Shimon Schocken's rides of hope

Prevodilac: Ivana Korom Lektor: Sandra Gojic

Mountain biking in Israel

Vrlo strastveno i posvećeno

is something that I do with great passion

se bavim vožnjom mauntin bajka u Izraelu.

and commitment.

And when I'm on my bike,

Kada sam na biciklu,

I feel that I connect

osećam da se povezujem

with the profound beauty of Israel,

sa dubokom lepotom Izraela,

and I feel that I'm united

osećam da sam sjedinjen

with this country's history

sa istorijom ove zemlje

and biblical law.

i njenim biblijskim zakonima.

And also, for me,

Za mene je biciklizam

biking is a matter of empowerment.

takođe stvar osnaživanja.

When I reach the summit

Kada stignem na vrh neke

of a steep mountain in the middle of nowhere,

strme planine usred ničega

I feel young,

osećam se mladim,

invincible, eternal.

nepobedivim, večnim.

It's as if I'm connecting with some legacy

Kao da se povezujem sa nekim nasleđem

or with some energy

ili nekakvom energijom

far greater than myself.

mnogo većom od sebe.

You can see my fellow riders

Na kraju ove slike vidite

at the end of the picture,

moje kolege bicikliste

looking at me with some concern.

koji me gledaju nekako zabrinuto.

And here is another picture of them.

Evo ih na još jednoj slici.

Unfortunately, I cannot show their faces,

Na žalost, ne mogu da pokažem njihova lica

neither can I disclose their true names,

niti da otkrijem njihova prava imena,

and that's because my fellow riders

a to je zato što su oni

are juvenile inmates,

maloletni zatvorenici, prestupnici,

offenders

spending time in a correction facility

koji provode vreme u popravnoj ustanovi

about 20 minutes' ride from here --

koja se nalazi na 20 minuta vožnje odavde.

well, like everything in Israel.

Pa, kao i sve u Izraelu.

And I've been riding with these kids once a week,

Poslednje četiri godine vozim sa ovim klincima,

every Tuesday, rain or shine, for the last four years

jednom nedeljno, svakog utorka, po kiši i suncu.

and by now, they've become a very big part of my life.

Već su postali veliki deo mog života.

This story began four years ago.

Priča je počela pre četiri godine.

The correction facility where they are locked up

Ta ustanova u kojoj su zatvoreni

happens to be right in the middle

se baš nalazi na sredini

of one of my usual trips,

jedne od mojih uobičajenih ruta

and it's surrounded by barbed wires

i okružena je bodljikavom žicom

and electric gates and armed guards.

i električnim kapijama i naoružanim stražarima.

So on one of these rides,

Tokom jedne vožnje uspeo sam

I talked my way into the compound

da ih ubedim da me puste

and went to see the warden.

i otišao sam da pričam sa upravnikom.

I told the warden

Rekao sam mu da želim

that I wanted to start a mountain biking club in this place

da pokrenem biciklistički klub na tom mestu

and that basically I wanted to take the kids

i da zapravo želim da vodim te klince

from here to there.

odavde dovde.

And I told him, "Let's find a way

I rekao sam mu: "Hajde da nađemo način

in which I'll be able to take out 10 kids once a week

da desetoro ovih klinaca jednom nedeljno

to ride with in the summer in the country."

vodim sa mnom na vožnje leti u prirodi."

And the warden was quite amused,

Upravniku je to bilo zabavno,

and he told me he thought that I was a nut

rekao mi je da misli da sam ludak.

and he told me,

I rekao mi je: "Ovo mesto je popravna ustanova.

"This place is a correction facility. These guys are serious offenders.

Ovi momci su ozbiljni prestupnici.

They are supposed to be locked up.

Trebalo bi da su zaključani.

They aren't supposed to be out at large."

Ne bi trebalo da budu na otvorenom."

And yet, we began to talk about it,

Ipak smo počeli da razgovaramo o tome,

and one thing led to another.

jedna stvar je vodila do sledeće.

And I can't see myself

Ne mogu da zamislim sebe

kako odlazim u državni zatvor u Nju Džerziju

going into a state prison in New Jersey

and making such a proposition,

i predlažem nešto ovakvo,

but this being Israel,

ali pošto je ovo Izrael,

the warden somehow made it happen.

upravnik je omogućio da se ovo desi.

