Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls | TED

Translator: Tringa Krasniqi Reviewer: Liridon Shala

Many times

Shpesh here

I go around the world to speak,

une udhetoj rreth botes per te folur

and people ask me questions

dhe njerezit me bejne pyetje

about the challenges,

rreth sfidave

my moments,

mementeve,

some of my regrets.

disa nga gjerat qe pendohem.

1998:

1998

A single mother of four,

Nje nene beqare e kater femijeve

three months after the birth of my fourth child,

tre muaj pas lindjes se femijut te katert

I went to do a job

shkova te punoj

as a research assistant.

si asistente per kerkime.

I went to Northern Liberia.

Shkova ne Liberin Veriore

And as part of the work,

Si pjese e punes

the village would give you lodgings.

fshati do te te jepte vendin ku te banosh.

And they gave me lodging with a single mother

Ata me strehuan mua me nje nen beqare

and her daughter.

dhe te bijen e saj.

This girl happened to be

Vajza qelloj te ishte

the only girl in the entire village

e vetjma vajze beqare ne te gjithe fshatin

who had made it

qe kishte arritur

to the ninth grade.

deri ne klasen e nente.

She was the laughing stock of the community.

Ajo ishte bere objekt tallje nga i gjithe komuniteti

Her mother was often told by other women,

Grate e tjera shpesh i thoshin nenes se saj

"You and your child

"Ti dhe femija yt

will die poor."

do te vdisnin te varfer"

After two weeks of working in that village,

Pas dy javes ne ate fshat

it was time to go back.

ishte koha te kthehesha.

The mother came to me, knelt down,

Nena e vajzes erdhi te une, u gjunjezua

and said, "Leymah, take my daughter.

dhe me tha "Leymah, merre vajzen time.

I wish for her

Une dua qe ajo

to be a nurse."

te behet nje infermiere"

Dirt poor, living in the home with my parents,

Une isha shum e varfer, duke jetuar ne shtepi me prinderit e mi,

I couldn't afford to.

nuk kisha mundesi ta mbaja vajzen.

With tears in my eyes,

Me lot ne sy e mi,

I said, "No."

i thash "Jo"

Two months later,

Pas dy muajsh

I go to another village

shkova ne nje fshat tjeter

on the same assignment

me te njejten detyre

and they asked me to live with the village chief.

dhe me thane te jetoja me prijesin e fashtit

The women's chief of the village has this little girl,

Gruaja e prijesit kishte nje vajze te vogel,

fair color like me,

e cila kishte te njejten ngjyre si une,

totally dirty.

terresisht e zeze.

And all day she walked around

Tere diten ajo versallosej

only in her underwear.

vetem ne te brendshme.

When I asked, "Who is that?"

Kur une e pyta "Kush eshte ai"

She said, "That's Wei.

Ajo me tha "Ky eshte Wei"

The meaning of her name is pig.

Kuptimi i emrit te saj ishte derr.

Her mother died while giving birth to her,

Nena e saj vdiq derisa po e lindte,

and no one had any idea who her father was."

dhe askush nuk kishte iden kush ishte babai i saj"

For two weeks, she became my companion,

Per dy jave ajo u be shoqeruesja ime,

slept with me.

flinte me mua.

I bought her used clothes

Une i bleva asaj rroba te perdorura

and bought her her first doll.

dhe kukullen e saj te pare.

The night before I left,

Nje nate para se te largohesha

she came to the room

ajo erdhi ne dhomen time

and said, "Leymah, don't leave me here.

dhe tha, "Leymaj, mos me le ketu

I wish to go with you.

Dua te vij me ty

I wish to go to school."

Dua te shkoj ne shkolle"

Dirt poor, no money,

Une isha akoma shum e varfer, pa para

living with my parents,

duke jetuar me prinderit e mije

I again said, "No."

thash perseri "Jo"

Two months later,

Pas dy muajsh

both of those villages fell into another war.

te dyja keto fshtera fillaun nje lufte tjeter.

