How young Africans found a voice on Twitter | Siyanda Mohutsiwa

翻译人员: Hancheng Li 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

It began with one question:

一切从一个问题开始：

If Africa was a bar, what would your country be drinking or doing?

如果非洲是个酒吧， 你的国家在喝什么、干什么？

I kicked it off with a guess about South Africa,

我先写了一个对南非的猜测，

which wasn't exactly according to the rules

其实这并不太符合规则，

because South Africa's not my country.

因为南非不是我的祖国。

But alluding to the country's continual attempts

但是这个猜测 影射了南非的持续努力，

to build a postracial society

在被种族隔离政策蹂躏了几十年后，

after being ravaged for decades by apartheid,

它想打造一个后种族歧视的社会。

I tweeted, #ifafricawasabar South Africa would be drinking all kinds of alcohol

我发了一条推文： #如果非洲是个酒吧，

南非一口气喝干了各种各样的酒，

and begging them to get along in its stomach.

然后苦苦哀求把它赶紧消化掉。

And then I waited.

然后我就开始等。

And then I had that funny feeling where I wondered if I crossed the line.

我突然有那种奇怪的感觉， 怀疑自己是不是有些越界了。

So, I sent out a few other tweets about my own country

然后，我又发了几条 有关自己国家的推文，

and a few other African countries I'm familiar with.

还有一些我比较熟悉的非洲国家。

And then I waited again,

然后我又开始等，

but this time

但是这一次，

I read through almost every tweet I had ever tweeted

我几乎读完了 我曾经发过的所有推文，

to convince myself,

以此说服自己，

no, to remind myself that I'm really funny

不对……是提醒自己， 我其实很幽默，

and that if nobody gets it, that's fine.

如果别人看不懂，那就算了吧。

But luckily,

但是幸运的是，

I didn't have to do that for very long.

我并不用这样长时间提醒自己。

Very soon, people were participating.

人们很快就参与进来了。

In fact, by the end of that week in July,

事实上，就在七月那周的周末，

the hashtag #ifafricawasabar

那个推特话题 #如果非洲是个酒吧

would have garnered around 60,000 tweets,

大概已经产生了6万条推文，

lit up the continent

它点燃了整个大陆，

and made its way to publications all over the world.

而且出现在了全世界的各类刊物中。

People were using the hashtag to do many different things.

人们在用这个话题标签 做各种各样的事情。

To poke fun at their stereotypes:

调侃自己国家的陋习：

[#IfAfricaWasABar Nigeria would be outside explaining

[#如果非洲是个酒吧， 尼日利亚呆在酒吧外不停解释

that he will pay the entrance fee,

自己一定会付入场费，

all he needs is the bouncer's account details.]

他只需要问清楚 守门员的银行账户。]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

To criticize government spending:

批判政府的财政支出：

[#ifafricawasabar South Africa would be ordering bottles it can't pronounce

[#如果非洲是个酒吧 南非一直在点叫不出名字的酒，

把酒桶的龙头一直开着 却根本付不起钱。]

running a tab it won't be able to pay]

To make light of geopolitical tensions:

调侃地缘政治的紧张局势：

[#IfAfricaWasABar South Sudan would be the new guy

[#如果非洲是个酒吧 南苏丹会是一个新来的人，

with serious anger management issues.]

有着严重的情绪失调症。]

To remind us that even in Africa

还有人提醒我们，

有些非洲国家 即使是非洲人也没听说过：

there are some countries we don't know exist:

[#IfAfricaWasABar Lesotho would be that person

[#如果非洲是个酒吧 莱索托是一个没人知道的家伙，

who nobody really knows but is always in the pictures.]

却总是能出现在照片里。]

And also to make fun of the countries that don't think that they're in Africa:

同时也调侃那些 自认为不属于非洲的国家：

[#IfAfricaWasABar Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco

[#如果非洲是个酒吧 埃及、利比亚、突尼斯、

be like "What the hell are we doing here?!!"]

阿尔及利亚、摩洛哥说， “我们到底在这鬼地方干什么？！”]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And to note the countries that had made a big turnaround:

而且还提到了一些做出 重大转变的国家：

[#ifAfricawasabar Rwanda would be that girl

[#如果非洲是个酒吧 卢旺达是一个女孩儿，

that comes with no money and no transport but leaves drunk, happy and rich]

她来的时候一穷二白， 走的时候却很醉很爽很有钱。]

But most importantly,

但更重要的是，

people were using the hashtag to connect.

