How I went from child refugee to international model | Halima Aden

Prevodilac: Dragana Savanovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

This is me at age seven.

Ovo sam ja kad mi je bilo sedam godina.

And this is also me.

A ovo sam takođe ja.

(Applause and cheering)

(Aplauz i ovacije)

To be standing here in Kakuma refugee camp feels so surreal,

Stajati ovde u Kukumi, izbegličkom kampu, je nestvarno,

and I'm overcome with so much emotion.

i preplavljena sam silnim emocijama.

These very grounds are where I was born

Baš na ovom tlu sam rođena

and spent the first seven years of my life.

i ovde sam provela prvih sedam godina života.

I think many people are surprised to hear

Mnogi se iznenade kada čuju

that I had a great upbringing here at Kakuma.

da sam imala sjajno odrastanje ovde u Kakumi.

But I was happy,

Ali bila sam srećna,

I was smart, I had friends

pametna, imala sam prijatelje

and above all, I had hope for a brighter future.

i pre svega, nadu u bolju budućnost.

That's not to say that we didn't have our obstacles.

Ne može se reći da nismo imali i prepreka.

I mean, boy were there struggles.

Mislim, baš je bilo poteškoća.

I would sometimes get sick with malaria

Ponekad bih dobijala malariju

and didn't always know where our next meal would come from.

i nismo uvek znali kako ćemo pripremiti naredni obrok.

But the sense of community that is here in Kakuma

Ali, osećaj zajedništva koji postoji ovde u Kakumi

and the pride that everyone here possesses

i ponos koji svi ovde poseduju

is simply unparalleled.

je prosto bez premca.

When I was younger, I remember conflicts breaking out.

Kada sam bila mlađa, sećam se konflikata koji su izbijali.

That tends to happen when people come from different backgrounds

To se dešava kada ljudi imaju različito poreklo

and don't speak the same language.

i ne govore isti jezik.

Eventually, Swahili --

Na kraju je Svahili -

the main language here --

glavni jezik ovde -

became our common ground.

postao naš zajednički jezik.

I made friends with the kids at the camp

Sprijateljila sam se sa decom u kampu

and even started embracing some of their cultures,

i čak počela da prihvatam ponešto od njihove kulture,

celebrating holidays like Christmas even though I was raised Muslim.

te sam slavila Božić iako sam odgajana kao muslimanka.

The other kids would embrace my culture as well,

I druga deca su prihvatala moju kulturu takođe,

sometimes even praying right alongside me.

ponekad čak i moleći se sa mnom.

It was easy, as children, to come together,

Nama, deci, je bilo lako da se zbližimo,

blend all of our beliefs

da ujedinimo naša uverenja

to form our own unique, multicultural environment.

i stvorimo našu jedinstvenu multikulturalnu sredinu.

My name is Halima Aden

Zovem se Halima Aden

and I'm a black, Muslim, Somali-American from Kenya.

i ja sam crnkinja, muslimanka, somalijska Amerikanka iz Kenije.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Some have called me a trailblazer --

Neki su me zvali pionirkom -

I was the first Muslim homecoming queen at my high school,

bila sam prva muslimanka kraljica mature u svojoj srednjoj školi,

the first Somali student senator at my college

prvi somalijski student senator na svom fakultetu

and the first hijab-wearing woman in many places,

i prva žena koja nosi hidžab na mnogim mestima,

like the Miss Minnesota USA beauty pageant,

kao što su izbor za mis Minesote SAD,

the runways of Milan and New York Fashion Weeks

modne piste Milana i Njujorške nedelje mode

and even on the historic cover of British "Vogue."

pa čak i na istorijskoj naslovnici britanskog Voga.

As you can see,

Kao što vidite,

I'm not afraid to be the first, to step out on my own,

ne plašim se da budem prva, da istupim sama,

to take risks and seek change,

da rizikujem i menjam se,

because that's what being a minority is about.

jer tako je kad si u manjini.

It's about using yourself as a vessel to create change

Treba koristiti svoj primer kao sredstvo za stvaranje promena

and being a human representation for the power of diversity.

i biti ljudsko oličenje snage raznolikosti.

And now I use my platform to spread an important message of acceptance.

I sada koristim svoju tribinu da proširim važnu poruku prihvatanja.

