Is your country at risk of becoming a dictatorship? Here's how to know | Farida Nabourema

Prevodilac: Tijana Vrtelova Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

A few weeks ago,

Pre nekoliko nedelja,

somebody tweeted during the midterm elections in the United States

neko je napisao na Tviteru tokom srednjoročnih izbora u SAD

that Election Day should be made a holiday.

da bi dan izbora trebalo da bude praznik.

And I retweeted, saying,

Ja sam odgovorila, napisavši:

"Well, you're welcome to come to my country and vote.

„Dobrodošli ste da dođete u moju zemlju da glasate.

You'll get the whole week off to allow the military to count it."

Dobićete čitavu nedelju kako bi vojska stigla da prebroji glasove.“

I come from Togo, by the way.

Uzgred, ja sam iz Togoa.

It is a beautiful country located in West Africa.

To je predivna zemlja u Zapadnoj Africi.

There are some cool, interesting facts about my country.

Postoje neke kul, zanimljive činjenice o mojoj zemlji.

Togo has been ruled by the same family for 51 years,

Togom vlada ista porodica 51 godinu,

making us the oldest autocracy in Africa.

što nas čini najstarijom autokratijom u Africi.

That's a record.

To je rekord.

We have a second-coolest record:

Imamo još jedan kul rekord:

we have been ranked three times as the unhappiest country on earth.

tri puta smo bili proglašeni za najnesrećniju zemlju na planeti.

You are all invited.

Svi ste pozvani.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So just to let you know,

Samo da vam kažem,

it's not very cool to live under an autocracy.

nije preterano kul živeti u autokratiji.

But the interesting thing is that I have met, throughout the course of my activism,

Ali zanimljivo je što sam upoznala, kroz svoj aktivizam,

jako mnogo ljudi iz različitih zemalja,

so many people from different countries,

i kad im ispričam o Togou, njihova reakcija je uvek:

and when I tell them about Togo, their reaction is always,

"How can you guys allow the same people to terrorize you for 51 years?

„Kako možete dozvoliti da vas isti ljudi terorišu 51 godinu?

You know, like, you Togolese, you must be very patient."

Mislim, vi Togoanci mora da ste veoma strpljivi.“

That's their diplomatic way of saying "stupid."

To je njihov diplomatski način da kažu „glupi“.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And when you live in a free country,

Kada neko živi u slobodnoj zemlji,

there's this tendency of assuming that those who are oppressed

često pretpostavlja da oni koji su ugnjetavani

tolerate their oppression or are comfortable with it,

tolerišu svoje ugnjetavanje ili im ono ne smeta.

and democracy is projected as a progressive form of governance

Demokratija se predstavlja kao progresivan oblik vladavine

in such a way that those people who don't live under democratic countries

tako da su ljudi koji ne žive u demokratskim zemljama

are seen as people who are not intellectually or maybe morally

viđeni kao ljudi koji intelektualno, a možda i moralno,

as advanced as others.

nisu podjednako napredni kao drugi.

But it's not the case.

Ali to nije tako.

The reason why people have that perception

Razlog za takvo viđenje stvari

has to do with the way stories are covered about dictatorships.

leži u načinu na koji su pokrivene priče o diktaturama.

In the course of my activism,

Tokom svog aktivizma,

I have had to interview with so many news outlets out there,

imala sam intervjue sa velikim brojem medijskih kuća,

and usually it would always start with, "What got you started?

i uglavnom bi počinjali pitanjima: „Šta te je pokrenulo?

What inspired you?"

Šta te je inspirisalo?“

And I reply, "I wasn't inspired. I was triggered."

Odgovarala sam: „Nisam bila inspirisana. Bila sam naterana.“

And it goes on. "Well, what triggered you?"

Pa se nastavlja: „Dobro, a šta te je nateralo?“

And I go on about how my father was arrested when I was 13, and tortured,

I ja onda pričam kako je moj otac bio uhapšen kad sam imala 13 godina,

kako su ga mučili, celu tu priču...

all the history ... I don't want to get into details now,

Da ne ulazim sad u detalje, jer ćete svi zaspati.

because you'll start sleeping.