人们在用这个话题标签来交流。

People were connecting over their Africanness.

人们交流他们内心的非洲特质。

So for one week in July,

就在七月的一周时间里，

Twitter became a real African bar.

推特变成了一个真正的非洲酒吧。

And I was really thrilled,

我真的很兴奋，

mainly because I realized that Pan-Africanism could work,

主要是因为我发觉 泛非主义是真实可行的，

that we had before us, between us, at our fingertips

在我们面前，在我们指尖，

a platform that just needed a small spark

就是一个平台，只需要一点火花，

to light in us a hunger for each other.

就可以点燃人与人之间的渴望之情。

My name is Siyanda Mohutsiwa,

我的名字是希杨达·莫胡提瓦，

I'm 22 years old

我现在22岁，

and I am Pan-Africanist by birth.

从出生起就是泛非主义者。

Now, I say I'm Pan-Africanist by birth

我说自己一出生就是泛非主义者，

because my parents are from two different African countries.

是因为我的父母来自 两个不同的非洲国家。

My father's from a country called Botswana in southern Africa.

我的父亲来自一个非洲南部的国家， 名叫博茨瓦纳。

It's only slightly bigger than Germany.

它只比德国稍大一点。

This year we celebrate our 50th year of stable democracy.

今年我们庆祝了 祖国获得稳定民主50周年。

And it has some very progressive social policies.

而且它提出了不少进步的社会政策。

My mother's country is the Kingdom of Swaziland.

我的母亲祖国是斯威士兰王国。

It's a very, very small country, also in southern Africa.

它是个很小的国家， 同样在非洲南部。

It is Africa's last complete monarchy.

它是非洲最后一个 完整的君主制国家。

So it's been ruled by a king and a royal family

它由国王和皇室所统治，

in line with their tradition,

长久以来都依照他们的传统行事。

for a very long time.

On paper, these countries seem very different.

从表面上看， 这两个国家看上去很不同。

And when I was a kid, I could see the difference.

当我是个孩子的时候， 我就可以看到二者的差别。

It rained a lot in one country, it didn't rain quite as much in the other.

一个国家下雨下得很多， 另一个国家下雨没那么多。

But outside of that, I didn't really realize

但是除此之外， 我并没有深刻意识到

why it mattered that my parents were from two different places.

我的父母来自两个不同国家 这有多么重要。

But it would go on to have a very peculiar effect on me.

但是随着时间推移， 它对我产生了很特殊的影响。

You see, I was born in one country

要知道，我是出生在其中一个国家，

and raised in the other.

但是在另一个国家长大。

When we moved to Botswana,

当我们搬家到博茨瓦纳，

I was a toddler who spoke fluent SiSwati

我是个小孩儿， 可以说流利的西斯瓦提语，

and nothing else.

除此之外就没了。

So I was being introduced to my new home,

我来到我的新家园，

my new cultural identity,

接受新的文化身份，

as a complete outsider,

完全是作为一个外来人，

incapable of comprehending anything that was being said to me

我根本不能听懂 对我所说的任何话，

by the family and country whose traditions I was meant to move forward.

而这个家庭、这个国家的传统 都是我必须要接受的。

But very soon, I would shed SiSwati.

但是很快，我就抛弃了西斯瓦提语。

And when I would go back to Swaziland,

当我每次回到斯威士兰的时候，

I would be constantly confronted by how very non-Swazi I was becoming.

我都会深切感受到 自己变得多么“非斯威士兰”。

Add to that my entry into Africa's private school system,

还要加上一点， 我进入了非洲的私立学校系统，

whose entire purpose is to beat the Africanness out of you,

它的唯一目标就是 把你的非洲特质去除掉，

and I would have a very peculiar adolescence.

正因如此， 我度过了一个特别的青春期。

But I think that my interest in ideas of identity was born here,

然而我对个人身份研究的爱好 就是在这里产生的，

in the strange intersection of belonging to two places at once

我处在一个奇怪的交叉路口， 似乎同属于两个不同地方，

but not really belonging to either one very well

却又不真正属于其中任何一个，

and belonging to this vast space in between and around simultaneously.

又好像更属于二者之间 空旷、虚无的空间。

I became obsessed with the idea of a shared African identity.

