The Workers Rebuilding Communities After Natural Disasters | Saket Soni | TED

翻译人员: Jinshang Wang 校对人员: Bruce Wang

My name is Saket Soni,

我叫萨基特·索尼，

and I'm a labor organizer

我是一名劳动组织者，

who spends most of his time in disaster zones.

我的大部分时间都在灾 区度过了。

How many of you have been through a hurricane, flood or fire?

你们当中有多少人 经历过飓风、洪水或火灾？

When that happens,

当这种情况发生时，

thousands of families lose their homes overnight.

成千上万的家庭一夜之间 失去了他们的家园。

I represent the workers who come in and rebuild them.

我代表 那些来重建家园的工人们。

Now we're living through a time when all of us, in some way or the other,

现在我们正在经历一个时代

所有人都以某种方式经历失去家园

are experiencing a loss of home.

Some because of escalating climate disasters,

有些是因为不断升级的 气候灾难，

but also just as much because of economic upheaval

但也有可能 是因为经济的动荡、

or the pandemic or war,

或疫情亦或是战争、

racial violence, social unrest,

种族暴力、社会动荡、

and of course,

当然还有民主危机。

because of the crisis in democracy.

The question is,

问题在于，

where is hope being born in this time of pain?

在这个痛苦的时刻希望 在何处孕育？

Because I'm here to tell you, it is being born.

我在这儿要告诉你们，

希望确实在孕育中。

Hope for the very renewal of democracy itself.

民主自身复兴的希望。

And it’s being born in the last place you would expect,

而且它是在你最意料不到的 地方，

among the least likely people.

在最不可能的人群中孕育而生。

It's happening in the midst of climate disasters

它发生在自然灾害时，

between the residents who are having their lives turned upside down

在生活发生了翻天覆地变化的居民

and the workers who are rebuilding them.

和来进行家园重建的工人之间。

Now speaking of hope,

要说希望，

I grew up in New Delhi, India,

我是在印度的新德里长大，

and when I was growing up,

在我成长过程中，

I saw America as a place exploding with hope and possibility.

我把美国看作是一个 充满希望和可能性的地方。

And this was somehow mysteriously captured for me in one iconic image

这（希望）神秘地记录在 一张标志性图片中，

that I would see again and again, week after week,

我会周复一周地一次次翻看

in the back of my Archie comic books.

我的阿奇漫画的封底。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So I came to America on a college scholarship,

因此我拿着大学奖学金来到美国，

but soon after I graduated,

但是在我毕业后不久，

my hope turned into a hard reality.

我的希望成了艰难的现实。

I missed an immigration deadline.

我错过了移民的最后期限。

I became undocumented.

我变成了无证（移民）。

After 9/11, I faced racist violence.

911之后，我遭遇了种族主义暴力。

I felt I no longer belonged.

我觉得我不再属于（此地）。

I turned to community organizing

我开始组织社区

to help others who had lost their footing in America,

帮助其他在美国失去了立足之地的人，

but also to strike back

同时也是为了反击

against what I perceived to be America's lies and hypocrisies.

我曾经受的美国的谎言和伪善。

To strike back against the false promise of hope.

反击对希望的虚假承诺。

Then a conversation with a mentor changed my life.

然后 与导师的对话改变了我的生活。

We were in the center of America's pain, in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

卡特里娜飓风过后， 我们在新奥尔良，美国的受灾中心。

There were over a million homes to be rebuilt across the Gulf Coast,

在墨西哥湾沿岸需要重建超过一百万栋房屋，

and that rebuilding was mostly being carried out by immigrant workers.

而重建的工作主要 由移民工人执行。

I was a labor organizer working to protect them

我当时是保护工人的劳工组织者，

when I uncovered a shocking crime.

那时我揭露了令人震惊的罪行。

I found hundreds of immigrant workers,

我发现数百名来自印度的移民工人

all from India, trapped in forced labor

被要求强迫劳动，

and being held in Gulf Coast labor camps.

且被关在墨西哥湾沿岸的劳改营中。

I went to seek advice from Dr. Vincent Harding,

我去向文森特·哈丁博士寻求建议，

who had been a friend and close adviser of Dr. Martin Luther King.

他曾是马丁·路德·金博士的朋友和亲密顾问。

I railed on against this most recent injustice,

我抨击了这种身边的不公正现象，

portraying America as "the place hope goes to die."