And so two months later,

I dva meseca kasnije,

we found ourselves "at large" --

našli smo se na otvorenom -

myself,

ja,

10 juvenile inmates

deset maloletnih prestupnika

and a wonderful fellow named Russ,

i predivan momak po imenu Ras

who became a very good friend of mine

koji mi je postao veoma dobar prijatelj

and my partner in this project.

i partner u ovom projektu.

And in the next few weeks, I had the tremendous pleasure

Sledećih nekoliko nedelja imao sam neverovatno zadovoljstvo

of introducing these kids

da ovim klincima pokažem

to the world of total freedom,

svet potpune slobode,

a world consisting of magnificent vistas

svet sačinjen od predivnih panorama

like these --

kao što su ove -

everything you see here is obviously in Israel --

sve što vidite je, očigledno, u Izraelu -

as well as close encounters

kao i sa bliskim susretima

with all sorts of small creatures

sa svakakvim malim stvorenjima

coming in all sorts of sizes,

svih veličina,

colors, shapes, forms

boja, oblika,

and so on.

i tako dalje.

In spite of all this splendor,

Uprkos svim ovim divotama,

the beginning was extremely frustrating.

početak je bio veoma frustrirajuć.

Every small obstacle,

Svaka mala prepreka,

every slight uphill,

svaka lagana uzbrdica,

would cause these fellows

bile su razlog da ovi momci

to stop in their tracks and give up.

zastanu na putu i odustanu.

So we had a lot of this going on.

Mnogo ovoga se događalo.

I found out that they had a very hard time

Otkrio sam da im je veoma teško

dealing with frustration and difficulties --

da se nose sa frustracijom i teškoćama -

not because they were physically unfit.

ne zato što nisu fizički u kondiciji.

But that's one reason why they ended up where they were.

Ali to je jedan razlog zašto su završili tu gde jesu.

And I became increasingly more and more agitated,

Postajao sam sve više iznerviran

because I was there

jer sam bio tamo,

not only to be with them,

ne samo da bih bio s njima,

but also to ride and create a team

nego da bih vozio i stvarao tim.

and I didn't know what to do.

I nisam znao šta da radim.

Now, let me give you an example.

Dozvolite da vam dam jedan primer.

We're going downhill in some rocky terrain,

Spuštamo se niz brdo na brdovitom terenu

and the front tire of Alex

i Aleksova prednja guma

gets caught in one of these crevasses here.

se zaglavi u jednoj od ovih pukotina.

So he crashes down,

On padne

and he gets slightly injured,

i malo se povredi,

but this does not prevent him from jumping up

ali to ga ne sprečava da skoči

and then starting to jump up and down on his bike

i počne da skače po svom biciklu

and curse violently.

i da nasilno psuje.

Then he throws his helmet in the air.

Onda zavitla kacigu uvis.

His backpack goes ballistic in some other direction.

Njegov ranac ludački odleti na neku drugu stranu.

And then he runs to the nearest tree

A onda odleti do najbližeg drveta

and starts to break branches and throw rocks

i počne da lomi grane i baca kamenje

and curse like I've never heard.

i psuje kako nisam nikad čuo.

And I'm just standing there,

A ja samo stojim tamo

watching this scene

posmatrajući tu scenu

with a complete disbelief,

u potpunoj neverici,

not knowing what to do.

ne znajući šta da radim.

I'm used to algorithms

Navikao sam na algoritme

and data structures

i strukture podataka

and super motivated students,

i super motivisane studente

and nothing in my background

i ništa u mom životu

prepared me to deal

me nije pripremilo da se izborim

with a raging, violent adolescent

sa pobesnelim, nasilnim adolescentom

in the middle of nowhere.

usred ničega.

And you have to realize that these incidents

Morate shvatiti da se ovi incidenti

did not happen in convenient locations.

nisu događali na pogodnim mestima.

They happened in places like this,

Događali su se na mestima poput ovog,

in the Judean Desert,

u Judejskoj pustinji,

20 kilometers away from the nearest road.