我对共同的非洲身份这个想法 产生了浓厚的兴趣。

Since then, I have continued to read about politics

自此之后， 我不断地阅读有关政治的文章，

and geography and identity and what all those things mean.

还有地理、身份认知， 努力搞明白这些都意味着什么。

I've also held on to a deep curiosity about African philosophies.

我同样对非洲哲学 有着强烈的好奇心。

When I began to read,

当我开始阅读的时候，

I gravitated towards the works of black intellectuals

我特别倾向于阅读 黑人学者的一些作品，

like Steve Biko and Frantz Fanon,

比如史蒂夫·比可和弗朗兹·法农，

who tackled complex ideas

他们研究了复杂的话题，

like decolonization and black consciousness.

比如说去殖民化问题， 还有黑人意识运动。

And when I thought, at 14, that I had digested these grand ideas,

当时14岁的我觉得自己 已经消化了这些宏大的想法，

I moved on to the speeches of iconic African statesmen

我就转而研究 非洲著名领导者的演讲，

like Burkina Faso's Thomas Sankara

比如说布基纳法索的托马斯·桑卡拉，

and Congo's Patrice Lumumba.

还有刚果的帕特里斯·鲁姆巴。

I read every piece of African fiction that I could get my hands on.

我阅读过了我能得到的 所有的非洲小说。

So when Twitter came,

于是当推特出现时，

I hopped on with the enthusiasm of a teenage girl

我就带着年轻女孩的热情 欣然加入了其中，

whose friends are super, super bored of hearing about all this random stuff.

我的朋友们早就对 我乱七八糟的话题感到烦躁了。

The year was 2011

那年是2011年，

and all over southern Africa and the whole continent,

那时整个非洲南部， 甚至是整个大陆，

affordable data packages for smartphones and Internet surfing

都有了智能手机的流量包， 还有网络冲浪资源，

became much easier to get.

这些都更容易获取了。

So my generation, we were sending messages to each other on this platform

所以对于我这一代人， 我们在这个平台互相发消息，

that just needed 140 characters and a little bit of creativity.

只需要140个字符还有一丁点创意。

On long commutes to work,

在去上班的通勤途中，

in lectures that some of us should have been paying attention to,

在我们本应集中精力听讲的课堂上，

on our lunch breaks,

在我们的午休时间，

we would communicate as much as we could

我们尽可能多地交流，

about the everyday realities of being young and African.

讨论作为年轻人、非洲人 所要面对的日常现实。

But of course, this luxury was not available to everybody.

但是当然， 这种奢侈不是所有人都能享受的。

So this meant that if you were a teenage girl in Botswana

所以这意味着，如果你是 博茨瓦纳的一个十几岁女孩，

and you wanted to have fun on the Internet,

你想在网上找点乐趣，

one, you had to tweet in English.

首先，你得要用英语发推。

Two, you had to follow more than just the three other people you knew online.

其次，你要关注更多人， 不只是你所知的两三个能上网的人。

You had to follow South Africans, Zimbabweans, Ghanaians, Nigerians.

你要关注南非人、津巴布韦人、 加纳人、尼日利亚人。

And suddenly, your whole world opened up.

突然，你的整个世界都打开了。

And my whole world did open up.

我的整个世界的确打开了。

I followed vibrant Africans who were travelling around the continent,

我关注了许多活跃的非洲人， 他们环绕非洲大陆旅行，

taking pictures of themselves

他们给自己拍照，

and posting them under the hashtag #myafrica.

然后分享到推特上， 标记了话题 #我的非洲。

Because at that time,

因为在那个时候，

if you were to search Africa on Twitter or on Google

如果你在推特或者谷歌， 或是其它社交媒体，

or any kind of social media,

搜索非洲的内容，

you would think that the entire continent was just pictures of animals

你觉得整个大陆 都是各种动物的图片，

and white guys drinking cocktails in hotel resorts.

或者白人在度假村喝鸡尾酒的情景。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But Africans were using this platform

但是非洲人利用这个平台，

to take some kind of ownership of the tourism sectors.

在这些旅游信息中 找寻某种意义上的归属感。

It was Africans taking selfies on the beaches of Nigeria.

尼日利亚的海滩上， 是非洲人自己在自拍。

It was Africans in cocktail bars in Nairobi.

