Boniface Mwangi: The day I stood up alone

Prevodilac: Jelena Radojkovic Fu Lektor: Ivana Korom

People back home call me a heckler,

Kod kuće me zovu bukač,

a troublemaker, an irritant,

izazivač problema, iritant,

a rebel, an activist,

buntovnik, aktivista,

the voice of the people.

glas naroda.

But that wasn't always me.

Ali nisam to bio oduvek.

Growing up, I had a nickname.

Odrastajući, imao sam nadimak.

They used to call me Softy,

Zvali su me mekušac,

meaning the soft, harmless boy.

nežan i bezopasan dečak.

Like every other human being, I avoided trouble.

Kao i svi drugi ljudi, klonio sam se nevolja.

In my childhood, they taught me silence.

U detinjstvu su me učili ćutanju.

Don't argue, do as you're told.

Ne svađaj se, radi šta ti se kaže.

In Sunday school, they taught me don't confront, don't argue,

U nedeljnoj školi su me učili ne suprotstavljaj se, ne svađaj se,

even if you're right, turn the other cheek.

čak i kad si u pravu, okreni drugi obraz.

This was reinforced by the political climate of the time.

To je bilo potpomognuto političkom klimom tog doba.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Kenya is a country where you are guilty

Kenija je zemlja u kojoj si kriv

until proven rich.

dok se ne dokaže da si bogat.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Kenya's poor are five times more likely

Siromašni u Keniji su u pet puta većem riziku

to be shot dead by the police who are meant to protect them

da ih ubije policija koja treba da ih štiti

than by criminals.

nego kriminalci.

This was reinforced by the political climate of the day.

To je bilo potpomognuto političkom klimom tog doba.

We had a president, Moi, who was a dictator.

Imali smo predsednika, Moia, koji je bio diktator.

He ruled the country with an iron fist,

Vladao je gvozdenom pesnicom,

and anyone who dared question his authority

i ko se usudio da dovede u pitanje njegov autoritet

was arrested, tortured, jailed or even killed.

bio bi uhapšen, mučen, zatvoren ili čak ubijen.

That meant that people were taught to be smart cowards, stay out of trouble.

To znači da su ljudi učeni da budu pametne kukavice, a ne problemi.

Being a coward was not an insult.

Biti kukavica nije bila uvreda.

Being a coward was a compliment.

Biti kukavica je bio kompliment.

We used to be told that a coward goes home to his mother.

Govorili su nam da kukavica ide kući svojoj majci.

What that meant: that if you stayed out of trouble you're going to stay alive.

To je značilo: ako se kloniš nevolje, ostaćeš živ.

I used to question this advice,

Dovodio sam ovaj savet u pitanje,

and eight years ago we had an election in Kenya,

i pre osam godina imali smo izbore u Keniji,

and the results were violently disputed.

i rezultati su bili žestoko osporeni.

What followed that election was terrible violence, rape,

Ono što je usledilo bilo je strašno nasilje, silovanja

and the killing of over 1,000 people.

i preko 1.000 ubijenih ljudi.

My work was to document the violence.

Moj posao je bio da dokumentujem nasilje.

As a photographer, I took thousands of images,

Kao fotograf, slikao sam hiljade fotografija,

and after two months,

i nakon dva meseca,

the two politicians came together, had a cup of tea,

dva političara su se srela, popila šolju čaja,

signed a peace agreement, and the country moved on.

potpisala mirovni sporazum i zemlja je krenula dalje.

I was a very disturbed man because I saw the violence firsthand.

Ja sam bio jako uznemiren jer sam video nasilje iz prve ruke.

I saw the killings. I saw the displacement.

Video sam ubistva. Video sam raseljavanje.

I met women who had been raped, and it disturbed me,

Sreo sam žene koje su bile silovane, i to me je uznemiravalo,

but the country never spoke about it.

ali zemlja uopšte nije pričala o tome.

We pretended. We all became smart cowards.

Pretvarali smo se. Svi smo postali pametne kukavice.

We decided to stay out of trouble and not talk about it.

