Wael Ghonim: Inside the Egyptian revolution

Translator: Valon Xoxa Reviewer: Amantia Gjikondi

This is Revolution 2.0.

Ky eshte revolucioni 2.0

No one was a hero. No one was a hero.

Askush nuk ishte hero. Nuk kishte hero te vetmuar.

Because everyone was a hero.

Sepse te gjithe ishin heronj.

Everyone has done something.

Te gjithe bene dicka

We all use Wikipedia.

Ne te gjithe perdorim Wikipedia.

If you think of the concept of Wikipedia

Nese shtjellon konceptin e Wikipedias

where everyone is collaborating on content,

atje ku te gjithe bashkepunojne ne perberje.

and at the end of the day

Dhe ne fund te dites

you've built the largest encyclopedia in the world.

eshte krijuar enciklopedia me e madhe ne bote.

From just an idea that sounded crazy,

Prej nje ideje qe tingellonte cmenduri,

you have the largest encyclopedia in the world.

tashme ke enciklopedine me te madhe ne bote.

And in the Egyptian revolution,

Po ashtu ne revolucionin Egjiptian,

the Revolution 2.0,

revolucionin 2.0,

everyone has contributed something,

te gjithe kane dhene kontributin e tyre --

small or big. They contributed something --

pak ose shume, ata kontribuan dicka --

to bring us

per te na sjelle

one of the most inspiring stories

nje nga tregimet me frymezuese

in the history of mankind

ne historine njerezore

when it comes to revolutions.

ku flitet per revolucione.

It was actually really inspiring

Ishte me te vertete frymezuese

to see all these Egyptians completely changing.

pamja e te gjithe Egjiptianeve te bashkuar ne brohoritje.

If you look at the scene,

Kur analizon

Egypt, for 30 years, had been in a downhill --

Egjiptin per 30 vitet e kaluara, verehet nje tatepjete --

going into a downhill.

e percjellur nga nje tatepjete tjeter.

Everything was going bad.

Gjithcka dukej se po shkonte keq.

Everything was going wrong.

Gjithcka po shkonte ne drejtim te gabuar.

We only ranked high when it comes to poverty,

Ne ishim ne vendin e pare vetem atehere kur flitej per varferi,

corruption,

korrupsion,

lack of freedom of speech,

mungese te shprehjes se lire,

lack of political activism.

mungese te levizjeve politike.

Those were the achievements

Keto ishin te arriturat

of our great regime.

e regjimit tone te famshem.

Yet, nothing was happening.

Prape, asgje nuk ndryshonte.

And it's not because people were happy

Gjerat nuk ndryshonin, jo per shkak se populli ishte i kenaqur

or people were not frustrated.

ose qe nuk ishin te frustruar.

In fact, people were extremely frustrated.

Te them te drejten, njerezit ishin tejet te frustruar.

But the reason why everyone was silent

Arsyeja pse te gjithe ishin kaq te qete

is what I call the psychological barrier of fear.

quhet kufiri psikologjik i frikes.

Everyone was scared.

Te gjithe ishin te frikesuar.

Not everyone. There were actually a few brave Egyptians

Jo te gjithe. Ishin ca Egjiptian te guximshem

that I have to thank for being so brave --

qe une duhet ti falenderoj per trimerine --

going into protests as a couple of hundred,

duke shkuar ne protesta me qindra,

getting beaten up and arrested.

duke u arrestuar dhe perdhunuar.

But in fact, the majority were scared.

Por ne pergjithesi, shumica ishin te trembur.

Everyone did not want really

Akush nuk donte qe

to get in trouble.

te futej ne telashe.

A dictator cannot live without the force.

Nje diktator nuk mund te jetohej pa fuqi.

They want to make people live in fear.

Ata duan qe ta mbajn popullin ne frike.

And that psychological barrier of fear

Kufiri psikologjik i frikes

had worked for so many years,

pati funksionuar per vite me radhe,

and here comes the Internet,

dhe interneti u shfaq,

technology, BlackBerry, SMS.

teknologjia, BlackBerry, SMS.

It's helping all of us to connect.

Na ndihmon te gjitheve ne, ne mbajtjen e lidhjes mes nesh.

Platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook

Platforma si Youtube, Twitter, Facebook

were helping us a lot

na ndihmuan shume,

because it basically gave us the impression that, "Wow, I'm not alone.

sepse ne fund te fundit na dhane pershtypjen se "Uau, une nuk jam vetem.

There are a lot of people who are frustrated."

Ka shume njerez te tjere qe jane te frustruar."

There are lots of people who are frustrated.

