Isabel Allende: Tales of passion | TED

Translator: Jeta Rudi Reviewer: Elona Toska

Thank you so much.

Ju faleminderit shume. Eshte me te vertete e frikshme te jesh ketu

It's really scary to be here among the smartest of the smart.

ne mesin e njerezve me te mencur nga me te mencurit.

(Laughter)

Jam ketu per t'iu treguar disa tregime te pasionit.

I'm here to tell you a few tales of passion.

There's a Jewish saying that I love:

Ekziston nje thenie hebraike qe me pelqen shume.

What is truer than truth?

Cka eshte me e vertete se e verteta? Pergjigjia: Tregimi.

Answer: the story.

I'm a storyteller.

Une jam nje treguese historirash. Une deshiroj te percjelle dicka qe eshte me e vertete se e verteta

I want to convey something that is truer than truth

about our common humanity.

ne lidhje me njerezimin tone te perbashket.

All stories interest me,

Te gjitha historirat me interesojne, por disa me ngacmojne aq

and some haunt me until I end up writing them.

sa perfundoj duke i shkruar ato.

Certain themes keep coming up:

Disa tema perseriten:

justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues,

drejtesia, besnikeria, dhuna, vdekja, ceshtjet politike e sociale,

freedom.

liria.

I'm aware of the mystery around us,

Jam e vetedijshme per misterin qe na rrethon,

so I write about coincidences, premonitions,

keshtu qe shkruaj ne lidhje me rastesite, parandjenjat,

emotions, dreams, the power of nature, magic.

ndjenjat, enderrat, fuqine e natyres, magjine.

In the last 20 years, I have published a few books,

Ne 20 vitet e fundit kam publikuar disa libra,

but I have lived in anonymity until February of 2006,

por kam jetuar ne anonimitet deri me shkurt 2006,

when I carried the Olympic flag in the Winter Olympics in Italy.

kur kam bartur flamurin Olimpik ne lojerat dimerore Olimpike ne Itali.

Kjo me beri te famshme. Tani njerezit me njohin te Macy's,

That made me a celebrity.

(Laughter)

Now people recognize me in Macy's,

dhe niperit e mbesat e mia mendojne qe jam e vecante.

and my grandchildren think that I'm cool.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

Allow me to tell you about my four minutes of fame.

Me lejoni te iu tregoj per kater minutat e mi te fames.

Nje nga organizatoret e ceremonise se lojrave Olimpike,

One of the organizers of the Olympic ceremony,

of the opening ceremony,

te ceremonise hapese,

called me and said that I had been selected to be one of the flag bearers.

me telefonoi dhe me tha qe isha perzgjedhur

te isha nje nga barteset e flamujve.

I replied that surely, this was a case of mistaken identity,

Une u pergjigja duke thene qe ky ishte me siguri nje rast i ngaterrimit te identiteteve

because I'm as far as you can get from being an athlete.

sepse une jam larg se qenit atlete.

Actually, I wasn't even sure that I could go around the stadium

Ne fakt, as qe isha e sigurte qe do te mund te ecja perrreth stadiumit

without a walker.

pa karroce ndihmese.

(Te qeshura)

(Laughter)

I was told that this was no laughing matter.

Me thane qe kjo s'eshte nje gje per te qeshur.

This would be the first time

Kjo do te ishte hera e pare

that only women would carry the Olympic flag.

qe vetem femrat do te mbartnin flamurin Olimpik.

Pese femra, duke perfaqesuar pese kontinente,

Five women, representing five continents,

and three Olympic gold medal winners.

dhe tre fitues Olimpik te medaljes se arte.

My first question was, naturally:

Pyetja ime e pare natyrisht ishte,

What was I going to wear?

cfare do te vishja?

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

"A uniform," she said,

Nje uniforme, me tha ajo,

and asked for my measurements.

dhe me pyeti per madhesite trupore.

My measurements.

Permasat e mia trupore.

Imagjinova vetem me nje gezof me pendla,

I had a vision of myself in a fluffy anorak,

looking like the Michelin Man.

