What I discovered in New York City trash | Robin Nagle

Translator: Alisa Xholi Reviewer: Spartak Ferrollari

I was about 10 years old

Isha rreth 10 vjeç

on a camping trip with my dad

në një udhëtim kampingu me babain tim

in the Adirondack Mountains, a wilderness area

në malet Adirondack, një vend i shkret

in the northern part of New York State.

në pjesën veriore të shtetit të New Yorkut.

It was a beautiful day.

Ishte një ditë shumë e bukur.

The forest was sparkling.

Pylli shkëlqente.

The sun made the leaves glow like stained glass,

Dielli i bënte gjethet të ndriçonin si xham i veshur,

and if it weren't for the path we were following,

dhe nëse nuk do ishim duke ndjekur shtegun

we could almost pretend we were

mund të pretendonim se ne ishim

the first human beings to ever walk that land.

njerëzit e parë që po ecnin në atë tokë.

We got to our campsite.

Arritem në vendin e kampit.

It was a lean-to on a bluff

Ishte një vend i pjerrët

looking over a crystal, beautiful lake,

me pamje të një liqeni të kristaltë e të bukur,

when I discovered a horror.

kur zbulova diçka të neveritëshme.

Behind the lean-to was a dump,

Mbapa kasolles ndodhej nje pirg

maybe 40 feet square

mbase 4 metra katror

with rotting apple cores

me mollë të ngrëna të kalbura

and balled-up aluminum foil,

dhe shuka letre alumini,

and a dead sneaker.

dhe një këpucë atletike të çarë.

And I was astonished,

U befasova,

I was very angry, and I was deeply confused.

isha shumë e inatosur dhe shume e hutuar njekohesisht.

The campers who were too lazy

Kampistët ishin shumë dembelë

to take out what they had brought in,

që të mblidhnin ato çka kishin sjellë me vete,

who did they think would clean up after them?

kush mendonin se do i pastronte ato pas atyre?

That question stayed with me,

Ajo pyetje qëndroi me mua

and it simplified a little.

dhe u thjeshtësua disi.

Who cleans up after us?

Kush pastron pas nesh?

However you configure

Si do që ta mendoni

or wherever you place the us,

ose kudo që ta vendosni "ne",

who cleans up after us in Istanbul?

kush pastron pas nesh në Stamboll?

Who cleans up after us in Rio

Kush pastron pas nesh ne Rio de Zhanerio

or in Paris or in London?

ose në Paris apo Londër?

Here in New York,

Këtu në Nju Jork,

the Department of Sanitation cleans up after us,

departamenti i higjënes pastron pas nesh,

to the tune of 11,000 tons of garbage

një sasi prej 11.000 ton mbeturinash

and 2,000 tons of recyclables every day.

dhe 2.000 ton mbeturina riciklueshme në ditë.

I wanted to get to know them as individuals.

Doja ti njiha ata si individe.

I wanted to understand who takes the job.

Doja të kuptoja kush e bën këtë punë.

What's it like to wear the uniform

Çdo të thotë të veshësh atë uniformë

and bear that burden?

dhe të mbartësh atë barrë?

So I started a research project with them.

Kështu fillova një projekt kërkimi me ata.

I rode in the trucks and walked the routes

Vajta te kamionet dhe eca nëpër rrugë

and interviewed people in offices and facilities

duke intervistuar njerëz nëpër zyra dhe objekte

all over the city,

nëpër gjithë qytetin,

and I learned a lot,

dhe mësova shumë,

but I was still an outsider.

por ende isha nje e jashtme.

I needed to go deeper.

Me duhej te futesha më thellë.

So I took the job as a sanitation worker.

Keshtu pranova nje punë si punonjëse higjene.

I didn't just ride in the trucks now. I drove the trucks.

Nuk shkoja thjesht tek kamionët, tashmë i ngisja vetë kamionët.

And I operated the mechanical brooms and I plowed the snow.

Ngisja fshesat mekanike dhe pastrueset e dëborës.

It was a remarkable privilege

Ishte nje privilegj i mrekullueshëm

and an amazing education.

dhe një edukim i veçante.

Everyone asks about the smell.

Të gjithë pyesin per erërat.

It's there, but it's not as prevalent as you think,

Era e keqe ndihet, por nuk është aq e fortë sa mendoni,

and on days when it is really bad,

dhe në ditët që është vërtet e keqe,

you get used to it rather quickly.

mësohesh me të, shume shpejt.

The weight takes a long time to get used to.

Per peshën duhet më shumë kohë për tu mësuar.

I knew people who were several years on the job

Njoh njerez te cilet ishin me vite ne ate pune

whose bodies were still adjusting to the burden

trupat e te cileve ishin ende ne pershtatje me barren

of bearing on your body

e mbartjes ne trupin tend

tons of trash every week.

tonalitet e mbeturinave çdo jave.