Odlučili smo da se klonimo nevolje i ne pričamo o tome.

Ten months later, I quit my job. I said I could not stand it anymore.

Deset meseci kasnije, dao sam otkaz. Rekao sam da ne mogu više.

After quitting my job, I decided to organize my friends

Nakon otkaza rešio sam da organizujem prijatelje

to speak about the violence in the country,

da pričamo o nasilju u zemlji

to speak about the state of the nation,

da pričamo o stanju nacije,

and June 1, 2009 was the day that we were meant to go to the stadium

i 1. jun 2009. je bio dan kada je trebalo da odemo na stadion

and try and get the president's attention.

i pokušamo da skrenemo pažnju predsedniku.

It's a national holiday,

Državni je praznik,

it's broadcast across the country,

emituje se širom zemlje,

and I showed up at the stadium.

i ja sam se pojavio na stadionu.

My friends did not show up.

Moji prijatelji nisu.

I found myself alone,

Našao sam se sam,

and I didn't know what to do.

i nisam znao šta da radim.

I was scared,

Bio sam uplašen,

but I knew very well that that particular day,

ali sam dobro znao da baš tog dana

I had to make a decision.

moram da odlučim.

Was I able to live as a coward, like everyone else,

Da li ću da živim kao kukavica kao svi drugi,

or was I going to make a stand?

ili ću da zauzmem stav?

And when the president stood up to speak,

I kada je predsednik ustao da govori

I found myself on my feet shouting at the president,

našao sam se na nogama vičući na predsednika,

telling him to remember the post-election violence victims,

govoreći mu da se seti post-izbornih žrtava nasilja,

to stop the corruption.

da zaustavi korupciju.

And suddenly, out of nowhere,

Odjednom, niotkuda,

the police pounced on me like hungry lions.

policajci su se okomili na mene kao gladni lavovi.

They held my mouth

Zapušili su mi usta

and dragged me out of the stadium,

i odvukli me sa stadiona,

where they thoroughly beat me up and locked me up in jail.

zatim dobrano pretukli i bacili u zatvor.

I spent that night in a cold cement floor in the jail,

Proveo sam tu noć na hladnom betonskom podu zatvora

and that got me thinking.

i to me je nateralo na razmišljanje.

What was making me feel this way?

Zbog čega sam se ovako osećao?

My friends and family thought I was crazy because of what I did,

Moji prijatelji i porodica su mislili da sam lud što sam to uradio,

and the images that I took were disturbing my life.

a fotografije koje sam slikao su uznemiravale moj život.

The images that I took were just a number to many Kenyans.

Te fotografije su bile samo broj mnogim Kenijcima.

Most Kenyans did not see the violence.

Većina Kenijaca nije videla nasilje.

It was a story to them.

To je za njih bila priča.

And so I decided to actually start a street exhibition

I tako sam rešio da zapravo započnem uličnu izložbu

to show the images of the violence across the country

da pokažem fotografije nasilja celoj zemlji,

and get people talking about it.

da podstaknem ljude da pričaju o tome.

We traveled the country and showed the images,

Proputovali smo zemlju i pokazali fotografije,

and this was a journey that has started me to the activist path,

i to je bilo putovanje kojim je započeo moj aktivistički rad,

where I decided to become silent no more,

kada sam rešio da više neću ćutati,

to talk about those things.

da ću pričati o tim stvarima.

We traveled, and our general site from our street exhibit

Putovali smo, i naše glavno mesto je od ulične izložbe

became for political graffiti about the situation in the country,

postalo mesto za političke grafite o situaciji u zemlji,

talking about corruption, bad leadership.

koji govore o korupciji, lošem rukovodstvu.

We have even done symbolic burials.

Čak smo imali i simbolične sahrane.

We have delivered live pigs to Kenya's parliament

Isporučili smo žive svinje u kenijski parlament

as a symbol of our politicians' greed.

kao simbol pohlepe naših političara.

It has been done in Uganda and other countries,

Radili su to i u Ugandi i drugim zemljama,

and what is most powerful is that the images have been picked by the media

i ono što je jako moćno je to što su slike pokupili mediji

and amplified across the country, across the continent.

i preneli širom zemlje, širom kontinenta.