Me pamje te personazhit Michelin.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

Nga mesi i shkurtit,

By the middle of February, I found myself in Turin,

gjeta veten ne Torino, ku turmat entuziaste

where enthusiastic crowds cheered

brohorisnin kurdo qe ndonjeri nga 80 ekipet Olimpike dilte ne parade.

when any of the 80 Olympic teams was in the street.

Those athletes had sacrificed everything to compete in the games.

Ata atlete kishin flijuar cdo gje per te marre pjese ne ato lojera.

They all deserved to win, but there's the element of luck.

Te gjithe meritonin te fitonin, por ishte edhe elementi i fatit.

A speck of snow, an inch of ice, the force of the wind

Nje fjolle bore, dy centimetra akulli, forca e eres,

can determine the result of a race or a game.

mund te percaktojne rezultatin e nje gare apo nje loje.

However, what matters most, more than training or luck, is the heart.

Sidocofte, ajo qe ka rendesi me se shumti - me shume se trajnimi apo fati - eshte zemra.

Only a fearless and determined heart will get the gold medal.

Vetem nje zemer e pa frike dhe e vendosur do te fitoje medaljen e arte.

It is all about passion.

Pasioni eshte me i rendesishmi element.

The streets of Turin were covered with red posters

Rruget e Torinos ishin te mbuluara me postera te kuq

announcing the slogan of the Olympics:

qe shpallnin logon e Olimpiades.

"Passion lives here."

Pasioni jeton ketu. A nuk eshte kjo e vertete gjithhere?

Isn't it always true?

Heart is what drives us and determines our fate.

Zemra eshte ajo qe na udheheq dhe percakton fatin tone.

Kjo eshte cka me duhet per personazhet e librave te mi:

That is what I need for my characters in my books:

a passionate heart.

nje zemer plot pasion.

I need mavericks, dissidents, adventurers, outsiders and rebels,

Me duhen te cuditshmit, disidentet, aventurieret, te jashtmit dhe rebelet,

who ask questions, bend the rules and take risks.

ata qe bejne pyetje, qe perkulin rregullat dhe qe rrezikojne.

People like all of you in this room.

Njerez si te gjithe ju qe ndodheni ketu.

Njerezit e mire me njohuri te zakonshme nuk bejne per personazhe interesante.

Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

They only make good former spouses.

Ata jane vecse ish-bashkeshorte te mire.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

In the greenroom of the stadium, I met the other flag bearers:

Ne dhomen e gjelbert te stadiumit, takova barteset tjera te flamujve:

tri atlete, dhe aktoret Susan Sarandon dhe Sofia Loren.

three athletes and the actresses Susan Sarandon and Sophia Loren.

Also, two women with passionate hearts:

Gjithashtu, edhe dy gra me zemra pasionante.

Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Prize winner from Kenya

Wangari Maathai, fituesja e cmimit Nobel nga Kenia

who has planted 30 million trees,

e cila ka mbjellur 30 milione peme. Dhe duke bere keshtu,

and by doing so, she has changed the soil, the weather, in some places in Africa,

ajo ka arritur te ndryshoje dheun, motin,

ne disa vende ne Afrike, dhe gjithashtu

and of course, the economic conditions in many villages;

kushtet ekonomike ne shume fshatra.

and Somaly Mam,

Po ashtu Somaly Mam, nje aktiviste nga Kamboxha e cila lufton me pasion

a Cambodian activist who fights passionately against child prostitution.

kunder prostitucionit te femijeve.

When she was 14 years old, her grandfather sold her to a brothel.

Kur ajo ishte 14 vjec, gjyshi i saj e shiti tek nje shtepi publike.

She told us of little girls raped by men

Ajo na tregoi per vajzat e reja qe ishin dhunuar nga burra te cilet mendonin qe

who believe that having sex with a very young virgin

po qe se benin seks me nje vajze shume te re, ata do te sherosheshin nga SIDA.

will cure them from AIDS,

Dhe po ashtu na tregoi per shtepi publike ku femijet detyrohen te pranojne pese,

and of brothels where children are forced to receive 15 clients per day,

deri me 15 kliente per dite,

and if they rebel, they are tortured with electricity.

dhe ku nese rebelohen, ato torturohen me rryme elektrike.

