A creative solution for the water crisis in Flint, Michigan | LaToya Ruby Frazier

翻译人员: Jiasi Hao 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

So, in 2016,

在 2016 年，

I was commissioned to produce a photo essay

我受托制作一本专题摄影报道，

about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

内容关于密歇根州 弗林特市从 2014 年

And that's been going on since 2014.

开始的水资源危机。

And I accepted the commission

我接受了委托，

with the idea that I would photograph three generations of women

想着我可以拍摄三个世代的女性

dealing with the crisis on a daily basis.

如何应对日常水资源危机。

我很有幸认识两位最棒的朋友：

I was fortunate to meet two best friends,

artists, activists and poets Amber Hasan and Shea Cobb,

艺术家、活动家和诗人 安珀·哈桑 和 谢伊·科布。

who took me around Flint.

他们带我逛了弗林特。

As a school bus driver, Shea Cobb became the central figure

谢伊·科布是一名校车司机，

of the photo essay,

和她的母亲蕾妮女士

along with her mother, Ms. Renée,

以及她 8 岁的女儿，锡安，

and her eight-year-old daughter, Zion.

成为了专题摄影的中心人物。

I obsessively followed Shea's school bus routes.

我十分着迷地跟着谢伊的校车。

And when Shea wasn't driving the bus,

当谢伊不在开车的时候，

she would be watching over Zion, making sure she was studying.

她会照看锡安，确保她有在学习。

I embedded myself in every intimate facet of Shea's life.

我全身心融入并感受 谢伊生活的方方面面。

When Shea took me to Zion's school,

当谢伊带着我去锡安的学校时，

and I saw the water fountains covered with signs that said,

我看到饮水处挂着许多标志，

"Contaminated. Do not drink,"

上面写着：“受污染，不可饮用”。

I couldn't pick up my camera to photograph it.

我无法拿起相机记录这个场景。

我感到非常震惊， 竟然会在美国看到这种事，

It rocked me to the core to see that in America,

we can go from fountains that say "Whites" or "Blacks only,"

那些饮水处的标示从 “仅限白人”或“仅限黑人”，

to today seeing fountains that say,

到现在所见的那个标志，

"Contaminated water. Do not drink."

“受污染，不可饮用”。

And somehow, that's acceptable?

而这竟然是可以接受的？

The residents in Flint have been forced to drink with,

当弗林特的居民正使用着 被致命军团菌感染的水

cook with and bathe with bottled water,

支付着国家高昂的水费的同时，

while paying the highest water bills in the country

他们却不得不被迫饮用瓶装水，

for water that is infected with deadly legionella bacteria.

和用瓶装水来烧饭、洗澡。

It was natural for me to go to Flint,

我去弗林特没觉得不适应，

because industrial pollution, bacteria-contaminated water

因为工业污染、被细菌污染的水，

were all too familiar for me growing up in my hometown, Braddock, Pennsylvania,

对我来说再熟悉不过了， 因为我成长的家乡也是如此——

where my mother and I battled cancer

宾夕法尼亚布拉多克， 在那里，我和我母亲一起

对抗癌症和自身免疫性疾病， 例如狼疮。

and autoimmune disorders like lupus.

Our 14-year collaboration, "The Notion of Family,"

我们 14 年的合作成果《家庭观》，

was created out of our struggle to survive environmental racism,

是建立在我们的挣扎之上， 我们努力求生存，对抗环境种族主义、

healthcare inequity

医疗保健不平等，

and chemical emissions that were being deregulated

以及那些对美国钢铁公司

化学物质排放管制的松懈。

and released from the United States Steel Corporation,

making Braddock the town with the highest asthma and infant mortality rates

让布拉多克小镇有着整个国家

最高的哮喘和婴儿死亡率。

in the country.

From the Monongahela River to the Flint River,

从莫农加希拉河到弗林特河，

in the words of W.E.B. Du Bois,

用杜波依斯（W.E.B. Du Bois）的话来说,

"The town, the whole valley, has turned its back upon the river.

“这个小镇，整个峡谷， 已经背弃了这条河流，

It has used it as a sewer, as a drain,

把它当作了下水道，排水沟，

as a place for throwing their waste."

成为了一个丢垃圾的地方。”

General Motors has been cited for dumping chemicals in the Flint River

数十年来，通用汽车都因为 在弗林特河倾倒化学药品

而被传讯。

for decades.

When my photo essay "Flint is Family" came out in August of 2016,

当我的专题摄影《弗林特是家》 在 2016 年 8 月发行时，

it was released to remind America

它的目的是为了提醒美国

that although Flint was no longer headline news,

尽管弗林特不再是新闻头条，

the water crisis was far from over.

水资源危机却还是没有结束。

And, of course, I knew

当然，我知道，

it was going to take more than a series of photographs on my part

光是在我这里推出一个摄影合集，

to bring relief to the people in Vehicle City.

还不足以给这座汽车城 的人们带来慰藉。

Shea and I bonded over our mothers and grandmothers.

谢伊和我是因为我们的 母亲和祖母而产生的连结，

Amber and I bonded over our battles with lupus.

