Our fight for disability rights -- and why we're not done yet | Judith Heumann

翻译人员: He Huang 校对人员: 睿哲 王

I was born in 1947, a long time ago,

我出生于1947年， 那是很久以前了，

and when I was 18 months old, I had polio.

在18个月大的时候， 我得了小儿麻痹症。

I was in an iron lung for three months

我在一个铁肺（一种呼吸器） 里待了三个月，

and in and out of the hospital for three years.

在医院里进进出出了三年。

Now, we had lots of neighbors in our Brooklyn neighborhood,

我们在布鲁克林区有很多邻居，

and some of them were really very helpful for my parents.

其中的一些帮了我父母很多忙。

Some of them were really afraid of contagion,

但是有些却十分害怕被传染，

and they wouldn't even walk in front of our house.

他们甚至都不愿意走到我们的房前，

They would literally walk across the street.

（为了避免碰到我） 宁可绕路到另一条街。

I think this was a time when my family really began to realize

我觉得 ，正是这段经历 使我的家人开始认识到

what disability meant to some people:

残疾对一些人意味着什么：

fear.

恐惧。

And it wasn't even a sure thing that I would live at home,

我甚至都不能 确保一直住在家里，

although I didn't learn about this until I was 36 years old.

尽管我到36岁 才听说了这段往事。

I was having a discussion with my father one night,

有天晚上，我在跟父亲聊天，

and he said, "You know, when you were two years old,

他说：你知道吗，你两岁的时候，

one of the doctors suggested to your mom and I

有一个医生建议你的母亲和我

that you live in an institution,

让你住在一个公共机构里，

that they could just go ahead with their lives

这样他们（我的父母） 就可以继续他们的生活，

抚养其他的子女，

and raise their kids

and kind of be done with having to deal with all the disability-related things.

并且不用再处理 与残疾相关的事请。

I didn't believe my father, not because he was a liar,

我当时不相信我的父亲， 并不是因为他是个会说谎的人，

but I'd never heard this story,

而是我从来没听过这个故事，

and my mother in fact validated that.

然后我母亲证实了这件事。

She never wanted to tell me.

她从来都没有想过要告诉我。

But in reality, I don't know why I was really surprised by this story,

但实际上，我不明白为什么 我对这件事感到非常惊讶，

because when I was five years old,

因为在我五岁的时候，

and my mother, like mothers and fathers all across the United States,

我的母亲，跟美国所有的父母一样，

was taking me to school to enroll,

要带我去学校办理入学手续，

she pushed my wheelchair to the school in walking distance to our house,

她推着轮椅上的我 到离我家步行距离的学校，

pulled the wheelchair up the steps into the school,

把轮椅抬上台阶，进入学校，

and we were greeted by the principal.

然后我们受到了校长的迎接。

Not really greeted.

其实不能算是迎接。

But the principal said, no, I couldn't come to that school

校长表示了歉意， 说我不能来这儿上学，

because it wasn't accessible.

因为这里不方便轮椅进出。

But he told us not to worry,

但是他告诉我们不要着急，

because the Board of Education in fact would send a teacher to my house.

因为教育局将派一名老师到我家。

And they did

他们真的这样做了，

for a total of two and a half hours

只不过总共是两个半小时，

a week.

每周。

(Audience murmurs)

（观众低语）

But for good behavior,

同时为了表达善意，

they threw in an occupational therapist

他们派来了一个职业治疗师

who taught me that very essential skill

他教了我非常必要的技能—

of cross-stitching.

十字绣。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I don't cross-stitch today.

现在我可不做十字绣。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I didn't actually get to go to school in a real building

九岁之前我都没有去过

until I was nine years old,

一个真正意义上的学校，

and then I was in classes only with disabled children

之后我也被分在 只有残疾孩子的班里，

in a school that had mainly nondisabled children.

尽管这个学校的大部分学生 都是健全的孩子。

And in my classes,

在我的班里，

there were students up to the age of 21.

有些学生都已经21岁了。

And then, after 21,

超过21岁之后，

they went to something called sheltered workshops

就会去一些叫做 “庇护工场”的地方。

with menial work

做一些卑微的工作。

and earning either nothing or below minimum wage.

要么没有工资，就算有， 也低于最低工资标准。

So I understood discrimination.

于是我懂得了什么是歧视。

My parents understood discrimination.

我的父母也懂得。

My parents came from Germany.

我的父母来自德国。

They were German Jews who left in the 1930s,

他们是30年代 离开德国的犹太人，

escaping the Holocaust.

