3 lessons on starting a movement from a self-defense trailblazer | Rana Abdelhamid

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Kristina Radosavljević

So my story starts on July 4, 1992,

Moja priča počinje 4. jula 1992. godine,

the day my mother followed her college sweetheart

dana kada je moja majka pratila svoju ljubav sa fakulteta

to New York City from Egypt.

iz Egipta do Njujorka.

As fireworks exploded behind the skyline,

Dok je vatromet eksplodirao iznad horizonta,

my father looked at my mother jokingly and said,

moj otac je u šali pogledao moju majku i rekao:

"Look, habibti,

„Vidi, draga,

Americans are celebrating your arrival."

Amerikanci slave tvoj dolazak.“

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Unfortunately, it didn't feel much like a celebration

Nažalost, nije izgledalo baš kao proslava

when, growing up, my mother and I would wander past Queens

kada bismo, dok sam odrastala, moja majka i ja krenule da iz Kvinsa

into New York City streets,

tumaramo ulicama Njujorka,

and my mother with her hijab and long flowy dresses

a moja majka sa hidžabom i dugim haljinama

would tighten her hand around my small fingers

bi stegla svoju ruku oko mojih prstića

as she stood up against weathered comments like,

dok bi se suprotstavljala oštrim komentarima poput:

"Go back to where you came from,"

„Vrati se odakle si došla,“

"Learn English,"

„Nauči engleski,“

"Stupid immigrant."

„Glupi imigrant.“

These words were meant to make us feel unsafe, insecure

Ove reči su imale za cilj da se osećamo nebezbedno, nesigurno

in our own neighborhoods, in our own skin.

u svom komšiluku, u sopstvenoj koži.

But it was these same streets

Ali zbog tih istih ulica

that made me fall in love with New York.

sam se zaljubila u Njujork.

Queens is one of the most diverse places in the world,

Kvins je jedno od mesta sa najviše različitosti na svetu,

with immigrant parents holding stories that always start

gde roditelji imigranti imaju priče koje uvek počinju

with something between three and 15 dollars in a pocket,

iznosom između tri i 15 dolara u džepu,

a voyage across a vast sea

putovanjem preko ogromnog mora

and a cash-only hustle

i plaćanjem u kešu za sumnjive smeštaje

sheltering families in jam-packed, busted apartments.

koji su skrivali porodice u pretrpanim, oštećenim stanovima.

And it was these same families

Upravo te porodice su toliko naporno radile

that worked so hard to make sure that we had safe microcommunities --

da bi se postarale da imamo bezbedne mikrozajednice -

we, as immigrant children,

mi, kao deca imigranata,

to feel affirmed and loved in our identities.

da se osećamo podržano i voljeno u svojim identitetima.

But it was mostly the women.

Ali to su uglavnom bile žene.

And these women are the reason why,

Te žene su razlog zašto je moja majka,

regardless of these statements that my mom faced,

uprkos izjavama sa kojima se suočavala,

she remained unapologetic.

ostala nepokolebljiva.

And these women were some of the most powerful women

Te žene su među najsnažnijim ženama

I have ever met in my entire life.

koje sam ikada srela u životu.

I mean, they had networks for everything.

Mislim, imale su mreže za sve.

They had rotations for who watched whose kids when,

Imale su sistem smenjivanja za to ko će čuvati čiju decu i kada,

for saving extra cash,

za štednju novca,

for throwing belly dance parties

za priređivanje zabava sa trbušnim plesom,

and memorizing Koran and learning English.

učenje Kurana napamet i učenje engleskog jezika.

And they would collect small gold tokens

Sakupljale bi male zlatne žetone

to fundraise for the local mosque.

da bi prikupile sredstva za lokalnu džamiju.

And it was these same women,

Upravo su ove žene,

when I decided to wear my hijab,

kada sam rešila da nosim hidžab,

who supported me through it.

bile te koje su me u tome podržale.

And when I was bullied for being Muslim,

Kada su me maltretirali jer sam muslimanka,

I always felt like I had an army of unapologetic North African aunties

uvek sam se osećala kao da imam vojsku nepokolebljivih severnoafričkih tetki

who had my back.

koje su mi čuvale leđa.