而安珀和我是因 共同对抗狼疮建立了友谊。

Together, we decided to remain in each other's life

我们一起决定留在彼此的生活中，

and continue our creative efforts.

并继续我们具有创造性的努力。

In 2017, Shea and Amber cofounded artist collective The Sister Tour,

在 2017 年，谢伊和安珀共同创办了 艺术家集团“姐妹之旅（The Sister Tour）”，

whose mission is to provide a safe space for Flint artists.

旨在为弗林特艺术家们 提供安全的空间。

One year later,

一年后，

I mounted my solo exhibition, "Flint is Family,"

我在纽约西 127 街上的

加文布朗画廊中，

here in New York City at Gavin Brown's Enterprise

on West 127th Street.

筹备了个人展《弗林特是家》。

As the audience approaches the facade of the building,

当观众走近建筑立面时，

they see a 30-foot billboard.

他们会看到 一个 30 英尺的广告牌，

The 30-foot billboard is made of three large color negatives

由三个大型彩色底片组成的，

with the message "Water Is Life,"

广告牌上有着由“姐妹之旅”

spelled out in Nestle water bottles by The Sister Tour.

用雀巢水瓶拼写出的 “水是生命”的信息。

Nestle, the largest water-bottling company in the world,

雀巢，世界上最大的瓶装水公司，

pumps 400 gallons of water per minute out of aquifers in Lake Michigan,

从密歇根湖的蓄水层 每分钟抽取 400 加仑的水，

nearly free of charge.

几乎不用花钱。

雀巢也从原住民保留区内

The company also extracts millions of liters of water

from First Nation reservations,

抽取上百万升的水，

while they have no access to clean water at all.

尽管他们已经无法 获取干净的水资源。

This is a fundraiser print that I used to raise money

这是我曾经用来 筹集资金的活动图片，

to send The Sister Tour to different venues

资金用于把 “姐妹之旅”送往各地

to educate people on the ongoing crisis.

来教育人们关注 这个不断发酵的危机。

I also continued to keep it in the public eye

我也通过在国家各个机构前

by producing countdown flags

挂起倒计时旗帜，

that were raised on institutions across the country.

将这事持续曝光在公众眼中。

This past June, Amber emailed me with the news

在刚过去的 6 月， 安珀写邮件告诉我一个新闻，

that Michigan's attorney general dropped all criminal charges

消息称，密歇根总检察长 在弗林特水危机的调查中

in the Flint Water Crisis investigation,

放弃了所有刑事指控。

在这调查中有 8 名州和市的 政府雇员本应面临着

where eight state and city employees

were facing charges as serious as manslaughter.

严重到过失杀人罪同等的指控。

I could no longer idly stand by

我无法再袖手旁观，

and wait for the government to do its job.

等待政府去尽责了。

Justice has been delayed,

公正已经被拖延，

and justice has been denied.

而且，公正已经被否认。

It's been five years,

已经 5 年了，

and we're still waiting on justice for the men, women and children in Flint.

然而我们依旧在等待弗林特的 男人、女人和孩子们获得公正。

I asked Amber, "What can I do?"

我曾问安珀，“我能做什么？”

She told me about a man named Moses West that she met in Puerto Rico,

她告诉我，她在波多黎各 遇到一个名叫摩西·夭斯特的男人，

who invented a 26,000-pound atmospheric water generator.

在大气水生成器的项目上 投资了 2.6 万英镑。

Amber took Moses to elected officials in the city of Flint.

她带着摩西找到了 弗林特当地的公职人员。

None of them seemed interested in bringing the machine for relief to Flint at all.

他们没有一个人对引进这样的机器 从而解决危机感兴趣。

Amber needed to get the machine from a military base in Texas

安珀需要从德州的 军事基地弄来这台机器，

all the way to Flint.

一路带到弗林特。

Nobody in Flint had that kind of money lying around.

在弗林特，没人有足够的 经济能力为此支付。

And it was at that point that I decided

于是在那时，我决定

把我从个人展《弗林特是家》 得到的收益，

to take the proceeds from my solo exhibition "Flint is Family,"

along with the generous match grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation,

和来自罗伯特·劳森伯格基金会 慷慨提供的比赛奖金一起

and sent it to Moses West.

交给了摩西·夭斯特。

This past July,

在刚过去的 7 月，

Moses West and his atmospheric water generator arrived to Flint, Michigan,

摩西·夭斯特和他的大气水发生器 到达了密歇根弗林特市，

on North Saginaw between Marengo and Pulaski,

被安置在马伦戈和普拉斯基 之间的北萨吉诺，

and is actually still there right now, operating.

这台机器现在依旧在那运作着。

This community that sits three miles from downtown

这个距离市区 3 公里的社区

has been stripped of its schools,

已经关闭了学校、

access to healthy grocery stores

没有健康的杂货店，

and clean water.

也没有干净的水。

Socially, it's viewed as a violent, poor community.

在社会上，它被视为 暴力且贫穷的社区。

But I see something completely different.

但是我看见的景象却完全不同。

Moses, an officer, Ranger, veteran,

摩西是一位军官、 突击队员，和退伍军人，

was very clear about his water rescue mission:

对自己拯救水资源的使命非常清晰：

Bring relief of free, clean water to the people in Flint.

