Taiye Selasi: Don't ask where I'm from, ask where I'm a local | TED

Prevodilac: Tereza Ivanovic Lektor: Mile Živković

Last year, I went on my first book tour.

Prošle godine sam prvi put predstavljala svoju knjigu.

In 13 months, I flew to 14 countries

Za 13 meseci letela sam u 14 zemalja

and gave some hundred talks.

i održala nekih sto govora.

Every talk in every country

Svaki govor, u svakoj zemlji,

began with an introduction,

počinjao je uvodom,

and every introduction began, alas, with a lie:

a svaki uvod je počinjao lažima:

"Taiye Selasi comes from Ghana and Nigeria,"

"Taji Selasi je iz Gane i Nigerije,"

or "Taiye Selasi comes from England and the States."

ili "Taji Selasi je iz Engleske i Sjedinjenih Država."

Whenever I heard this opening sentence,

Kad god sam čula ovu uvodnu rečenicu,

no matter the country that concluded it --

bez obzira na pominjane države -

England, America, Ghana, Nigeria --

Engleska, Amerika, Gana, Nigerija -

I thought, "But that's not true."

pomislila sam: "Ali to nije tačno."

Yes, I was born in England and grew up in the United States.

Da, rodila sam se u Engleskoj i odrasla u Sjedinjenim Državama.

My mum, born in England, and raised in Nigeria,

Moja mama se rodila u Engleskoj, odrasla je u Nigeriji,

currently lives in Ghana.

a sada živi u Gani.

My father was born in Gold Coast, a British colony,

Otac se rodio u Zlatnoj obali, britanskoj koloniji,

raised in Ghana,

odrastao je u Gani,

and has lived for over 30 years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

i živi više od 30 godina u Kraljevini Saudijskoj Arabiji.

For this reason, my introducers also called me "multinational."

Zbog ovoga su me uvodničari nazivali multinacionalnom.

"But Nike is multinational," I thought,

"Najk je multinacionalna kompanija", mislila sam,

"I'm a human being."

"Ja sam ljudsko biće."

Then, one fine day, mid-tour,

Zatim jednog lepog dana, usred turneje,

I went to Louisiana, a museum in Denmark

otišla sam u Luizijanu, muzej u Danskoj,

where I shared the stage with the writer Colum McCann.

gde sam gostovala zajedno sa piscem Kolumom Makenom.

We were discussing the role of locality in writing,

Diskutovali smo o tome kakvu ulogu igra okruženje u pisanju

when suddenly it hit me.

i odjednom mi je sinulo.

I'm not multinational.

Ja nisam multinacionalna,

I'm not a national at all.

Nisam uopšte nacionalna.

How could I come from a nation?

Kako mogu da potičem od nacije?

How can a human being come from a concept?

Kako može čovek da potiče od ideje?

It's a question that had been bothering me for going on two decades.

Ovo pitanje me nervira već dvadeset godina.

From newspapers, textbooks, conversations,

Iz novina, udžbenika, razgovora,

I had learned to speak of countries

naučila sam da govorim o državama

as if they were eternal, singular, naturally occurring things,

kao večnim, jedinstvenim, prirodnim tvorevinama,

but I wondered:

ali sam se zapitala:

to say that I came from a country

biti poreklom iz neke države -

suggested that the country was an absolute,

znači da je država jedno savršeno,

some fixed point in place in time,

učvršćeno mesto u vremenu,

a constant thing, but was it?

jedna konstanta, ali, da li je?

In my lifetime, countries had disappeared -- Czechoslovakia;

Za mog života nestale su države, kao Čehoslovačka,

appeared -- Timor-Leste; failed -- Somalia.

pojavile se, kao Istočni Timor; propale, kao Somalija.

My parents came from countries that didn't exist when they were born.

Moji roditelji su iz država koje nisu postojale kad su se oni rodili.

To me, a country -- this thing that could be born, die, expand, contract --

Za mene, država može da se rodi, umre, proširi, smanji -

hardly seemed the basis for understanding a human being.

teško može da bude osnova za razumevanje čoveka.

And so it came as a huge relief to discover the sovereign state.

Došlo je kao veliko olakšanje otkriti suverenu državu.

What we call countries are actually

Ono što mi nazivamo državama,

various expressions of sovereign statehood,

u stvari su razni izrazi suverene državnosti,

an idea that came into fashion only 400 years ago.

i ta ideja je ušla u modu pre samo 400 godina.