In the greenroom, I received my uniform.

Ne dhomen e gjelbert une mora uniformen time.

It was not the kind of outfit that I normally wear,

Nuk ishte lloji i rrobave qe une vesh zakonisht,

but it was far from the Michelin Man suit that I had anticipated.

por po ashtu ishte larg nga kostumi i personazhit Michelin

te cilen po e prisja. Ne fakt, nuk ishin edhe aq keq.

Not bad, really.

I looked like a refrigerator.

Une dukesha si nje frigorifer.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

But so did most of the flag bearers, except Sophia Loren,

Por po ashtu dukeshin shumica e barteseve te flamujve, pervec Sofia Loren-it,

the universal symbol of beauty and passion.

simbolit universal te bukurise dhe pasionit.

Sophia is over 70 and she looks great.

Sofia eshte mbi 70 vjece dhe duket shume bukur.

She's sexy, slim and tall, with a deep tan.

Ajo eshte joshese, e holle dhe e gjate, e nxire nga dielli.

Now, how can you have a deep tan and have no wrinkles?

Tani, si mund te jesh e nxire nga dielli dhe te mos kesh rrudha?

I don't know.

Nuk e di.

Kur e kane pyetur ne nje interviste televisioni, "Si mund te dukej kaq e bukur?"

When asked in a TV interview how could she look so good,

she replied, "Posture."

Ajo eshte pergjigjur, "Qendrimi. Shpina ime eshte gjithmone drejte,

(Laughter)

"My back is always straight,

and I don't make old people's noises."

dhe une nuk i bej zhurmat e te moshuarve."

(Te qeshura)

(Laughter)

So there you have some free advice

Keshtu, ja ku keni ca keshilla falas

nga njera nga femrat me te bukura ne bote.

from one of the most beautiful women on earth:

no grunting, no coughing, no wheezing,

Mos u kollit, mos gerrhit,

no talking to yourselves, no farting.

mos flisni me veten, mos pordhni.

(Te qeshura)

(Laughter)

Ne fakt, ajo s'e tha kete fiks.

Well, she didn't say that, exactly.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

At some point around midnight,

Ne nje pike afersisht rreth mesnates,

we were summoned to the wings of the stadium,

na ftuan tek krahet e stadiumit,

and the loudspeakers announced the Olympic flag,

dhe me ane te makinave te zerimit paralajmeruan flamurin Olimpik, dhe muzika filloi --

and the music started --

by the way, the same music that starts here, the "Aida" march.

meqe ra fjala, ishte e njejta muzike si ketu,

pjesa muzikore Aida.

Sophia Loren was right in front of me.

Sofia Loren-i ishte perpara meje - ajo eshte rreth 30 cm me e gjate se une,

She's a foot taller than I am, not counting the poofy hair.

duke mos llogaritur floket e saj.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

She walked elegantly, like a giraffe on the African savanna,

Ajo ecte ne menyre elegante, si nje gjirafe ne savanat afrikane,

holding the flag on her shoulder.

duke bartur flamurin ne krahun e saj. Une vrapoja lehtas pas saj --

I jogged behind --

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

on my tiptoes, holding the flag on my extended arm,

-- ne maje te gishtave, duke bartur flamurin ne doren e zgjatur,

so that my head was actually under the damn flag.

ne menyre qe koka ime te ishte perfundi te mallkuarit flamur.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

All the cameras were, of course, on Sophia.

Te gjithe aparatet digjitale ishin, natyrisht, te fokusuar te Sofia Loren-i.

That was fortunate for me,

Kjo gje ishte me fat per mua, ngaqe ne shumicen e fotografive te shtypit

because in most press photos, I appear too --

dukem edhe une, ndonese shpesh ne mes te kembeve te Sofia-s.

although, often between Sophia's legs --

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

a place where most men would love to be.

Vendi ku shumica e burrave do te deshironin te ishin.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

(Duartrokitje)

(Applause)

The best four minutes of my entire life were those in the Olympic stadium.

Kater minutat me te mire te te gjithe jetes sime

ishin ato ne stadiumin Olimpik.