But the thing is, at the end of the day, what interests them the most is:

Stvar je u tome, na kraju krajeva, da ih najviše zanima to

How was he tortured?

kako su ga mučili,

For how many days? How many people died?

koliko dana, koliko ljudi je ubijeno.

They are interested in the abuse, in the killing,

Interesuju ih zlostavljanja, ubistva,

because they believe that will gain attention and sympathy.

jer veruju da će to privući pažnju i sažaljenje.

But in reality, it serves the purpose of the dictator.

Ali zapravo, to ide na ruku diktatoru.

It helps them advertise their cruelty.

Pomaže im da propagiraju svoju okrutnost.

In 2011, I cofounded a movement I call "Faure Must Go,"

Godine 2011. sam učestvovala u stvaranju pokreta koji zovem „For mora da ode“,

because Faure is the first name of our president.

jer For je ime našeg predsednika.

Togo is a French-speaking country, by the way,

Uzgred, u Togou se govori francuski,

but I chose English because I had my issues with France as well.

ali sam izabrala engleski, jer sam imala problema i sa Francuskom.

But then --

Ali onda...

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But then, when I started Faure Must Go,

Ali onda, kada sam pokrenula „For mora da ode“,

I made a video, and I came on camera,

snimila sam video, i pred kamerom sam rekla:

and I said, "Well, Faure Gnassingbé, I give you 60 days to resign as president,

„Dakle, Fore Gnasingbe, dajem ti 60 dana da odstupiš sa mesta predsednika,

because if you don't,

jer ako to ne uradiš, mi, mladi Togoa, ćemo se organizovati i srušiti te,

we the youth in Togo will organize and we will bring you down,

because you have killed over 500 of our countrymen

jer si ubio preko 500 naših sunarodnika

to seize power when your father died.

da bi došao na vlast nakon smrti oca.

We have not chosen you.

Mi te nismo izabrali.

You are an imposter, and we will remove you."

Ti si uljez i mi ćemo te ukloniti.“

But I was the only known face of the movement.

Ali, ja sam bila jedino poznato lice pokreta.

Why? Because I was the only stupid one.

Zašto? Jer sam jedina bila glupa.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And the backlashes followed.

Sledila je odmazda.

My family started receiving threats.

Mojoj porodici su počele da stižu pretnje.

My siblings called me one morning.

Moja braća su me jednog dana pozvala.

They said, "You know what?

Rekoše mi: „Znaš šta?

When they come here to kill you, we don't want to die with you,

Kada dođu ovde da te ubiju, mi ne želimo da umremo sa tobom. Iseli se.“

so move out."

So yes, I moved out.

Da, iselila sam se.

And I'm so angry at them, so I haven't talked to them in five years.

Toliko sam ljuta na njih, da ne razgovaram sa njima već pet godina.

Anyway, moving forward ...

U svakom slučaju, idemo dalje...

For the past nine years, I have been working with countries

U proteklih devet godina radila sam sa zemljama

to raise awareness of Togo,

na podizanju svesti o Togou,

to help the people of Togo overcome their fear

kako bih pomogla narodu Togoa da pobedi strah;

so they, too, can come and say they want change.

da i oni mogu da izađu i kažu da žele promenu.

I have received a lot of persecution

Sledilo je dosta progona,

that I cannot disclose,

o čemu ne mogu da pričam,

a lot of threats, a lot of abuse,

mnogo pretnji, mnogo zlostavljanja,

psychologically.

psihološkog.

But I don't like talking about them,

Ali, ja ne volim o tome da pričam,

because I know that my job as an activist is to mobilize,

jer znam da je moj posao kao aktiviste da pokrenem,

is to organize,

da organizujem,

is to help every single Togolese citizen understand that, as citizens,

da pomognem svakom građaninu Togoa da razume da, kao građani,

we hold the power,

mi imamo moć,

we are the boss and we decide.

mi smo šef i mi odlučujemo.

And the punishment that the dictators are using to intimidate them

I da kazne koje diktatori koriste da ih zaplaše

must not prevent us from getting what we want.

ne smeju da nas spreče da dobijemo ono što želimo.