Then there's the danger.

Me pas eshte rreziku.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

Sipas zyres se statistikave te punes,

sanitation work is one of the 10 most dangerous

puna e higjenes eshte njera nga 10 me te rrezikshmet

occupations in the country,

profesionet ne vend,

and I learned why.

dhe e mesova pse-ne.

You're in and out of traffic all day,

Je gjithe diten brenda dhe jashte trafikut,

and it's zooming around you.

cdo gje bucet rreth teje.

It just wants to get past you, so it's often

Ajo do thjesht te kalluar nga ty, dhe ndodh shpesh

the motorist is not paying attention.

qe motoristi mos te kete kujdes.

That's really bad for the worker.

Kjo eshte shume e keqe per punetorin.

And then the garbage itself is full of hazards

Edhe mbetjet jane plot me rreziqe

that often fly back out of the truck

te cilat shpesh fluturojne jashte kamionit

and do terrible harm.

dhe bejne nje dem shume te madh.

I also learned about the relentlessness of trash.

Gjithashtu mesova se sa te pameshirshme jane mbetjet.

When you step off the curb

Kur zbret nga trotuari

and you see a city from behind a truck,

dhe e sheh qytetin nga nje kamion

you come to understand that trash

arrin te kuptosh se mbetja

is like a force of nature unto itself.

eshte nje force e natyres ne vetvete.

It never stops coming.

Ajo nuk ndalon kurre se ardhuri.

It's also like a form of respiration or circulation.

Eshte edhe si nje form frymemarrjeje ose qarkullimi.

It must always be in motion.

Duhet gjithmone te jete ne levizje.

And then there's the stigma.

Kemi edhe turpin.

You put on the uniform, and you become invisible

Ti vesh uniformen dhe behesh i padukshem

until someone is upset with you for whatever reason

deri sa dikush te nxehet me ty per cilen do aryse

like you've blocked traffic with your truck,

si per shembull ke bllokuar trafikun me kamionin tend,

or you're taking a break too close to their home,

ose po ben nje ndalese shume afer shtepise tyre,

or you're drinking coffee in their diner,

ose je duke pire nje kafe ne restorantin e tyre,

and they will come and scorn you,

dhe do vine te te perbuzin

and tell you that they don't want you anywhere near them.

dhe te thone se nuk te duan afer tyre.

I find the stigma especially ironic,

Mua turpi me duket disi ironik,

because I strongly believe that sanitation workers

sepse mendoj fuqishem se puntoret e pastrimit

are the most important labor force

jane forca me e rendesishme puntore

on the streets of the city, for three reasons.

ne rruget e qytetit per tre arsye.

They are the first guardians of public health.

Ata jane rojet e pare te higjenes publike.

If they're not taking away trash

Nese ata nuk i largojne mbetjet

efficiently and effectively every day,

ne menyre efikase dhe efektive cdo dite,

it starts to spill out of its containments,

ato fillojne te perhapin permbajtjet e tyre,

and the dangers inherent to it threaten us

dhe rreziku nga ato fillon te na kecenoj

in very real ways.

ne menyra shume reale.

Diseases we've had in check for decades and centuries

Semundje qe ne i kemi ne kontroll per dekada dhe shekuj

burst forth again and start to harm us.

shperthejne dhe nisin te na demtojne.

The economy needs them.

Ekonomia ka nevoje per ta.

If we can't throw out the old stuff,

Nese nuk mundemi te flakim gjerat e vjetra

we have no room for the new stuff,

nuk kemi vend per te rejat,

so then the engines of the economy

dhe atehere motorrat e ekonomise

start to sputter when consumption is compromised.

nisin te zhurmojne kur konsumi eshte i kompromentuar.

I'm not advocating capitalism, I'm just pointing out their relationship.

Nuk po mbroj kapitalizmin, thjesht po theksoj lidhjen e tyre.

And then there's what I call

Dhe me pas vjen ajo qe une e quaj

our average, necessary quotidian velocity.

mesatarja jone, shpejtesia e perditshme e nevojitur.

By that I simply mean

Me kete thjesht nenkuptoj

how fast we're used to moving

se sa shpejt jemi mesuar te levizim

in the contemporary day and age.

ne ditet dhe kohen bashkekohore.

We usually don't care for, repair, clean, carry around

Ne zakonisht nuk na intereson riparimi, pastrimi, mbajtja

our coffee cup, our shopping bag,

e kupes se kafes, e qeseve se blerjeve,

our bottle of water.

shishen e ujit.

We use them, we throw them out, we forget about them,

Ne i perdorim ato, i flakim, i harrojme ato

because we know there's a workforce

sepse dime qe eshte nje force pune

on the other side that's going to take it all away.

ne anen tjeter qe do i largoje ato.