Ka shume njerez te frustruar.

There are lots of people who actually share the same dream.

Ka shume njerez qe kane te njejten enderr.

There are lots of people who care about their freedom.

Ka shume njerez qe merakosen per lirine e tyre.

They probably have the best life in the world.

Sigurisht ata kane jeten me te mire ne bote.

They are living in happiness. They are living in their villas.

Ata jetojne ne hare. Ata jetojne ne villat e tyre.

They are happy. They don't have problems.

Ata jane te gezuar; ata nuk kane probleme.

But they are still feeling the pain of the Egyptian.

Por ata kane ndjenja per dhimbjen e Egjiptianeve.

A lot of us, we're not really happy

Shume prej nesh, nuk jane te kenaqur

when we see a video of an Egyptian man

kur shohin nje video te nje Egjiptiani

who's eating the trash

qe han prej plehrave

while others are stealing

nderkohe qe te tjeret vjedhin

billions of Egyptian pounds

biliona paunde Egjiptiane

from the wealth of the country.

prej pasurise se shtetit.

The Internet has played a great role,

Interneti ka luajtur rol shume te rendesishem,

helping these people to speak up their minds,

duke i ndihmuar keta njerez per te shprehur mendimin e tyre,

to collaborate together, to start thinking together.

per te bashkepunuar, per te menduar se bashku.

It was an educational campaign.

Ishte nje fushate edukative.

Khaled Saeed was killed

Khaled Saeed ishte vrare

in June 2010.

ne Qershor te vitit 2010

I still remember the photo.

E kujtoj fotografine

I still remember every single detail of that photo.

Akoma mbaj mend cdo detaj te asaj fotografie.

The photo was horrible.

Ishte nje pamje e tmerrshme.

He was tortured,

Ai ishte i dhunuar,

brutally tortured to death.

brutalisht i torturuar deri ne vdekje

But then what was the answer of the regime?

Por cili ishte spjegimi i regjimit?

"He choked on a pile of hash" --

"Ai ishte ngulfatur nga ca bime narkotike"

that was their answer:

Ky ishte spjegimi.

"He's a criminal.

"Ai eshte kriminel.

He's someone who escaped from all these bad things."

Ai ka shpetuar nga te keqijat e kesaj bote."

But people did not relate to this.

Por populli nuk ka te beje me te gjithe kete.

People did not believe this.

Populli nuk e besoi kete.

Because of the Internet, the truth prevailed

Per shkak te internetit, e verteta doli ne shesh

and everyone knew the truth.

dhe te gjithe e moren vesh te verteten.

And everyone started to think that "this guy could be my brother."

Dhe te gjithe filluan te mendonin "ky njeri mund te ishte vellai im."

He was a middle-class guy.

Ai ishte nga klasa mesatare.

His photo was remembered by all of us.

Fotografia e tij mbahet mend nga te gjithe ne.

A page was created.

Nje faqe ishte krijuar.

An anonymous administrator

Nje administrator anonim

was basically inviting people to join the page,

ftonte njerez per tiu bashkangjitur faqes,

and there was no plan.

pa ndonjefar plani te shtruar.

"What are we going to do?" "I don't know."

"Cfare do te bejme?" "Nuk e di"

In a few days, tens of thousands of people there --

Vetem per ca dite, dhjetra mijera njerez

angry Egyptians

Egjiptian te frustruar

who were asking the ministry of interior affairs,

te cilet po pyesnin ministrine e puneve te brendshme,

"Enough.

"Mjaft.

Get those who killed this guy.

Kapni ata te cilet vrane kete njeri

To just bring them to justice."

dhe sillini para drejtsise".

But of course, they don't listen.

Por natyrisht, ministria nuk degjoi.

It was an amazing story --

Ishte nje tregim marramendes- -

how everyone started feeling the ownership.

si te gjithe filluan ta ndjejne veten pronar.

Everyone was an owner in this page.

Te gjithe ishin pronar te kesaj faqeje.

People started contributing ideas.

Njerezit filluan te shkembenin idera.

In fact, one of the most ridiculous ideas

Ne fakt, njera prej ideve me qesharake

was, "Hey, let's have a silent stand.

ishte qe te mbanin nje proteste ne heshtje.

Let's get people to go in the street,

Le te mbledhim popullin ne rruge,

face the sea, their back to the street,

drejtuar kah deti, me shpinen kthyer qytetit,

dressed in black, standing up silently for one hour,

te veshur ne te zeza , duke qendruar ne heshtje per nje ore,

doing nothing and then just leaving,

duke mos bere asgje dhe me pas duke u larguar,

going back home."

per ne shtepi.