And so every morning at 15,

I tako bih se svakog jutra u 15. godini probudila, stala pred ogledalo

I would wake up and stand in front of a mirror,

and wrap beautiful bright silk around my head

i obmotala divnu jarku svilu oko glave

the way my mother does and my grandmother did.

kao što to radi moja majka, i kao što je to činila moja baka.

And one day that summer 2009,

Jednoga dana, tog leta 2009. godine,

I stepped out into the streets of New York City

izašla sam na ulice Njujorka

on my way to volunteer at a domestic violence organization

i bila sam na putu da volontiram u organizaciji protiv nasilja u porodici

that a woman in my neighborhood had started.

koju je osnovala jedna žena u mom komšiluku.

And I remember at that moment I felt a yank at the back of my head.

Sećam se da sam u tom trenutku osetila trzaj na potiljku.

Then someone pulled and grabbed me,

Onda me je neko povukao i zgrabio,

trying to remove my hijab from off of my head.

pokušavajući da mi skine hidžab sa glave.

I turned around to a tall, broad-shouldered man,

Okrenula sam se ka visokom muškarcu sa širokim ramenima,

pure hate in his eyes.

sa čistom mržnjom u očima.

I struggled and fought back,

Borila sam se, uzvratila,

and finally was able to get away,

i na kraju sam uspela da pobegnem,

hid myself in the bathroom of that organization and cried and cried.

sakrila se u kupatilu te organizacije i plakala.

I kept thinking to myself,

Neprestano sam razmišljala:

"Why does he hate me?

„Zašto me mrzi?

He doesn't even know me."

Ni ne poznaje me.“

Hate crimes against Muslims in the US

Zločini iz mržnje nad muslimanima u SAD

increased by 1,600 percent post-9/11,

povećali su se za 1 600 procenata nakon napada 11. septembra,

and one in every four women in the US

i jedna na svake četiri žene u SAD

will suffer some form of gender violence.

doživi neku vrstu rodnog nasilja.

And it may not seem like it,

Možda ne deluje tako,

but Islamophobia and anti-Muslim violence

ali islamofobija i nasilje usmereno protiv muslimana

is a form of gender violence,

su vrsta rodnog nasilja,

given the visibility of Muslim women in our hijabs.

imajući u vidu vidljivost muslimanki sa našim hidžabima.

And so I was not alone,

Nisam bila sama

and that horrified me.

i to me je užasavalo.

It made me want to do something.

To je podstaklo želju da nešto uradim.

It made me want to go out there and make sure that no one I loved,

Nateralo me je da istupim i da se pobrinem da niko koga volim,

that no woman would have to feel this insecure in her own skin.

da nijedna žena ne mora da se oseća ovako nesigurno u svojoj koži.

So I started to think about how the women in my own neighborhood

Počela sam da razmišljam o tome kako su žene u mom komšiluku

were able to build community for themselves,

uspele da izgrade zajednicu za sebe,

and how they were able to use the very little resources they had

i kako su umele da iskoriste vrlo malo resursa koje su imale

to actually offer something.

kako bi nešto ponudile.

And I began to think about what I could potentially offer

Počela sam da razmišljam o tome šta mogu da ponudim

to build safety and power for women.

da bih ženama izgradila bezbednost i snagu.

And through this journey,

Kroz ovo putovanje

I learned a couple of things,

sam naučila par stvari,

and this is what I want to share with you today, some of these lessons.

i to bih želela da podelim sa vama danas, neke od tih lekcija.

So lesson number one:

Lekcija broj jedan:

start with what you know.

počnite sa onim što znate.

At the time, I had been doing Shotokan karate

U to vreme sam se bavila šotokan karateom

for as long as I could remember,

otkad sam znala za sebe,

and so I had a black belt.

i imala sam crni pojas.

Yeah. And so, I thought -- surprise.