So I want to suggest today a couple of ways

Pra dua sot te sugjeroj disa menyra

to think about sanitation that will perhaps help

per te menduar per pastrimin qe mbase do ndihmojne

ameliorate the stigma

per te permiresuar tuprin

and bring them into this conversation

dhe ti sjellim ne kete bisede

of how to craft a city that is sustainable and humane.

se si te artizanojme nje qytet i cili eshte i qendrueshem dhe njerezor.

Their work, I think, is kind of liturgical.

Puna e tyre mendoj se eshte nje lloj liturgjiku.

They're on the streets every day, rhythmically.

Ata jane ne rruge cdo dite, ritmikisht.

They wear a uniform in many cities.

Veshin uniforma ne shume qytete.

You know when to expect them.

Ti di kur ti presesh.

And their work lets us do our work.

Dhe puna e tyre na lejon te bejme punen tone.

They are almost a form of reassurance.

Jan si nje form sigurimi.

The flow that they maintain

Rrjedha qe ata permbajne

keeps us safe from ourselves,

na mban ne te siguruar nga ne vete,

from our own dross, our cast-offs,

nga zgjyrat tona, nga braktisjet tona,

and that flow must be maintained always

dhe ajo rrjedhe duhet te mirembahet gjithmone

no matter what.

pa marre parasysh cfare.

On the day after September 11 in 2001,

Diten pas 11 Shtatorit ne 2001,

I heard the growl of a sanitation truck on the street,

degjova hungerimen e nje kamion patsrimi ne rruge,

and I grabbed my infant son and I ran downstairs

kapa djalin tim foshnje dhe vrapova ne katin e poshtem

and there was a man doing his paper recycling route

dhe aty ishte nje burre i cili bente itinerarin e riciklimit te letres

like he did every Wednesday.

sikurse bente cdo te Merkure.

And I tried to thank him for doing his work

U perpoqa ta falenderoja ate per punen qe bente

on that day of all days,

ate dite nga te gjitha ditet,

but I started to cry.

por fillova te qaja.

And he looked at me,

Ai me veshtroi,

and he just nodded, and he said,

dhe ai thjesht tundi koken, dhe tha,

"We're going to be okay.

"Do jemi mire.

We're going to be okay."

Do ja dalim mire."

It was a little while later that I started

Ishte pak me vone qe une nisa

my research with sanitation,

kerkimet e mia mbi pastrimin,

and I met that man again.

dhe e takova ate burre perseri.

His name is Paulie, and we worked together many times,

Ai quhet Paulie, dhe punuam bashke shume here,

and we became good friends.

dhe u miq te mire.

I want to believe that Paulie was right.

Dua te besoj se Paulie kishte te drejte.

We are going to be okay.

Ne do jemi mire.

But in our effort to reconfigure

Por ne perpjekjen tone per te rikonfiguruar

how we as a species exist on this planet,

se si ne si specie ekzistojme ne kete planet,

we must include and take account of

duhet te perfshijme dhe te marim ne konsidearate

all the costs, including the very real human cost

te gjitha cmimet, duke perfshire cmimin shume real njerezor

of the labor.

te punes.

And we also would be well informed

Gjithashtu do ishim te mire informuar

to reach out to the people who do that work

per tu afruar tek ata njerez qe e bejne ate pune

and get their expertise

dhe te marim njohurite e tyre

on how do we think about,

ne menyren se si mendojme,

how do we create systems around sustainability

si krijojme sistemet mbi qendrueshmerine

that perhaps take us from curbside recycling,

e cila mbase na merr nga riciklimi i buze trotuarit

which is a remarkable success across 40 years,

i cili eshte nje sukses shenues keto 40 vite,

across the United States and countries around the world,

ne Shtetet e Bashkuara dhe ne shtete te tjera te botes,

and lift us up to a broader horizon

dhe na ngre ne nje horizont me te gjere

where we're looking at other forms of waste

ku ne mund te shohim forma te ndryshme te mbetjeve

that could be lessened

qe mund te pakesohen

from manufacturing and industrial sources.

nga burime prodhimi dhe industriale.

Municipal waste, what we think of when we talk about garbage,

Mbetje urbane, cfare mendojme kur ne flasim per plehrat,

accounts for three percent of the nation's waste stream.

llogaritet per tre perqind te derdhjes se mbetjeve te kombit.

It's a remarkable statistic.

Eshte nje statistike e shenueshme.

So in the flow of your days,

Pra ne rrjedhen e dites tuaj,

in the flow of your lives,

ne rrjedhen e jetes tuaj,

next time you see someone whose job is

heres tjeter qe do shihni se puna kujt eshte

to clean up after you,

te kujdeset per pastrimin tuaj,

take a moment to acknowledge them.

merni nje moment per ti mirenjohur ata.

Take a moment to say thank you.

Merni nje moment per te thene faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartorkitje)