The danger of silence | Clint Smith | TED

Translator: Nelson Simfukwe Reviewer: Joachim Mangilima

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Dokta. Martin Luther King Jr.

in a 1968 speech where he reflects upon the Civil Rights Movement,

mnamo mwaka 1968 katika hotuba yake akiongelea haki za kiraia

states, "In the end,

alisema," Wakati wa mwisho,

we will remember not the words of our enemies

hatutakumbuka maneno ya adui zetu

but the silence of our friends."

bali tutakumbuka ukimya wa marafiki zetu"

As a teacher, I've internalized this message.

Kama mwalimu, nimetazama ujumbe huu kiundani.

Every day, all around us,

Kila,miongoni mwetu,

we see the consequences of silence

tunayaona madhara ya ukimya

manifest themselves in the form of discrimination,

yakijionyesha katika hali ya kutengwa,

violence, genocide and war.

vurugu,mauaji ya kimbari na vita.

In the classroom, I challenge my students

Darasani, huwa nawapa changamoto wanafunzi wangu

to explore the silences in their own lives

kuchunguza ukimya uliopo katika maisha yao

through poetry.

kupitia ushairi

We work together to fill those spaces,

Tunafanya kazi pamoja kuziba mapengo,

to recognize them, to name them,

kuweza kutambua,kupatia majina,

to understand that they don't have to be sources of shame.

kuelewa kwamba hawahitaji kuwa chanzo cha aibu.

In an effort to create a culture within my classroom

Katika juhudi za kutengeneza utamaduni katika darasa langu

where students feel safe sharing the intimacies

ambapo wanafunzi hujisikia salama kusema yale yaliyo ndani ya mioyo yao

of their own silences,

katika ukimya wao

I have four core principles posted on the board

Nina kanuni nne kuu nilizozibandika ukutani

that sits in the front of my class,

mbele ya darasa langu,

which every student signs at the beginning of the year:

ambapo kila mwanafunzi hutia saini mwanzo wa mwaka.

read critically, write consciously,

kusoma kwa makini,kuandika kwa utambuzi,

speak clearly, tell your truth.

kuongea kwa ufasaha,kusema ukweli.

And I find myself thinking a lot about that last point,

Ninajikuta ninawaza sana kuhusu pointi ya mwisho,

tell your truth.

kusema ukweli wako.

And I realized that

Nikatambua ya kwamba

if I was going to ask my students to speak up,

kama ningewaambia wanafunzi wangu waongee,

I was going to have to tell my truth

Nilitakiwa kusema ukweli wangu

and be honest with them about the times

na kuwa mkweli kuhusu nyakati

where I failed to do so.

nilizowahi shindwa kufanya hivyo.

So I tell them that growing up,

Huwa nawaambia kwamba kukua,

as a kid in a Catholic family in New Orleans,

katika familia ya Kikatoliki jiji la New Orleans,

during Lent I was always taught

wakati wa majivu nilikuwa siku zote nikifundishwa

that the most meaningful thing one could do

kwamba kitu cha maaana ambacho mtu anaweza kufanya

was to give something up,

ni kutoa kitu kwa wengine,

sacrifice something you typically indulge in

kutoa sadaka kwa kile unachokijali sana

to prove to God you understand his sanctity.

kudhihirisha kwa Mungu kwamba unaelewa wema wake.

I've given up soda, McDonald's, French fries,

Nimetoa soda,McDonald's,French fries,

French kisses, and everything in between.

Busu, na kila kitu.

But one year, I gave up speaking.

Lakini mwaka fulani, nilitoa sauti yangu.

I figured the most valuable thing I could sacrifice

Nilitambua ya kuwa kitu pekee cha maana sana ambacho ningetoa kama sadaka

was my own voice, but it was like I hadn't realized

ilikuwa ni sauti yangu,lakini ilikuwa kama sijatambua

that I had given that up a long time ago.

kama nilishawahi kutoa muda mrefu sana uliopita.

I spent so much of my life

Nimetumia muda wangu mwingi katika maisha

telling people the things they wanted to hear

kuwaambia watu vitu walivyotaka kusikia

instead of the things they needed to,

badala ya vitu walivyovihitaji,

told myself I wasn't meant to be anyone's conscience

nikaiambia nafsi yangu sikuhitajika kuwa dhamira ya mtu yoyote

because I still had to figure out being my own,

kwa sababu natakiwa kutambua kuwa mwenyewe,

so sometimes I just wouldn't say anything,

kwa hivyo muda mwingine siwezi sema chochote,

appeasing ignorance with my silence,

kuukubali ujinga kwa ukimya wangu,

unaware that validation doesn't need words

bila kujua ya kwamba ukweli hauhitaji maneno

to endorse its existence.

ili kusaidia uwepo wake.