Till today, I have no idea

Deri ne sot, nuk kam asnje ide

where those two girls are.

se ku jane ato dy vajza.

Fast-forward, 2004:

Ne 2004;

In the peak of our activism,

ne kulm te aksionit tone

the minister of Gender Liberia called me

ministri i Gender Liberia me thirri

and said, "Leymah, I have a nine-year-old for you.

dhe tha "Leymah, kam nje femije 9 vjeqar per ty.

I want you to bring her home

Dua qe ti ta marresh ate ne shtepi

because we don't have safe homes."

sepse ne nuk kemi shtepi te sigurta"

The story of this little girl:

Kete vajzen e vogel

She had been raped

e kishte dhunuar

by her paternal grandfather

gjyshi i saj nga babai

every day for six months.

gjdo dit per gjashte muaj.

She came to me bloated,

Ajo erdhi tek une e fryre

very pale.

dhe shum e zbehte.

Every night I'd come from work and lie on the cold floor.

Cdo nate kur une vija nga puna dhe shtrihesha ne dyshemen e ftohte

She'd lie beside me

Ajo shtrihej prance meje

and say, "Auntie, I wish to be well.

dhe thojshe "Teze, dua te behet mire

I wish to go to school."

Dua te shkoj te shkoll"

2010:

2010

A young woman stands before President Sirleaf

Nje grua e re qendron perpara President Sirleaf

and gives her testimony

dhe i tregon atij

of how she and her siblings live together,

sesi ajo dhe motrat e vellezerit e saj jetojn se bashku,

their father and mother died during the war.

se nena dhe babai kishin vdekur gjate luftes.

She's 19; her dream is to go to college

Ajo eshte 19 dhe eshte e saj eshte te shkoj ne kolegj

to be able to support them.

qe te mundet te mbaje familjen e saj.

She's highly athletic.

Ajo eshte shum atletike.

One of the things that happens

Qfar ndodhi eshte

is that she applies for a scholarship.

qe ajo aplikoj per burse.

Full scholarship. She gets it.

Burse te plote. E fitoj ate.

Her dream of going to school,

Endrra e saj per te shkuar ne shkoll,

her wish of being educated,

per tu edukuar

is finally here.

erdhi me ne fund.

She goes to school on the first day.

Ajo shkon ne shkolle ne diten e saj te pare

The director of sports

Direktori i sporteve

who's responsible for getting her into the program

qe eshte pergjegjes per ta futur ate ne program

asks her to come out of class.

e therret ate jashte klases.

And for the next three years,

Dhe fati i saj per tre vitet e ardhsme

her fate will be

do te jete

having sex with him every day,

te beje seks me te qdo dite,

as a favor for getting her in school.

si favor per te lene ate ne shkolle.

Globally, we have policies,

Ne bote ne kemi ligje,

international instruments,

politika internacionale,

work leaders.

lider te punes,

Great people have made commitments --

Njerez te medhenj kane bere marrveshje

we will protect our children

ne do te mbrojm femijet tone

from want and from fear.

nga lufta dhe nga frika

The U.N. has the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

U.N ka Konventen per te Drejtat e Femijeve

Countries like America, we've heard things like No Child Left Behind.

Ne shtetet si Amerika ne degjojm gjera si Asnje Femije te Mos Braktiset

Other countries come with different things.

Ne shtetet e tjera degjojm gjera tjera.

There is a Millennium Development called Three

Ka nje Milenium Development qe quhet Three

that focuses on girls.

qe fokusohet tek vajzat.

All of these great works by great people

Te gjitha keto pune te medha nga njerez te medhenj

aimed at getting young people

qe kane per qellim ti marrin njerezit e rinje

to where we want to get them globally,

e ti dergojn ku ata deshirojn te jene ne bote

I think, has failed.

Une mendoj qe ka deshtuar.

