Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana

Prevodilac: Adisa Ejubovic Lektor: Mile Živković

I was born in Switzerland

Rođen sam u Švajcarskoj,

and raised in Ghana, West Africa.

a odrastao u Gani, u zapadnoj Africi.

Ghana felt safe to me as a child.

Kao detetu, Gana mi se činila bezbednom.

I was free, I was happy.

Bio sam slobodan. Bio sam srećan.

The early 70s

Rane sedamdesete

marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.

su obeležile period muzičke i umetničke izvrsnosti u Gani.

But then by the end of the decade,

A onda, na kraju te decenije,

the country had fallen back into political instability

država je ponovo pala u političku nestabilnost

and mismanagement.

i loše rukovodstvo.

In 1979,

Godine 1979.

I witnessed my first military coup.

po prvi put bio sam svedok vojnog državnog udara.

We the children had gathered at a friend's house.

Mi, deca, okupili smo se u prijateljevoj kući.

It was a dimly lit shack.

Bila je to loše osvetljena koliba.

There was a beaten up black and white television

U njoj je bio stari, crno-beli televizor

flickering in the background,

koji je treperio u pozadini,

and a former head of state and general

a bivši šef države i general

was being blindfolded

imao je povez na očima

and tied to the pole.

i bio je zavezan za stub.

The firing squad aimed, fired --

Streljački vod je nanišanio i pucao.

the general was dead.

General je bio mrtav.

Now this was being broadcast live.

Ovo se sve prenosilo uživo.

And shortly after, we left the country,

Nedugo nakon toga, otišli smo iz države

and we returned to Switzerland.

i vratili se u Švajcarsku.

Now Europe came as a shock to me,

Evropa je bila šok za mene

and I think I started feeling the need

i počeo sam da osećam potrebu

to shed my skin in order to fit in.

da odbacim svoju kožu kako bih se uklopio.

I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.

Hteo sam da se utopim u masi kao kameleon.

I think it was a tactic of survival.

Mislim da je to bila taktika preživljavanja.

And it worked, or so I believed.

Upalilo je, ili sam tako verovao.

So here I was in 2008

Tu sam bio 2008.

wondering where I was in my life.

i pitao sam se gde stojim u životu.

And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.

Osećao sam se kao glumac koji uvek dobija iste uloge.

I was always playing the exotic African.

Glumio sam egzotičnog Afrikanca.

I was playing the violent African,

Glumio sam nasilnog Afrikanca,

the African terrorist.

afričkog teroristu.

And I was thinking,

I pomislio sam

how many terrorists could I possibly play

koliko terorista sam mogao da odglumim

before turning into one myself?

pre nego što se pretvorim u jednog takvog?

And I had become ashamed of the other,

Počeo sam da se stidim onog drugog,

the African in me.

Afrikanca u sebi.

And fortunately I decided in 2008

Na sreću, 2008. sam odlučio

to return to Ghana,

da se vratim u Ganu,

after 28 years of absence.

posle 28 godina odsustvo.

I wanted to document on film

Hteo sam da snimim dokumentarac

the 2008 presidential elections.

o predsedničkim izborima 2008.

And there, I started by searching

Počeo sam tako što sam krenuo

for the footprints in my childhood.

stopama svog detinjstva.

And before I even knew it,

Nedugo zatim

I was suddenly on a stage

odjednom sam se našao na bini

surrounded by thousands of cheering people

okružen hiljadama ljudi koji kliču

during a political rally.

u toku jednog političkog skupa.

And I realized that, when I'd left the country,

Shvatio sam da, kada sam napustio državu,

free and fair elections in a democratic environment

slobodni i pošteni izbori u demokratskom okruženju

were a dream.

su bili san.

And now that I'd returned, that dream had become reality,

Sada kada sam se vratio taj san je postao stvarnost,

though a fragile reality.

ali krhka stvarnost.

And I was thinking,

I pitao sam se

was Ghana searching for its identity

da li je Gana tražila svoj identitet

like I was looking for my identity?

kao što sam i ja?

Da li je ono što se dešavalo u Gani metafora

Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor

for what was happening in me?

za ono što se dešavalo meni?