Bashkeshorti im shpesh ofendohet kur une them kete --

My husband is offended when I say this,

although I have explained to him that what we do in private

ndonese ia kam shpjeguar se ato qe ne bejme ne ambient te mbyllur

usually takes less than four minutes --

zakonisht marrin me pak se kater minuta --

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

so he shouldn't take it personally.

-- keshtu qe ai s'duhet ta marri personalisht.

(Laughter)

I have all the press clippings of those four magnificent minutes

Kam gjithe ato copa te prera te shtypit nga ato kater minutat magjike,

because I don't want to forget them

sepse nuk deshiroj t'i harroj

when old age destroys my brain cells.

kur mosha te me kete shkaterruar qelizat e trurit.

I want to carry in my heart forever the key word of the Olympics:

Deshiroj qe gjithmone ta bart ne zemer fjalen kyce te Olimpiades --

pasionin.

passion.

Pra ja ku keni nje tregim pasioni.

So here's a tale of passion.

The year is 1998,

Eshte viti 1998, vendi eshte nje kamp burgu

the place is a prison camp for Tutsi refugees in Congo.

per refugjatet Tutsi ne Kongo.

By the way, 80 percent of all refugees and displaced people in the world

Meqe ra fjala, 80 perqind e te gjithe refugjateve dhe njerezve te zhvendosur ne bote

are women and girls.

jane gra dhe vajza.

Ne mund ta quajme kete vend ne Kongo nje kamp vdekjeje,

We can call this place in Congo a death camp,

because those who are not killed will die of disease or starvation.

sepse ata qe nuk vriten vdesin nga semundja ose uria.

The protagonists of this story are a young woman, Rose Mapendo,

Protagonistet e kesaj historie

jane nje grua e re, Rose Mapendo, dhe femijet e saj.

and her children.

She's pregnant and a widow.

Ajo eshte shtatzene dhe e ve.

Ushtaret e kane sforcuar ate te shikoje

Soldiers had forced her to watch as her husband was tortured and killed.

perderisa bashkeshorti i eshte torturuar dhe vrare.

Somehow she manages to keep her seven children alive,

Disi ajo ia ka dale mbane te mbaje gjalle te shtate femijet e saj,

and a few months later, she gives birth to premature twins,

dhe pas disa muajsh, ajo ka lindur parakohe dy binjake.

two tiny little boys.

Dy djeme fare te vegjel.

She cuts the umbilical cord with a stick

Ajo ka prere kordonin e kerthizes me nje shkop,

and ties it with her own hair.

dhe e ka lidhur me floket e saj.

She names the twins after the camp's commanders

Ajo i ka vene binjakeve emrat e komandanteve te kampit

to gain their favor,

per te gjetur hir te ata, dhe i ka ushqyer femijet me qaj te zi

and feeds them with black tea because her milk cannot sustain them.

ngaqe qumeshti i saj nuk mund t'i mbante te gjalle.

When the soldiers burst in her cell to rape her oldest daughter,

Kur ushtaret futen ne qeline e saj per te dhunuar vajzen e saj te madhe,

ajo e kap vajzen e saj dhe refuzon ta leshoje,

she grabs hold of her and refuses to let go,

edhe atehere kur ushtaret i kane vendosur armen ne koke.

even when they hold a gun to her head.

Somehow, the family survives for 16 months,

Disi, familja ka mbijetuar per 16 muaj,

and then, by extraordinary luck

dhe me pas, me fat te jashtezakonshem, dhe me zemren pasionante

and the passionate heart of a young American man, Sasha Chanoff,

te nje burri te ri Amerikan, Sasha Chanoff,

who manages to put her in a US rescue plane,

i cili ka arritur ta vendose ate ne nje aeroplan shpetimi te SHBAve,

Rose Mapendo and her nine children end up in Phoenix, Arizona,

Rose Mapendo dhe te nente femijet e saj kane arritur ne Phoenix te shtetit Arizona,

where they're now living and thriving.

ku tani ata jetojne dhe arrijne suksese.

"Mapendo," in Swahili, means "great love."

Mapendo, ne gjuhen Suahili, nenkupton dashuri te madhe.

