Ismael Nazario: What I learned as a kid in jail

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Ivana Korom

We need to change the culture in our jails and prisons,

Moramo da promenimo kulturu u našim zatvorima,

especially for young inmates.

naročito za mlade zatvorenike.

New York state is one of only two in the U.S.

Država Njujork je jedna od samo dve u SAD

that automatically arrests and tries 16- to 17-year-olds as adults.

koja automatski hapsi osobe od 16 i 17 godina i sudi im kao odraslima.

This culture of violence takes these young people

Ovom kulturom nasilja ovi mladi ljudi

and puts them in a hostile environment,

smeštaju se u neprijateljsko okruženje,

and the correctional officers pretty much allow any and everything to go on.

a čuvari dozvoljavaju da se dešava skoro sve.

There's not really much for these young people to do

Ovim mladim ljudima ne preostaje baš puno toga

to actually enhance their talent and actually rehabilitate them.

kako bi zapravo pojačali svoj talenat i kako bi se pokušala rehabilitacija.

Dok ne budemo mogli da podignemo granicu kriminalne odgovornosti na 18,

Until we can raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18,

we need to focus on changing the daily lives of these young people.

moramo se usredsrediti na to da promenimo svakodnevnicu ovih mladih ljudi.

I know firsthand.

Znam to iz ličnog iskustva.

Before I ever turned 18,

Pre nego što smo napunio 18 godina,

I spent approximately 400 days on Rikers Island,

proveo sam otprilike 400 dana na ostrvu Rajkers,

and to add to that

i pored toga,

I spent almost 300 days in solitary confinement,

proveo sam skoro 300 dana u samici,

and let me tell you this:

i da vam kažem:

Screaming at the top of your lungs all day on your cell door

kada vrištite svom snagom na vratima svoje ćelije

or screaming at the top of your lungs out the window,

i kada vrištite svom snagom sa svog prozora,

it gets tiring.

izmorite se.

Since there's not much for you to do while you're in there,

Pošto nema baš puno toga što tamo možete da radite,

počnete da marširate napred-nazad po svojoj ćeliji,

you start pacing back and forth in your cell,

you start talking to yourself,

počnete da pričate sami sa sobom,

your thoughts start running wild,

misli počinju da vam divljaju

and then your thoughts become your own worst enemy.

i onda vam sopstvene misli postanu najveći neprijatelj.

Jails are actually supposed to rehabilitate a person,

U zatvorima ljudi zapravo treba da dožive rehabilitaciju,

not cause him or her to become more angry,

ne da postanu ljutiti,

frustrated, and feel more hopeless.

isfrustrirani i da se osećaju još beznadežnije.

Since there's not a discharge plan put in place for these young people,

Pošto za ove mlade ljude ne postoji nikakav plan o otpuštanju,

they pretty much reenter society with nothing.

u društvo se vraćaju bez ičega.

And there's not really much for them to do to keep them from recidivating.

Zaista ne postoji mnogo toga što bi ih sprečilo da ponovo pogreše.

But it all starts with the C.O.s.

Ali sve počinje sa čuvarima.

It's very easy for some people

Za neke je veoma lako

to look at these correctional officers as the good guys

da ove čuvare vide kao dobre,

and the inmates as the bad guys,

a zatvorenike kao loše momke,

or vice versa for some,

a neki to vide i obrnuto,

but it's a little more than that.

ali to nije cela priča.

See, these C.O.s are normal, everyday people.

Ovi čuvari su normalni, obični ljudi.

They come from the same neighborhoods as the population they "serve."

Dolaze iz istih delova grada kao i populacija kojom "upravljaju".

They're just normal people.

Oni su samo normalni ljudi.

They're not robots, and there's nothing special about them.

Nisu roboti, i kod njih ne postoji ništa posebno.

They do pretty much everything anybody else in society does.

Otprilike rade sve ono što rade i drugi u društvu.

The male C.O.s want to talk and flirt with the female C.O.s.

Muški čuvari žele da pričaju i flertuju sa ženskim čuvarima.

They play the little high school kid games with each other.

Igraju se jedni sa drugima kao u srednjoj školi.

They politic with one another.