And it was as if through the standards of my Western life,

Činilo se kao da kroz standarde svog Zapadnjačkog života

I hadn't lived up to my full potential.

nisam uspeo da ostvarim svoj pun potencijal.

I mean, nor had Ghana,

Nije ni Gana

even though we had been trying very hard.

iako smo se jako trudili.

Now in 1957,

Godine 1957.

Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country

Gana je bila prva subsaharaska država

to gain its independence.

koja je dobila nezavisnost.

In the late 50s,

U kasnim pedesetima

Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.

Gana i Singapur su imali isti BDP.

I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country

Singapur je danas zemlja prvog sveta

and Ghana is not.

a Gana nije.

But maybe it was time to prove to myself,

Možda je bilo vreme da dokažem sebi

yes, it's important to understand the past,

da, jeste bitno da se prošlost razume,

it is important to look at it in a different light,

bitno je da se ona sagleda iz drugog ugla,

but maybe we should look at the strengths in our own culture

ali možda bismo trebali da sagledamo jače strane naše kulture

and build on those foundations in the present.

i gradimo na osnovu temelja u sadašnjosti.

So here I was, December 7th, 2008.

Sedmog decembra 2008. bio sam tu.

The polling stations opened to the voters at 7:00 AM,

Glasačka mesta su se otvorila u 7 ujutro,

but voters, eager to take their own political fate into their hands,

ali u želji da uzmu političku sudbinu u svoje ruke

were starting to line up at 4:00 AM in the morning.

glasači su počeli da se okupljaju u 4 ujutro.

And they had traveled from near, they had traveled from far,

Neki su došli iz obližnjih mesta, neki izdaleka

because they wanted to make their voices heard.

jer su hteli da se njihov glas čuje.

And I asked one of the voters, I said, "Whom are you going to vote for?"

Pitao sam jednog od glasača: "Za koga ćete da glasate"?

And he said, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

A on je rekao: "Izvini, ne mogu da ti kažem".

He said that his vote was in his heart.

Rekao je da je njegov glas u njegovom srcu.

And I understood, this was their election,

I shvatio sam. Ovo su bili njihovi izbori

and they weren't going to let anyone

i nisu hteli nikome da dozvole

take it away from them.

da ih oduzmu od njih.

Now the first round of the voting didn't bring forth a clear winner --

Prvi krug glasanja nije doneo jasne pobednike

so nobody had achieved the absolute majority --

pa niko nije imao apsolutnu većinu

so voting went into a second round three weeks later.

tako da je 3 nedelje posle održan drugi krug.

The candidates were back on the road; they were campaigning.

Kandidati su se vratili na ulice sa kampanjama.

The rhetoric of the candidates, of course, changed.

Retorika kandidata se naravno promenila.

The heat was on.

Došlo je do usijanja.

And then the cliche came to haunt us.

A onda je kliše počeo da nas proganja.

There were claims of intimidation

Širile su se tvrdnje o zastrašivanju

at the polling stations,

na glasačkim mestima

of ballot boxes being stolen.

i tvrdnje o ukradenim glasačkim kutijama.

Inflated results started coming in

Počeli su da se pojavljuju lažni listići

and the mob was starting to get out of control.

i mase su se izmicale kontroli.

We witnessed the eruption of violence in the streets.

Bili smo svedoci erupcije nasilja na ulicama.

People were being beaten brutally.

Ljudi su bili brutalno pretučeni.

The army started firing their guns. People were scrambling.

Vojska je otvorila vatru. Ljudi su bežali.

It was complete chaos.

Nastao je pravi haos.

And my heart sank,

Srce mi se slomilo

jer sam pomislio da smo se vratili na staro.

because I thought, here we are again.

Here is another proof

Još jedan dokaz

that the African is not capable of governing himself.

da su Afrikanci nesposobni da se sami vode.

And not only that, I am documenting it --

I ne samo to. Ja sam sve to snimao,

documenting my own cultural shortcomings.

snimao sam mane vlastite kulture.

So when the echo of the gunshots

Kada je eho hitaca

had lingered,

bio sveprisutan

it was soon drowned by the chanting of the mob,

ubrzo su ga zaglušili povici mase.

and I didn't believe what I was hearing.