20km udaljenoj od najbližeg puta.

And what you don't see in this picture

Ono što na ovoj slici ne vidite

is that somewhere between these riders there,

je da negde između ovih biciklista ovde

there's a teenager sitting on a rock,

sedi tinejdžer na nekom kamenu

saying, "I'm not moving from here. Forget it.

i govori: "Ne idem dalje. Zaboravi.

I've had it."

Dosta mi je."

Well, that's a problem

Pa, to je problem,

because one way or another, you have to get this guy moving

jer kako god okreneš, on mora da nastavi

because it's getting dark soon and dangerous.

jer pada mrak i postaje opasno.

It took me several such incidents to figure out what I was supposed to do.

Bilo je potrebno nekoliko ovakvih incidenata da bih shvatio šta da radim.

At the beginning, it was a disaster.

U početku je to bila propast.

I tried harsh words and threats

Pokušao sam oštrim rečima i pretnjama

and they took me nowhere.

i to me nigde nije odvelo.

That's what they had all their lives.

To su oni imali tokom celog života.

And at some point I found out,

U jednom trenutku sam shvatio

when a kid like this gets into a fit,

da kad se ovakav klinac razbesni,

the best thing that you can possibly do

najbolje što možete uraditi

is stay as close as possible to this kid,

je da ostanete što je bliže moguće,

which is difficult,

što je teško jer ono što stvarno želite je da odete odatle.

because what you really want to do is go away.

But that's what he had all his life,

Ali to mu se dešavalo celog života,

people walking away from him.

ljudi su odlazili od njega.

So what you have to do is stay close

Dakle morate ostati blizu

and try to reach in

i pokušati da doprete do njega

and pet his shoulder

i potapšati ga po ramenu

or give him a piece of chocolate.

ili mu dati čokoladu.

So I would say, "Alex, I know that it's terribly difficult.

Rekao bih: "Aleks, znam da je užasno teško.

Why don't you rest for a few minutes

Zašto se malo ne odmoriš,

and then we'll go on."

pa ćemo nastaviti."

"Go away you maniac-psychopath.

"Skloni se, manijače, psihopato.

Why would you bring us to this goddamn place?"

Zašto si nas doveo na ovo prokleto mesto?"

And I would say, "Relax, Alex.

A ja bih rekao: "Polako, Aleks.

Here's a piece of chocolate."

Uzmi malo čokolade."

And Alex would go, "Arrrrggg!"

A on bi rekao "Aarrrgrg!"

Because you have to understand

Morate da razumete, tokom vožnji

that on these rides we are constantly hungry --

smo stalno gladni -

and after the rides also.

kao i posle vožnje.

And who is this guy, Alex, to begin with?

Za početak, ko je taj Aleks?

He's a 17-year-old.

On je jedan sedamnaestogodišnjak.

When he was eight,

Kada mu je bilo osam,

someone put him on a boat in Odessa

neko ga je stavio na brod u Odesi

and sent him, shipped him to Israel

i poslao u Izrael,

on his own.

samog.

And he ended up in south Tel Aviv

Završio je u južnom Tel Avivu

and did not have the good luck

i nije imao te sreće da ga neko pokupi,

to be picked up by a [unclear]

and roamed the streets

pa je lutao ulicama

and became a prominent gang member.

i postao je zapaženi član bande.

And he spent the last 10 years of his life

Poslednjih deset godina je proveo

in two places only,

na samo dva mesta -

the slums and the state prison,

sirotinjskim četvrtima i državnom zatvoru,

where he spent the last two years

u kom je proveo poslednje dve godine

before he ended up sitting on this rock there.

pre nego što je završio sedeći na ovom kamenu.

And so this kid

Dakle njega je verovatno zlostavljala,

was probably abused,

abandoned, ignored, betrayed

napustila, ignorisala, izdala,

by almost every adult along the way.

skoro svaka odrasla osoba koju je sreo.

So, for such a kid,

Dakle za takvog klinca,

when an adult that he learns to respect stays close to him

situacija u kojoj osoba u koju je stekao poverenje

and doesn't walk away from him

ostane s njim i ne napusti ga u bilo kakvoj situaciji,

in any situation,

irrespective of how he behaves,

nezavisno od toga kako se ponaša,

it's a tremendous healing experience.

izuzetno je isceljujuće iskustvo.