But it hasn't always been easy.

Ali nije oduvek bilo lako.

When we first arrived to the United States and made St. Louis, Missouri home,

Kada smo tek stigli u Ameriku, u naš dom u Sent Luisu u Mizuriju,

I remember asking my mom, "Is this really America?"

sećam se da sam pitala mamu: "Je li ovo stvarno Amerika?"

There were things that were sadly familiar,

Neke stvari su nažalost bile dobro poznate,

like hearing gunshots at night

kao što je pucnjava noću

and the streets looking impoverished.

i ulice koje su izgledale osiromašeno.

But there were things that were also very different.

Ipak, neke stvari su bile skroz drugačije.

Like when I started first grade,

Npr. kada sam pošla u prvi razred,

I noticed how the kids played in groups.

primetila sam da se deca igraju u grupama.

In America, we call them "cliques."

U Americi ih zovemo „klike“.

Back here, we all played together.

Ovde smo se svi zajedno igrali.

Gender didn't matter,

Pol nije bio važan,

and race most certainly never mattered.

a pogotovo ne rasa.

I remember asking myself,

Sećam se da sam se pitala:

"Why don't they understand Swahili?

„Zašto ne razumeju Svahili?

Swahili is the language that brings people together."

Svahili je jezik koji zbližava ljude.“

To make matters worse,

Da bi sve bilo još gore,

the school I was enrolled in didn't have an English immersion program.

škola u koju su me upisali nije imala intenzivni program učenja engleskog.

So everyday I would get up,

Tako sam svakog dana ustajala,

go to school, sit in my desk

išla u školu, sedela za stolom

and never learn a thing.

i nikada ništa nisam naučila.

This is when I started losing hope,

Tada sam počela da gubim nadu,

and I wanted nothing more than return to Kakuma,

i sve što sam želela je bilo da se vratim u Kakumu,

a refugee camp.

izbeglički kamp.

Soon, my mother learned that many Somalis found refuge

Uskoro je moja majka saznala da su mnogi Somalijci pronašli utočište

in a small town in Minnesota.

u malom gradu u Minesoti.

So when I was eight, we moved to Minnesota.

Pa smo se preselili u Minesotu kada sam imala osam godina.

My life changed as I met other students who spoke Somali,

Život mi se promenio kada sam upoznala druge učenike koji su govorili somalijski,

attended a school that had an English immersion program

krenula u školu koja je imala intenzivni program učenja engleskog

and found teachers that would go above and beyond,

i pronašla nastavnike koji bi učinili sve i svašta,

staying there after school hours and lunch breaks,

ostajali prekovremeno i tokom pauza za ručak,

dedicated to helping me find success in the classroom.

posvećeno mi pomagali da budem uspešna u učionici.

Being a child refugee has taught me that one could be stripped of everything:

Izbeglištvo u detinjstvu me je naučilo da ti sve može biti oduzeto:

food, shelter, clean drinking water,

hrana, krov nad glavom, čista pijaća voda,

even friendship,

čak i prijateljstvo,

but the one thing that no one could ever take away from you

ali jedina stvar koju vam niko nikada ne može oduzeti

is your education.

je vaše obrazovanje.

So I made studying my top priority

Tako je učenje postalo moj prioritet

and soon started flourishing within the classroom.

i uskoro sam počela da napredujem unutar učionice.

As I grew older, I became more aware of others

Kako sam odrastala, postala sam svesnija drugih

and how they viewed my race and background.

i načina na koji su oni posmatrali moju rasu i poreklo.

Specifically, when I started wearing the head scarf known as a hijab.

Pogotovo kada sam počela da nosim šal na glavi poznatiji kao hidžab.

When I first started wearing it, I was excited.

Kada sam prvo počela da ga nosim, bila sam uzbuđena.

I remember admiring my mother's, and I wanted to emulate her beauty.

Sećam se da sam se divila majčinom, i da sam htela da oponašam njenu lepotu.

But when I started middle school,

Ali kada sam krenula u više razrede osnovne škole,

the students teased me about not having hair,

učenici su me zadirkivali da nemam kosu,

so to prove them wrong,

i da bih ih ubedila u suprotno,

I started showing them my hair --

počela sam da im pokazujem kosu -

something that goes against my beliefs, but something I felt pressured to do.

iako se to kosi sa mojim uverenjima, jer sam bila pod pritiskom.