The protagonists of my books are strong and passionate women

Protagonistet e librave te mi jane gra te forta dhe pasionante

like Rose Mapendo.

sikurse Rose Mapendo.

I don't make them up;

Une nuk i shpik. Nuk kam nevoje te bej kete.

there's no need for that.

Une shikoj perrreth dhe i shoh cdokund.

I look around, and I see them everywhere.

I have worked with women and for women all my life.

Une kam punuar me gra dhe per gra gjate gjithe jetes sime.

I know them well.

Une i njoh mire ato.

I was born in ancient times, at the end of the world,

Une kam lindur ne kohera te lashta, ne fund te botes,

in a patriarchal Catholic and conservative family.

ne nje familje patriarkale dhe konservative katolike.

No wonder that by age five, I was a raging feminist --

Prandaj nuk eshte cudi qe qysh ne moshen pese vjecare kam qene nje feministe e ndezur --

although the term had not reached Chile yet,

ndonese kjo fjale s'kishte arritur ende ne Kili,

so nobody knew what the heck was wrong with me.

keshtu qe askush nuk e dinte se c'dreqin s'ishte ne rregull me mua.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

I would soon find out that there was a high price to pay for my freedom

Shpejte e kam zbuluar se me duhej te paguaja nje cmim te larte

per lirine time, si dhe per venien te pyetje te patriarkalizmit.

and for questioning the patriarchy.

But I was happy to pay it,

Por une isha e gezuar te mund ta paguaja kete cmim, ngaqe per secilen goditje qe mirrja,

because for every blow that I received,

I was able to deliver two.

mund t'i jipja dy.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

Once, when my daughter Paula was in her twenties,

Njehere, kur vajza ime Paula ishte ne te njezetat,

ajo me tha mua qe feminizmit i kishte kaluar koha, qe mua me duhej ta tejkaloja kete.

she said to me that feminism was dated, that I should move on.

We had a memorable fight.

Patem nje zenke per t'u mbajtur ne mend. Feminizmit i kishte kaluar koha?

Feminism is dated?

Yes, for privileged women like my daughter and all of us here today,

Po, per femra te privilegjuara si puna e vajzes sime dhe te gjitha neve ketu,

but not for most of our sisters in the rest of the world,

por jo per shumicen e motrave tona ne pjesen tjeter te botes

te cilat ende detyrohen te martohen para kohe,

who are still forced into premature marriage,

prostitution, forced labor.

sforcohen ne prostitucion, pune te dhunshme --

They have children that they don't want or they cannot feed.

te bejne femije te cilet ato nuk i duan ose nuk mund t'i ushqejne.

They have no control over their bodies or their lives.

Ato nuk kane pushtet mbi trupat e tyre, mbi jetet e tyre.

Ato nuk jane shkolluar dhe nuk kane liri.

They have no education and no freedom.

They are raped, beaten up and sometimes killed with impunity.

Ato jane dhunuar, goditur dhe ndonjehere vrare pa ndeshkim per vraresit,

For most Western young women of today,

Per shumicen e femrave te reja perendimore sot,

being called a "feminist" is an insult.

te quhesh feministe eshte nje fyerje.

Feminism has never been sexy,

Feminizmi asnjehere s'ka qene nje gje atraktive, por me lejoni te iu siguroj

but let me assure you that it never stopped me from flirting,

qe kjo s'me nga ndaluar asnjehere qe te flirtoj,

dhe une rralle kam vuajtur nga mungesa e meshkujve.

and I have seldom suffered from lack of men.

(Te qeshura)

(Laughter)

Feminism is not dead, by no means.

Feminizmi nuk ka vdekur, fare.

Vetem ka evoluar. Nese nuk iu pelqen fjala,

It has evolved.

If you don't like the term,

change it, for Goddess' sake.

atehere nderrojeni, per hir te Zotit.

Call it "Aphrodite" or "Venus" or "bimbo" or whatever you want.

Quajeni Aferdite, ose Venere, ose bimbo, ose si te doni,

The name doesn't matter,

emri nuk ka rendesi,

as long as we understand what it is about, and we support it.

perderisa ne e dime se per cfare eshte fjala, dhe perderisa e mbeshtesim.