It's an act of unconditional acceptance,

To je čin bezuslovnog prihvatanja,

something that he never had.

nešto što nikad nije imao.

I want to say a few words about vision.

Želim da kažem nekoliko reči o viziji.

When I started this program four years ago,

Kada sam započeo ovo pre četiri godine,

I had this original plan

prvobitni plan je bio da stvorim tim

of creating a team

of winning underdogs.

gubitnika koji pobeđuju.

I had an image of Lance Armstrong

U glavi sam imao sliku

in my mind.

Lensa Armstronga.

And it took me exactly two months

Bilo je potrebno tačno dva meseca

of complete frustration

potpune frustracije

to realize that this vision

da shvatim da ova vizija nije na mestu

was misplaced,

and that there was another vision

i da postoji druga vizija

supremely more important

koja je mnogo važnija

and more readily available.

i izuzetno dostupnija.

It all of a sudden dawned on me, in this project,

Odjednom mi je tokom projekta sinulo

that the purpose of these rides

da svrha ovih vožnji

should actually be

u stvari treba da bude

to expose the kids

da ove klince izložim

to one thing only: love.

samo jednoj stvari: ljubavi,

Love to the country, to the uphill

ljubavi prema prirodi, prema uzbrdici,

and the downhill,

prema nizbrdici,

to all the incredible creatures that surround us --

prema svim izvanrednim bićima koja su oko nas -

the animals, the plants,

životinjama, biljkama, insektima,

the insects --

love and respect

ljubavi i poštovanju

to other fellow members in your team,

prema ostalim članovima tvog tima,

in your biking team,

svog biciklističkog tima,

and most importantly,

i što je najvažnije,

love and respect to yourself,

ljubavi i poštovanju prema sebi,

which is something

što je nešto

što im je veoma nedostajalo.

that they badly miss.

Together with the kids,

Zajedno sa klincima i ja sam

I also went through a remarkable transformation.

prošao kroz izuzetan preobražaj.

Now, I come from a cutthroat world

Ja dolazim iz surovog sveta

of science and high technology.

nauke i visoke tehnologije.

I used to think that reason and logic

Nekada sam mislio da su razum i logika

and relentless drive

i nemilosrdan poriv

were the only ways to make things happen.

jedini načini da se nešto ostvari.

And before I worked with the kids,

I pre nego što sam s njima radio,

anything that I did with them,

sve što bih radio s njima

or anything that I did with myself,

ili što bih radio sa sobom,

was supposed to be perfect,

trebalo je da bude savršeno,

ideal, optimal,

idealno, optimalno,

but after working with them for some time,

ali posle nekog vremena rada s njima,

I discovered the great virtues of empathy

otkrio sam izuzetnu vrlinu empatije

and flexibility

i fleksibilnosti

and being able to start with some vision,

i sposobnosti da počnem sa nekom vizijom,

and if the vision doesn't work, well nothing happened.

pa ako vizija ne uspe, ništa strašno.

All you have to do is play with it, change it a little bit,

Sve što treba je da se igrate, malo je menjate,

and come up with something that does help, that does work.

i doći ćete do nečega što pomaže, što radi.

So right now, I feel more

Trenutno, više osećam

like these are my principles,

da su ovo moji principi

and if you don't like them,

i ako vam se ne sviđaju,

I have others.

imam i druge.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

And one of these principles

Jedan od ovih principa je usredsređenost.

is focus.

Before each ride

Pre svake vožnje

we sit together with the kids,

sedimo zajedno s klincima

and we give them one word

i damo im jednu reč

to think about during the ride.

da o njoj razmišljaju tokom vožnje.

You have to focus their attention on something

Morate im usredsrediti pažnju na nešto

because so many things happen.

jer se mnogo toga dešava.

So these are words like "teamwork"

To su reči kao timski rad,

or "endurance"

izdržljivost

or even complicated concepts

ili komplikovani koncepti

like "resource allocation"

kao preusmeravanje resursa

or "perspective," a word that they don't understand.

ili perspektiva, reč koju ne razumeju.