I wanted so badly to fit in at the time.

Tada sam silno želela da se uklopim.

When I reflect on the issues of race, religion, identity,

Kada se setim pitanja rase, vere, identiteta,

a lot of painful memories come to mind.

stignu me mnoge bolne uspomene.

It would be easy for me to blame those of another culture

Bilo bi mi lako da krivim ljude drugih kultura

for making me feel the pain I felt,

za bol koji sam osetila,

but when I think deeper,

ali kada bolje razmislim,

I also recognize that the most impactful,

shvatam da su mi se najupečatljiviji,

positive, life-changing events that have happened to me

pozitivni događaji, koji menjaju život,

are thanks to those people who are different than me.

dogodili zahvaljujući ljudima koji se razlikuju od mene.

It was at this moment that I decided to step outside of my comfort zone

U tom trenutku sam odlučila da izađem iz svoje zone komfora

and compete in a pageant wearing a hijab and burkini.

i da se takmičim na izboru za mis u hidžabu i burkiniju.

I saw it as an opportunity to be a voice for women

To mi je bila prilika da budem glas žena

who, like myself, had felt underrepresented.

koje su se, kao i ja, osećale nedovoljno zastupljeno.

And although I didn't capture the crown,

I iako nisam osvojila krunu,

that experience opened so many doors for me.

to iskustvo mi je otvorilo mnoga vrata.

I was receiving emails and messages from women all over the world,

Primala sam mejlove i poruke od žena širom sveta,

telling me that I've inspired them by simply staying true to myself.

koje sam inspirisala jer sam prosto ostala dosledna samoj sebi.

The other "firsts" kept coming.

I druga nova iskustva su se nizala.

I was invited to New York City by fashion icon Carine Roitfeld

Modna ikona Karin Rotfeld me je pozvala u Njujork

to shoot my very first editorial.

da snimim svoj prvi modni editorijal.

It was around this time that I became the first hijab-wearing model,

Otprilike tada sam postala prvi model koji nosi hidžab,

and in my first year,

i tokom prve godine,

I graced the covers of nine fashion magazines.

krasila sam naslovnice devet modnih magazina.

It was a whirlwind, to say the least.

Bio je to tornado, najblaže rečeno.

But with all the overnight success,

Uprkos svom tom instant uspehu,

there was one thing that remained constant --

jedna stvar je ostala nepromenljiva -

the thought that this could be what brings me back here to Kakuma,

pomisao da će me sve to vratiti ovde u Kakumu,

the place that I call home.

mesto koje zovem dom.

And just a few months ago, something incredible happened to me.

I samo pre nekoliko meseci, nešto neverovatno mi se desilo.

I was in New York City, on a photo shoot,

Bila sam u Njujorku, na snimanju,

when I met South Sudanese model Adut Akech,

kada sam upoznala južno-sudanskog modela Adut Akeč,

who also happened to be born right here in Kakuma.

koja je takođe, igrom slučaja, rođena baš ovde u Kakumi.

That experience in itself is the definition of hope.

To iskustvo samo po sebi je definicija nade.

I mean, just imagine:

Mislim, samo zamislite:

two girls born in the same refugee camp,

dve devojčice rođene u istom izbegličkom kampu

reunited for the first time on the cover of British "Vogue."

prvi put se sreću na naslovnici britanskog Voga.

(Applause and cheering)

(Aplauz i ovacije)

I was given the distinct pleasure of partnering up with UNICEF,

Pruženo mi je posebno zadovoljstvo da se udružim sa Unicefom,

knowing firsthand the work that they do for children in need.

i da se iz prve ruke upoznam sa svime što rade za ugroženu decu.

And I want you to remember

Želim da zapamtite da,

that although the children here may be refugees,

iako su ovdašnja deca možda izbeglice,

they are children.

ona su samo deca.

They deserve every opportunity to flourish, to hope, to dream --

Zaslužuju svaku priliku da se razvijaju, nadaju, sanjaju -

to be successful.

da budu uspešna.

My story began right here in Kakuma refugee camp,

Moja priča je počela baš ovde, u izbegličkom kampu u Kakumi,

a place of hope.

mestu nade.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)