When I learned this, beginning my masters degree in international relations,

Shvatila sam ovo kada sam počela master studije međunarodnih odnosa,

I felt a sort of surge of relief.

i osetila sam ogromno olakšanje.

It was as I had suspected.

Moje sumnje su se potvrdile.

History was real, cultures were real,

Realna je istorija, realne su kulture,

but countries were invented.

ali države su izmišljene.

For the next 10 years, I sought to re- or un-define myself,

U narednih 10 godina nastojala sam da redefinišem sebe,

my world, my work, my experience,

svoj svet, svoj rad, svoje iskustvo,

beyond the logic of the state.

iznad logike države.

In 2005, I wrote an essay, "What is an Afropolitan,"

2005. sam napisala esej "Šta je Afropolitan",

sketching out an identity that privileged culture over country.

skicirajući identitet koji ističe kulturu iznad države.

It was thrilling how many people could relate to my experience,

Bilo je uzbudljivo, mnogi su se vezali za moje iskustvo,

and instructional how many others didn't buy my sense of self.

i poučno, jer mnogi se nisu osećali kao ja.

"How can Selasi claim to come from Ghana," one such critic asked,

"Kako može Selasi da tvrdi da potiče iz Gane, kada nije iskusila

"when she's never known the indignities

poniženja zbog ganskog pasoša

of traveling abroad on a Ghanian passport?"

kod putovanja u inostranstvo?", pitao se jedan kritičar.

Now, if I'm honest,

Iskreno rečeno,

I knew just what she meant.

razumela sam je.

I've got a friend named Layla who was born and raised in Ghana.

Imam jednu drugaricu, Lejlu, koja se rodila i odrasla u Gani.

Her parents are third-generation Ghanians of Lebanese descent.

Njeni roditelji su treća generacija Ganijaca libanskog porekla.

Layla, who speaks fluent Twi, knows Accra like the back of her hand,

Lejla, koja tečno govori tvi jezik, poznaje Akru kao svoj džep,

but when we first met years ago, I thought, "She's not from Ghana."

ali kad smo se prvi put sreli, pomislila sam: "Ona nije iz Gane."

In my mind, she came from Lebanon,

U mojim mislima, ona je iz Libana,

despite the patent fact that all her formative experience

uprkos očiglednoj činjenici da se celokupno njeno iskustvo

took place in suburban Accra.

formiralo u predgrađu Akre.

I, like my critics,

Kao i moji kritičari, i ja sam zamišljala

was imagining some Ghana where all Ghanaians had brown skin

Ganu kao mesto gde su svi tamnoputi

or none held U.K. passports.

ili gde niko nema pasoš Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva.

I'd fallen into the limiting trap

Pala sam u zamku

that the language of coming from countries sets --

da je jezik zemlje porekla iznad -

the privileging of a fiction, the singular country,

koristeći pravo na zamišljanje jedinstvene države -

over reality: human experience.

iznad stvarnosti, iznad čovekovog iskustva.

Speaking with Colum McCann that day, the penny finally dropped.

U razgovoru sa Kolumom Makenom tog dana, konačno sam shvatila sve.

"All experience is local," he said.

"Iskustvo se vezuje za mesto" - rekao je.

"All identity is experience," I thought.

"Identitet je iskustvo." - pomislila sam.

"I'm not a national," I proclaimed onstage.

Na bini sam obznanila da nisam nacionalna.

"I'm a local. I'm multi-local."

"Ja sam ovdašnja. Ja pripadam svuda."

See, "Taiye Selasi comes from the United States," isn't the truth.

Ovo "Taji Selasi je iz Sjedinjenih Država" nije istina.

I have no relationship with the United States,

Nemam veze sa Sjedinjenim Državama,

all 50 of them, not really.

ni sa jednom od njih 50.

My relationship is with Brookline, the town where I grew up;

Ali imam veze sa Bruklinom, gradom gde sam odrasla;

with New York City, where I started work;

sa Njujorkom, gde sam počela da radim;

with Lawrenceville, where I spend Thanksgiving.

sa Lorensvilom, gde provodim Dan zahvalnosti.

What makes America home for me is not my passport or accent,

Amerika mi nije dom zbog mog pasoša ili naglaska,

but these very particular experiences

već zbog doživljaja

and the places they occur.

i mesta gde sam ih doživela.