Da. Pa sam pomislila - iznenađenje.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I thought that maybe I should go out into my neighborhood

Pomislila sam da bi možda trebalo da krenem po komšiluku

and teach self-defense to young girls.

i učim devojke samoodbrani.

And so I actually went out and knocked on doors,

I zaista sam krenula i kucala na vrata,

spoke to community leaders, to parents, to young women,

razgovarala sa vođama zajednice, sa roditeljima, sa devojkama,

and finally was able to secure a free community center basement

i konačno sam uspela da obezbedim besplatan podrum mesne zajednice

and convince enough young women that they should come to my class.

i da ubedim dovoljno devojaka da dođu na moj čas.

And it actually all worked out,

I zapravo je uspelo,

because when I pitched the idea,

jer kada sam predložila ideju,

most of the responses were, like,

većina odgovora je bila u fazonu:

"All right, cute,

„U redu, simpatično,

this 5'1" hijabi girl who knows karate.

devojka od 155cm sa hidžabom koja zna karate.

How nice."

Baš lepo.“

But in reality, I became the Queens, New York version of Mr. Miyagi

Ali zapravo sam postala kvinska, njujorška verzija gospodina Mijagija

at 16 years old,

sa 16 godina,

and I started teaching 13 young women in that community center basement

i počela sam 13 devojaka, u tom podrumu mesne zajednice

self-defense.

da učim samoodbrani.

And with every single self-defense move,

Sa svakim potezom samoobrane,

for eight sessions over the course of that summer,

kroz osam susreta za vreme tog leta,

we began to understand the power of our bodies,

počele smo da shvatamo moć svojih tela,

and we began to share our experiences

i počele smo da delimo iskustva

about our identities.

o svojim identitetima.

And sometimes there were shocking realizations,

Ponekad je bilo šokantnih saznanja,

and other times there were tears,

nekad je bilo suza,

but mostly it was laughs.

ali uglavnom smeha.

And I ended that summer with this incredible sisterhood,

Završila sam to leto sa tim neverovatnim sestrinstvom,

and I began to feel much safer in my own skin.

i počela sam da se osećam mnogo bezbednije u svojoj koži.

And it was because of these women that we just kept teaching.

I upravo zbog tih žena smo nastavile da podučavamo.

Nikada nisam mislila da ću nastaviti, ali nastavile smo da podučavamo.

I never thought that I would continue, but we just kept teaching.

And today, nine years, 17 cities,

Danas, posle devet godina, 17 gradova,

12 countries, 760 courses

12 zemalja, 760 kurseva

and thousands of women and girls later,

i hiljade žena i devojčica,

I'm still teaching.

još uvek podučavam.

And what started as a self-defense course

Ono što je počelo kao kurs samoodbrane

in the basement of a community center

u podrumu mesne zajednice

is now an international grassroots organization

sada je međunarodna organizacija

focused on building safety and power for women around the world:

usmerena na stvaranje bezbednosti i snage žena širom sveta:

Malikah.

Malika.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Now, for lesson number two:

Lekcija broj dva:

start with who you know.

počnite od onih koje znate.

Oftentimes, it could be quite exciting,

Često može biti veoma uzbudljivo,

especially if you're an expert in something

naročito ako ste stručnjak u nečemu

i želite da ostvarite uticaj,

and you want to have impact,

to swoop into a community and think you have the magic recipe.

da upadnete u zajednicu i mislite da imate čarobni recept.

But very early on I learned

Ali vrlo rano sam naučila,

that, as esteemed philosopher Kendrick Lamar once said,

kao što je cenjeni filozof Kendrik Lamar jednom rekao,

it's really important to be humble and to sit down.

da je vrlo važno biti skroman i spustiti se na zemlju.

So, basically, at 15 years old,

U suštini, u 15. godini,

the only community that I had any business doing work with

jedina zajednica sa kojom sam mogla da radim

were the 14-year-old girls in my neighborhood,

bile su devojčice od 14 godina u mom komšiluku,

and that's because I was friends with them.

i to zato što sam im bila drugarica.