Tani nje tregim tjeter pasioni, por ky eshte nje tregim i trishtuar.

So here's another tale of passion, and this is a sad one.

The place is a small women's clinic in a village in Bangladesh.

Vendi eshte nje klinike e vogel per femra ne nje fshat ne Bangladesh.

The year is 2005.

Eshte viti 2005.

Jenny is a young American dental hygienist

Xheni eshte nje higjieniste dentare amerikane e re

who has gone to the clinic as a volunteer during her three-week vacation.

e cila ka shkuar ne klinike si punetore vullnetare

gjate tri javeve te saj te pushimit.

She's prepared to clean teeth,

Ajo eshte e pergatitur te pastroje dhembe,

but when she gets there,

por kur ajo arrin atje, ajo zbulon se aty nuk kishte mjeke,

she finds out that there are no doctors, no dentists,

nuk kishte as dentiste, dhe qe klinika ishte thjeshte nje kasolle e mbushur me miza.

and the clinic is just a hut full of flies.

Outside, there is a line of women

Jashte kishte nje rresht me femra

who have waited several hours to be treated.

te cilat kishin pritur per disa ore per t'u trajtuar.

The first patient is in excruciating pain

Pacientja e pare kishte dhimbte torturuese

ngaqe kishte disa dhembe te kalbur.

because she has several rotten molars.

Jenny realizes that the only solution is to pull out the bad teeth.

Xheni kupton qe zgjidhja e vetme eshte te hiqen dhembet e keqinj.

Por ajo nuk ishte e licencuar per ate pune, ajo kurre nuk kishte bere nje gje te tille.

She's not licensed for that; she has never done it.

She risks a lot and she's terrified.

Ajo rrezikoi shume dhe ishte shume e frikesuar.

She doesn't even have the proper instruments,

Ajo bile nuk kishte as instrumentet e duhura,

but fortunately, she has brought some novocaine.

por fatmiresisht ajo kishte sjellur me vete ca Novokaine (mpires).

Jenny has a brave and passionate heart.

Xheni ka nje zemer guximtare dhe pasionante.

She murmurs a prayer and she goes ahead with the operation.

Ajo kishte pershperitur nje lutje dhe kishte vazhduar me operacionin.

At the end, the relieved patient kisses her hands.

Ne fund, pacientia e cliruar kishte puthur duart e saj.

That day the hygienist pulls out many more teeth.

Te njejten dite, higjienistja kishte hequr edhe shume dhembe te tjere.

The next morning, when she comes again to the so-called clinic,

Mengjesin tjeter, kur ajo kishte ardhur prape ne te ashtu-quajturen klinike,

her first patient is waiting for her with her husband.

pacientia e pare bashke me te shoqin kishin qene duke e pritur ate.

The woman's face looks like a watermelon.

Fytyra e asaj gruaje ishte dukur si nje shalqi.

It is so swollen that you can't even see the eyes.

Ishte aq e fryre sa nuk mund te vereheshin as syte e saj.

The husband, furious, threatens to kill the American.

I shoqi, tejmase i hidheruar, ishte kercenuar te vriste amerikanen.

Jenny is horrified at what she has done.

Xheni ishte tronditur nga ajo qe kishte bere,

But then, the translator explains

por me pas, perkthyesi kishte shpjeguar

that the patient's condition has nothing to do with the operation.

qe gjendja e pacientes nuk kishte asgje te bente me operacionin.

The day before, her husband beat her up

Nje dite me pare, i shoqi i saj e kishte goditur ngaqe ajo s'kishte arritur ne shtepi

because she was not home in time to prepare dinner for him.

ne kohe per te pergatitur darke per te.

Miliona femra jetojne ne kete menyre tani.

Millions of women live like this today.

They are the poorest of the poor.

Ato jane me te varferat e me te varferve.

Although women do two-thirds of the world's labor,

Ndonese femrat bejne dy te tretat e punes ne bote,

they own less than one percent of the world's assets.

ato jane pronare te me pak se nje perqind te pasurise ne bote.

