How to turn your dissatisfaction into action | Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

翻译人员: Sam Han 校对人员: Cong Wang

Sometimes,

有时，

you have a negative feeling about things.

你对事物会有消极的看法。

You're not happy about the way things are going.

你对于事情的走向 感觉到不乐观。

You feel frustrated and dissatisfied,

你感觉到沮丧和不满，

and so often, we choose to live with it.

而对此，我们常常选择 忍耐并继续生活。

It's a negative that we tell ourselves we have to endure.

但告诉我们自己要忍受， 本身就是消极的。

And yet, I passionately believe

不过，我热切的相信，

that we all have the ability

我们都拥有能力

to turn that negative feeling

将负面的情感

into a positive

转变为积极的感受。

by allowing our dissatisfaction

通过承认我们的不满，

to give birth to change.

来催生改变。

On January 6, 1999,

在 1999 年 1 月 6 日，

I was working in London

我当时正在伦敦工作，

when the news channels began to report

新闻频道开始报道

the rebel invasion of my hometown,

我的家乡，塞拉利昂的弗里敦，

Freetown, Sierra Leone.

发生了反动暴乱。

Thousands of people lost their lives,

数千人丧生，

and there were bodies littering the streets of Freetown.

弗里敦的街头满是尸体。

My husband's elderly aunt was burned alive,

我丈夫的阿姨被活活烧死，

and I thought of my own two-year old

当我看到那些 截肢的孩子的照片时，

as I saw images of little children with amputated limbs.

不禁想到了我自己两岁的孩子，。

Colleagues said to me,

同事们对我说：

"How could we help?"

“我们有什么能帮上忙的？”

I didn't know,

我不知道，

so I began to call the telephone numbers that came up on my screen

所以我开始拨打那些 出现在我电脑屏幕上的电话号码。

as international aid agencies started to make appeals

当时， 许多国际援助机构开始出面

to raise money to address the tragedy.

呼吁筹集资金来处理这场灾难。

The vagueness of those telephone conversations disappointed me.

但是模棱两可的电话内容 让我非常失望。

It felt like the people who were raising the money

我感觉那些筹钱的人，

seemed so far removed from the crisis,

似乎离危机本身非常遥远，

and understandably so,

虽然可以理解，

but I wasn't satisfied

但我并不满足。

and I wasn't convinced

我也并不相信

that the interventions they would eventually implement

他们最终采取的那些干涉措施

would actually have the level of impact that was so clearly needed.

能够切实满足需求。

There were butterflies in my stomach for days

那段时间，看着电视上报道的 那些恐怖场面，

as I continued to watch horrors unfold on television,

我始终心神不宁，

and I continuously asked myself,

不断问自己，

what could I be doing?

我能做些什么？

What should I be doing?

我又应该做些什么？

What I wanted to do was to help children affected by the war.

我想要做的， 是帮助被战争影响的孩子们。

So that's what we did.

于是我们开始采取行动。

Myself, my sister and some friends

我和我的姐姐，以及一些朋友

started the Sierra Leone War Trust For Children, SLWT.

创立了塞拉利昂 儿童战争基金机构（SLWT）。

We decided to focus on the thousands of displaced people

我们决定将注意力放在 成千上万的难民上，

that fled the fighting

那些逃离战争，

and were now living in really poor, difficult conditions

如今却穷困潦倒，

in camps in Freetown.

不得不住在弗里敦难民营的难民们。

Our work started with the Ross Road Camp

我们的工作从罗斯路难民营开始，

at the east end of the city.

它在城市的最东端。

Working with a local health organization,

在一个当地健康组织的合作下，

we identified about 130 of the most vulnerable single mothers

我们找到了大约 130 名 最易受战争影响的单亲妈妈，

with children under the age of five,

她们都养育着不足五岁的孩子。

supporting them by providing business skills,

我们为她们提供商业技能、

microcredit,

小额贷款，

whatever they asked us.