给弗林特的人民 带来免费、干净的水。

Teach them how to use the machine,

教会他们如何使用机器，

teach them how to take care of it,

教会他们如何维护机器，

and most importantly, take ownership of the machine.

还有最重要的是， 主动为机器承担所有者的责任。

Tell everybody across the city to bring all their containers

告诉市里每一个人 带上他们的容器

and come and take as much water as they can stock up on,

来这里灌水， 尽可能装满他们的容器，

especially before the winter season hits;

特别是在冬天来临之前。

the machine doesn't extract moisture in freezing temperatures.

这台机器不会在 冰冻的气温下抽取水分。

This technology pulls air through a high-volume air filter.

它的技术核心是将空气 压入大容量空气过滤器，

It mechanically creates condensation,

水气自动冷凝，

which produces 2,000 gallons of water per day.

每天产生 2 千加仑的水。

Residents are free to walk up to the machine

居民可以在每天 早上 9 点到晚上 8 点

anywhere between 9am and 8pm daily

前来使用机器，

and take as much as they want,

并且随意取水，

alleviating them from standing in long lines for bottled water.

而免于为领取瓶装水大排长龙。

I've been at the machine, interviewing people, asking them,

我去到机器那里， 采访人们，问他们，

"What does it mean to see Moses and his machine in [your] community?"

“摩西和他的机器的到来， 对你意味着什么？”

And, "What has it been like living without access to clean water?"

以及“没有干净水源的 生活是怎么样的？”

Alita told me,

艾丽塔告诉我，

"It's a miracle that God gave Moses the knowledge and technology

“这简直是一个奇迹， 上帝把摩西的知识和技术带给我们，

to provide us with pure drinking water."

给我们带来了可以喝的纯净水。”

She also told me that prior to the machine coming,

她也告诉我， 在那台机器出现之前

she had severe headaches,

她有很严重的头疼，

and the water made her so sick to her stomach,

那些污染的水， 使她的病痛从头扩散到了胃，

she couldn't eat.

她无法进食。

Tina told me that the lead-contaminated water

蒂娜告诉我，铅污染的水

made her hair fall out.

让她脱发。

Usually, she's weak and very light-headed.

她很虚弱，经常感到头晕目眩。

Since using the machine, she's had energy and strength.

但是自从开始用那台机器后， 她的体质和气色都有了明显好转。

David, he was overwhelmed with joy that someone from Texas cared.

大卫实在太高兴德州 会有人在意这件事。

When he tasted the water, he thought to himself,

当他尝到机器供给的水时，他想：

"Now, this is the way God intended water to be."

“这是神创造的水该有的样子。”

He brings three seven-gallon containers to refill

他带着 3 个曾经用于他烧烤小摊的

7 加仑容器来灌水。

to use at his barbecue stand.

通过创意和团结，

Through creativity and solidarity,

Amber Hasan, Shea Cobb,

安珀·哈桑，谢伊·科布，

Tuklor Senegal, The Sister Tour,

图克洛·塞内加，姐妹之旅，

myself, the people of Flint,

我，弗林特的人们，

Dexter Moon, Moses West and his atmospheric water generator

德克斯特·莫，摩西·夭斯特 和他的空气制水机

have been able to provide 120,000 gallons

已为人们带来了 12 万加仑

of free, clean water.

免费、干净的水。

(Applause)

（掌声）

The people in Flint deserve access to clean water.

弗林特的人们值得拥有干净的水。

Water is life.

水是生命。

It is the spirit that binds us

是一种精神，

从疾病、死亡和毁灭中 连系你我的精神。

from sickness, death and destruction.

Imagine how many millions of lives we could save

想象一下我们能拯救多少人的生命？

if Moses's machine were in places like Newark, New Jersey,

如果摩西的机器能够 在纽瓦克、新泽西州、

South Africa

南非，

和印度出现，

and India,

with compassion instead of profit motives.

而且是出于怜悯，而非利润驱动。

I loaded my camera,

我装载好相机，

I locked my focus,

我锁定聚焦点，

and I placed my finger over the shutter release,

把手指放在释放快门的地方，

as Shea and Zion went to take their first sip of clean water.

当谢伊和锡安第一次 去尝试喝那干净的水的刹那，

When the shutter released,

我按下了快门。

I was overcome with a deep sense of joy and righteousness.

我被深刻的喜悦和正义感所征服。

When I sent Shea some of the photographs,

当我把一些照片寄给谢伊后，

she wrote,

她写道，

"Thank you again for the light that you bring to my city."

“再次谢谢你，感谢你 为我的城市带来光明。”

I immediately replied,

我马上回复道，

"The light was already there within you."

“光明已经属于你们。”

It's been four years since I've been photographing in Flint,

距离我在弗林特拍摄已经 4 年了，

and finally, I've been able to render a poetic justice.

终于我让正义得以伸张。

不论我们身处的境地有多黑暗，

No matter how dark a situation may be,

相机都可以收集光明， 并带给我们积极的景象。

a camera can extract the light and turn a negative into a positive.

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）