Where I used to stand up alone seven years ago,

Ustao sam sam pre sedam godina,

now I belong to a community of many people who stand up with me.

a sada pripadam grupi ljudi koji stoje zajedno sa mnom.

I am no longer alone when I stand up to speak about these things.

Više nisam sam kada ustanem da pričam o tim stvarima.

I belong to a group of young people who are passionate about the country,

Pripadam grupi mladih ljudi kojima je stalo do zemlje,

who want to bring about change,

koji žele promene,

and they're no longer afraid, and they're no longer smart cowards.

i oni se više ne plaše i više nisu pametne kukavice.

So that was my story.

To je moja priča.

That day in the stadium,

Tog dana na stadionu,

I stood up as a smart coward.

ustao sam kao pametna kukavica.

By that one action, I said goodbye to the 24 years living as a coward.

I tim jednim potezom, pozdravio sam se sa 24 godine života kukavice.

There are two most powerful days in your life:

Dva su dana najmoćnija u životu:

the day you're born, and the day you discover why.

dan kada ste rođeni, i dan kada otkrijete zašto.

That day standing up in that stadium shouting at the President,

Tog dana kada sam ustao na stadionu, vikao na predsednika,

I discovered why I was truly born,

otkrio sam zašto sam zaista rođen,

that I would no longer be silent in the face of injustice.

i da neću više ćutati o nepravdama.

Do you know why you were born?

Da li vi znate zašto ste rođeni?

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Tom Rielly: It's an amazing story.

Tom Rajli: Neverovatna priča.

I just want to ask you a couple quick questions.

Želim da ti postavim par kratkih pitanja.

So PAWA254:

Dakle, PAWA254:

you've created a studio, a place where young people can go

osnovao si studio, mesto gde mladi mogu da odu

and harness the power of digital media

i iskoriste moć digitalnih medija

to do some of this action.

za neku akciju.

What's happening now with PAWA?

Šta se sada dešava sa PAWA?

Boniface Mwangi: So we have this community of filmmakers,

Bonifejs Muangi: Imamo grupu filmskih stvaralaca,

graffiti artists, musicians, and when there's an issue in the country,

grafiti umetnika, muzičara, i kada postoji problem u zemlji,

we come together, we brainstorm, and take up on that issue.

skupimo se, mozgamo, i bacimo se na problem.

So our most powerful tool is art,

Naše najmoćnije oruđe je umetnost,

because we live in a very busy world where people are so busy in their life,

jer živimo u veoma užurbanom svetu gde su ljudi toliko zauzeti

and they don't have time to read.

da nemaju vremena da čitaju.

So we package our activism and we package our message in art.

Tako spakujemo naš aktivizam, spakujemo našu poruku u umetnost.

So from the music, the graffiti, the art, that's what we do.

Dakle, od muzike do grafita, umetnosti, to je to što radimo.

Can I say one more thing?

Mogu li da kažem samo jednu stvar?

TR: Yeah, of course. (Applause)

TR: Da, naravno. (Aplauz)

BM: In spite of being arrested, beaten up, threatened,

BM: Iako sam hapšen, prebijan, prećeno mi je,

the moment I discovered my voice,

od momenta kad sam otkrio svoj glas,

that I could actually stand up for what I really believed in,

da zapravo mogu da ustanem za ono u šta verujem,

I'm no longer afraid.

više se ne plašim.

I used to be called softy, but I'm no longer softy,

Zvali su me mekušcem, ali više nisam mekušac,

because I discovered who I really am, as in, that's what I want to do,

jer sam otkrio ko ja zaista jesam, u smislu onoga što želim da radim.

and there's such beauty in doing that.

i u tome je prava lepota.

There's nothing as powerful as that, knowing that I'm meant to do this,

Ništa nije tako moćno kao to, saznanje da time treba da se bavim,

because you don't get scared, you just continue living your life.

jer se više ne plašiš, samo nastaviš da živiš.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)