以及她们所需的一切支持。

Working in those difficult conditions,

在那般艰苦的环境下工作，

just getting the basics right, was no small task,

同时只享有一些基本权利， 并非易事。

but our collective sense of dissatisfaction

但是我们共有的不满，

at an unacceptable status quo

让我们在难以接受的环境下，

kept us focused on getting things done.

强迫着自己把一切事情搞定。

Some of those women went on to open small businesses,

这些女性中， 有的开始经营小规模的业务，

repaid their loans

偿还她们的贷款，

and allowed other mothers and their children

让其他的母亲以及她们的孩子

to have the same opportunity they did.

拥有和她们一样的机会。

And we, we kept on going.

我们呢，我们也同样继续努力着。

In 2004, we opened an agricultural training center

在 2004 年， 我们为那些曾经的儿童兵

for ex-child soldiers,

建立了一个农业训练中心。

and when the war was behind us,

同时，战争过后，

we started a scholarship program for disadvantaged girls

我们为弱势的女孩们 开展了一个奖学金项目，

who would otherwise not be able to continue in school.

如果没有这笔钱，她们将上不了学。

Today, Stella, one of those girls,

现如今，这些女孩中的一员，斯黛拉

is about to qualify as a medical doctor.

将要通过医生资格认证。

It's amazing what a dose of dissatisfaction can birth.

这一点点的不满, 竟可以催生如此美好的事物。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Ten years later, in 2014,

十年过后，在 2014 年，

Sierra Leone was struck by Ebola.

塞拉利昂被埃博拉病毒袭击。

I was working in Freetown at the time on a hotel construction project on May 25

第一批感染病例 在 5 月 25 日被宣布时，

when the first cases were announced,

我正在弗里敦的 一处酒店建造现场工作。

but I was back in London on July 30

但当我在 7 月 30 日回到伦敦时，

when the state of emergency was announced,

塞拉利昂政府已经宣布了 全国进入紧急状态，

the same day that many airlines stopped their flights to Sierra Leone.

也是那一天，许多航空公司都 停飞了到塞拉利昂的航班。

I remember crying for hours,

我记得我哭了数个小时，

asking God, why this? Why us?

质问上帝，为什么是这样？ 又为什么是我们？

But beyond the tears,

但是除了这一滴滴眼泪以外，

I began to feel again

我又一次感觉到

that profound sense of dissatisfaction.

强烈的不满。

So when, six months after those first cases had been confirmed,

所以，在宣布 第一批感染病例的六个月后，

the disease was still spreading rapidly in Sierra Leone

当疾病仍在塞拉利昂的大地上飞速肆虐，

and the number of people infected and dying continued to rise,

感染人数和死亡人数仍在上升时，

my level of frustration and anger

强烈的沮丧和愤怒

got so much that I knew I could not stay

让我知道，我不能再袖手旁观，

and watch the crisis from outside Sierra Leone.

在塞拉利昂之外， 眼睁睁看着危机袭来。

So, in mid-November,

因此，在 11 月中旬，

I said goodbye to my much loved

我告别了我深爱的，

and very understanding husband and children,

同时也很理解我的丈夫和孩子们，

and boarded a rather empty plane

登上了一架飞往弗里敦的，

to Freetown.

空荡荡的飞机。

Freetown was now the epicenter of the outbreak.

弗里敦当时正是病毒爆发的震中。

There were hundreds of new cases every week.

每周都有数百例确诊的新病例。

I spoke to many medical experts,

我每天都与很多医学专家、

epidemiologists

流行病学专家

and ordinary people every day.

以及普通人沟通。

Everyone was really scared.

大家都很害怕。

"We won't succeed until we're talking to people under the mango tree."

“我们如果不和身处其中的人交流， 就绝不会成功。”

So said Dr. Yoti,

Yoti 医生曾说道，

a Ugandan doctor who worked for WHO

他是一位为世界卫生组织工作的 乌干达医生，

and who had been involved in pretty much every Ebola outbreak

也是每次埃博拉病毒在非洲爆发时

in Africa previously.