为了逃离那场大屠杀。

My parents lost family and they lost parents.

我的父母失去了他们的家庭，

Both my parents lost their parents in the Holocaust.

在大屠杀中都失去了各自的父母。

And so they realized

所以他们明白

that they could not be silent

他们不能保持沉默，

as things were going wrong for me in my life.

因为发生在我身上的事太不公正。

Not me personally,

不仅仅是我个人，

but what was going on around me.

而且是发生在我周围的人与事。

They learned that because I used a wheelchair,

他们深知这些不公正 是因为我使用轮椅，

none of the high schools in New York City, in the entire city,

在整个纽约市的所有高中里，

were wheelchair accessible,

没有一所是轮椅能推进的，

so what was supposed to happen

所以当时最有可能的情况

is I was supposed to go back onto home instruction

是我和其他不能 正常上学的学生一起，

along with many other students.

接受家庭辅导。

So my parents banded together with other parents.

所以我的父母跟其他父母联合起来。

They went to the Board of Education

他们一起去了教育局，

and they demanded that the Board of Ed make some of the high schools accessible.

提出让教育局强制要求 部分高中建设无障碍通道。

And they did.

教育局做到了。

And so I and many others

由此，我和其他许多残障学生一起

were finally able to go to high school, a regular high school,

终于能上一个普通高中，

and take regular classes.

上与所有人一样的课程。

So what happened next?

那么接下来又了发生什么呢？

I was learning more and more about what discrimination was,

我渐渐对什么是歧视 有了更深入的认知，

and equally important, I was learning that I needed to become my own advocate.

同样重要的是，我渐渐 明白我需要为自己发声。

I was entering college, Long Island University,

我进入了大学，长岛大学，

and I had always wanted to be a teacher,

我一直梦想成为一名教师，

and so I minored in education and I took all the appropriate courses,

所以我辅修了教育学， 我上完了所有该上的课，

and then when it was time for me to go for my license,

当我准备去考 教师执业资格证时，

I had to take a written exam,

我需要通过一场笔试，

an oral exam

一场面试，

and a medical exam.

以及一次体检。

At that time, all three of those exams

那时，这三场考试

were given in completely inaccessible buildings,

都是在完全没有无障碍设施的 建筑中进行的，

so I had friends who carried me up and down the steps

所以我只有找我的朋友帮忙，

for these exams,

在考试期间将我抬上抬下，

not in a motorized wheelchair.

那会儿我可没有电动轮椅。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In a manual wheelchair.

那时还是手动的轮椅。

But I passed my oral exam.

最后我成功通过了口试。

I passed my written exam.

也通过了笔试。

My medical exam was something completely different.

但到了体检这儿， 事情就不那么顺利了。

One of the first questions the doctor asked me

为我体检的医生 问我的第一个问题就是，

was, could I please show her how I went to the bathroom.

能否展示给她看 我是如何上厕所的。

I was 22 years old

我那年22岁。

and you know when you go for any kind of an interview,

你要知道，无论你去怎样的面试之前，

you think about all the kinds of questions that people could ask you?

都会去设想各种可能被问到的问题。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

That was not one of them.

但怎么也想不到这样的问题吧！

And I was freaked out in the first place

我当时也懵了，

because I had heard

因为我之前就了解到

that there were actually no disabled people using wheelchairs

到那时为止，纽约还没有一名

who were teachers in New York,

身体残疾的老师，

so each step along the way I was expecting something bad.

所以我对面试中每一步可能会 碰到些麻烦，多少都有些心理准备。

So I said to her,

所以我问她，

is it a requirement that teachers show their students

有没有要求规定 老师需要给学生展示

how to go to the bathroom?

如何去厕所？

If it is, I can do that.

如果有这个要求， 我就演示给你看。

So no surprise,

不出所料，

I was failed

我没有被录取，

because I didn't pass the medical.

因为我的体检结果不合格。

The official reason that I was denied my job

我被禁止从业的官方解释是：

was paralysis of poliomyelitis sequelae of -- I'm sorry.

小儿麻痹症瘫痪后遗。。。抱歉。

Paralysis of both lower limbs, sequelae of poliomyelitis.

双下肢瘫痪， 小儿麻痹症的后遗症。

Honestly, I didn't know what the word "sequelae" meant,

老实说，我都不知道 “后遗”是什么意思，

so I went to the dictionary, and it meant "because of."

