Edi Rama: Take back your city with paint

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevodilac: Milena Jocic Lektor: Tatjana Jevdjic

In my previous life, I was an artist.

U prethodnom životu bio sam umetnik.

I still paint. I love art.

Još uvek slikam. Volim umetnost.

I love the joy that color can give to our lives

Volim radost koju boja može da donese našim životima

and to our communities,

i našim zajednicama,

and I try to bring something of the artist in me

i pokušavam da uključim umetnika u meni

in my politics,

u moju politiku,

and I see

i vidim

part of my job today, the reason for being here,

kao deo mog posla danas, kao razlog da budem ovde,

not just to campaign for my party,

ne samo kampanju za moju partiju,

but for politics, and the role it can play

već za politiku i ulogu koju ona može da igra

for the better in our lives.

u poboljšanju naših života.

For 11 years, I was mayor of Tirana, our capital.

11 godina sam bio gradonačelnik Tirane, našeg glavnog grada.

We faced many challenges.

Součavali smo se sa mnogim izazovima.

Art was part of the answer,

Umetnost je bila deo odgovora.

and my name, in the very beginning,

I moje ime, na samom početku,

was linked with two things:

povezivano je sa dvema stvarima:

demolition of illegal constructions

rušenjem ilegalnih konstrukcija

in order to get public space back,

da bi se povratio javni prostor

and use of colors in order to revive the hope

i upotrebom boja da bi se probudila nada

that had been lost in my city.

koja je bila izgubljena u mom gradu.

But this use of colors was not just an artistic act.

Upotreba boja nije bila samo umetnički čin.

Rather, it was a form of political action

Bila je to više forma političke akcije

in a context when the city budget I had available

u kontekstu gde je gradski budžet koji mi je bio dostupan

after being elected amounted to zero comma something.

kada sam bio izabran iznosio nula zarez nešto.

When we painted the first building,

Kada smo okrečili prvu zgradu,

by splashing a radiant orange on the somber gray

stavljajući drečavu narandžastu preko tmurne sive

of a facade,

boje fasade,

something unimaginable happened.

nešto nezamislivo se dogodilo.

There was a traffic jam

Nastala je gužva u saobraćaju

and a crowd of people gathered

i gomila ljudi se okupila

as if it were the location of some spectacular accident,

kao da se tu dogodila neka spektakularna nezgoda

or the sudden sighting of a visiting pop star.

ili iznenadna poseta pop zvezde.

The French E.U. official in charge of the funding

Francuski predstavnik Evropske unije koji je upravljao finansiranjem,

rushed to block the painting.

požurio je da zaustavi krečenje.

He screeched that he would block the financing.

Počeo je da viče da će blokirati finansiranje.

"But why?" I asked him.

"Ali zašto?", pitao sam ga.

"Because the colors you have ordered

"Zato što boje koje ste naručili

do not meet European standards," he replied.

ne odgovaraju evropskim standardima", odgovorio je.

"Well," I told him,

"Pa", rekao sam mu,

"the surroundings do not meet European standards,

"okruženje ne odgovara evropskim standardima,

even though this is not what we want,

iako to nije ono što želimo,

but we will choose the colors ourselves,

ali sami ćemo da biramo boje

because this is exactly what we want.

jer je to tačno ono što želimo.

And if you do not let us continue with our work,

I ako nas ne pustite da nastavimo sa radom,

I will hold a press conference here,

održaću konferenciju za novinare ovde,

right now, right in this road,

sada, baš na ovom putu

and we will tell people that you look to me

i reći ćemo ljudima da gledate na mene

just like the censors of the socialist realism era."

baš kao cenzori ere socrealizma."

Then he was kind of troubled,

To ga je malo zabrinulo

and asked me for a compromise.

i zatražio je kompromis.

But I told him no, I'm sorry,

Rekao sam mu: "Ne, žao mi je,

compromise in colors is gray,

kompromis među bojama je siva,

and we have enough gray to last us a lifetime.

a mi imamo dovoljno sive za ceo život."

(Aplauz)

(Applause)

So it's time for change.

Vreme je za promene.

The rehabilitation of public spaces

Rehabilitacija javnih prostora

revived the feeling of belonging

je oživela osećaj pripadnosti

to a city that people lost.

gradu koji su ljudi izgubili.

The pride of people about their own place of living,

Ponos ljudi vezan za mesto gde žive

and there were feelings that had been buried

i osećanja koja su bila zakopana

deep for years under the fury of the illegal,

godinama duboko ispod besa zbog ilegalnih,

barbaric constructions that sprang up in the public space.

varvarskih konstrukcija koje su nikle na javnom prostoru.