将美国描绘成“希望陨灭的地方”。

I expected him to say, "Now you get it."

我以为他会说：“现在你知道了。”

Instead, he leaned forward wisely, gave me a look and said,

相反，他精明地向前靠了靠，

看了我一眼然后说：

"Young man, you need to get some sleep."

“小伙子，你需要好好睡一觉。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Then he said the words I'll never forget.

然后他说出了我永生难忘的话。

He said, "America is a country that is still being born."

他说：“美国是一个仍 在孕育的国家。”

He explained

他解释说，

places of pain are not proof that there is no hope.

伤痛之地并不代表没有希望。

Places of pain is where hope is born.

伤痛之地正是希望的诞生地。

My job wasn't to rail against America's false promises.

我的工作不该是抱怨美国的虚假承诺。

It was to make the promise of democracy real

而是为了向那些没获得民主的人

for those who didn't have it.

真正兑现民主的承诺。

I took that lesson back to the Indian workers,

我带着他的教诲回到了印度工人身边，

and we launched a freedom journey

我们开启了一段自由之旅，

that started with an overnight escape from the labor camps,

（这段旅程）始于连夜逃离劳改营，

and ended with the men winning justice

终于这些工人伸张了正义，

and a path to citizenship

使这些工人和他们的家人 走上了获得公民身份的道路。

for themselves and their families.

Dr. Harding’s lesson is at the heart of how I think about democracy,

哈丁博士的教诲的核心在于 我如何看待民主，

and it led me to the places where hope is being born today.

它指引我去到了如今孕育希望的地方。

In the aftermath of hurricanes, floods and fires.

在飓风、洪水和火灾之后。

Between the immigrant workers who are doing the rebuilding

在从事重建工作的移民劳工

and the residents who once saw those immigrants as the enemy.

和曾视这些移民为敌的居民之间。

I call these workers the “resilience workforce.”

我称这些劳工为“抗灾劳动力”。

It's been nearly two decades since Hurricane Katrina,

卡特里娜飓风事件已过去了近二十年，

and in that time,

在那段时间里，

climate change has made disasters more furious,

气候变化使灾难变得更加激烈、

more frequent, more destructive.

更加频繁、更具破坏性。

And these workers have become America's white blood cells.

而这些劳工成为了美国的”白细胞“。

They travel from disaster to disaster,

他们从一个灾难地到另一个灾难地，

rebuilding homes and schools and hospitals and whole cities.

重建了家园、学校、医院乃至整个城市。

They're in the center of an economy that spends tens of billions of dollars

他们就在这个每年花费数百亿美元

进行房屋修复的经济的中心。

a year on repairs.

It's paid for by the federal government and private insurance.

这些（费用）由联邦政府和私人保险支付。

And so, as you can imagine,

因此，你可以想象，

these workers are incredibly skilled and highly dedicated,

这些劳工技术高超，高度敬业，

but they're also very vulnerable

但他们同时也有弱点，

because they're overwhelmingly immigrants

因为他们绝大多数是移民，

and most of them are undocumented.

而且其中大多数是无证（移民）。

They come from Mexico and Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela.

他们来自墨西哥、洪都拉斯、萨尔瓦多和委内瑞拉。

Some come from as far away as the Philippines and India.

有些远道而来的移民来自菲律宾和印度。

And most of them are dislocated from their own homes,

而且他们中的大多数人自己背井 离乡，

even as they're rebuilding the homes of others.

他们却正在重建他人的家园。

One worker, Mariano Alvarado,

一名叫马里亚诺·阿尔瓦拉多 （Mariano Alvarado）的劳工

became a climate refugee

在洪都拉斯的一场干旱毁了 他在渔村的工作后，

after a drought in Honduras wiped out his job in his fishing village.

沦为气候难民。

Another worker, Baeliz Gonzalez, was an environmental engineer

另一名劳工贝利兹·冈萨雷斯 本是一名环境工程师，

until the authorities in Venezuela cracked down on her job,

直到委内瑞拉当局打压了她的工作，

forcing her to flee.

迫使她逃离了（家园）。

A third worker, Saul Hernandez,

第三名劳工索尔·埃尔南德斯

had to run away from El Salvador

不得不逃离萨尔瓦多，

to find safety and a better life in America.

仅为了在美国寻求安全和更好的生活。

In the United States,

在美国，

these workers are on the road six months at a time.

这些工人每次外出务工六个月。

They do own homes.