所以我去查了字典 字典上的解释是“由于”。

So I'd been denied my license because I couldn't walk.

也就是说，我仅仅因为不能走路 而无法获得教师资格证。

So what was I going to do?

那我该做什么呢？

This is a really important time in my life,

这是我一生中的关键时期，

because it would be the first time

因为这曾是我第一次

that I really would be challenging the system, me,

真正地要与现有的体制进行抗争，

and although I was working with a lot of other friends who had disabilities

尽管当时和我一起的 许多同样身患残疾的朋友们

who were encouraging me to move forward with this,

都鼓励并支持着我，

it was nonetheless quite frightening.

尽管如此，这还是 很令人胆怯的。

But I was really very lucky.

但我最后运气不错。

I had a friend who was a disabled student at Long Island University

我的一名身患残疾的朋友， 曾也是长岛大学的学生，

and was also a stringer at the "New York Times,"

他当时是《纽约时报》的兼职记者，

and he was able to get a reporter

他帮我找到了一名职业记者，

to write a really good piece about what had happened

写了一篇非常好的 文章来阐述现状，

and why he thought what had happened was wrong.

以及为什么这样的现状 在他看来是不正确的。

The next day there was an editorial in the "New York Times"

第二天，在纽约时报上 就有了一篇社论，

with the title of "Heumann v. The Board of Education"

标题是《休曼与教育局之争》，

and the "New York Times" came out in support

而且当时纽约时报也站出来声援，

of my getting my teaching license.

意图帮助我拿到教师执照。

(Applause)

（掌声）

And then the same day,

在同一天，

I got a call from an attorney who was writing a book about civil rights.

我接到了一名律师的电话， 他在写一本关于公民权利的的书。

And he was calling me to interview me,

他说他期望能与我进行一次面谈，

and I was interviewing him.

但实际上，我当时也在审核他。

He didn't know that.

他并不知道这点。

And at the end of our discussion, I said,

然后在面谈结束时，我问，

"Would you be willing to represent me? I want to sue the Board of Education."

你愿意代表我 对教育局提起诉讼吗？

And he said yes.

他同意了。

Now, sometimes I say that the stars were aligned around this court case,

有时候我会说， 这场官司赢的真是太幸运了，

because we had an amazing judge:

因为我们当时有一名出色的法官：

the first African American female federal judge --

她是第一位非裔美籍女法官——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Constance Baker Motley.

康斯坦斯·贝克·莫特利。

(Applause)

（掌声）

And she knew discrimination when she saw it.

她一眼就看出， 这是赤裸裸的歧视问题。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So she strongly encouraged the Board of Ed

于是，她强烈建议了教育局

to give me another medical exam,

再次为我安排医学体检，

which they did.

教育局照做了。

And then I got my license,

由此，我获得了教师执照，

and while it took a number of months

又花了几个月的时间，

for me to actually get a principal to offer me a job,

终于有一名校长决定聘用我了。

I finally did get a job and I started teaching that fall

我终于得到了一份工作， 从那个秋天开始了我的教师生涯，

in the same school that I had gone to,

就在我曾就读的那个学校，

second grade.

教二年级。

So --

所以——

(Applause)

（掌声）

That's a whole other TED Talk.

这就是另外一个故事了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I was learning as my friends were,

我和我的朋友们，

and people I didn't know around the country,

以及全球更多我并不认识的 残障人士都从中学到了，

that we had to be our own advocates,

我们必须为自己发声，

that we needed to fight back people's view

我们必须自己去 反击大众错误的观念，

that if you had a disability, you needed to be cured,

去反击人们认为残障人士 就应该呆在医院里接受治疗，

that equality was not part of the equation.

去反击人们用双重标准 衡量残障人士。

And we were learning from the Civil Rights Movement

我们从过去的公民权利运动

and from the Women's Rights Movement.

和女权运动中学习。

We were learning from them about their activism

我们学习他们的维权意识，

and their ability to come together,

和他们愿意团结一致的决心，

not only to discuss problems

不仅仅要抛出问题，

but to discuss solutions.

还要讨论实质的解决方案。

And what was born is what we call today the Disability Rights Movement.

由此就诞生了今天人们所称的 残疾人权利运动。

So I'd like to tell you a couple of riddles.

我来给你们出几个问答题。

How many people do you think it takes

你觉得多少人聚集起来足够

to stop traffic on Madison Avenue

在高峰时段

挡住纽约麦迪逊大道上的车流？

during rush hour in New York City?

Do you have a guess? How many?