身处一线的人。

He was right,

他是对的，

and yet there was no plan to make that happen.

但是当时还没有相应的计划。

So during a weekend in early December,

所以在 12 月上旬的一个周末，

I developed a plan that became known as the Western Area Surge plan.

我确立了大家所熟知的 “西区浪潮行动”（Western Area Surge）计划。

We needed to talk with people,

我们要和人交流，

not at people.

而不是针对某个人。

We needed to work with the community influencers

我们要和社区中有影响力的人合作，

so people believed our message.

这样人们才会相信我们的意图。

We needed to be talking under the mango tree,

我们要设身处地的去交流，

not through loudspeakers.

而不是高高在上的指挥。

And we needed more beds.

我们也需要更多的床位。

The National Ebola Response Center, NERC,

塞拉利昂埃博拉应对中心（NERC）

built on and implemented that plan,

完善并实施了那个计划。

and by the third week of January,

在 1 月的第 3 周，

the number of cases had fallen dramatically.

病例数量就出现了骤减。

I was asked to serve

我被要求担任

as a new Director of Planning for NERC,

塞拉利昂埃博拉应对中心的 新规划总监，

which took me right across the country,

要在国家的另一端的

trying to stay ahead of the outbreak

疫情一线战斗，

but also following it

同时还要时刻追踪

to remote villages in the provinces

疫情在偏远村庄

as well as to urban slum communities.

以及城市的贫民窟地区的发展情况。

On one occasion, I got out of my car

有一次，我从车上下来，

to call for help for a man who had collapsed on the road.

为一位在马路中央晕倒的男性求助。

I accidentally stepped in liquid

我意外的踩到了

that was coming down the road from where he lay.

从他晕倒的马路上流下来的水。

I rushed to my parents' house,

于是我跑到我父母的家，

washed my feet in chlorine.

用氯水冲洗我的脚来消毒。

I'll never forget waiting for that man's test results

我永远记得，从那一刻起直至疫情结束， 我一直在坚持测量自己的体温，

as I constantly checked my temperature then and throughout the outbreak.

同时等着那位先生的 病毒检测结果。

The Ebola fight was probably the most challenging

抗击埃博拉疫情可能是 我这辈子以来

but rewarding experience of my life,

最具挑战性，但也是 收获最丰富的一次经历。

and I'm really grateful

我也真的非常感激

for the dissatisfaction

这种不满情绪，

that opened up the space

为我营造了合适的空间

for me to serve.

让我发光发热。

Dissatisfaction can be a constant presence in the background,

不满既可能是持续的感受，

or it can be sudden,

也有可能出现在一瞬间，

triggered by events.

被某件事情所触发。

Sometimes it's both.

有时，两者皆是。

With my hometown, that's the way it was.

在我的家乡，就是这样的。

For years, our city had changed,

我们的城市在数年之间已经面目全非，

and it had caused me great pain.

而这让我倍感痛苦。

I remember a childhood

我记得伴随着爬树

growing up climbing trees,

慢慢长大的童年，

picking mangoes and plums

在我父亲授课的大学旁

on the university campus where my father was a lecturer.

摘芒果和李子的场景，

Went fishing in the streams deep in the botanical gardens.

以及在植物园的溪水中钓鱼的画面。

The hillsides around Freetown were covered with lush green vegetation,

弗里敦周围的山丘上， 满是绿色的植物，

and the beaches were clean and pristine.

沙滩也非常原生态，自然而清新。

The doubling of the population of Freetown in the years that followed the civil war,

在内战后的数年中， 弗里敦的人口已经翻倍，

and the lack of planning and building control

又因为缺乏计划和建筑的管理，

resulted in massive deforestation.

导致了大量的滥伐森林。

The trees, the natural beauty, were destroyed as space was made

那些代表着自然之美的树丛，只因为 要给正式或非正式的新社区制造空地，

for new communities, formal or informal,

或者为了制造柴火，

and for the cutting down of firewood.

而全部毁于一旦。

I was deeply troubled and dissatisfied.