In Liberia, for example,

Ne Liberi per shembull

the teenage pregnancy rate

rata e shtatezanise te vajzat adoleshente eshte

is three to every 10 girls.

tre per gjdo dhjete vajza.

Teen prostitution is at its peak.

Prostitucioni adoleshent eshte ne kulmin e saj

In one community, we're told,

Ne nje komunitet na thane

you wake up in the morning

qe kur zgjohesh ne mengjes

and see used condoms like used chewing gum paper.

sheh kondome te perdororur gjithandej sikur jane qamqakez.

Girls as young as 12 being prostituted

Vajza 12 vjeqare duke u bere prostituta

for less than a dollar a night.

per me pak se nje dollar naten.

It's disheartening, it's sad.

Eshte e tmerrshme, e trishturshme.

And then someone asked me,

Dikush me pyeti

just before my TEDTalk, a few days ago,

para ca dites, para se une te jepja TEKTalk-un

"So where is the hope?"

"Ku eshte shpresa"

Several years ago, a few friends of mine

Para disa vjetesh disa shoke te mije

decided we needed to bridge the disconnect

vendosen qe ne duheshim te kerpecenim shkeputjet

between our generation

ne mes ne gjenerates sone

and the generation of young women.

dhe gjenerates se grave te reja.

It's not enough to say

Nuk mjafton te thuhet

you have two Nobel laureates from the Republic of Liberia

qe ju keni dy fitues te cmimit Nobel nga Republika e Liberise

when your girls' kids are totally out there

kur vajzat e tuaja jane aty jashte

and no hope, or seemingly no hope.

dhe ska asnje shprese, ose duket sikur nuk ka asnje shprese.

We created a space

Ne kemi krijuar nje vend

called the Young Girls Transformative Project.

te quajtur "Projekti Transformues per Vajza te Reja"

We go into rural communities

Ne shkojm neper komuna rurale

and all we do, like has been done in this room,

dhe gjithe qka bejme, njesoj sikur ne kete dhome,

is create the space.

eshte qe krijojm nje hapesire.

When these girls sit,

Kur keto vajza ulen,

you unlock intelligence,

ti shpalos inteligjence,

you unlock passion,

ti shpalos pasionin,

you unlock commitment,

ti shpalos perkushtimin,

you unlock focus,

ti shpalos perqendrimin,

you unlock great leaders.

ti shpalos udheheqes te medhenj.

Today, we've worked with over 300.

Deri me sot kemi punuar me mbi 300 vajza.

And some of those girls

Disa nga keto vajza

who walked in the room very shy

qe hyne ne dhome shum te turpshme

have taken bold steps, as young mothers,

kane marre hapa te forta, si nena te reja,

to go out there and advocate

qe dalin dhe japin keshilla

for the rights of other young women.

per te drejtat e grave te vogla.

One young woman I met,

Nje grua te re qe takova,

teen mother of four,

nje nene adoloshente e keter femijeve,

never thought about finishing high school,

kurre nuk kishte menduar per te mbaruar shkollen e mesme,

graduated successfully;

tani ka diplomuar me sukses;

never thought about going to college,

kurre nuk ka menduar rreth shkuarjes ne kolegj,

enrolled in college.

u regjistrua ne kolegj.

One day she said to me,

Nje dite ajo ne tha mua.

"My wish is to finish college

"Deshira ime eshte te perfundoj kolegjin

and be able to support my children."

dhe te jem e afte te mbaje femijet e mij"

She's at a place where she can't find money

Ajo nuk mund te gjeje parat

to go to school.

qe te shkoj ne shkolle.

She sells water, sells soft drinks

Ajo shet uje, shet pije te gazuara

and sells recharge cards for cellphones.

shet edhe karta per mbushje te telefonave.

And you would think she would take that money

Dhe ti do te mendoje qe ajo i merr ato para

and put it back into her education.

dhe i vendos per edukimin e saj.

Juanita is her name.

Emri i saj eshte Juanita.