Despite my pride in Ewe culture,

Bez obzira što sam ponosna na Eve kulturu,

the Black Stars, and my love of Ghanaian food,

na Blek Starse, i što volim gansku hranu,

I've never had a relationship with the Republic of Ghana, writ large.

nikad nisam imala vezu sa Republikom Gana.

My relationship is with Accra, where my mother lives,

Ali sam vezana za Akru, gde živi moja mama,

where I go each year,

i gde odlazim svake godine,

with the little garden in Dzorwulu where my father and I talk for hours.

vezana sam za vrt u Dzžorvuluu, gde tata i ja pričamo satima.

These are the places that shape my experience.

Ovo su mesta koja su oblikovala moje iskustvo.

My experience is where I'm from.

Ja potičem iz mog iskustva.

What if we asked, instead of "Where are you from?" --

Šta bi bilo kada bismo umesto "Odakle si?"- pitali

"Where are you a local?"

"Gde pripadaš?"

This would tell us so much more about who and how similar we are.

Ovo bi više govorilo o nama i o tome koliko smo slični.

Tell me you're from France, and I see what, a set of clichés?

Kaži mi da si iz Francuske, i šta vidim - gomilu klišea?

Adichie's dangerous single story, the myth of the nation of France?

Adićinu opasnost pojedinačne priče, mit o Francuskoj naciji?

Tell me you're a local of Fez and Paris,

Kaži mi da priadaš Fezu ili Parizu,

better yet, Goutte d'Or, and I see a set of experiences.

ili još bolje, Gut doru, i već vidim mnoštvo doživljaja.

Our experience is where we're from.

Potičemo iz naših doživljaja.

So, where are you a local?

Gde vi pripadate?

I propose a three-step test.

Predlažem jedan test iz tri dela.

I call these the three "R’s": rituals, relationships, restrictions.

Ja ga zovem "RVO": rituali, veze, ograničenja.

First, think of your daily rituals, whatever they may be:

Prvo pomislite na svakodnevne rituale, šta god da su:

making your coffee, driving to work,

kuvanje kafe, vožnja do posla,

harvesting your crops, saying your prayers.

setva useva, molitve.

What kind of rituals are these?

Kakvi su ovo rituali?

Where do they occur?

Gde se javljaju?

In what city or cities in the world do shopkeepers know your face?

U kom gradu, ili, u kojim gradovima vas poznaju trgovci?

As a child, I carried out fairly standard suburban rituals in Boston,

Kao dete, imala sam uobičajne rituale predgrađa Bostona,

with adjustments made for the rituals my mother brought from London and Lagos.

i prilagođene rituale koje je mama donela iz Londona i Lagosa.

We took off our shoes in the house,

U kući smo se izuvali,

we were unfailingly polite with our elders,

bili smo nepogrešivo učtivi sa starijima,

we ate slow-cooked, spicy food.

jeli smo domaće spremljenu, pikantnu hranu.

In snowy North America, ours were rituals of the global South.

U snežnoj Severnoj Americi naši rituali su bili sa Juga.

The first time I went to Delhi or to southern parts of Italy,

Kada sam prvi put bila u Delhiju ili na jugu Italije,

I was shocked by how at home I felt.

bila sam šokirana, osećala sam se kao kod kuće.

The rituals were familiar.

Rituali su bili slični.

"R" number one, rituals.

"R" broj jedan, rituali.

Now, think of your relationships, of the people who shape your days.

Sada razmislite o odnosima sa ljudima, sa kojima ste svakodnevno.

To whom do you speak at least once a week,

Sa kim razgovarate bar jednom nedeljno,

be it face to face or on FaceTime?

oči u oči, ili na fejstajmu.

Be reasonable in your assessment;

Buditi razboriti u proceni,

I'm not talking about your Facebook friends.

ne govorim o prijateljima na fejsbuku.

I'm speaking of the people who shape your weekly emotional experience.

Govorim o ljudima koji utiču na vaš emotivni doživljaj.

My mother in Accra, my twin sister in Boston,

Moja mama u Akri, moja sestra bliznakinja u Bostonu,

my best friends in New York:

moji najbolji prijatelji u Njujorku,

these relationships are home for me.

to su veze, koje su moj dom.

"R" number two, relationships.

Pod dva, V, veze.

We're local where we carry out our rituals and relationships,

Pripadamo tamo gde izvodimo svoje rituale i održavamo veze,

but how we experience our locality

ali naš doživljaj pripadnosti

depends in part on our restrictions.

delimično zavisi od naših ograničenja.