他们确实有自己的家。

They live often in the first places they help rebuild --

他们通常生活在他们初次协助重建的地方

New Orleans, Houston, Florida.

新奥尔良、休斯顿、佛罗里达州。

But they're on the road following disaster after disaster,

但他们在一场又一场的灾难之后四处奔走，

traveling from state to state, doing the rebuilding.

从一个州到另一个去进行重建。

And as I followed these workers over the last 15 years,

在我关注这些劳工的过去15年里，

I've noticed something remarkable about them.

我注意到他们身上有一些非凡之处。

I've noticed that the work they do, restoring other people's lives,

我注意到他们所做的重塑他人生活的工作，

has transformed them, has become sacred to them.

也改变了他们，成了一件崇高的事儿。

So here's a story.

所以我要说一个故事。

A worker from El Salvador, who I know,

我认识的一位来自萨尔瓦多的劳工

found himself one day staring through the broken wall

有一天凝视着一间儿童卧室的破墙。

of a child's bedroom.

He was so moved that he drove for hours

他非常感动，驱车数小时，

to find a Salvadoran doll to place in that family's home

及时找到一个萨尔瓦多娃娃，

in time for that family to find it.

放到了那家的房子里让他们能看到

Another worker, my friend Mariano from Honduras,

另一位劳工，我的洪都拉斯朋友马里亚诺，

risked his life to get up on a roof and fix it in driving rain.

冒着生命危险爬上屋顶， 在大雨中修好了它。

He slipped and fell.

他滑倒并摔了下来。

He found himself in a coma.

他一度昏迷。

When he recovered, he told me why he had taken such a big risk.

当他康复后，他告诉了我为什么要冒这么大的风险。

It's because he got to know the elderly couple that lived in that home,

这是因为他认识住在那所房子里的 那对老年夫妇，

and he knew the only hope of stopping the rain

而且他知道阻止雨水

from not destroying what little they had left

摧毁他们仅剩的财物的唯一指望

was to get up there and fix that roof.

就是爬上去修好屋顶。

Equally amazing is the way that residents are transformed

同样令人惊奇的是，居民与劳工建立的

by the unexpected bonds they form with workers.

意想不到的纽带改变了他们。

In a Florida town, after a recent hurricane,

在佛罗里达州的一个小镇， 在近日一场飓风过后，

a family that had its home wrecked

一个房屋被毁的家庭

put up a sign that said "strangers will be shot."

竖起了一个标牌写着 “外来者将被枪击”。

Well, we showed up at their doorstep.

然后，我们出现在他们家门口。

A whole crew of strangers, Baeliz, Saul,

一大群外来者，贝利兹、索尔、

Mariano and I and dozens of other resilience workers,

马里亚诺和我以及其他 数十名抗灾工作者，

and we rebuilt their house

我们重建了他们的房屋，

and they took that sign down and invited us over for dinner.

然后他们拿下了标子， 邀请我们过去吃晚饭。

In a nearby town,

在附近的城镇，

a Republican mayor, who ran on an anti-immigrant ticket,

一位吃反移民选票竞选的共和党市长

was distributing water to immigrant workers

正向移民劳工分发饮用水，

and asked what else they needed.

询问他们还需要什么。

In Louisiana,

在路易斯安那州，

a church community nursed a worker back to health

一个教会社区在劳工修理教友房屋受伤后

after he got hurt fixing a parishioner's home.

提供护理直到他恢复健康。

When that worker recovered,

当那个劳工康复后，

he gathered us together to fix their church from the ground up.

他召集我们一起 从头修复了他们的教堂。

So my work is to weave these spontaneous moments

因此，我的工作是将 这些自发的瞬间

into common purpose and community,

编织成共同的使命和社区，

to turn these chance encounters into the seeds of lasting change.

将这些偶然的相遇 变成持久变化的种子。

And it's working again and again, in the last place you can imagine,

而且这一次又一次地起效， 在你最意想不到的地方，

we're going from building homes to building home.

我们正从建造房屋 变成建设家园

So what does that mean?

那么，这意味着什么？

At the heart of our crisis of democracy is our loss of common purpose,

我们民主危机的核心 是我们失去了共同的使命，

our loss of home,

失去了我们的家园，

our loss of shared faith with our neighbors.

失去我们与邻国共享的信仰。

That’s what we’re rebuilding in disaster zones:

而这就是我们在灾区重建的东西：

new social cohesion.