And when colors came out everywhere,

Kada su se boje pojavile svuda,

a mood of change started transforming the spirit of people.

duh promene počeo je da transformiše duh ljudi.

Big noise raised up: "What is this? What is happening?

Digla se galama: "Šta je ovo? Šta se dešava?

What are colors doing to us?"

Šta nam rade boje?"

And we made a poll,

I organizovali smo glasanje,

the most fascinating poll I've seen in my life.

najfascinantnije glasanje koje sam video u životu.

We asked people, "Do you want this action,

Pitali smo ljude: "Da li želite ovu akciju

and to have buildings painted like that?"

i da zgrade budu ovako okrečene?"

And then the second question was,

Drugo pitanje bilo je:

"Do you want it to stop or do you want it to continue?"

"Da li želite da se zaustavi ili da se nastavi?"

To the first question,

Na prvo pitanje,

63 percent of people said yes, we like it.

63 posto ljudi odgovorilo je: "Da, sviđa nam se."

Thirty-seven said no, we don't like it.

Trideset sedam odgovorilo je: "Ne, ne sviđa nam se."

But to the second question, half of them that didn't like it,

Ali na drugo pitanje, polovina onih kojima se nije sviđala,

they wanted it to continue. (Laughter)

želela je da se nastavi. (Smeh)

So we noticed change.

Primetili smo promenu.

People started to drop less litter in the streets, for example,

Ljudi su počeli da bacaju manje smeća na ulice, na primer,

started to pay taxes,

počeli su da plaćaju poreze,

started to feel something they had forgotten,

počeli su da osećaju ono što su zaboravili.

and beauty was acting as a guardsman

I lepota je služila kao čuvar

where municipal police, or the state itself, were missing.

gde gradska policija i sama država, nisu bili prisutni.

One day I remember walking along a street

Sećam se da sam jednog dana šetao ulicom

that had just been colored,

koja samo što je bila okrečena

and where we were in the process of planting trees,

i gde je trajao proces sadnje drveća,

when I saw a shopkeeper and his wife

kada sam video vlasnika radnje i njegovu ženu

putting a glass facade to their shop.

kako stavljaju staklenu fasadu na njihovu radnju.

They had thrown the old shutter

Bacili su stari kapak

in the garbage collection place.

na mesto gde se sakuplja smeće.

"Why did you throw away the shutters?" I asked him.

"Zašto ste bacili kapke?", pitao sam ih.

"Well, because the street is safer now," they answered.

"Pa, zato što je ulica sada bezbednija", odgovorili su.

"Safer? Why? They have posted more policemen here?"

"Bezbednija? Zašto? Postavili su više policajaca ovde?"

"Come on, man! What policemen?

"Ma daj, čoveče! Kakve policajce?

You can see it for yourself. There are colors,

Možeš i sam da vidiš.

Tu su boje, ulične sijalice, novi trotoar bez rupa, drveće.

streetlights, new pavement with no potholes,

trees. So it's beautiful; it's safe."

Prelepo je; bezbedno je."

And indeed, it was beauty that was giving people

I stvarno, lepota je davala ljudima

this feeling of being protected.

osećaj zaštite.

And this was not a misplaced feeling.

To nije bio pogrešan osećaj.

Crime did fall.

Kriminal je zaista oslabio.

The freedom that was won in 1990

Sloboda osvojena 1990,

brought about a state of anarchy in the city,

donela je stanje anarhije u grad,

while the barbarism of the '90s

dok je varvarizam '90-ih

brought about a loss of hope for the city.

doneo gubitak nade za grad.

The paint on the walls did not feed children,

Boja na zidovima nije hranila decu,

nor did it tend the sick or educate the ignorant,

takođe nije brinula o bolesnima ili obrazovala neuke,

but it gave hope and light,

ali je davala nadu i svetlo

and helped to make people see

i pomogla ljudima da vide

there could be a different way of doing things,

da postoji drugačiji način da se stvari urade,

a different spirit, a different feel to our lives,

drugačiji duh, drugačiji pogled na naše živote.

and that if we brought the same energy and hope

I da, ako unesemo istu energiju i nadu

to our politics, we could build a better life

u našu politiku, možemo da stvorimo bolji život

for each other and for our country.

jedni za druge i za našu zemlju.

We removed 123,000 tons of concrete

Uklonili smo 123 000 tona betona

only from the riverbanks.

samo sa rečnih obala.

We demolished more than 5,000 illegal buildings

Srušili smo više od 5 000 ilegalnih građevina

all over the city,

u celom gradu,

up to eight stories high, the tallest of them.

najviše od njih imale su i do osam spratova.