想好了吗？

(Audience members shout out answers)

（观众席中有人喊出）

Fifty.

五十。

One would be too little.

一个人太少啦。

Fifty people.

五十个人差不多。

And there were no accessible paddy wagons,

反正警察也会拿我们没办法， 因为他们监狱的大巴不能上轮椅，

so they had to just kind of deal with us.

所以他们没辙，只能跟我们谈判。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

But let me tell you another riddle.

再来一个。

How many people does it take to stop a bus in New York City

你们觉得当巴士因为 你坐轮椅而拒载你时，

when they refuse to let you on because you're in a wheelchair?

需要多少人可以 阻挡一辆纽约的巴士呢？

One. That is the right answer.

只需要一个人，这是正确答案。

So what you have to do though

所以，你需要做的

is take your wheelchair --

只是把你的轮椅——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Sidle in the right place right in front of the steps

滑到恰好挡住车前进的位置，

and give it a little push underneath,

轻轻一推固定住，

and then their bus can't move.

巴士便不敢乱动了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Any of you who want to learn how to do that,

谁要是想知道这些技巧，

talk to me after this.

等会儿可以到台下找我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In 1972, President Nixon vetoed the Rehabilitation Act.

在1972年，尼克松总统 否决了残疾人劳工复健法案。

We protested. He signed it.

我们抗议了，他随后便签署了。

Then the regulations that needed to be promulgated to implement that law

不过当时为落实 该法律相关必要的规章

had not in fact been signed.

其实并没有被签署。

We demonstrated. They were signed.

我们再次游行示威，他们再次签署了。

And when the Americans With Disabilities Act, the ADA,

后来，美国残疾人法案， 也就是ADA，

our Emancipation Proclamation Act,

如同我们残疾人的解放宣言，

looked as though it might not in fact be passed in the House or Senate,

看起来好像并没有 在众议院或参议院通过，

disabled people from all across the United States came together

全美的残障人士都汇聚起来了，

and they crawled up the Capitol steps.

他们爬上国会大厦的台阶。

That was an amazing day,

那真的是非凡的一天，

and the House and Senate passed the ADA.

随后众议院和参议院通过了ADA。

And then President Bush signed the ADA.

当时的总统老布什 也签署通过了ADA。

It's a great picture.

这真是一张难忘的照片。

President Bush signed the ADA on the lawn of the White House.

布什总统在白宫的 草坪上签署了ADA。

It was an amazing day,

这是无比伦比的一天，

and there are about 2,000 people there.

当时有大概两千多人守候在那里，

It was July 26, 1990.

那是1990年7月26日。

And one of the most famous statements he had in his speech

他在当天的演讲中 说过的最著名的一句话是：

was, "Let the shameful walls of exclusion finally come tumbling down."

“让可耻的排斥之墙最终崩塌。”

For any of you in the room

在座的各位，

who are 50 or older, or maybe or even 40 or older,

如果您在五十岁， 或许四十岁以上，

you remember a time when there were no ramps on the streets,

你应该能回想起来，以前的 街道上是没有无障碍坡道的，

when buses were not accessible,

以前的巴士是 没有无障碍设施的，

when trains were not accessible,

以前的地铁也是 没有无障碍设施的，

where there were no wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in shopping malls,

以前的商场里是 没有残疾人厕所的，

where you certainly did not have a sign language interpreter,

当然，那时也没有人 提供手语翻译，

or captioning, or braille or other kinds of supports.

影音字幕，盲文，种种对 残疾人的支持当时都没有。

These things have changed,

现如今，这一切都改变了，

and they have inspired the world.

而且这些改变影响了整个世界。

And disabled people around the world want laws like we have,

全世界的残障人士都 希望拥有我们一样的法律，

and they want those laws enforced.

他们希望这些 法律能被强制执行。

And so what we've seen is something called

所以我们进而拥有了

the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

《残疾人权利公约》。

It is a treaty that was adopted in 2006.

这是一项于2006年通过的公约。

It's celebrating is 10-year anniversary.

正在庆祝它的10周年。

More than 165 countries have joined this treaty.

超过165个国家加入了这项公约。

It is the first international human rights treaty

这是第一个国际性的， 专为残疾人而打造的

fully focused on disabled people.

人权公约。

But I am sad to say that our US Senate

但很遗憾，我们的美国参议院

has failed to recommend to our president that we ratify the treaty.