She takes that money

Ajo i merr ato para

and finds single mothers in her community

dhe gjen nenat beqare ne komunitetin e saj

to send back to school.

dhe i dergon ne shkolle.

Says, "Leymah, my wish

Ajo thote "Leymah, deshira ime

is to be educated.

eshte te edukohem.

And if I can't be educated,

Dhe nese une nuk mund te edukohem

when I see some of my sisters being educated,

kur i shoh disa nga motrat e mija te edukuara,

my wish has been fulfilled.

deshira ime plotesohet.

I wish for a better life.

Dua nje jete me te mire.

I wish for food for my children.

Dua ushqim per femijet e mij.

I wish that sexual abuse and exploitation in schools would stop."

Dua qe abuzimi seksual dhe shfrytezimi ne shkolla te ndalet"

This is the dream of the African girl.

Kjo eshte endrra e nje vajze afrikane.

Several years ago,

Para disa vjeteve,

there was one African girl.

njoha nje vajze afrikane.

This girl had a son

Kjo vajza kishte nje djale

who wished for a piece of doughnut

qe donte nje cope petulle

because he was extremely hungry.

pasi qe ishte shum i uritur.

Angry, frustrated,

E agresuar, e zemeruar,

really upset

e meritur

about the state of her society

rreth gjendjes se shoqerise se saj

and the state of her children,

dhe per gjendjes e femijeve te saj,

this young girl started a movement,

kjo vajze e re filloj nje levizje,

a movement of ordinary women

nje levizje te perbere nga gra te zakonshme

banding together

qe bashkohen

to build peace.

per te bere paqe.

I will fulfill the wish.

Une do ta perbush deshiren.

This is another African girl's wish.

Kjo eshte nje tjeter deshir e nje vajze afrikane.

I failed to fulfill the wish of those two girls.

Une deshtova ne permbushjen e deshirave te atyve dy vajzave.

I failed to do this.

Une deshtova.

These were the things that were going through the head of this other young woman --

Keto jane gjerat qe po kalonin neper koken e ketyre grave te tjera

I failed, I failed, I failed.

Une deshtova, une deshtova, une deshtova

So I will do this.

Keshtu qe une do ta bej kete

Women came out,

Grate dolen jashte,

protested a brutal dictator,

protestuan kunder nje diktatori brutal,

fearlessly spoke.

folen pa frike.

Not only did the wish of a piece of doughnut come true,

Dhe nuk u plotesua vetem deshira per nje petull,

the wish of peace came true.

por u plotesua edhe deshira per paqe.

This young woman

Kjo grua e re

wished also to go to school.

donte gjithashtu te shkonte ne shkolle.

She went to school.

Ajo shkoj ne shkolle.

This young woman wished for other things to happen,

Kjo grua e re donte qe te ndodhnin gjera te tjera,

it happened for her.

keto ndodhen per te.

Today, this young woman is me,

Sot kjo grua e re jam une,

a Nobel laureate.

fituese e cmimit Nobel.

I'm now on a journey

Jam ne nje udhetim

to fulfill the wish,

per te permbushur endrren,

in my tiny capacity,

ne kapacitetin tim te vogel

of little African girls --

te nje vajze afrikane

the wish of being educated.

endrren per tu shkolluar.

We set up a foundation.

Ne kemi krijuar bazen.

We're giving full four-year scholarships

Ne po japin bursa te plota kater vjeqare

to girls from villages that we see with potential.

vajzave neper fshatera qe ne po shkohim kane potencial.

I don't have much to ask of you.

Une nuk kam shum per te kerkuar nga ju.