For some people, that was like, "Wow, silent stand.

Per disa njerez kjo ishte "Uau resistence ne heshtje.

And next time it's going to be vibration."

Dhe heren tjeter do te jete me agresive."

People were making fun of the idea.

Njerezit po e perqeshnin idene.

But actually when people went to the street --

Por kur njerezit dolen tek sheshi --

the first time it was thousands of people

heren e pare ishin mijera njerez

in Alexandria --

ne Aleksandri --

it felt like -- it was amazing. It was great

ishte nje ndjenje e mrekullueshme.

because it connected people from the virtual world,

Sepse i bashkoi njerezit nga bota virtuale,

bringing them to the real world,

duke i sjelle ne boten e vertete,

sharing the same dream,

te cilet kidhin te njejten enderr,

the same frustration, the same anger,

te njejtin hidherim, te njejtin frustrim,

the same desire for freedom.

te njejten deshire per liri.

And they were doing this thing.

Dhe po e benin kete gje.

But did the regime learn anything? Not really.

Por a kishte ky regjim kuptuar ndonje gje? Asgje.

They were actually attacking them.

Regjimi po i sulmonte njerezit ne rruge.

They were actually abusing them,

Ata po i abuzonin,

despite the fact of how peaceful these guys were --

pavaresisht menyres paqesore qe njerezit po ecnin rruges --

they were not even protesting.

ata nuk ishin as duke protestuar.

And things had developed

Gjerat po ndryshonin

until the Tunisian revolution.

deri tek revolucioni Tunizian.

This whole page was, again,

Kjo faqe

managed by the people.

ishte e menaxhuar nga populli.

In fact, the anonymous admin job

Ne fakt, detyra e administratorit

was to collect ideas,

ishte te mblidhte mendimet,

help people to vote on them

tu spjegonte atyre qe te votonin

and actually tell them what they are doing.

dhe se cfare duhej bere.

People were taking shots and photos;

Njerezit po benin foto;

people were reporting violations of human rights in Egypt;

njerezit po raportonin shkelje te te drejtave njerezore ne Egjipt;

people were suggesting ideas,

njerezit po shfaqnin mendime,

they were actually voting on ideas,

ata ne te vertete po votonin mbi idete,

and then they were executing the ideas; people were creating videos.

dhe po punonin ne drejtim te tyre, njerezit po krijonin video.

Everything was done by the people to the people,

E gjitha ishte bere nga populli, per popullin,

and that's the power of the Internet.

dhe kjo eshte fuqia e internetit.

There was no leader.

Nuk kishte udheheqes.

The leader was everyone on that page.

Udheheqes ishtin te gjithe ne ate faqe.

The Tunisian experiment, as Amir was saying,

Eksperimenti Tunizian, ashtu sikunder Amiri po tregonte,

inspired all of us, showed us that there is a way.

na frymezoi te gjitheve, na tregoi se ka rrugedalje.

Yes we can. We can do it.

Po ne mundemi. Ne mund ta bejme kete.

We have the same problems;

Ne kemi te njejtat probleme,

we can just go in the streets.

ne mund te dalim ne rruge.

And when I saw the street on the 25th,

Kur pash rruget me daten 25,

I went back and said,

U ktheva prapa ne kohe dhe mendova,

"Egypt before the 25th

"Egjipti para dates 25

is never going to be Egypt after the 25th.

nuk do te jete i njejte me Egjiptin pas dates 25.

The revolution is happening.

Revolucioni kishte filluar.

This is not the end,

Ky nuk eshte fundi,

this is the beginning of the end."

ky ishte fillimi i fundit."

I was detained on the 27th night.

Une isha arrestuar ne mbremjen e dates 27.

Thank God I announced the locations and everything.

Fale Zotit i kisha treguar piketakimet dhe cdo gje tjeter.

But they detained me.

Por me arrestuan.

And I'm not going to talk about my experience, because this is not about me.

Nuk do flas per eksperiencen time, ky fjalim nuk eshte per mua.

I was detained for 12 days,

Une isha arrestuar per 12 dite,

blindfolded, handcuffed.

symbyllur, duarlidhur.

And I did not really hear anything. I did not know anything.

Nuk degjoja asgje. Nuk dija asgje.

I was not allowed to speak with anyone.

Nuk isha lejuar te flisja me askend.

And I went out.

Pasaj u lirova.

The next day I was in Tahrir.

Diten tjeter isha ne Tahrir.

Seriously, with the amount of change I had noticed in this square,

Sinqerisht, me ndryshimin qe pashe tek sheshi,

I thought it was 12 years.

mendova se kisha kaluar 12 vjet.