没有及时向我们的总统 建议批准该公约。

We signed it in 2009,

我们2009年就在国际上签署了，

but it doesn't come into force until ratification,

但（公约）不能被实际实施， 除非我们在国内正式批准，

and the president -- no president can ratify a treaty

就算是总统， 在没有参议院的批准下，

without the consent of the Senate.

也不能正式将公约批准实施。

So we feel really strongly

所以我们深深感到

that our US Senate needs to do its job,

我们的参议院应该做好份内工作，

that our Senate needs to enable us as Americans

让我们美国人有能力

not only to be able to assist disabled people and governments around the world

不仅仅去帮助残障人士， 帮助世界上的其他政府

to learn about the good work that we've been doing,

了解和学习我们签署的法案，

but it's equally important

而且同样重要的是

that disabled people have the same opportunities

残障人士能有和 国内的其他普通人一样

to travel, study and work abroad

拥有出国旅游、留学和

as anyone else in our country.

在海外工作的机会。

And as long as many countries don't have the same laws as we do

只要世界上还有很多国家没有 像我们一样保护残疾人的法律，

and don't enforce them if they have them,

或者他们有法律却不被强制执行，

opportunities for disabled people are more limited.

残障人士的机会就依然有限。

When I travel abroad,

每当我有机会出国时，

I am always meeting with disabled women,

我总是会去见见 身残志坚的女性们，

and those women tell me stories

听听她们的故事，

about how they experience violence and rape

听她们讲述她们如何 熬过暴力和强奸，

and how in many cases these forms of violence

而且为什么这些各种形式的暴力

occur from family members and people that they know,

往往由家庭成员或者 她们所熟知的人实施，

who in fact may be working for them.

甚至可能是她们的下属。

And frequently these cases are not adjudicated.

然而经常性的， 这些事件并没有被立案。

I meet disabled people

我遇到有过残障人士

who have been offered jobs by businesses

得到了一份工作，

because they live in a country where there's a quota system,

仅仅因为他们所居住的 国家有一个配额要求，

and in order to avoid a fine,

公司为了避免被罚款，

they will hire you

才雇佣了残障人士，

and then tell you,

然后他们告诉你，

"You don't need to come to work

“你不用来上班，

because we really don't need you in the facility."

因为我们这边真的不需要你“。

I have visited institutions

我去过的一些（美国的福利）机构，

where the stench of urine is so strong

建筑内的骚臭味强烈到

that before you open the door of your vehicle,

你还没有推开车门，

you're kind of pushed back,

就有点被熏倒的感觉，

and then gone into those institutions

在这种公共机构里，

where people should be living in the community with appropriate supports

本应该是给予人们 支持和帮助的社区，

and seen people almost naked,

里面的人们大都衣不遮体，

people who are chemically drugged

还有正在嗑药的人，

and people who are living lives of despair.

还有很多生活在绝望中的人们。

这些都是本不应该发生的事情， 美国需要采取更多措施解决这些问题。

These are some of the things that the US needs to be doing more to correct.

We know discrimination when we see it,

我们都看得出什么是歧视，

and we need to be fighting it together.

我们需要一起为此斗争下去。

So what is it that we can be doing together?

那么，什么能够让我们团结起来？

I encourage you all to recognize

我希望你们认识到，

that disability is a family you can join at any point in your life.

任何人，在人生的任何时刻， 都有可能变成残障人群中的一员。

I'd like to see by a show of hands how many of you have ever broken a bone?

有多少人曾经经历过骨折的， 能举手给我看一下吗？

And then, when you leave today, I'd like you to maybe write a couple of sentences

好，今天结束之后， 我想让你们就用几句话

about what that period of time has been like for you,

描述一下那段时间 你的生活是怎样的，

because frequently I hear from people,

因为我经常听到人们说，

"You know, I couldn't do this, I couldn't do that.

“我不能做这个了， 我不能做那个了，

People talked to me differently. They acted differently towards me."

大家跟我说话的方式变了， 大家对我的行为也都变了。”

And that's what I see and other disabled people see

这些问题，让我和其他残障人士

in flashing letters.

都印象深刻。

But we -- you in this room,

但我们，在座的你们，

people listening and watching this TED Talk --

在聆听和观看这场 TED 演讲的人们——

together we can make a difference.

我们携起手来，就能做出改变，

Together we can speak up for justice.

我们团结一致，就能伸张正义，

Together we can help change the world.

我们风雨同舟，就能改变世界！

Thank you. I have to go catch my bus.

谢谢你们，我得去赶巴士了。

(Applause)

（掌声）