I've also been to places in this U.S.,

Une kam qene po ashtu neper vendet e Shteteve te Bashkuara

and I know that girls in this country

dhe e di qe edhe vajzat ne kete shtet

also have wishes,

kane gjithashtu endrra,

a wish for a better life somewhere in the Bronx,

duan nje jeten me te mire diku ne Bronx,

a wish for a better life

duan nje jete me te mire

somewhere in downtown L.A.,

diku ne L.A - ne e poshtem ,

a wish for a better life somewhere in Texas,

duan per nje jete me te mire duku ne Texas,

a wish for a better life somewhere in New York,

duan nje jete me te mire diku ne New York,

a wish for a better life

duan nje jete me te mire

somewhere in New Jersey.

diku ne New Jersey.

Will you journey with me

A do te udhetoni ju me mua

to help that girl,

per te ndihmuar ate vajze,

be it an African girl or an American girl

ska rendesi nese eshte afrikane ose amerikane

or a Japanese girl,

ose japoneze,

fulfill her wish,

per te permbushur deshirat e saj,

fulfill her dream,

per te permbushur endrrat e saj,

achieve that dream?

per te arritur ate enderr?

Because all of these

Sepse te gjitha keto

great innovators and inventors

zbulime te medha

that we've talked to and seen

per te cilat ne kemi folur dhe i kemi pare

over the last few days

ne keto ditet e fundit

are also sitting in tiny corners

jane te ulur dikund neper qoshe te vogla

in different parts of the world,

ne pjese te ndryshme te botes,

and all they're asking us to do

dhe gjithe qfare ata kerkojn nga ne

is create that space

eshte te krijojm nje hapesire

to unlock the intelligence,

per te shpalosur inteligjencen,

unlock the passion,

shpalosur pasionin,

unlock all of the great things

shpalosur te gjitha gjerat e medha

that they hold within themselves.

qe ato mbajne perbrenda.

Let's journey together. Let's journey together.

Te udhetojm se bashku. Te udhetojm se bashku.

Thank you.

Faliminderit.

(Applause)

(Duarktrokitje)

Chris Anderson: Thank you so much.

Chris Anderson: Te faleminderohem shum.

Right now in Liberia,

Tani ne Liberi

what do you see

qfare shihni

as the main issue that troubles you?

si problemin qe ju shqeteson me se shumti?

LG: I've been asked to lead

LG: Me kane keruar te udheheq

the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative.

Inciativen per Pajtimet Liberiane

As part of my work,

Si pjese te punes time,

I'm doing these tours

une jam duke bere keto turne

in different villages and towns --

neper fshatra dhe qytete te ndryshme

13, 15 hours on dirt roads --

13, 15 or neper rruge te ndotura

and there is no community that I've gone into

dhe nuk ka pasur asnje komutitet qe une kam shkuar

that I haven't seen intelligent girls.

ku nuk kam pare vajza inteligjente.

But sadly,

Por fatkqesisht,

the vision of a great future,

verzioni i nje te ardhme te ndritur,

or the dream of a great future,

ose endrra per nje te ardhme te madhe.

is just a dream,

eshte thjesht nje enderr,

because you have all of these vices.

sepse ekzisonte te gjitha keto vese.

Teen pregnancy, like I said, is epidemic.

Shtatzania ne adoleshence, sic e thash, eshte epidemike.

So what troubles me

Keshtu qe qfare me shqeteson mua

is that I was at that place

eshte qe une isha ne ate vend

and somehow I'm at this place,

dhe ne nje menyre akoma jam aty,

and I just don't want to be the only one

dhe nuk dua te jem e vetme

at this place.

ne ate vend.

I'm looking for ways

Jam duke kerkuar menyra

for other girls to be with me.

qe edhe vajzat e tjera te jene me mua.

I want to look back 20 years from now

Dua të shikoj 20 vjet nga tani

and see that there's another Liberian girl,

dhe te shoh te ka ndonje tjeter vajze Liberiane

Ghanaian girl, Nigerian girl, Ethiopian girl

vajze Ghanaian, vajze Nigeriane, vajze Etiopiane

standing on this TED stage.

duke qendruar ne skenen e TED-it

And maybe, just maybe, saying,

Dhe ndoshta, ndoshta do te thote

"Because of that Nobel laureate

"Per shkak te asaj fituese te Nobelit

I'm here today."

une jam ketu sot"

So I'm troubled

Keshtu une shqetesohem

when I see them like there's no hope.

kur une i shoh ato sikur nuk ka asnje shprese.