Raspravljaju se međusobno.

And the female C.O.s gossip to each other.

A ženski čuvari tračaraju međusobno.

So I spent numerous amounts of time with numerous amounts of C.O.s,

Proveo sam dosta vremena sa priličnim brojem čuvara

and let me tell you about this one in particular named Monroe.

i ispričaću vam o jednom koji se zvao Manro.

One day he pulled me in between the A and B doors

Jednog dana dovukao me je između vrata A i B

which separate the north and south sides of our housing unit.

koja odvajaju severnu i južnu stranu jedinice gde smo bli smešteni.

He pulled me there because I had a physical altercation

Tamo me je dovukao jer sam imao fizičku razmiricu

with another young man in my housing unit,

sa drugim mladićem iz naše jedinice

and he felt, since there was a female officer working on the floor,

i osećao je, pošto je na tom spratu radio i jedan ženski čuvar,

that I violated his shift.

da sam mu ugrozio smenu.

So he punched me in my chest.

Pa me je udario u grudi.

He kind of knocked the wind out of me.

Izbio mi je vazduh.

I wasn't impulsive, I didn't react right away,

Nisam bio impulsivan, nisam reagovao odmah,

because I know this is their house.

jer znam da je to njihova kuća.

I have no wins.

Ne mogu da pobedim.

All he has to do is pull his pin and backup will come immediately.

Samo je trebalo da pritisne dugme i odmah bi došla podrška.

So I just gave him a look in his eyes

Stoga sam ga samo pogledao

and I guess he saw the anger and frustration just burning,

i pretpostavljam da je video kako mi u očima gore bes i frustracija

and he said to me,

i rekao mi je:

"Your eyes are going to get you in a lot of trouble,

"Imaćeš problema zbog svojih očiju

because you're looking like you want to fight."

jer izgledaš kao želiš da se tučeš."

So he commenced to taking off his utility belt,

Počeo je da skida svoj opasač,

he took off his shirt and his badge,

skinuo je košulju i značku

and he said, "We could fight."

i rekao: "Mogli bismo da se tučemo."

So I asked him, "You gonna hold it down?"

Pitao sam ga: "Nećeš da drukaš?"

Now, that's a term that's commonly used on Rikers Island

To je izraz koji se često koristi na ostrvu Rajkers

meaning that you're not going to say anything to anybody,

i koji znači da nikome nećeš ništa reći

and you're not going to report it.

i da to nećeš prijaviti.

He said, "Yeah, I'm gonna hold it down. You gonna hold it down?"

Rekao je: "Neću da drukam. A ti?"

I didn't even respond.

Nisam ni odgovorio.

I just punched him right in his face,

Samo sam ga odalamio u lice

and we began fighting right then and there.

i počeli smo da se tučemo na licu mesta.

Towards the end of the fight, he slammed me up against the wall,

Pri kraju tuče, priklještio me je uza zid

so while we were tussled up, he said to me, "You good?"

i dok smo se tukli, pitao me je: "Dobro si?"

as if he got the best of me,

kao da me je dobio,

but in my mind, I know I got the best of him,

ali sam znao da sam ja dobio njega,

so I replied very cocky,

pa sam arogantno odgovorio:

"Oh, I'm good, you good?"

"O, ja sam dobro, a ti?"

He said, "Yeah, I'm good, I'm good."

Rekao je: "Da, da, dobro sam."

We let go, he shook my hand, said he gave me my respect,

Pustili smo jedan drugog, rukovali se, rekao mi je da me je ispoštovao,

gave me a cigarette and sent me on my way.

dao mi cigaretu i poslao me dalje.

Believe it or not, you come across some C.O.s on Rikers Island

Verovali ili ne, na ostrvu Rajkers naići ćete na neke čuvare

that'll fight you one-on-one.

koji će se tući sa vama jedan na jedan.

They feel that they understand how it is,

Osećaju da razumeju kako je to

and they feel that I'm going to meet you where you're at.

i da ću se suprotstaviti njima kako treba.

Since this is how you commonly handle your disputes,

Pošto se rasprave ovako često rešavaju,

we can handle it in that manner.

možemo to da rešimo na taj način.