Nisam verovao šta sam čuo.

They were chanting, "We want peace.

Vikali su: "Želimo mir.

We want peace."

Želimo mir."

And I realized it had to come from the people.

Shvatio sam da je to dolazilo iz ljudi.

After all, they decide,

Na kraju krajeva, oni odlučuju

and they did.

i oni su to i uradili.

So the sounds that were before distorted and loud,

Izopačeni i glasni zvuci odjednom su se

were suddenly a melody.

pretvorili u melodiju.

The sounds of the voices were harmonious.

Zvuci glasova su postali harmonični.

So it could happen.

Znači moglo je da se to desi.

A democracy could be upheld peacefully.

Bilo je moguće održati demokratiju mirnim putem.

It could be, by the will of the masses

Volja masa je to dozvolila,

who were now urgently pressing

mase koje su svim

with all their heart and all their will

svojim srcima i voljom

for peace.

proklamovale mir.

Now here's an interesting comparison.

Evo zanimljivog poređenja.

We in the West,

Mi na Zapadu

we preach the values,

propovedamo o vrednostima

the golden light of democracy,

i zlatnoj svetlosti demokratije

that we are the shining example of how it's done.

i mi smo sjajni primer kako se ona postiže.

But when it comes down to it,

Kada je to u pitanju,

Ghana found itself in the same place

Gana se našla u istoj poziciji

in which the U.S. election stalled

kao i SAD kada su se izbori odužili

in the 2000 presidential elections --

tokom predsedničkih izbora 2000.

Bush versus Gore.

u duelu između Buša i Gora.

But instead of the unwillingness of the candidates

Za razliku od nevoljnosti kandidata

to allow the system to proceed and the people to decide,

da dozvole sistemu da se nastavi i ljudima da odluče,

Ghana honored democracy

Gana je cenila demokratiju

and its people.

i svoje ljude.

It didn't leave it up to the Supreme Court to decide;

Nije prepustila odluku Vrhovnom sudu

the people did.

nego svojim ljudima.

Now the second round of voting

Ni drugi krug glasanja

did not bring forth a clear winner either.

nije doneo jasnog pobednika.

I mean, it was so incredibly close.

Bilo je jako blizu.

The electoral commissioner declared,

Izborni poverenik je uz saglasnost

with the consent of the parties,

stranaka doneo odluku

to run an unprecedented

da se po prvi put održi

second re-run.

ponovljeni drugi krug.

So the people went back to the polls

Ljudi su se vratili na birališta

to determine their own president,

kako bi oni odabrali svog predsednika

not the legal system.

a ne pravosudni sistem.

And guess what, it worked.

I pogodite šta? Upalilo je.

The defeated candidate

Potučeni kandidat

gave up power

se odrekao moći

and made way for Ghana to move into a new democratic cycle.

a prokrčio put za Ganin napredak ka novom demokratskom krugu.

I mean, at the absolute time

U vreme

for the absolute need of democracy,

apsolutne potrebe za demokratijom

they did not abuse their power.

oni nisu zloupotrebili moć.

The belief in true democracy and in the people runs deep,

Verovanje u pravu demokratiju i ljude ima duboko korenje

proving that the African is capable of governing himself.

što dokazuje da su Afrikanci sposobni da sami sebe vode.

Now the uphill battle for Ghana and for Africa

Sizifova borba za Ganu i Afriku

is not over,

nije završena,

but I have proof that the other side of democracy exists,

ali ja imam dokaz da druga strana demokratije postoji

and that we must not take it for granted.

i da je ne treba uzimati zdravo za gotovo.

Now I have learned

Naučio sam

that my place is not just in the West or in Africa,

da ja ne pripadam samo na Zapadu ili u Africi

and I'm still searching

i da još uvek tragam

for my identity,

za svojim identitetom,

but I saw Ghana

ali video sam Ganu

create democracy better.

kako čini demokratiju boljom.

Ghana taught me

Gana me je naučila

to look at people differently

da gledam na ljude drugačije

and to look at myself differently.

i da gledam na sebe drugačije.

And yes,

I da,

we Africans can.

mi, Afrikanci, to možemo.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Aplauz)

(Applause)