That is why I said it is very important to cover the stories of activists

Zato sam rekla da je veoma važno da se pokrivaju priče aktivista

in the way that it helps mobilize people,

tako da to pomogne u pokretanju ljudi,

not in the way that it helps deter their action

a ne tako da sprečavaju njihovo delovanje

and force even more their subjugation to the oppressive system.

i prisiljavaju još više na potčinjavanje opresivnom sistemu.

During these years that I've been an activist,

Tokom ovih godina koliko sam aktivista,

there are days that I felt like quitting because I couldn't take it.

bilo je dana kada sam želela da odustanem jer nisam mogla da izdržim.

Well then, what kept me going?

Pa, šta me je onda teralo dalje?

The one thing that kept me going:

Jedna stvar me je terala dalje:

I remember the story of my grandfather,

setim se priče o mom dedi,

and how he used to walk 465 miles from his village to the city,

o tome kako je hodao 750 km od svog sela do grada

just to protest for independence.

samo da bi prostestovao za nezavisnost.

Then I remember the sacrifice of my father,

Onda se setim žrtve moga oca,

who was tortured so many times

koji je toliko puta mučen

for daring to protest against the regime.

jer se usudio da protestuje protiv režima.

Back in the '70s, they would write pamphlets

Tokom '70-ih pisali bi pamflete

to raise awareness on the dictatorship,

kako bi podigli svest o diktaturi,

and because they couldn't afford to make copies,

ali pošto nisu mogli da priušte da naprave kopije,

they would reproduce the same pamphlet 500 times each

oni bi prepisali jedan isti pamflet 500 puta

and distribute them.

i podelili ih.

It got to a point where the military knew their handwriting,

Došlo je na kraju do toga da je vojska znala njihov rukopis,

so as soon as they stumbled upon one, they'd go and get them.

pa čim bi naišli na jedan, otišli bi i pohapsili ih.

But I look at that and I'm like, you know, today you have a blog.

Razmišljam o tome, znate, danas postoji blog.

I don't have to copy the same thing 500 times.

Ne moram da prepisujem jednu istu stvar 500 puta.

I blog and thousands of people read it.

Napišem na blogu i hiljade ljudi to pročita.

By the way, in Togo, they like calling me the WhatsApp girl,

Uzgred, u Togou vole da me zovu Vatsap devojka,

because I am always on WhatsApp attacking the government.

jer sam stalno na Vatsapu gde napadam vlast.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So it's much easier.

Tako da je mnogo lakše.

When I'm angry at the government, I just make an angry note,

Kada sam ljuta na vlast, ja samo napišem ljutitu poruku,

and I send it out and thousands of people share it.

pošaljem je, i hiljade ljudi to podeli.

I'm rarely this composed. I'm always angry, by the way.

Ja sam retko ovako staložena. Inače sam uvek ljuta.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So I was talking about the necessity to showcase our stories,

Pričala sam o potrebi da se prikažu naše priče,

because when I think about the sacrifices that were made for us,

jer kad sam razmišljala o žrtvama koje su podnete zbog nas,

it helped me keep going.

to je ono što me je guralo napred.

One of the very first actions of our Faure Must Go movement

Jedna od prvih akcija našeg pokreta „For mora da ode“

was to come up with a petition, asking citizens to sign

bila je da osmislimo peticiju i tražimo od građana da potpišu,

so that we can demand new elections, as the constitution allows.

kako bismo mogli da tražimo nove izbore, kako i dozvoljava ustav.

People were scared to put their names

Ljudi su se plašili da se potpišu

because, they said, they don't want to get in trouble.

jer, rekoše, ne žele da upadnu u nevolju.

Even in the diaspora, people were scared.

Čak i u dijaspori su se ljudi plašili.

They were like, "We have family at home."

Govorili su: „Imamo porodicu kod kuće.“

But there was this woman who was in her 60s.

Ali bila je jedna žena od 60-ak godina.

When she heard about it, she took the petition,

Kad je čula za peticiju, uzela ju je,

and she went home,

otišla kući,

and by herself she collected over 1,000 [signatures].

i sama skupila preko 1000 potpisa.