我对此感到深深的困扰和不满。

It wasn't just the destruction of the trees and the hillsides

不光是树木和丘陵的减少

that bothered me.

在困扰着我。

It was also the impact of people,

困扰我的，还有因为基础建筑 未能跟上人口增长速度

as infrastructure failed to keep up with the growth of the population:

而对人民造成的巨大冲击；

no sanitation systems to speak of,

没有成熟的卫生系统的城市，

a dirty city with typhoid, malaria and dysentery.

充斥着伤寒、疟疾和痢疾。

I didn't know the statistics at the time,

我不知道当时的统计数据结果，

but it turned out that by 2017,

但是 2017 年的数据表明，

only six percent of liquid waste and 21 percent of solid waste

只有 6% 的液态废弃物 和 21% 的固态废弃物

was being collected.

被有效的收集起来了。

The rest was right there with us,

而剩下的那些就在我们身边，

in backyards, in fields, rivers

在后院里、田地里、河流中，

and deposited in the sea.

甚至被遗弃在海洋深处。

The steps to address that deep sense of anger and frustration I felt

解决我心中的愤怒和不满的想法，

didn't unfold magically or clearly.

这次没有神奇或是清晰的浮现。

That's not how the power of dissatisfaction works.

这不是不满的力量作用的方式。

It works when you know that things can be done better,

不满只有在你知道 事情可以变得更好时，

and it works when you decide to take the risks to bring about that change.

而且你决定冒着风险 进行改变时才起作用。

And so it was that in 2017

于是在 2017 年，

I ended up running for mayor,

我决定参选市长，

because I knew things could be better.

因为我知道这一切可以变得更好，

It seemed the people agreed with me, because I won the election.

而且看起来大家也都认同我， 因为我赢下了那场选举。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Today, we are implementing an ambitious plan

现如今，我们正在实施 一项壮志雄心勃勃的计划，

to transform our city,

来让我们的城市实现转型。

and when I say we,

而当我提到“我们”这个

what gets me really excited

真的让我兴奋不已的词时，

is that I mean the whole Freetown community,

我指的，是整个弗里敦社区的每个人。

whether it's being part of competitions like rewarding the neighborhood

无论大家是作为 奖励对卫生贡献最大社区

that makes the most improvement in overall cleanliness,

这样的比赛的一分子，

or whether it's our programs

还是作为参与我们设计的应用，

that are leading and joining people and waste collectors

让人们积极参与

垃圾收集计划的成员。

through our apps.

In Freetown today,

今日的弗里敦，

it's a much cleaner city,

比以前更干净了。

and those trees that we're so well known for,

那些让我们被大家所熟知的树木，

we planted 23,000 of them last rainy season.

我们在上个雨季种下了 23000 棵。

（掌声）

(Applause)

而在 2020 年，

And in 2020,

作为“弗里敦·树之镇”运动的一环， 我们打算种下 100 万棵树。

we plan to plant a million trees as part of our "Freetown the Tree Town" campaign.

(Applause)

（掌声）

Sometimes, sometimes we have a negative feeling about things.

有时，有时我们会对事物 有消极的感受。

We're not happy about the way things are going.

我们对事物的走向 并不乐观。

We feel dissatisfied,

我们会感到不满，

and we feel frustrated.

我们也会感到沮丧。

We can change that negative into a positive.

我们可以把消极的感受 转变为积极态度。

If you believe that things can be better,

只要你相信事情可以变得更好，

then you have the option to do something rather than to do nothing.

你就有选择去付诸实践。

The scale and circumstances of our situations will differ,

也许我们的处境有所不同，

but for each of us,

但是对我们每个人来说，

we all have one thing in common.

我们都有一个共同点。

We can take risks to make a difference,

我们可以选择冒险来改变一切。

and I will close in saying,

而我会选择，

step out,

勇敢的迈出一步，

take a risk.

敢于去冒险。

If we can unite behind the power of dissatisfaction,

如果我们选择 和不满的力量团结在一起，

the world will be a better place.

世界将会变得更好。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）