You know, perspective

Znate, perspektiva je jedna od izuzetno važnih strategija u životu,

is one of these critically important

life-coping strategies

that mountain biking can really teach you.

a ove vožnje vas tome mogu naučiti.

I tell kids

Govorim klincima da,

when they struggle through some uphill

kada se muče na nekoj uzbrdici

and feel like they cannot take it anymore,

i osećaju da ne mogu više da izdrže,

it really helps to ignore the immediate obstacles

veoma pomaže da ignorišete trenutne prepreke

and raise your head and look around

i podignete glavu i pogledate okolo

and see how the vista around you grows.

i vidite kako se oko vas razvija panorama.

It literally propels you upwards.

To vas bukvalno pogura napred.

That's what perspective is all about.

O tome je zapravo perspektiva.

Or you can also look back in time

Ili možete da se vratite kroz vreme

and realize that you've already conquered

i shvatite da ste već ranije

steeper mountains before.

osvojili i srtmije planine.

And that's how they develop self-esteem.

Tako oni razvijaju samopouzdanje.

Now, let me give you an example of how it works.

Daću vam primer kako to funkcioniše.

You stand with your bike at the beginning of February.

Početkom februara stojite sa biciklom.

It's very cold, and you're standing in one of these rainy days,

Veoma je hladno i stojite usred kišnog dana

and it's drizzling

i pada kiša,

and cold and chilly,

hladno je i jeza vas prolazi

and you're standing in, let's say, Yokneam.

i stojite recimo u Joknamu.

And you look up at the sky through a hole in the clouds

Podignete pogled ka nebu i kroz oblake

you see the monastery at the top of the Muhraka --

vidite manastir na vrhu Muhrake -

that's where you're supposed to climb now --

tu bi trebalo da se popnete -

and you say, "There's no way that I could possibly get there."

i kažete: "Nema šanse da stignem tamo."

And yet, two hours later

A ipak, dva sata kasnije,

you find yourself standing on the roof of this monastery,

vi stojite na krovu ovog manastira

smeared with mud,

umazani blatom,

blood and sweat.

krvlju i znojem.

And you look down at Yokneam;

I gledate dole ka Joknamu,

everything is so small and tiny.

sve je tako malo i sićušno.

And you say, "Hey, Alex. Look at this parking lot where we started.

I kažete: "Hej, Aleks. Pogledaj parking sa kog smo krenuli.

It's that big.

Ovolicki je.

I can't believe that I did it."

Ne verujem da sam uspeo."

And that's the point

I u tome je suština

when you start loving yourself.

kad počnete da volite sebe.

And so we talked about

Razgovarali smo o posebnim rečima kojima ih učimo.

these special words that we teach them.

And at the end of each ride, we sit together

I na kraju svake vožnje, sednemo zajedno

and share moments

i delimo trenutke

in which those special words of the day

u kojima su se te reči tog dana javljale i imale nekog uticaja.

popped up and made a difference,

and these discussions

Ti razgovori mogu biti veoma inspirativni.

can be extremely inspiring.

In one of them, one of the kids once said,

U jednom od njih, jedan dečak je rekao:

"When we were riding on this ridge

"Kada smo vozili onom ivicom

overlooking the Dead Sea --

koja gleda na Mrtvo More -

and he's talking about this spot here --

govori o ovom ovde mestu -

"I was reminded

prisetio sam se onog

of the day when I left my village in Ethiopia

dana kad sam napustio svoje selo u Etiopiji

and went away together with my brother.

i otišao zajedno sa svojim bratom.

We walked 120 kilometers

Hodali smo 120 kilometara

until we reached Sudan.

dok nismo stigli do Sudana.

This was the first place where we got some water and supplies."

Ovo je bilo prvo mesto gde smo dobili malo vode i namirnica."

And he goes on saying, and everyone looks at him like a hero,

I nastavlja da priča, a svi ga gledaju kao heroja,

probably for the first time in his life.

možda po prvi put u njegovom životu.