When Christian was beat up for being gay,

Wakistro walipopigwa kwa kuwa mashoga,

I put my hands in my pocket

Niliweka mikono yangu mfukoni

and walked with my head down as if I didn't even notice.

na nikaondoka kichwa chini kama vile sijaona kilichotokea.

I couldn't use my locker for weeks because the bolt on the lock

Sikutumia kabati langu kwa wiki kadhaa kwa sababu bolt katika kufuli

reminded me of the one I had put on my lips

inanikumbusha kama ile niliyoweka katika mdomo wangu

when the homeless man on the corner

wakati mwanaume mmoja asiye na sehemu ya kuishi

looked at me with eyes up merely searching

aliponiangalia kwa macho ya kuonyesha ya kuashiria

for an affirmation that he was worth seeing.

anahitaji nimuangalie.

I was more concerned with touching the screen on my Apple

Nilijali sana kutumia kifaa changu cha kielectroniki cha Apple

than actually feeding him one.

kuliko kumlisha mtu yule asiye na makazi.

When the woman at the fundraising gala

Pale mwanamke mmoja katika tafrija ya kuchangisha harambee

said "I'm so proud of you.

aliposema"Ninajisikia fahari sana kwako"

It must be so hard teaching those poor, unintelligent kids,"

Itakuwa ngumu sana kufundisha

I bit my lip, because apparently we needed her money

Niling'ata mdomo wangu,kwa sababu muda huo tulikuwa tukihitaji mchango wake

more than my students needed their dignity.

zaidi ya wanafunzi wanavyohitaji heshima yao.

We spend so much time

Tunatumia muda mwingi

listening to the things people are saying

kusikiliza vitu ambavyo watu wanasema

that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't.

lakini hatutilii maanani katika vitu ambavyo hawasemi.

Silence is the residue of fear.

Ukimya ni mabaki ya uoga.

It is feeling your flaws

Ni hali ya kuhisi mapungufu yako

gut-wrench guillotine your tongue.

yakinyonga ulimi wako.

It is the air retreating from your chest

Hewa inatoka katika kifua chako

because it doesn't feel safe in your lungs.

kwa sababu inahisi haipo salama katika mapafu yako.

Silence is Rwandan genocide. Silence is Katrina.

Ukimya ni sawa na mauaji ya kimbari ya Rwanda. Ukimya ni kimbunga cha Katrina.

It is what you hear when there aren't enough body bags left.

Ni kile unachosikia pale mifuko ya maiti inapokuwa imeisha.

It is the sound after the noose is already tied.

Ni sauti unayosikia pale kamba inapokazwa.

It is charring. It is chains. It is privilege. It is pain.

Ni minyororo,kipaumbele na maumivu.

There is no time to pick your battles

Hakuna muda wa kuchagua mpambano wako

when your battles have already picked you.

wakati ambapo mpambano umeisha kuchagua

I will not let silence wrap itself around my indecision.

Sitaruhusu ukimya unizunguke pale ambapo ninakosa kipi cha kuamua.

I will tell Christian that he is a lion,

Nitamuambia mkristo kwamba yeye ni simba,

a sanctuary of bravery and brilliance.

hifadhi takatifu ya ushujaa na makini.

I will ask that homeless man what his name is

Nitamuuliza yule mtu asiye na makazi jina lake ni nani

and how his day was, because sometimes

na siku yake ilikuwaje, kwa sababu nyakati zingine

all people want to be is human.

watu wote wanataka kuwa wanadamu.

I will tell that woman that my students can talk about

Nitamwambia yule mwanamke kwamba wanafunzi wangu wanaweza kuongelea

transcendentalism like their last name was Thoreau,

kwenda mbali zaidi kama vile jina lao la mwisho ni Thoreau,

and just because you watched one episode of "The Wire"

na kwa sababu umeangalia sehemu moja ya kipindi cha "The Wire"

doesn't mean you know anything about my kids.

haimaanishi kwamba unajua chochote kuhusu watoto wangu.

So this year,

Mwaka huu,

instead of giving something up,

badala ya kutoa kitu,

I will live every day as if there were a microphone

Nitaishi kila siku kama vile kuna kipaza sauti

tucked under my tongue,

kilichofungwa chini ya ulimi wangu,

a stage on the underside of my inhibition.

jukwaa chini ya nilipo.

Because who has to have a soapbox

Nani anatakiwa kuwa juu

when all you've ever needed is your voice?

wakati mnachohitaji ni sauti zenu?

Thank you.

Asante.

(Applause)

(Makofi)