They are paid less than men for the same work, if they're paid at all,

Ato paguhen me pak se meshkujt per te kryer te njejten pune

nese paguhen edhe pak, ato mbesin te pambrojtura

and they remain vulnerable because they have no economic independence,

ngaqe nuk kane pavaresi ekonomike,

and they are constantly threatened by exploitation,

dhe ne menyre konstante ato kercenohen me shfrytezim,

violence and abuse.

dhune dhe abuzim.

It is a fact that giving women education, work,

Eshte fakt qe po t'u japesh femrave shkollim, pune,

the ability to control their own income, inherit and own property

mundesine per te kontrolluar te ardhurat e tyre financiare,

per te trasheguar dhe per te zoteruar prone, do te ishte perfitim per shoqerine.

benefits the society.

If a woman is empowered,

Nese nje femer fuqizohet,

her children and her family will be better off.

femijet edhe familja e saj do te jene ne nje pozite me te mire.

If families prosper, the village prospers,

Nese familja lulezon, edhe fshati lulezon,

and eventually, so does the whole country.

dhe heret a vone i gjithe vendi lulezon.

Wangari Maathai goes to a village in Kenya.

Wangari Maathai shkon ne nje fshat ne Kenia.

She talks with the women and explains that the land is barren

Ajo flet me femrat, dhe u shpjegon qe dheu eshte shterpe

because they have cut and sold the trees.

ngaqe ato i kane prere dhe shitur drunjet.

Ajo i ben femrat qe te mbjellin peme te reja dhe t'i ujisin ato,

She gets the women to plant new trees and water them,

drop by drop.

pike per pike.

In a matter of five or six years, they have a forest,

Brenda pese apo gjashte vitesh, ato kane nje pyll,

the soil is enriched, and the village is saved.

dheu eshte pasuruar, fshati eshte shpetuar.

The poorest and most backward societies

Shoqerite me te varfura dhe me te prapambetura

are always those that put women down.

jane gjithhere ato qe vene femren poshte.

Yet this obvious truth is ignored by governments

Dhe kjo e vertete e qarte injorohet nga qeverite,

and also by philanthropy.

e po ashtu nga filantropet.

For every dollar given to a women's program,

Per cdo dollare qe i dedikohet per programe qe u perkushtohen femrave,

20 dollars are given to men's programs.

20 dollare jepen per programe per meshkuj.

Women are 51 percent of humankind.

Femrat perbejne 51 perqind te njerezimit.

Empowering them will change everything,

Te fuqizohen ato do te ndryshonte gjithcka --

more than technology and design and entertainment.

me shume se tekonologjia dhe dizajni dhe argetimi.

I can promise you that women working together --

Mund te iu premtoj qe femrat duke punuar se bashku --

linked, informed and educated --

te lidhura, te informuara dhe te shkolluara --

mund te sjellin paqe dhe lulezim ne kete planet te braktisur.

can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.

In any war today, most of the casualties are civilians,

Ne cilendo lufte sot, shumica e fatkeqesive u ndodhin civileve,

mainly women and children.

me se shumti femrave dhe femijeve. Ato jane demet anesore.

They are collateral damage.

Men run the world,

Burrat e udheheqin boten, dhe shikoni lemshin qe kemi.

and look at the mess we have.

What kind of world do we want?

Cfare lloj bote duam?

This is a fundamental question that most of us are asking.

Kjo eshte nje pyetje baze te cilen shumica nga ne po e shtrojme.

A ka kuptim te marrim pjese ne rendin boteror ekzistues?

Does it make sense to participate in the existing world order?

We want a world where life is preserved

Ne duam nje bote ku jeta ruhet,

and the quality of life is enriched for everybody,

dhe cilesia e jetes pasurohet per secilin,

not only for the privileged.

jo vetem per te privilegjuarit.

Ne janar pashe nje ekspozite te pikturave te Fernando Botero-s

In January, I saw an exhibit of Fernando Botero's paintings

ne bibloteken e Universitetit te Kalifornise ne Berkli.

at the UC Berkeley library.

No museum or gallery in the United States,

Asnje muzeum apo galeri artesh ne Shtetet e Bashkuara,

except for the New York gallery that carries Botero's work,

pervec galerise se New York-ut qe mban punen e Botero's,

has dared to show the paintings,

nuk ka guxuar te shfaqe pikturat per shkak qe tema

because the theme is the Abu Ghraib prison.

ishte burgu Abu Ghraib.