By restrictions, I mean, where are you able to live?

Pod time mislim na sposobnost gde ste u stanju da živite.

What passport do you hold?

Kakav pasoš imate?

Are you restricted by, say, racism, from feeling fully at home where you live?

Da li vas u osećaju punog pripadanja domu sputava, na primer, rasizam

By civil war, dysfunctional governance, economic inflation,

ili građanski rat, nefunkcionalna uprava, ekonomska inflacija,

from living in the locality where you had your rituals as a child?

da biste živeli na mestu gde ste izvodili rituale kao dete.

This is the least sexy of the R’s,

Ovo "O" je gore od "R" i "V"

less lyric than rituals and relationships,

prozaičnije od rituala i veza,

but the question takes us past "Where are you now?"

i pitanje nas odvodi od "Gde se sada nalaziš"

to "Why aren't you there, and why?"

do pitanja "A zašto nisi tamo"

Rituals, relationships, restrictions.

Rituali, veze, oganičenja.

Take a piece of paper

Uzmite papir i napišite

and put those three words on top of three columns,

te tri reči na vrh tri kolone

then try to fill those columns as honestly as you can.

i popunite kolone najiskrenije.

A very different picture of your life in local context,

Drugačija slika vašeg života u lokalnom kontekstu,

of your identity as a set of experiences,

vaš identitet kao zbir doživljaja,

may emerge.

može se pojaviti.

So let's try it.

Hajde da pokušamo.

I have a friend named Olu.

Imam prijatelja Olua.

He's 35 years old.

Ima 35 godina.

His parents, born in Nigeria, came to Germany on scholarships.

Njegovi roditelji, rođeni u Nigeriji, došli su u Nemačku kao stipendisti.

Olu was born in Nuremberg and lived there until age 10.

Olu se rodio u Nirnbergu i živeo tamo do svoje desete godine.

When his family moved to Lagos, he studied in London,

Njegovi su se preselili u Lagos, on je studirao u Londonu,

then came to Berlin.

zatim je došao u Berlin.

He loves going to Nigeria --

Voli da odlazi u Nigeriju

the weather, the food, the friends --

zbog klime, hrane, prijatelja,

but hates the political corruption there.

ali mrzi političku korupciju tamo.

Where is Olu from?

Odakle je Olu?

I have another friend named Udo.

Drugi moj prijatelj je Udo.

He's also 35 years old.

I on ima 35 godina.

Udo was born in Córdoba, in northwest Argentina,

Rodio se u Kordobi, na severozapadu Argentine,

where his grandparents migrated from Germany, what is now Poland,

gde su njegovi baba i deda migrirali iz Nemačke, sad je to Poljska,

after the war.

posle rata.

Udo studied in Buenos Aires, and nine years ago came to Berlin.

Udo je studirao u Buenos Ajresu, i došao u Berlin pre deset godina.

He loves going to Argentina -- the weather, the food, the friends --

Voli da odlazi u Argentinu zbog klime, hrane, prijatelja,

but hates the economic corruption there.

ali mrzi ekonomsku korupciju tamo.

Where is Udo from?

Odakle je Udo?

With his blonde hair and blue eyes, Udo could pass for German,

Plavokos i plavook, mogao bi da prođe kao Nemac,

but holds an Argentinian passport, so needs a visa to live in Berlin.

ali ima argentinski pasoš, i treba mu viza za boravak u Berlinu.

That Udo is from Argentina has largely to do with history.

To što je Udo iz Argentine, ima veze sa istorijom.

That he's a local of Buenos Aires and Berlin,

To, što on pripada Buenos Ajresu i Berlinu,

that has to do with life.

to ima veze sa njegovim životom.

Olu, who looks Nigerian, needs a visa to visit Nigeria.

Olu, koji izgleda kao Nigerijci, mora da ima vizu da bi posetio Nigeriju.

He speaks Yoruba with an English accent,

On govori Joruba sa engleskim naglaskom,

and English with a German one.

a engleski sa nemačkim naglaskom.

To claim that he's "not really Nigerian," though,

Tvrdnja da on nije pravi Nigerijac,

denies his experience in Lagos,

može se osporiti njegovim doživljajima u Lagosu,

the rituals he practiced growing up,

ritualima koje je izvodio dok je odrastao,

his relationship with family and friends.

njegovom vezom sa porodicom i prijateljima.