We planted 55,000 trees and bushes in the streets.

Zasadili smo 55 000 stabala i žbunova u ulicama.

We established a green tax,

Uveli smo ekološki porez

and then everybody accepted it

i onda su ga svi prihvatili

and all businessmen paid it regularly.

i svi poslovni ljudi su ga redovno plaćali.

By means of open competitions,

Kroz otvorena takmičenja

we managed to recruit in our administration

uspeli samo da u našu administraciju regrutujemo

many young people,

mnogo mladih ljudi

and we thus managed to build

i tako smo uspeli da izgradimo

a de-politicized public institution

apolitičnu javnu instituciju

where men and women were equally represented.

gde su muškarci i žene jednako predstavljeni.

International organizations

Internacionalne organizacije

have invested a lot in Albania during these 20 years,

uložile su mnogo u Albaniju u poslednjih 20 godina,

not all of it well spent.

od čega nije sve potrošeno na dobar način.

When I told the World Bank directors

Kada sam rekao direktorima Svetske banke

that I wanted them to finance a project to build

da želim da finansiraju projekat da se izgradi

a model reception hall for citizens

model sale za prijem građana

precisely in order to fight endemic daily corruption,

baš u cilju borbe protiv endemske dnevne korupcije,

they did not understand me.

nisu me razumeli.

But people were waiting in long queues

Ali ljudi su čekali u dugim redovima

under sun and under rain

pod suncem i kišom

in order to get a certificate or just a simple answer

da bi dobili sertifikat ili samo jednostavam odgovor

from two tiny windows of two metal kiosks.

kroz dva mala prozora na dva metalna kioska.

They were paying in order to skip the queue,

Plaćali su da ne bi čekali u redu,

the long queue.

u dugom redu.

The reply to their requests was met

Na njihove zahteve odgovarao je

by a voice coming from this dark hole,

glas koji je dolazio iz mračne rupe

and, on the other hand,

i sa druge strane,

a mysterious hand coming out to take their documents

misteriozna ruka koja se pojavi da uzme njihove dokumente

while searching through old documents for the bribe.

dok među starim dokumentima traži mito.

We could change the invisible clerks within the kiosks,

Mogli smo da menjamo nevidljive službenike u kioscima

every week, but we could not change this corrupt practice.

svake nedelje, ali nismo mogli da promenimo ovu korumpiranu praksu.

"I'm convinced," I told a German official

"Ubeđen sam", rekao sam nemačkom zvaničniku

with the World Bank,

Svetske banke,

"that it would be impossible for them to be bribed

"da bi bilo nemoguće da primaju mito

if they worked in Germany,

kada bi radili u Nemačkoj,

in a German administration,

u nemačkoj administraciji,

just as I am convinced that if you put German officials

u istoj meri koliko sam ubeđen da, ako bi postavili nemačke zvaničnike

from the German administration in those holes,

iz nemačke administracije u ove rupe,

they would be bribed just the same."

takođe bi primali mito."

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

It's not about genes.

To nema veze sa genima.

It's not about some being with a high conscience

To ne znači da neko ima savest na višem nivou,

and some others having not a conscience.

a da neko drugi nema savest.

It's about system, it's about organization.

To ima veze sa sistemom, sa organizacijom.

It's also about environment and respect.

Takođe je vezano za okolinu i poštovanje.

We removed the kiosks.

Uklonili smo kioske.

We built the bright new reception hall

Sagradili smo novu salu za prijeme

that made people, Tirana citizens,

zbog koje su ljudi, građani Tirane,

think they had traveled abroad when they entered

mislili da su otputovali u inostranstvo kada bi ušli

to make their requests.

da predaju svoje zahteve.

We created an online system of control

Napravili smo onlajn sistem kontrole

and so speeded up all the processes.

i tako ubrzali sve procese.

We put the citizen first, and not the clerks.

Stavili smo građane na prvo mesto, a ne službenike.

The corruption in the state administration

Protiv korupcije u državnoj administraciji

of countries like Albania --

u zemljama kao što je Albanija -

it's not up to me to say also like Greece --

da ne kažem, kao što je Grčka -

can be fought only by modernization.

možemo se boriti samo modernizacijom.

Reinventing the government by reinventing politics itself

Rešenje je reorganizovanje vlade kroz reorganizovanje

is the answer, and not reinventing people

same politike, a ne reorganizovanje ljudi

based on a ready-made formula

na osnovu već smišljenih obrazaca

that the developed world often tries in vain to impose

koje razvijeni svet često uzalud pokušava da nametne

to people like us.

ljudima kao što smo mi.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Things have come to this point

Stvari su dostigle ovu tačku

because politicians in general,

zato što političari u globalu,

but especially in our countries, let's face it,

ali naročito u našim zemljama, da se ne lažemo,

think people are stupid.

misle da su ljudi glupi.

