udobje žrtvujejo v zameno

for the space and the time to explore

za prostor in čas, da raziskujejo ustvarjalno notranjost,

a creative interior,

to dream, to read, to work on music, art and writing.

da sanjajo, berejo, se ukvarjajo z glasbo, umetnostjo ali pisanjem.

But there are many aspects to this life

A mnogo vidikov takega življenja je daleč od idile.

that are far from idyllic.

No one loses their inner demons

Nihče se ne reši svojih notranjih demonov, ko se odpravi na cesto.

by taking to the road.

Addiction is real, the elements are real,

Zasvojenost je realna, elementi narave so realni,

freight trains maim and kill,

tovorni vlaki pohabljajo in ubijajo

and anyone who has lived on the streets can attest

in kdorkoli je živel na cesti, lahko potrdi,

to the exhaustive list of laws

da obstaja obsežen seznam zakonov, ki kriminalizirajo brezdomstvo.

that criminalize homeless existence.

Who here knows that in many cities

Kdo tu ve, da je v veliko mestih po Ameriki danes nezakonito

across the United States it is now illegal

to sit on the sidewalk,

posedati na pločniku,

to wrap oneself in a blanket,

se zaviti v odejo,

to sleep in your own car,

spati v svojem avtu,

to offer food to a stranger?

ponuditi hrano neznancu?

I know about these laws because I've watched

Te zakone poznam, saj sem opazovala, kako so prijatelje in druge popotnike

as friends and other travelers

were hauled off to jail or received citations

odpeljali v ječo ali pa so prejeli kazni

for committing these so-called crimes.

zaradi zagrešitve teh tako imenovanih zločinov.

Many of you might be wondering why anyone

Mnogi se morda sprašujete, zakaj bi si kdorkoli zavestno izbral tako življenje,

would choose a life like this,

under the thumb of discriminatory laws,

pod pritiskom diskriminatornih zakonov,

eating out of trash cans,

jedel iz smetnjakov, spal pod mostovi,

sleeping under bridges,

picking up seasonal jobs here and there.

iskal sezonska dela tu in tam.

The answer to such a question is as varied

Odgovor na to vprašanje je tako raznolik, kot so ljudje, ki gredo na cesto,

as the people that take to the road,

but travelers often respond with a single word:

a popotniki navadno odgovarjajo z eno besedo:

freedom.

svoboda.

Until we live in a society where every human

Dokler ne bomo živeli družbi, kjer je vsakemu človeku

is assured dignity in their labor

zagotovljeno dostojanstvo z delom,

so that they can work to live well,

s katerim služijo za spodobno življenje in ne samo za preživetje,

not only work to survive,

there will always be an element of those

bo vedno obstajal del tistih,

who seek the open road as a means of escape,

ki bodo iskali prostranstva cest, da bi pobegnili,

of liberation and, of course, of rebellion.

se osvobodili in se seveda – uprli.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)