But I'm also not pessimistic,

Por une nuk jam pesimiste

because I know it doesn't take a lot

sepse e di qe nuk duhet shum

to get them charged up.

qe ti ngrise ato.

CA: And in the last year,

CA: Dhe ne vitin e fundit

tell us one hopeful thing

na trego ndonje gje shpresedhenese

that you've seen happening.

qe ju e keni pare te ndodhte.

LG: I can tell you many hopeful things that I've seen happening.

LG: Une mund te ju tregoj shum gjera shpresedhenese qe kane ndodhur

But in the last year,

Por ne vitin e fundit

where President Sirleaf comes from, her village,

ku President Sirlied vije, nga fshati i saj

we went there to work with these girls.

ne shkuam te punonim me disa vajza

And we could not find 25 girls

dhe nuk mundim te gjenim 25 vajza

in high school.

ne shkolle te mesme.

All of these girls went to the gold mine,

Te gjtha keto vajza shkonin neper miniera te arit,

and they were predominantly prostitutes

dhe ishin kryesisht prostituta.

doing other things.

por benin edhe pune te tjera.

We took 50 of those girls

Ne morrem 50 nga keto vajza

and we worked with them.

dhe ne punuam me ato.

And this was at the beginning of elections.

Dhe kjo ishte ne fillimi te zdjedhjeve.

This is one place where women were never --

Ky ishte nje vend ku grate kurre

even the older ones

madje as ato te vjetrat

barely sat in the circle with the men.

nuk uleshin gati fare ne rreth me burrat.

These girls banded together and formed a group

Keto gra u bashkuan dhe formuan nje grup.

and launched a campaign

dhe filluan nje kampanje

for voter registration.

per regjistrimin e votave

This is a real rural village.

Ky eshte nje fshat i vertet rural.

And the theme they used was:

Dhe motivi qe ato perdoren ishte:

"Even pretty girls vote."

"Edhe vajzat e bukura votojn"

They were able to mobilize young women.

Ato ishin te gjendje te mobilizonin vajza te reja.

But not only did they do that,

Por ato nuk bene vetem aq.

they went to those who were running for seats

ato gjithashtu shkuan tek ata qe po kandidonin

to ask them, "What is it

dhe i pyeten "Cfare

that you will give the girls of this community

do te ju jepni ju vajzave te ketij komuniteti

when you win?"

kur ju te fitoni"

And one of the guys

Dhe njeri nga djemte

who already had a seat was very --

qe tashme kishte fituar nje vend

because Liberia has one of the strongest rape laws,

sepse Liberia ka nje nga ligjet me te forta te dhunimit

and he was one of those really fighting in parliament

dhe ai ishte nje nga ata qe vertet po luftonte ne parlament

to overturn that law

per te rrezuar ate ligj

because he called it barbaric.

sepse e quante me te vertet barbar.

Rape is not barbaric, but the law, he said, was barbaric.

Dhunimi nuk eshte barbarik, por ligji, tha ai, eshte barbar.

And when the girls started engaging him,

Dhe kur vajzat filluan te fitonin kunder tij,

he was very hostile towards them.

ai u sill shum armiqesisht ndaj tyre.

These little girls turned to him and said,

Keto vajza te vogla u kthyen nga ai dhe i thane,

"We will vote you out of office."

"Ne do te ju vendosim juve jashte nga zyra"

He's out of office today.

Ai sot nuk eshte me ne zyre.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

CA: Leymah, thank you. Thank you so much for coming to TED.

CA: Leymah, faliminderit. Faliminderit shum per ardhjen e juaj ne TED.

LG: You're welcome. (CA: Thank you.)

LG: Ska perse (CA: Thank you)

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)