Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest

Translator: Joachim Mangilima Reviewer: Nelson Simfukwe

It was less than a year after September 11,

Ilikuwa ni chini ya mwaka mmoja baada ya Septemba 11,

and I was at the Chicago Tribune

Na nilikuwa katika ofisi ya gazeti la Chicago Tribune

writing about shootings and murders,

Nikiandika kuhusu mauaji,

and it was leaving me feeling

ilinisababisha nijihisi

pretty dark and depressed.

Katika hali ya giza na kuelemewa

I had done some activism in college,

Nilikuwa mwanaharakati nilipokuwa chuoni,

so I decided to help a local group

Nikaamua kulisaidia kundi la maeneo ya kwetu

hang door knockers against animal testing.

Kuweka mabango kinyume na kuwafanyia wanyama majaribio ya kisayansi.

I thought it would be a safe way

Nilifikiri itakuwa ni njia salama

to do something positive,

kufanya kitu kizuri

but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever,

Lakini nina bahati mbaya hasa

and we were all arrested.

tulikamatwa wote.

Police took this blurry photo of me

Polisi wakanipiga picha hii isiyoonekana vizuri

holding leaflets as evidence.

Nikiwa nimeshika vipeperushi kama ushahidi.

My charges were dismissed,

Mashtaka kinyume nami yalifutwa,

but a few weeks later,

lakini wiki chache baadae,

two FBI agents knocked on my door,

wanausalama wawili kutoka FBI wakaja nyumbani,

and they told me that unless I helped them

wakaniambia kama sitawasaidia

by spying on protest groups,

kwa kufanya upelelezi katika makundi ya waandamanaji

they would put me on a domestic terrorist list.

Wataniweka katika orodha ya magaidi wa nyumbani

I'd love to tell you that I didn't flinch,

Napenda nikwambie kuwa sikuogopa,

but I was terrified,

lakini nilishtuka,

and when my fear subsided,

Mshtuko wangu ulipoisha,

I became obsessed with finding out

Nilipata hamu ya kutaka kujua

how this happened,

,hali hii imefikaje hapa

how animal rights and environmental activists

Jinsi wanaharakati wa haki za jamii na mazingira

who have never injured anyone

ambao hawajawahi kumjeruhi mtu yeyote

could become the FBI's number one

wanaweza kuwa watu wa kwanza kwa shirika la FBI

domestic terrorism threat.

kuwafanya kuwa ni tishio kubwa la kiadui la nyumbani

A few years later, I was invited to testify

miaka michache baadae, niliitwa kutoa ushahidi

before Congress about my reporting,

mbele ya bunge kuhusu ripoti yangu,

and I told lawmakers that, while everybody

na nikawaambia wabunge , kuwa wakati kila mtu

is talking about going green,

anaongelea mapinduzi ya kijani,

some people are risking their lives

watu wengine wanatoa maisha yao

to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines.

kuilinda misitu na kuzuia mabomba ya mafuta.

They're physically putting their bodies on the line

Wanaweka miili yao kati ya

between the whalers' harpoons and the whales.

mitego ya nyangumi na nyangumi.

These are everyday people,

Hawa ni watu wa kawaida,

like these protesters in Italy

Kama waandamanaji hawa wa Italia

who spontaneously climbed over

ambao walipanda

barbed wire fences to rescue beagles

uzio wa waya kuwaokoa wanyama

from animal testing.

wasitumika katika majaribio ya kisayansi.

And these movements have been incredibly effective

na wimbi hili limekuwa la mafanikio sana

and popular,

na maarufu,

so in 1985, their opponents made up a new word,

Kwa hiyo mwaka 1985, wapinzani wao wakatengeneza neno jipya

eco-terrorist,

Gaidi wa mazingira,

to shift how we view them.

Ili kubadilisha jinsi tunavyowaona.

They just made it up.

walitengeneza tuu.

Now these companies have backed new laws

sasa kampuni hizi zimesaidia sheria mpya

like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,

Kama Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,

which turns activism into terrorism

ambayo inabadilisha uanaharakati kuwa ugaidi

if it causes a loss of profits.

Kama itasababisha ukosefu wa faida.