内罗毕的鸡尾酒吧里， 是非洲人自己在品酒。

And these were the same Africans that I began to meet

而在我自己的环大陆旅行中，

in my own travels around the continent.

这些非洲人也正是我所遇到的人。

We would discuss African literature, politics, economic policy.

我们会讨论非洲文学、 政治、经济政策。

But almost invariably, every single time,

但是每次都不可避免的，

we would end up discussing Twitter.

就是讨论到推特。

And that's when I realized what this was.

那时我才发觉这真正的意义。

We were standing in the middle of something amazing,

我们正处于一个伟大的事物之中。

because for the first time ever

因为历史上第一次，

young Africans could discuss the future of our continent in real time,

非洲的年轻人可以实时讨论 我们大陆的未来，

without the restriction of borders, finances and watchful governments.

而且没有国界、经济状况限制， 也没有小心警惕的政府盯着。

Because the little known truth is

因为并没什么人知道，

many Africans know a lot less about other African countries

很多非洲人对其它非洲国家的了解，

than some Westerners might know about Africa as a whole.

其实少于一些西方人 对整个非洲大陆的了解。

This is by accident,

这其实是个意外情况，

but sometimes, it's by design.

但是有时，这都是设计好的。

For example, in apartheid South Africa,

例如说，在种族隔离政策下的南非，

black South Africans were constantly being bombarded

南非黑人要持续地接受一种暗示，

with this message that any country ruled by black people

就是任何被黑人统治的国家，

was destined for failure.

都是注定要失败的。

And this was done to convince them

这么做是为了说服他们，

that they were much better off under crushing white rule

他们生活在一个 受白人压迫统治的社会，

than they were living in a black and free nation.

比一个黑人统治的自由社会要更好。

Add to that Africa's colonial, archaic education system,

再提一提非洲 过时的殖民性教育系统，

which has been unthinkingly carried over from the 1920s --

它被人不经思考地 从20世纪20年代带到现在，

and at the age of 15, I could name all the various causes

在我15岁的时候， 我就可以背出

of the wars that had happened in Europe in the past 200 years,

欧洲过去200年里所有战争 发生的原因，

but I couldn't name the president of my neighboring country.

但是我连我的邻国的总统 名字都不知道。

And to me, this doesn't make any sense

对我来说这简直无比荒谬，

because whether we like it or not,

因为不管我们喜不喜欢如此，

the fates of African people are deeply intertwined.

非洲人民的命运是紧紧交织的。

When disaster hits, when turmoil hits,

当灾难来袭时，当骚乱发生时，

we share the consequences.

结果由我们所共享。

When Burundians flee political turmoil,

当布隆迪人逃脱政治骚乱时，

they go to us,

他们寻求我们帮助，

to other African countries.

寻求其它非洲国家的帮助。

Africa has six of the world's largest refugee centers.

全世界大规模的难民中心， 非洲占了六个。

What was once a Burundian problem

曾经的一个布隆迪问题，

becomes an African problem.

变成了整个非洲的问题。

So to me, there are no Sudanese problems

所以对我来说， 没有什么“苏丹问题”，

or South African problems or Kenyan problems,

没有“南非问题”、“肯尼亚问题”，

only African problems

只有“非洲问题”，

because eventually, we share the turmoil.

因为最终，我们要共同度过灾难。

So if we share the problems,

所以，如果我们共享这些问题，

why aren't we doing a better job of sharing the successes?

为什么我们没有更好地 共享我们的成功呢？

How can we do that?

我们怎么能做到呢？

Well, in the long term,

从长远来看，

we can shoot towards increasing inter-African trade,

我们可以努力增加 非洲国家之间的贸易额，

removing borders and putting pressure on leaders

消除国界差异， 然后给各国领导者施压，

to fulfill regional agreements they've already signed.

让他们努力完成 他们签署的地区协定。

But I think that the biggest way for Africa to share its successes

但是我认为非洲分享成功的 最重要的方法，

is to foster something I like to call social Pan-Africanism.

就是促进一种 我称为“社交泛非主义”的思想。

Now, political Pan-Africanism already exists,

目前，政治上的泛非主义已经存在，

so I'm not inventing anything totally new here.

所以我并不是在发明什么新东西。

But political Pan-Africanism

但是政治泛非主义

is usually the African unity of the political elite.

一般指的是非洲政治精英的合作。

And who does that benefit?