I walk away from it like a man, you walk away from it like a man,

Ja odatle odem kao muškarac, ti odeš kao muškarac,

and that's it.

i to je to.

Some C.O.s feel that they're jailing with you.

Neki čuvari se osećaju kao da robijaju sa vama.

This is why they have that mentality and that attitude

Zato imaju taj mentalitet i stav

and they go by that concept.

i vode se tim konceptom.

In some instances, we're in it together with the C.O.s.

U nekim slučajevima, u istom smo problemu kao i čuvari.

However, institutions need to give these correctional officers

Ipak, institucije moraju da pruže ovim čuvarima pravilnu obuku

proper trainings on how to properly deal with the adolescent population,

za to kako da se na pravi način ophode sa populacijom adolescenata

and they also need to give them proper trainings

i moraju da im daju pravilnu obuku

on how to deal with the mental health population as well.

za to kako da se ophode sa populacijom sa mentalnim problemima.

These C.O.s play a big factor in these young people's lives

Ovi čuvari igraju veliku ulogu u životima ovih mladih ljudi

for x amount of time until a disposition is reached on their case.

za X količinu vremena dok ne dođe do razrešenja u njihovim slučajevima.

So why not try to mentor these young people while they're there?

Zašto onda ne pokušati sa mentorisanjem ovih mladih ljudi dok su tamo?

Why not try to give them some type of insight to make a change,

Zašto ne pokušati da im se da neka vrsta uvida u promene,

so once they reenter back into society,

tako da kada se vrate u društvo

they're doing something positive?

rade nešto pozitivno?

Druga velika stvar kako bi pomogli našim tinejdžerima u zatvoru

A second big thing to help our teens in jails is better programming.

je bolji raspored.

When I was on Rikers Island, the huge thing was solitary confinement.

Kada sam bio na ostrvu Rajkers, samice su bile velika stvar.

Solitary confinement was originally designed

Samice su prvobitno osmišljene

to break a person mentally, physically and emotionally.

kako bi se osoba slomila mentalno, fizički i emotivno.

That's what it was designed for.

Za to su smišljene.

The U.S. Attorney General recently released a report

Državni tužilac SAD nedavno je objavio izveštaj

stating that they're going to ban solitary confinement

u kome se tvrdi da će se zabraniti upotreba samica

in New York state for teens.

u državi Njujork za tinejdžere.

One thing that kept me sane while I was in solitary confinement was reading.

Dok sam bio u samici, ono što me je držalo razumnim bilo je čitanje.

I tried to educate myself as much as possible.

Pokušao sam da se obrazujem koliko god sam mogao.

I read any and everything I could get my hands on.

Čitao sam sve čega sam mogao da se dočepam.

And aside from that, I wrote music and short stories.

Pored toga, pisao sam muziku i kratke priče.

Some programs that I feel would benefit our young people

Mislim da bi mladim ljudima koristili

are art therapy programs

programi terapije umetnošću

for the kids that like to draw and have that talent,

za klince koji vole da crtaju i imaju taj talenat,

and what about the young individuals that are musically inclined?

a šta je sa mladima koji su skloni muzici?

How about a music program for them that actually teaches them

Na primer, muzički program gde bi ih neko zaista naučio

how to write and make music?

kako da pišu i stvaraju muziku?

Just a thought.

To je samo pomisao.

When adolescents come to Rikers Island,

Kada adolescenti dođu na ostrvo Rajkers,

C74, RNDC is the building that they're housed in.

smeštaju se u zgradu C74, RNDC.

That's nicknamed "gladiator school,"

Ovo se naziva "školom za gladijatore",

because you have a young individual coming in from the street

jer imate mladu osobu koja dolazi sa ulice

thinking that they're tough,

i misli da je žestoka

being surrounded by a bunch of other young individuals

i bude okružena gomilom drugih mladih osoba

from all of the five boroughs, and everybody feels that they're tough.

iz svih pet krajeva grada, i svi misle da su žestoki.