I never had in my mind

Kurre nuk e kisha menduar

to see this Egyptian,

ta shihja kete Egjipt,

the amazing Egyptian.

Egjiptin e mrekullueshem.

The fear is no longer fear.

Frika nuk ishte me frike.

It's actually strength -- it's power.

Ishte shnderruar ne force -- ishte fuqi.

People were so empowered.

Populli ishte i bashkuar.

It was amazing how everyone was so empowered

Ishte e mrekullueshme si te gjithe ishin bashkuar

and now asking for their rights.

dhe tashme po kerkonin te drejtat e tyre.

Completely opposite.

Krejtesisht e kunderta.

Extremism became tolerance.

Ekstremizmi u be tolerance.

Who would [have] imagined before the 25th,

Askush nuk do e besonte kete gje para dates 25,

if I tell you that hundreds of thousands of Christians are going to pray

po tju tregoja qe mijera Krishtere do luteshin

and tens of thousands of Muslims are going to protect them,

dhe dhjetra mijera Mysliman do i mbronin.

and then hundreds of thousands of Muslims are going to pray

dhe mijera Mysliman do luteshin

and tens of thousands of Christians are going to protect them --

perderisa mijera krishtere do i mbronin --

this is amazing.

kjo eshte e mrekullueshme.

All the stereotypes

Te gjithe sterotipat

that the regime was trying to put on us

qe regjimi po mundohej te na impononte

through their so-called propaganda, or mainstream media,

nepermjet propagandes se tyre, ose televizionit publik

are proven wrong.

u treguan te jene gabim.

This whole revolution showed us

I tere revolucioni na beri te kuptojme

how ugly such a regime was

sa i keq ishte regjimi

and how great and amazing

dhe sa te mrekullueshem jane

the Egyptian man, the Egyptian woman,

burri Egjiptian, gruaja Egjiptiane,

how simple and amazing these people are

sa te thjeshte dhe te mrekullueshem njerezit jane

whenever they have a dream.

kur kane nje enderr.

When I saw that,

Kur une pashe kete dukuri,

I went back and I wrote on Facebook.

shkova shpejt dhe shkrova ne Facebook.

And that was a personal belief,

Dhe ajo ishte mendim personal,

regardless of what's going on,

pavarsisht gjendjes,

regardless of the details.

pavarsisht detajeve,

I said that, "We are going to win.

shkrova, "Ne do te fitojme.

We are going to win because we don't understand politics.

Ne do te fitojme per shkak se nuk e kuptojme politiken.

We're going to win because we don't play their dirty games.

Ne do te fitojme per shkak se nuk i luajme lojrat e ndyra.

We're going to win because we don't have an agenda.

Ne do te fitojme per shkak se nuk kemi ndonje axhende.

We're going to win because the tears that come from our eyes

Ne do te fitojme per shkak se lotet qe pikojne nga syte tane

actually come from our hearts.

vijne drejt prej zemres.

We're going to win because we have dreams.

Ne do te fitojme per shkak se kemi endrra.

We're going to win because we are willing to stand up for our dreams."

Ne do te fitojme per shkak se jemi bujare dhe mbrojme endrrat tona."

And that's actually what happened. We won.

Dhe pikerisht kjo ndodhi. Ne fituam.

And that's not because of anything,

Nuk eshte fale asgjeje

but because we believed in our dream.

por fale besimit tone ne endrrat tona.

The winning here is not

Fitorja nuk eshtem

the whole details of what's going to happen in the political scene.

tek te gjitha detajet qe do te ndodhin ne skenen politike.

The winning is the winning of the dignity

Fitorja eshte fitore e dinijitetit

of every single Egyptian.

tek secili Egjiptian.

Actually, I had this taxi driver telling me,

Nje taksist me tregonte,

"Listen, I am breathing freedom.

"Degjo, une po i marre ere lirise.

I feel that I have dignity

Ndihem sikur kam dinjitetin

that I have lost for so many years."

qe kisha humbur prej shume vitesh."

For me that's winning,

Per mua kjo eshte fitore,

regardless of all the details.

perkunder te gjitha detajeve.

My last word to you is a statement I believe in,

Fjalet e fundit nga une jane fjalet ne te cilat besoj,

which Egyptians have proven to be true,

te cilat Egjiptianet provuan te jene te verteta,

that the power of the people

qe fuqia e popullit

is much stronger than the people in power.

eshte shume me e madhe sesa fuqia e njerezve ne pozite.

Thanks a lot.

Shume faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)