Other than that, I didn't know what it meant to be a child

Osim toga, nisam znala šta znači biti dete

of Bengali immigrants in Brooklyn

bengalskih imigranata u Bruklinu,

or to be Senegalese in the Bronx.

niti Senegalac u Bronksu.

But I did know young women who were connected to those communities,

Ali znala sam devojke koje su bile povezane sa tim zajednicama,

and it was quite remarkable how they already had

i bilo je neverovatno kako su već imale

these layers of trust and awareness and relationship with their communities.

slojeve poverenja, svesti i odnosa sa svojim zajednicama.

So like my mother and the women in her neighborhood,

Kao moja majka i žene u njenom komšiluku,

they had these really strong social networks,

imale su jako snažne društvene mreže,

and it was about providing capacity

i radilo se o obezbeđivanju sposobnosti

and believing in other women's definition of safety.

i verovanja u definiciju sigurnosti drugih žena.

Even though I was a self-defense instructor,

Iako sam bila instruktorka samoodbrane,

I couldn't come into a community

nisam mogla da uđem u neku zajednicu

and define safety for any other woman

i definišem sigurnost za neku drugu ženu

who was not part of my own community.

koja nije deo moje zajednice.

And it was because, as our network expanded,

To je bilo zato što sam, kako se naša mreža širila,

I learned that self-defense is not just physical.

shvatila da samoodbrana nije samo fizička.

It's actually really emotional work.

To je zapravo vrlo emotivan posao.

I mean, we would do a 60-minute self-defense class,

Mislim, imale bismo čas samoodbrane od 60 minuta,

and then we'd have 30 minutes reserved for just talking and healing.

a zatim bi nam 30 minuta bilo rezervisano samo za pričanje i isceljivanje.

And in those 30 minutes,

Tokom tih 30 minuta,

women would share what brought them to the class to begin with

žene bi iznele šta ih je uopšte dovelo na časove,

but also various other experiences with violence.

ali i druga iskustva sa nasiljem.

And, as an example, one time in one of those classes,

Na primer, na jednom od časova,

one woman actually started to talk about the fact

jedna žena je počela da govori

that she had been in a domestic violence relationship for over 30 years,

o tome kako je preko 30 godina bila u vezi u kojoj je bilo porodičnog nasilja,

and it was her first time being able to articulate that

i to je bio prvi put kada je to mogla da izgovori

because we had established that safe space for her.

jer smo joj uspostavili siguran prostor.

So it's powerful work,

To je moćan posao,

but it only happens when we believe in women's agency to define

ali dešava se samo kada verujemo u sposobnost žena da same definišu

what safety and what power looks like for themselves.

šta sigurnost i snaga znači za njih.

All right, for lesson number three --

U redu, što se tiče lekcije broj tri -

and this was the hardest thing for me --

a ovo je za mene bilo najteže -

the most important thing about this work is to start with the joy.

najbitnija stvar u vezi sa ovim je da počnete sa radošću.

When I started doing this work, I was reacting to a hate-based attack,

Kada sam počela da se bavim ovim, reagovala sam na napad zasnovan na mržnji,

so I was feeling insecure and anxious and overwhelmed.

pa sam se osećala nesigurno, nervozno i preplavljeno.

I was really afraid.

Bila sam jako uplašena.

And it makes sense, because if you take a step back,

To ima smisla, jer, ako se vratite korak unazad,

and I can imagine that a lot of women in this room can probably relate to this,

a pretpostavljam da se mnogo žena u ovoj prostoriji

verovatno može poistovetiti sa time,

the feeling, an overwhelming feeling of insecurity,

taj preplavljujući osećaj nesigurnosti

is oftentimes with us constantly.

je često neprestano uz nas.

I mean, imagine this:

Mislim, zamislite ovo:

walking home late at night, hearing footsteps behind you.

vraćate se kući kasno noću, čujete korake iza sebe.

You wonder if you should walk faster or if you should slow down.

Pitate se da li da hodate brže ili da usporite.

You keep your keys in your hand in case you need to use them.

Držite ključeve u ruci za slučaj da morate da ih upotrebite.

You say, "Text me when you get home. I want to make sure you are safe."