So now you have a bunch of young gentlemen poking their chests out

Sada imate hrpu mladića koji se busaju u grudi

feeling that I have to prove I'm equally as tough as you

i osećaju da moraju da dokažu da su jednako opaki

or I'm tougher than you, you and you.

ili opasniji od tebe, tebe i tebe.

But let's be honest:

Ali budimo iskreni:

That culture is very dangerous and damaging to our young people.

ta kultura je veoma opasna i škodi našim mladima.

We need to help institutions and these teens realize

Moramo da pomognemo institucijama i ovim tinejdžerima da shvate

that they don't have to lead the previous lifestyle that they led

da ne moraju da žive svojim pređašnjim životom

when they were on the street, that they can actually make a change.

koji su živeli na ulici, da zapravo mogu da se promene.

It's sad to report that while I was in prison,

Tužno je reći da kada sam bio u zatvoru,

I used to hear dudes talking about when they get released from prison,

čuo sam tipove da pričaju o tome šta će raditi kad izađu napolje,

what type of crimes they're going to commit

kakve zločine će činiti

when they get back in the street.

kada se vrate na ulice.

The conversations used to sound something like this:

Ti razgovori su zvučali pomalo ovako:

"Oh, when I hit the street, my brother got this connection

"O, kad krenem na ulicu, moj brat ima ovu vezu

for this, that and the third,"

za ovo, ono i nešto treće",

or, "My man over here got this connection for the low price.

ili: "Moj burazer tamo ima vezu za nisku cenu.

Let's exchange information,"

Hajde da razmenimo informacije"

and, "When we hit the town, we're going to do it real big."

i "Kad krenemo u grad, ima da radimo na veliko."

I used to hear these conversations and think to myself, "Wow,

Slušao sam ove razgovore i u sebi sam mislio:

these dudes are really talking about going back in the street

"Čoveče, ovi likovi stvarno pričaju o tome da idu nazad na ulicu

and committing future crimes."

i da počine nove zločine".

So I came up with a name for that:

Smislio sam ime za to,

I called it a go-back-to-jail-quick scheme

nazvao sam to šemom za brzi povratak u zatvor,

because really, how long is that going to last?

jer stvarno, koliko će to da traje?

You get a retirement plan with that?

Je l' se uz to dobije plan za penziono?

Nice little pension? 401(k)? 403(b)?

Lepa penzijica? Beneficirani staž?

You get health insurance? Dental?

Zdravstveno, socijalno osiguranje?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But I will tell you this:

Ali da vam kažem ovo:

Being in jail and being in prison,

kada ste u zatvoru,

I came across some of the most intelligent, brilliant,

sretnete neke od najinteligentnijih, najbriljantnijih

and talented people that I would ever meet.

i najtalentovanijih ljudi koje bih ikada sreo.

I've seen individuals take a potato chip bag

Viđao sam ljude koji bi uzeli kesicu od čipsa

and turn it into the most beautiful picture frame.

i od nje napravili prelep ram za slike.

I've seen individuals take the state soap that's provided for free

Viđao sam ljude koji bi uzeli državni sapun koji dobiju besplatno

and turn them into the most beautiful sculptures

i od njega naprave prelepe skulpture

that would make Michelangelo look like a kindergartner made it.

koje bi učinile da Mikelanđelo izgleda kao dete iz vrtića.

At the age of 21, I was in a maximum-security prison

U svojoj 21. godini bio sam u zatvoru sa maksimalnim obezbeđenjem

called Elmira Correctional Facility.

koji se nazivao Popravna ustanova Elmira.

I just came out of the weight shack from working out,

Upravo sam se vratio iz teretane gde sam vežbao

and I saw an older gentleman that I knew standing in the middle of the yard

i video sam starijeg gospodina kojeg sam znao

kako stoji nasred dvorišta

just looking up at the sky.

i gleda u nebo.

Mind you, this older gentlemen was serving a 33-and-a-third-to-life sentence

Imajte na umu da je ovaj gospodin služio kaznu 33 godine do doživotne

in which he already had served 20 years of that sentence.

i da je već odslužio 20 godina od toga.

So I walk up to him and I said,

Prišao sam mu i rekao:

"O.G., what's going on, man, you good?"

"Šta ima stari, jesi li dobro čoveče?"