Meanwhile, though Lagos is undoubtedly one of his homes,

Iako je Lagos nesumnjivo jedan od njegovih zavičaja,

Olu always feels restricted there,

Olu se uvek oseća sputano tamo,

not least by the fact that he's gay.

između ostalog i zato što je gej.

Both he and Udo are restricted by the political conditions

I on i Udo su sputani, političkim uslovima

of their parents' countries,

država svojih roditelja,

from living where some of their most meaningful rituals

od života tamo, gde se najznačajniji rituali

and relationships occur.

i veze događaju.

To say Olu is from Nigeria and Udo is from Argentina

Reći da je Olu iz Nigerije a Udo iz Argentine,

distracts from their common experience.

odudara od njihovog uobičajnog iskustva.

Their rituals, their relationships, and their restrictions are the same.

Njihovi rituali, veze i ograničenja su isti.

Of course, when we ask, "Where are you from?"

Kada upitamo nekog "Odakle si?"

we're using a kind of shorthand.

koristimo neku vrstu skraćenice.

It's quicker to say "Nigeria" than "Lagos and Berlin,"

Brže je reći Nigerija nego Lagos i Berlin,

and as with Google Maps, we can always zoom in closer,

i kao sa gugl kartama, možemo se približiti

from country to city to neighborhood.

državi, gradu, susedstvu.

But that's not quite the point.

Ali nije u tome suština.

The difference between "Where are you from?"

Razlika između pitanja "Odakle si?"

and "Where are you a local?"

i "Gde pripadaš?"

isn't the specificity of the answer;

nije u specifičnosti odgovora,

it's the intention of the question.

već u tome šta je namera pitanja.

Replacing the language of nationality with the language of locality asks us

Stavljanje naglaska na pripadnost umesto na državljanstvo

to shift our focus to where real life occurs.

pomera centar posmatranja na realan život.

Even that most glorious expression of countryhood, the World Cup,

Čak i na Svetskom prvenstvu, blistavom izražavanju pripadnosti naciji,

gives us national teams comprised mostly of multilocal players.

reprezentacije su sastavljene od igrača iz raznih država.

As a unit of measurement for human experience,

Država nije prava jedinica mere

the country doesn't quite work.

za izražavanje ljudskog iskustva.

That's why Olu says, "I'm German, but my parents come from Nigeria."

Zato Olu kaže: "Ja sam Nemac, ali moji roditelji potiču iz Nigerije."

The "but" in that sentence belies the inflexibility of the units,

To "ali" pobija nefleksibilnost u jedinicama,

one fixed and fictional entity bumping up against another.

jer se sudaraju jedan fiksni i jedan fiktivni entitet.

"I'm a local of Lagos and Berlin," suggests overlapping experiences,

"Ja pripadam Lagosu i Berlinu," navodi na prošireno iskustvo,

layers that merge together, that can't be denied or removed.

na slojeve koji se spajaju i ne mogu se poreći ili odstraniti.

You can take away my passport,

Mogu mi oduzeti pasoš,

but you can't take away my experience.

ali ne mogu oduzeti ono što sam iskusila.

That I carry within me.

To je deo mene.

Where I'm from comes wherever I go.

Poreklo me svuda prati.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that we do away with countries.

Ne sugerišem da se odreknemo države.

There's much to be said for national history,

Ima mnogo da se priča o nacionalnoj istoriji,

more for the sovereign state.

više nego o suverenoj državi.

Culture exists in community, and community exists in context.

Kultura egzistira u zajednici, a zajednica u okruženju.

Geography, tradition, collective memory: these things are important.

Važne su geografija, tradicija i kolektivno sećanje.

What I'm questioning is primacy.

Ja se samo pitam, šta je primarno.

All of those introductions on tour began with reference to nation,

Svi uvodni govori na turneji upućivali su na naciju,

as if knowing what country I came from would tell my audience who I was.

kao da bi zemlja porekla govorila publici nešto o meni.

What are we really seeking, though, when we ask where someone comes from?

Šta zapravo tražimo kada nekog pitamo odakle je?

And what are we really seeing when we hear an answer?

I šta zaista vidimo kad čujemo odgovor?

Here's one possibility:

Evo jedne mogućnosti:

basically, countries represent power.

u osnovi, države predstavljaju snagu.

"Where are you from?" Mexico. Poland. Bangladesh. Less power.

"Odakle si?" Meksiko, Poljska, Bangladeš. Manja moć.

America. Germany. Japan. More power.

Amerika, Nemačka, Japan. VIše moći.