Kažete: „Pošalji mi poruku kad dođeš kući, da znam da si bezbedna.“

And we mean those words.

A to i mislimo.

We're afraid to put down our drinks.

Bojimo se da spustimo piće.

We're afraid to speak too much or too little in a meeting.

Bojimo se da govorimo previše ili premalo na sastanku.

And imagine being woman and black and trans and queer and Latinx

A zamislite da ste žena i crne rase i transrodna i kvir i Latinoamerikanka

and undocumented and poor and immigrant,

i bez dokumenata i siromašna i imigrantkinja,

and you could then only imagine how overwhelming this work can be,

i tek onda možete da zamislite kako ovaj posao može da preplavi,

especially within the context of personal safety.

naročito u kontekstu lične bezbednosti.

However, when I took a step to reflect

Međutim, kada sam se vratila unazad da razmislim

on what brought me to this work to begin with,

o tome šta me je najpre navelo da se bavim ovim,

I began to realize it was actually the love that I had

počela sam da shvatam da je to zapravo bila moja ljubav

for women in my community.

prema ženama u mojoj zajednici.

It was the way I saw them gather,

Način na koji sam videla da se okupljaju,

their ability to build for each other,

njihova sposobnost da stvaraju jedna za druge,

that inspired me to keep doing this work

je ono što me je inspirisalo da nastavim da ovo radim

day in and day out.

iz dana u dan.

So whether I was in a refugee camp in Jordan

Bilo da sam se nalazila u izbegličkom kampu u Jordanu,

or a community center in Dallas, Texas

u mesnoj zajednici u Dalasu u Teksasu

or a corporate office in Silicon Valley,

ili u kancelariji kompanije u Silicijumskoj dolini,

women gathered in beautifully magical ways

žene su se okupljale na predivno čaroban način,

and they built together and supported each other

zajedno su stvarale i podržavale jedna drugu

in ways that shifted culture

na način koji je menjao kulturu

to empower and build safety for women.

ka osnaživanju žena i stvaranju sigurnosti za njih.

And that is how the change happens.

Tako promena nastaje.

It was through those relationships we built together.

Kroz te veze koje stvaramo zajedno.

That's why we don't just teach self-defense,

Zato ne samo da podučavamo samoodbranu,

but we also throw dance parties

već i priređujemo igranke i okupljanja sa domaćom hranom,

and host potlucks

i pišemo ljubavne poruke jedna drugoj

and write love notes to each other

and sing songs together.

i zajedno pevamo pesme.

And it's really about the friendship,

Zapravo se radi o prijateljstvu

i toliko je zabavno.

and it's been so, so fun.

So the last thing I want to leave you with

Poslednja stvar kojom bih da zaključim

is that the key takeaway for me in teaching self-defense all of these years

je da je ključna stvar za mene u nastavi samoodbrane svih ovih godina

is that I actually don't want women, as cool as the self-defense moves are,

da ja u stvari ne želim da žene, koliko god da su pokreti samoodbrane kul,

to go out and use these self-defense techniques.

krenu da koriste te tehnike samoodbrane.

I don't want any woman to have to de-escalate any violent situation.

Ne želim da nijedna žena mora da smiruje nekakvu nasilnu situaciju.

But for that to happen,

Ali da bi se to dogodilo,

the violence shouldn't happen,

nasilje ne bi trebalo da se događa,

and for the violence not to happen,

a da se nasilje ne bi događalo,

treba da se zaustave sistemi i kulture koji omogućavaju da dođe do nasilja.

the systems and the cultures

that allow for this violence to take place to begin with needs to stop.

And for that to happen, we need all hands on deck.

A da bi se to desilo, treba nam da se udružimo.

So I've given you my secret recipe,

Dakle, dala sam vam moj tajni recept,

and now it's up to you.

i sada je na vama.

To start with what you know, to start with who you know

Da počnete sa onim što znate, počnete od onih koje znate

and to start with joy. But just start.

i da počnete sa radošću.

Ali samo počnite.

Thank you so much.

Mnogo vam hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)