Now most people never even heard about this law,

watu wengi hawajawahi hata kuisikia sheria hii,

including members of Congress.

wakiwemo wabunge,

Less than one percent were in the room

Chini ya asilimia moja walikuwa bungeni

when it passed the House.

ilipopitishwa

The rest were outside at a new memorial.

Wengine walikuwa katika kumbukumbu

They were praising Dr. King

wakimsifu Dr . King

as his style of activism was branded as terrorism

ambaye aina yake ya uanaharakati ingeitwa ugaidi

if done in the name of animals or the environment.

kama ingefanywa kwa wanyama au mazingira.

Supporters say laws like this are needed

Waungaji mkono wanasema sheria hizi zinahitajika

for the extremists:

Kwa ajili ya wale wenye msimamo mkali

the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals.

wahuni na wanaoharibu mali.

But right now, companies like TransCanada

Lakini kwa sasa, kampuni kama TransCanada

are briefing police in presentations like this one

wanawaelekeza polisi

about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters

jinsi ya kuwashtaki waandamanaji wa amani

as terrorists.

kama magaidi.

The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism

Mafunzo ya FBI kuhusu ugaidi wa mazingira

are not about violence,

sio kwa ajili ya kuzuia vurugu

they're about public relations.

ni kwa ajili ya mahusiano ya umma

Today, in multiple countries,

leo, katika nchi nyingi ,

corporations are pushing new laws

mashirika makubwa yanalazimisha sheria mpya

that make it illegal to photograph

ambazo zinafanya kuwa kinyume na sheria upigaji picha

animal cruelty on their farms.

wa ukatili wa wanyama katika mashamba yao.

The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago,

Habari ya karibuni kabisa ni huko idaho ,wiki mbili zilizopita,

and today we released a lawsuit

na leo tumefungua kesi

challenging it as unconstitutional

tukisema ni kinyume na katiba

as a threat to journalism.

na pia kama kitisho kwa uandishi wa habari

The first of these ag-gag prosecutions,

Mwanzo wa sheria hizi

as they're called,

kufanya kazi

was a young woman named Amy Meyer,

ilikuwa ni pale binti aitwaye Amy Meyer,

and Amy saw a sick cow being moved

alipoona ng'ombe mgonjwa akiwa anahamishwa

by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse

na tingatinga nje ya nyumba ya kuchinjia

as she was on the public street.

alipokuwa mtaani

And Amy did what any of us would:

amy alifanya kile ambacho wengi wetu wangefanya:

She filmed it.

alipiga video.

When I found out about her story, I wrote about it,

Nilipogundua habari,niliiandika

and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar

Ndani ya masaa 24, ikaleta rabsha

that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.

iliyosababisha mashtaka yote kufutwa.

But apparently, even exposing stuff like that

Lakini, hata kufichua mambo kama hayo

is a threat.

ni tishio.

Through the Freedom of Information Act,

Kupitia sheria ya uhuru wa mawasiliano

I learned that the counter-terrorism unit

Niligundua kuwa kitengo cha kudhibiti ugaidi

has been monitoring my articles

kimekuwa kikifuatilia makala zangu

and speeches like this one.

Na hotuba kama hii.

They even included this nice little write-up of my book.

Hata wametoa maelezo haya kuhusu kitabu changu

They described it as "compelling and well-written."

Wanaeleza kuwa "inavutia na imeandikwa vizuri"

(Applause)

(Makofi)

Blurb on the next book, right?

Muhtsari kuhusu kitabu kifuatacho, si ndio?

The point of all of this is to make us afraid,

Haya yote ni kutufanya tuogope,

but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith

Lakini kama mwandishi wa habari,nina imani thabiti

in the power of education.

kuhusu nguvu ya elimu.

Our best weapon is sunlight.

Silaha yetu nzuri ni mwanga wa jua

Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man

Dostoevsky aliandika kuwa kazi yote ya mtu

is to prove he's a man and not a piano key.

ni kuthibitisha kuwa ni mtu na sio sehemu ya kinanda

Over and over throughout history,

Mara nyingi katika historia

people in power have used fear

Watawala wametumia uoga

to silence the truth and to silence dissent.

Kunyamazisha ukweli na upinzani

It's time we strike a new note.

Ni wakati wa kuanzisha kitu kipya

Thank you.

Asante Sana

(Applause)

(Makofi)