China. Russia. Ambiguous.

Kina, Rusija. Dvosmisleno.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It's possible that without realizing it, we're playing a power game,

Moguće je da bez sopstvenog znanja igramo igru moći,

especially in the context of multi-ethnic countries.

naročito u kontekstu multietničkih država.

As any recent immigrant knows,

Svi noviji imigranti znaju

the question "Where are you from?" or "Where are you really from?"

da pitanje "Odakle si?" ili "Odakle si, stvarno?",

is often code for "Why are you here?"

znači, u stvari: "Zašto si ovde?"

Then we have the scholar William Deresiewicz's writing

Tu je i pisanje akademika Vilijama Deresevica

of elite American colleges.

o elitnim američkim koledžima.

"Students think that their environment is diverse

"Studenti misle da je njihovo okruženje raznoliko

if one comes from Missouri and another from Pakistan --

ako je neko iz Misurija, a neko iz Pakistana,

never mind that all of their parents are doctors or bankers."

ne mareći o tome da su svima roditelji doktori ili bankari."

I'm with him.

Slažem se s njim.

To call one student American, another Pakistani,

Nazvati nekog studenta Amerikancem, drugog Pakistancem,

then triumphantly claim student body diversity

zatim trijumfalno izjaviti da postoji raznolikost studenata,

ignores the fact that these students are locals of the same milieu.

zapostavlja činjenicu da ovi studenti pripadaju istom miljeu.

The same holds true on the other end of the economic spectrum.

Isto je na drugom kraju ekonomskog spektra.

A Mexican gardener in Los Angeles and a Nepali housekeeper in Delhi

Meksički baštovan u Los Anđelesu i nepalski domaćin u Delhiju

have more in common in terms of rituals and restrictions

imaju više zajedničkog u smislu rituala i ograničenja

than nationality implies.

nego što im na to ukazuje nacionalnost.

Perhaps my biggest problem with coming from countries

Možda je moj najveći problem u vezi porekla

is the myth of going back to them.

mit o povratku na to mesto.

I'm often asked if I plan to "go back" to Ghana.

Često me pitaju da li planiram da se "vratim" u Ganu.

I go to Accra every year, but I can't "go back" to Ghana.

Svake godine odlazim u Akru, ali ne mogu da se "vratim" u Ganu.

It's not because I wasn't born there.

Ne zato što se nisam rodila tamo.

My father can't go back, either.

Ni moj otac ne može da se vrati.

The country in which he was born,

Država u kojoj se rodio

that country no longer exists.

više ne postoji.

We can never go back to a place and find it exactly where we left it.

Nikad ne možemo da se vratimo i da je nađemo tamo, gde smo je ostavili.

Something, somewhere will always have changed,

Uvek će se negde nešto promeniti,

most of all, ourselves.

a najviše mi sami.

People.

Mi, ljudi.

Finally, what we're talking about is human experience,

Na kraju, pričamo o ljudskom iskustvu,

this notoriously and gloriously disorderly affair.

o opštepoznatoj i veličanstvenoj, neuređenoj stvari.

In creative writing, locality bespeaks humanity.

U stvaralačkom pisanju pripadanje mestu je znak humanosti.

The more we know about where a story is set,

Što više znamo o tome gde je priča smeštena,

the more local color and texture,

što je više boja i teksture,

the more human the characters start to feel,

tim su likovi humaniji,

the more relatable, not less.

mnogo više ljudski.

The myth of national identity and the vocabulary of coming from

Mit o nacionalnom identitetu i poreklu

confuses us into placing ourselves into mutually exclusive categories.

unosi zabunu i postavlja nas u međusobno isključive kategorije.

In fact, all of us are multi -- multi-local, multi-layered.

U stvari, svi smo multi-lokalni.

To begin our conversations with an acknowledgement of this complexity

Započeti razgovore priznanjem ove složenosti,

brings us closer together, I think, not further apart.

dovešće do međusobnog zbližavanja, a ne do podele.

So the next time that I'm introduced,

Sledeći put, kada me budu predstavljali,

I'd love to hear the truth:

volela bih da čujem istinu:

"Taiye Selasi is a human being, like everybody here.

"Taji Selasi je ljudsko biće, kao i svi ovde.

She isn't a citizen of the world, but a citizen of worlds.

Ona nije građanin sveta, već građanin svetova.

She is a local of New York, Rome and Accra."

Ona pripada Njujorku, Rimu, Akri.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)