And he says -- because I also have volunteers riding with me,

A on kaže - imam i volontere koji sa mnom voze,

adults, who are sitting there

odrasle, koji sede tamo i slušaju ga.

listening to him --

and he says, "And this was just the beginning

A on kaže: "A to je bio samo početak

of our ordeal

naših patnji

until we ended up in Israel.

dok nismo završili u Izraelu.

And only now," he says,

I tek sada", nastavlja on,

"I'm beginning to understand where I am,

"počinjem da shvatam gde se nalazim

and I actually like it."

i stvarno mi se sviđa."

Now I remember, when he said it,

Zapamtite, kad je on to rekao,

I felt goosebumps on my body,

ja sam se ceo naježio,

because he said it overlooking the Moab Mountains here in the background.

jer je to rekao gledajući planinu Moab u pozadini ovde.

That's where Joshua descended

Tu se Jehova spustio

and crossed the Jordan

i prešao Jordan

and led the people of Israel into the land of Canaan

i poveo ljude Izraela u zemlju Kanaana

3,000 years ago

pre 3000 godina,

in this final leg

u poslednjoj etapi

of the journey from Africa.

puta iz Afrike.

And so, perspective

Dakle perspektiva

and context and history

i kontekst i istorija

play key roles

igraju ključne uloge

in the way I plan my rides

u mom načinu planiranja vožnji sa ovom decom.

with the kids.

We visit Kibbutzim

Posećujemo Kibuce

that were established by Holocaust survivors.

koje su napravili oni koji su preživeli Holokaust.

We explore ruins

Istražujemo ruševine

of Palestinian villages,

palestinskih sela

and we discuss how they became ruins.

i pričamo o tome kako su postale ruševine.

And we go through numerous remnants

Prolazimo kroz brojne ostatke

of Jewish settlements, Nabatic settlements,

jevrejskih naseobina, nabatskih naseobina,

Canaanite settlements --

kanaanksih naseobina -

three-, four, five-thousand years old.

starih tri, četiri, pet hiljada godina.

And through this tapestry,

I kroz ovu tapiseriju,

which is the history of this country,

koja je istorija ove zemlje,

the kids acquire

deca stiču ono što je možda najvažnija

what is probably the most important

value in education,

vrednost u obrazovanju,

and that is the understanding that life is complex,

a to je shvatanje da je život složen

and there's no black and white.

i ne postoji crno i belo.

And by appreciating complexity,

I ceneći kompleksnost

they become more tolerant,

postaju tolerantniji,

and tolerance leads to hope.

a tolerancija vodi nadi.

I ride with these kids once a week,

Vozim sa ovom decom jednom nedeljno, svakog utorka.

every Tuesday.

Here's a picture I took last Tuesday -- less than a week ago --

Evo slike od prošlog utorka - pre manje od nedelju dana -

and I ride with them tomorrow also.

i voziću sa njima i sutra.

In every one of these rides

Prilikom svake od vožnji uvek na kraju

I always end up standing in one of these incredible locations,

završim stojeći na nekom od ovih izuzetnih mesta,

taking in this incredible landscape around me,

upijajući ovaj predivan pejzaž oko sebe.

and I feel blessed and fortunate

I osećam se blagosloveno i srećno

that I'm alive,

što sam živ,

and that I sense every fiber

i da osećam svaki delić mog bolnog tela.

in my aching body.

And I feel blessed and fortunate

Osećam se blagosloveno i srećno

that 15 years ago

što sam pre 15 godina

I had the courage to resign

imao hrabrosti da napustim

my tenured position at NYU

svoju poziciju na njujorškom univerzitetu

and return to my home country

i da se vratim u svoju domovinu

where I can do these incredible rides

gde mogu da idem na ove neverovatne vožnje

with this group of troubled kids

sa ovom grupom dece u nevolji

coming from Ethiopia

koja dolaze iz Etiopije

and Morocco and Russia.

i Maroka i Rusije.

And I feel blessed and fortunate

I osećam se blagosloveno i srećno

that every week, every Tuesday --

da svake nedelje, svakog utorka

and actually every Friday also --

i ustvari i svakog petka,

I can once again celebrate

iznova slavim,

in the marrow of my bones

u srži svojih kostiju,

the very essence of living in Israel on the edge.

samu suštinu života na ivici u Izraelu.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)