They take it for granted that, come what may,

Uzimaju zdravo za gotovo da će, bilo šta da se desi,

people have to follow them,

ljudi morati da ih prate,

while politics, more and more, fails to offer answers

dok politika, sve više i više, ne uspeva da ponudi rešenja

for their public concerns

za brige javnosti

or the exigencies of the common people.

ili potrebe običnih ljudi.

Politics has come to resemble

Politika je počela da liči

a cynical team game played by politicians,

na ciničnu timsku igru koju igraju političari,

while the public has been pushed aside

dok je javnost gurnuta u stranu

as if sitting on the seats of a stadium

kao da sede na sedištima na stadionu

in which passion for politics

gde strast ka politici

is gradually making room for blindness and desperation.

postepeno ustupa mesto zaslepljenosti i očaju.

Seen from those stairs, all politicians today

Gledano sa tih stepenica, svi političari danas

seem the same,

izgledaju isto

and politics has come to resemble

i politika je počela da liči

a sport that inspires more aggressiveness

na sport koji stvara više agresivnosti

and pessimism than social cohesion

i pesimizma nego društvene jedinstvenosti

and the desire for civic protaganism.

i želje za građanskim protagonizmom.

Barack Obama won

Barak Obama je pobedio -

— (Applause) —

(Aplauz) -

because he mobilized people as never before

jer je mobilizovao ljude kao nikada pre

through the use of social networks.

kroz upotrebu socijalnih mreža.

He did not know each and every one of them,

Nije poznavao svakog od njih,

but with an admirable ingenuity,

ali je sa zadivljujućom genijalnošću

he managed to transform them into activists

uspeo da ih transformiše u aktiviste

by giving them all the possibility to hold in their hands

dozvoljavajući im da u svojim rukama drže

the arguments and the instruments that each would need

argumente i instrumente koji su svakom od njih bili potrebni

to campaign in his name by making his own campaign.

da vode kampanju u njegovo ime stvarajući sopstvenu kampanju.

I tweet. I love it.

Tvitujem. Obožavam to.

I love it because it lets me get the message out,

Obožavam to jer mi pruža priliku da prenesem poruku,

but it also lets people get their messages to me.

ali takođe omogućava ljudima da prenesu svoje poruke meni.

This is politics, not from top down,

Ovo je politika, ne od vrha na dole,

but from the bottom up, and sideways,

već odozdo na gore i sa strane.

and allowing everybody's voice to be heard

Mogućnost da se svačiji glas čuje

is exactly what we need.

je upravo ono što nam je potrebno.

Politics is not just about leaders.

Politika nije vezana samo za vođe.

It's not just about politicians and laws.

Ne radi se samo o političarima i zakonima.

It is about how people think,

Radi se o tome kako ljudi razmišljaju,

how they view the world around them,

kako vide svet oko sebe,

how they use their time and their energy.

kako koriste svoje vreme i energiju.

When people say all politicians are the same,

Kada ljudi kažu da su svi političari isti,

ask yourself if Obama was the same as Bush,

zapitajte se da li je Obama isti kao Buš,

if François Hollande is the same as Sarkozy.

da li je Fransoa Holand isti kao Sarkozi.

They are not. They are human beings with different views

Nisu isti. Oni su ljudska bića sa različitim shvatanjima

and different visions for the world.

i različitim vizijama o svetu.

When people say nothing can change,

Kada ljudi kažu da ništa ne može da se promeni,

just stop and think what the world was like

samo stanite i razmislite kako je svet izgledao

10, 20, 50, 100 years ago.

pre 10, 20, 50, 100 godina.

Our world is defined by the pace of change.

Naš svet je definisan tempom promene.

We can all change the world.

Svi mi možemo da promenimo svet.

I gave you a very small example

Dao sam samo mali primer

of how one thing, the use of color,

kako jedna stvar, upotreba boje,

can make change happen.

može da pokrene promenu.

I want to make more change

Želim da donesem još više promena

as Prime Minister of my country,

kao premijer svoje zemlje,

but every single one of you can make change happen

ali bilo ko od vas može da donese promene

if you want to.

ako želi.

President Roosevelt, he said,

Predsednik Ruzvelt je rekao:

"Believe you can, and you are halfway there."

"Veruj da možeš i prešao si već pola puta."

Efharisto and kalinihta.

Efharisto i kalininhta. (Hvala i laku noć).

(Applause)

(Aplauz)