He looked at me, and he said, "Yeah, I'm good, young blood."

Pogledao me je i rekao: "Da, dobro sam, sinovac."

I'm like, "So what are you looking up at the sky for, man?

Pitao sam: "A što onda gledaš ka nebu, čoveče?

What's so fascinating up there?"

Šta je tamo tako zanimljivo?"

He said, "You look up and you tell me what you see."

Rekao je: "Pogledaj gore i reci mi šta vidiš."

"Clouds." (Laughter)

"Oblake." (Smeh)

He said, "All right. What else do you see?"

Rekao je: "U redu. Šta još vidiš?"

At that time, it was a plane passing by.

U tom trenutku, prolazio je avion.

I said, "All right, I see an airplane."

Rekao sam: "U redu, vidim avion."

He said, "Exactly, and what's on that airplane?" "People."

Rekao je: "Tačno, a šta je u njemu?" "Ljudi."

"Exactly. Now where's that plane and those people going?"

"Tačno. A kuda idu ti ljudi i taj avion?"

"I don't know. You know?

"Ne znam. Ti znaš?

Please let me know if you do. Then let me get some lottery numbers."

Javi mi ako znaš, pa mi daj i neke brojeve za loto."

He said, "You're missing the big picture, young blood.

Rekao je: "Ne vidiš širi plan, sinovac.

That plane with those people is going somewhere,

Taj avion sa tim ljudima ide nekud,

while we're here stuck.

dok mi ovde tapkamo u mestu.

The big picture is this:

Ovo je širi plan:

That plane with those people going somewhere,

taj avion sa tim ljudima ide nekud,

that's life passing us by while we behind these walls, stuck."

to je život koji prolazi pored nas dok smo zaglavljeni među ovim zidinama."

Ever since that day,

Od tog dana,

that sparked something in my mind and made me know I had to make a change.

to je pokrenulo nešto u mom umu i znao sam da moram da promenim nešto.

Growing up, I was always a good, smart kid.

Dok sam rastao, uvek sam bio dobar, pametan klinac.

Some people would say I was a little too smart for my own good.

Neki bi rekli da sam bio previše pametan za svoje dobro.

I had dreams of becoming an architect or an archaeologist.

Sanjao sam da postanem arhitekta ili arheolog.

Currently, I'm working at the Fortune Society,

Trenutno radim u "Fortune Society"

which is a reentry program,

što je program vraćanja u društvo

and I work with people as a case manager that are at high risk for recidivism.

i radim sa ljudima koji imaju visok rizik vraćanja zločinu.

So I connect them with the services that they need

Povezujem ih i pružam im potrebne usluge

once they're released from jail and prison

kada ih puste iz zatvora

so they can make a positive transition back into society.

tako da mogu da naprave pozitivan prelaz u društvo.

If I was to see my 15-year-old self today,

Kada bih danas video sebe sa 15 godina,

I would sit down and talk to him and try to educate him

seo bih i popričao s njime i pokušao da ga obrazujem

and I would let him know, "Listen, this is me. I'm you.

i rekao bih mu: "Slušaj, ovo sam ja. Ja sam ti.

This is us. We are one.

Ovo smo mi. Jedno smo.

Everything that you're about to do, I know what you're gonna do

Znam sve što ćeš da uradiš

before you do it because I already did it,

pre nego što kreneš jer sam to već uradio."

and I would encourage him not to hang out with x, y and z people.

Rekao bih mu da se ne druži sa nekim ljudima,

I would tell him not to be in such-and-such place.

da ne ide na određena mesta.

I would tell him, keep your behind in school, man,

Rekao bih mu da se posveti školi,

because that's where you need to be,

jer tamo treba da bude,

because that's what's going to get you somewhere in life.

jer je to ono što će te odvesti negde u životu.

This is the message that we should be sharing

Ovo je poruka koju treba da delimo

with our young men and young women.

sa našim mladima.

We shouldn't be treating them as adults and putting them in cultures of violence

Ne treba da se prema njima ophodimo kao prema odraslima i da ih stavljamo

that are nearly impossible for them to escape.

u kulture nasilja iz kojih je skoro nemoguće pobeći.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)