That inspired me so much, and I was like,

To me je toliko inspirisalo, da sam pomislila,

if a 60-year-old that has nothing more to gain in this regime

ako šezdesetogodišnjakinja koja ništa više nema da dobije od ovog režima

can do this for us, the young ones,

može to da učini za nas, za mlade,

then why should I quit?

zašto bih onda ja odustala?

It is the stories of resistance, the stories of defiance,

Priče o otporu, priče o prkosu,

the stories of resilience,

priče o istrajnosti,

that inspire people to get involved,

one inspirišu ljude da se uključe,

not the stories of abuse and killings and hurt,

a ne priče o zlostavljanju, ubijanju i boli,

because as humans, it's only natural for us to be scared.

jer nam je, kao ljudima, u prirodi da se plašimo.

I would like to share with you a few characteristics of dictatorships

Htela bih da podelim sa vama nekoliko karakteristika diktature

so that you can assess your own country

kako biste mogli da procenite sopstvenu zemlju

and see if you are also at risk of joining us.

i videli da li ste u opasnosti da nam se pridružite.

(Laughter and cheers)

(Smeh i ovacije)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Number one thing to look at: concentration of power.

Prva stvar koju treba gledati je koncentracija moći.

Is the power in your country concentrated in the hands of a few, an elite?

Da li je moć u vašoj zemlji skoncentrisana u rukama malobrojnih, elite?

It can be a political elite, ideological elite.

To može biti politička, ideološka elita.

And you have a strongman,

I uvek imate moćnika,

because we always have one guy who is presented as the messiah

jer uvek imamo jednog lika koji se predstavlja kao mesija

who will save us from the world.

koji će da nas spase od sveta.

The second point is propaganda.

Druga tačka je propaganda.

Dictators feed on propaganda.

Diktatori žive od propagande.

They like giving the impression that they are the saviors,

Oni vole da odaju utisak spasioca

and without them, the country will fall apart.

i da bi bez njih zemlja propala.

And they are always fighting some foreign forces, you know?

I oni se uvek bore protiv nekih stranih sila, znate?

The Christians, the Jewish, the Muslims,

Hrišćani, jevreji, muslimani,

the voodoo priests are coming for you.

vudu sveštenici dolaze po vas.

The Communists, when they get here, we'll all be broke.

Kada komunisti dođu, svi ćemo bankrotirati.

These kinds of things.

Takve stvari.

A naš predsednik se, konkretno, bori protiv gusara.

And our president, in particular, he fights pirates.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I am very serious.

Veoma sam ozbiljna.

Last year, he bought a boat that's 13 million dollars to fight pirates,

Prošle godine je kupio brod za borbu protiv gusara za 13 miliona dolara,

and 60 percent of our people are starving.

dok 60 posto našeg naroda gladuje.

So they are always protecting us from some foreign forces.

Tako da nas oni uvek čuvaju od nekih stranih sila.

And this leads to point three: militarization.

A to vodi do treće tačke: militarizacija.

Dictators survive by instigating fear,

Diktatori preživljavaju tako što podstiču strah

and they use the military to suppress dissident voices,

i koriste vojsku da uguše disidentske glasove,

even though they try to give the impression

iako pokušavaju da odaju utisak

that the military is to protect the nation.

da je vojska tu da štiti narod.

And they suppress institutions and destroy them

Oni guše institucije i uništavaju ih

so that they don't have to be held accountable.

da ne bi mogli da budu pozvani na odgovornost.

So do you have a heavily militarized country?

I, imate li veoma militarizovanu državu?

And this leads to point four, what I call human cruelty.

To vodi do četvrte tačke, koju ja zovem okrutnost prema ljudima.

You know when we talk about animals,

Znate kako, kada pričamo o životinjama,

we say animal cruelty when animals are abused,

kažemo okrutnost prema životinjama, kada ih maltretiraju,

because there's no charter acknowledged by the UN

jer ne postoji povelja koju priznaju UN

saying animal rights charter.

koja se zove povelja prava životinja.