这又对谁有好处呢？

Well, African leaders, almost exclusively.

几乎只对非洲领导人有好处吧。

No, what I'm talking about

不，我在讨论的，

is the Pan-Africanism of the ordinary African.

是普通非洲人的泛非主义。

Young Africans like me,

像我这样的非洲年轻人，

we are bursting with creative energy,

我们充满了创造的能量，

with innovative ideas.

富有创新的想法。

But with bad governance and shaky institutions,

但是糟糕的统治和不靠谱的制度，

all of this potential could go to waste.

会让这种潜能全部白费。

On a continent where more than a handful of leaders

在这个大陆上，

有许多国家领导人，

have been in power longer

than the majority of the populations has been alive,

他们在位的时间， 比大陆上大多数人的寿命都要长，

we are in desperate need of something new,

我们极度渴望一些新鲜血液，

something that works.

一些有实效的东西。

And I think that thing is social Pan-Africanism.

而我认为，这种东西 就是社交泛非主义。

My dream is that young Africans

我的梦想，是非洲的年轻人

stop allowing borders and circumstance to suffocate our innovation.

不再受国界和个人处境所限制， 我们的创造力不被其扼杀。

My dream is that when a young African comes up with something brilliant,

我的梦想，是当非洲年轻人 产生了一个新颖的想法时，

they don't say, "Well, this wouldn't work in my country,"

不会被人嘲讽，“这想法 不可能在我们国家实现的”，

and then give up.

然后就此放弃。

My dream is that young Africans begin to realize

我的梦想，是非洲年轻人 逐渐开始意识到，

that the entire continent is our canvas, is our home.

整个大陆都是我们的画板， 是我们共同的家园。

Using the Internet, we can begin to think collaboratively,

利用因特网， 我们开始用合作方式思考，

we can begin to innovate together.

我们可以共同开拓创新。

In Africa, we say, "If you want to go fast, you go alone,

在非洲，我们常说， “你想走快些，就得自己走；

but if you want to go far, you go together."

你想走远些，就得一起走。”

And I believe that social Pan-Africanism is how we can go far together.

我相信社交泛非主义 就是我们可以一起走远的道路。

And this is already happening.

而且这已经在发生了。

Access to these online networks has given young Africans

非洲年轻人接触到了在线网络，

something we've always had to violently take: a voice.

获得了一种曾经要 武力夺取的东西：自由之声。

We now have a platform.

我们现在拥有一个平台。

Before now, if you wanted to hear from the youth in Africa,

在此之前，你如果想 了解非洲青少年的状况，

you waited for the 65-year-old minister of youth --

你要等那个65岁的青年部长——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

to wake up in the morning,

早上从床上爬起来，

take his heartburn medication

吃了他的胃药，

and then tell you the plans he has for your generation

然后才慢慢告诉你， 接下来20年他对年轻一代的计划。

in 20 years time.

Before now, if you wanted to be heard by your possibly tyrannical government,

在此之前，如果你想 你的声音被专制的政府听见，

you were pushed to protest, suffer the consequences

你就被逼着去游行， 还要承受可能的后果，

and have your fingers crossed

还得交叉手指默默祈祷，

that some Western paper somewhere might make someone care.

希望某家西方的媒体会做些报道， 吸引某些人的关注。

But now we have opportunities to back each other up

但是现在，我们有机会互相支持，

in ways we never could before.

而且以一种前所未有的方式。

We support South African students

我们支持南非的学生，

who are marching against ridiculously high tertiary fees.

他们正在游行反抗 价格高得离谱的高等教育。

We support Zimbabwean women who are marching to parliament.

我们支持津巴布韦的女性， 她们反抗国家的议会。

We support Angolan journalists who are being illegally detained.

我们支持安哥拉的记者， 他们被人非法扣押。

For the first time ever,

有史以来第一次，

African pain and African aspiration

非洲的痛楚、非洲的理想，

has the ability to be witnessed

能够被那些最能感同身受的人关注：

by those who can empathize with it the most:

other Africans.

非洲的其他同胞。

I believe that with a social Pan-Africanist thinking

我相信， 利用社交泛非主义的思维方式，

and using the Internet as a tool,

并且借助网络工具的力量，

we can begin to rescue each other,

我们可以开始拯救他人，

and ultimately, to rescue ourselves.

最终，拯救我们自己。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）