Ato jane piktura te medha qe shfaqin torturen dhe shperdorimin e fuqise,

They are huge paintings of torture and abuse of power,

ne stilin voluminoz Botero.

in the voluminous Botero style.

I have not been able to get those images out of my mind

Nuk kam qene ne gjendje t'i heq nga mendja ato imazhe

or my heart.

as nga zemra.

What I fear most is power with impunity.

Asaj qe i frikesohem me se shumti eshte pushtetit te shoqeruar me mos-ndeshkim.

I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.

Une i frikesohem shperdorimit te pushtetit, si dhe pushtetit per te shperdoruar.

In our species, the alpha males define reality,

Ne llojin tone, mashkulli alfa perkufizon realitetin,

and force the rest of the pack to accept that reality

dhe sforcon pjesen tjeter te qenieve te pranojne ate realitet

and follow the rules.

dhe te ndjekin rregullat.

The rules change all the time, but they always benefit them,

Rregullat ndryshojne gjate gjithe kohes, por ata gjithmone iu pershtaten atyre,

and in this case, the trickle-down effect, which does not work in economics,

dhe ne kete rast, efekti i rrjedhjes te poshte,

i cili nuk funksionon ne teorine ekonomike, funksionon ketu ne menyre te persosur.

works perfectly.

Abuse trickles down from the top of the ladder to the bottom.

Shperdorimi rrjedh te poshte nga larte shkalleve e te poshte ne fund.

Women and children, especially the poor, are at the bottom.

Femrat dhe femijet, vecanerisht te varferit, jane ne fund.

Even the most destitute of men have someone they can abuse --

Edhe meshkujt me te varfer kane dike qe mund te keqtrajtojne --

a woman or a child.

nje femer ose nje femije.

I'm fed up with the power that a few exert over the many

Une jam ngopur nga fuqia qe disa e ushtrojne mbi shumicen

through gender, income, race and class.

permes gjinise, te ardhurave, races, dhe klases shoqerore.

Mendoj qe koha eshte pjekur per te bere keto ndryshime rrenjesore

I think that the time is ripe to make fundamental changes

in our civilization.

ne qyteterimin tone.

But for real change, we need feminine energy

Por per ndryshime te verteta, ne na duhet energjia femerore

in the management of the world.

ne menagjimin e botes.

We need a critical number of women in positions of power,

Neve na duhet nje numer vendimtar i femrave ne pozicione vendimmarrese,

and we need to nurture the feminine energy in men.

dhe na duhet te iu ushqejme energjine femerore meshkujve.

I'm talking about men with young minds, of course.

Une po flas per meshkuj me mendje te re, normalisht.

Old guys are hopeless; we have to wait for them to die off.

Per meshkujt e moshuar nuk ka shprese, duhet te presim deri sa ata te vdesin.

(Laughter)

(Te qeshura)

Yes, I would love to have Sophia Loren's long legs

Po, do te me pelqente te kisha kembet e gjata te Sofia Loren-it

and legendary breasts.

dhe gjinje legjendare.

But given a choice, I would rather have the warrior hearts

Por po te mund te zgjidhja, une me shume do te doja te kisha nje zemer luftarake

si ajo e Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam, Xhenit, dhe Rose Mapendo-s.

of Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam, Jenny, and Rose Mapendo.

Une dua ta bej kete bote te mire.

I want to make this world good.

Jo me te mire se qe eshte, por ta bej te mire.

Not better -- but to make it good.

Why not? It is possible.

Pse jo? Eshte e mundur. Shikoni perrreth ne kete dhome --

Look around in this room --

all this knowledge, energy, talent and technology.

gjithe kjo njohuri, energji, talent, dhe teknologji.

Let's get off our fannies, roll up our sleeves

Le te ngreme prapanicen, te ngreme menget

and get to work, passionately,

dhe te fillojme punen, me pasion,

ne krijimin e nje bote pothuajse te persosur.

in creating an almost-perfect world.

Thank you.

Ju faleminderit.

(Applause and cheers)