Point one: all animals are created equal. So you don't have that.

Prva tačka: sve životinje su stvorene jednake. To nemate.

So whenever animals are abused, we say animal cruelty.

Kad god njih maltretiraju, to zovemo okrutnost prema životinjama.

But when it comes to humans, we say human rights abuses,

Ali kada su u pitanju ljudi, kažemo povreda ljudskih prava,

because we assume that all humans have rights.

jer pretpostavljamo da svi ljudi imaju prava.

But some of us are actually still fighting for our right to have rights.

Ali, neki od nas se još uvek bore za pravo da imaju prava.

So in that condition, I don't talk about human rights abuse or violation.

U takvim uslovima ne govorim o povredi ili kršenju ljudskih prava.

When you live in a country and you have an issue with the president

Kada živiš u zemlji i imaš problema sa predsednikom,

and the worst thing that can happen is he bans you from the presidency,

i najgore što može da ti se desi je da ti zabrani pristup predsedništvu,

imaš sreće.

you are lucky.

Kada dođeš u moju zemlju i imaš problem sa predsednikom,

When you come to my country and have an issue with the president,

prosto bežiš, nestaneš, iščezneš iz svemira,

you just run, disappear; you vanish from the universe,

jer će te oni naći i u Turskoj.

because they can still find you in Turkey.

I tako ljudi poput mene više ne mogu da žive u Togou.

So people like myself, we don't get to live in Togo anymore.

And people like myself,

I ljudi poput mene,

we don't get to live in the same place for more than a month,

mi ne možemo da živimo na istom mestu duže od mesec dana

because we don't want to be traced.

jer ne želimo da nam uđu u trag.

Način na koji muče ljude,

The way they abuse people,

the type of cruelty that happens in all impunity under dictatorships

vrsta okrutnosti koja prolazi nekažnjeno pod diktaturom

are beyond human imagination.

je izvan ljudskog poimanja.

The stories of some of the activists that were killed,

Priče o nekim od aktivista koji su ubijeni,

their bodies dumped in the sea,

čija su tela bačena u more,

that were tortured

koji su bili mučeni

to the point where they lost their hearing or their sight --

toliko da su izgubili sluh ili vid -

those stories still haunt me.

te priče me i dalje progone.

And sometimes, as an activist,

I ponekad, kao aktivistu,

I am less concerned about dying than how it will happen.

manje me brine umiranje od toga kako će se to dogoditi.

Sometimes I just sit down and I imagine all scenarios.

Ponekad sedim i zamišljam sve scenarije.

What are they going to do? Are they going to cut my ears first?

Šta li će da rade? Hoće li prvo da mi odseku uši?

Or are they going to cut my tongue because I'm always insulting them?

Ili će prvo da mi odseku jezik jer ih stalno vređam?

It sounds cruel, but it is the reality.

Zvuči okrutno, ali to je realnost.

We live in a very cruel world.

Živimo u veoma okrutnom svetu.

Dictators are cruel monsters,

Diktatori su okrutna čudovišta,

and I am not saying it to be nice.

i to ne kažem da ispadnem fina.

So yes, that is the final characteristic.

To je to, to je konačna karakteristika.

The list goes on,

Spisak ide dalje,

but that's the final thing that I want to share about autocracies,

ali to je poslednja stvar koju želim da podelim o autokratijama,

da pogledate svoju zemlju i vidite da li tamo postoji rizik.

so that you look at your country and see if there are risks there.

Važno je da prepoznate prednosti slobode koju danas imate

It is important that you acknowledge the gains of freedom that you have today,

jer su neki ljudi morali da daju svoje živote da biste je imali.

because some people had to give their lives for you to have it.

Zato je ne uzimajte zdravo za gotovo.

So don't take this for granted.

But then at the same time, you also need to know

Ali istovremeno treba da znate

that no country is actually destined to be oppressed,

da nijednoj zemlji nije predodređeno da bude potlačena,

while at the same time,

a istovremeno,

no country or no people are immune to oppression and dictatorship.

nijedna zemlja i nijedan narod nije imun na represiju i diktaturu.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)