新的社会凝聚力。

And if we want to rebuild our democracy,

而且，如果我们想重建我们的民主，

I believe that's where we need to start.

我认为这正是我们需要开始的地方。

We need to renew our sense of shared purpose.

我们需要更新我们的共通使命感。

We need to reweave the civic fabric that binds us all together

我们需要通过恢复与邻国共享的信仰感，

by restoring our sense of shared faith with our neighbors.

重构将我们团结一致的公民结构。

So how do we do it?

那么我们该怎么做呢？

It takes three things.

这需要三件事。

First, we need to see each other's vulnerability.

首先，我们需要看到彼此的弱点

We need to understand it.

我们需要相互理解。

Of course, resilience workers have a very profound sense

当然，抗灾工作者对自己的 流离失所非常在意

of their own dislocation,

but our first project is to connect them with the profound dislocation

但我们的第一步是将他们

of the residents and the other way around,

与居民的流离失所互相关联

because people who understand each other's vulnerabilities

因为当人们了解彼此的弱点时

will protect each other's dignity.

将会保护彼此的尊严。

The second key is to find purpose

第二个关键是找到自己可为他人用的使命。

in being of use to others.

Of course, resilience workers start focused on their own families.

当然，抗灾工作者开始会将注意力 集中在自己的家庭上。

They're rebuilding homes to put food on the table.

他们参与房屋重建以维持生计。

But we connect them to residents.

但是我们将他们与居民联系起来。

And then something profound happens.

然后深远的意义就产生了。

Residents express the depth of their gratitude.

居民们表达了深切的感激之情。

And when that happens,

当这种情况发生时，

resilience workers find the same kind of purpose and vocation

抗灾工作者会找到与消防员和医护人员

that firefighters and health care workers feel.

类似的使命感和价值感。

Meanwhile, the residents move beyond the urgency of their own pain

同时，居民们跨越了他们自身即刻的伤痛，

and find purpose, too,

也找到了他们的使命，

in offering the resilience workers the kind of embrace and welcome

给予抗灾工作者过去从未在美国感受过 的从未感受到的

that they may never have felt in America before.

那种包容和接纳。

The third key is to turn these momentary encounters into lasting relationships.

第三个关键是将这些瞬间的 相遇变成持久的关系。

When a resident in a red state offers a hug to a roofer from Peru,

当红州的居民给来自秘鲁的屋顶工人 一个拥抱时，

that's a beautiful moment.

那是一个美好的瞬间。

What happens next is we have them break bread together and build a bond,

接下来要做的是让他们一起 分享食物并建立纽带，

and that creates the kinds of friendships

并创造了在极端孤立期

that feed all of us in a time of radical isolation.

也能抚慰我们的那种友谊。

The moment of truth comes in the future, though,

关键时刻更在于未来，

when these people are no longer sitting side by side.

当这些人不再并肩而坐时。

And I've seen it happen.

而且我已经亲眼目睹（这样的时刻）了。

When the anti-immigrant talk starts in the neighborhood bar,

当在社区酒吧有反移民的言论时，

the residents speak up.

居民们会（为移民）发声

Resilience workers drive again to check up on residents

抗灾工作者会在重建几个月， 有时是几年后

whose homes they rebuilt months, sometimes years afterwards.

驾车重返再访这些居民。

Mayors start hiring halls in their neighborhoods

市长们开始在社区租用大厅，

so that workers and contractors can bargain for safe conditions.

劳工和承包商可以协商安全条件。

That's how we build hope in the place of pain.

这就是我们如何在伤痛之地建立希望。

I’ve seen these miracles happen 1,000 times.

我见证了这样的奇迹上千次。

My team and I are working to build them every day.

我和我的团队每天都在 努力建立（希望）。

Often the changes are lasting and permanent.

这些变化通常是持久和永久的。

Sometimes they're not, sometimes they're partial,

有时候不是（持久的）， 有时候（变化）是不完全的

and sometimes it's true.

有时候是真的。

People change for a time

人们改变了一段时间，

and then snap back to their old fears and prejudices.

然后又回到了过往的恐惧和偏见里。

That's natural, it's a result of needing control in a time of trauma.

这很正常，这是人在创伤时期 需要控制的表现。

By rejecting those who remind us of our vulnerability,

我们试图通过抗拒那些 让我们想起自己弱点的人，

we seek to erase that vulnerability.

来消除我们的弱点

It doesn't work, but it's a strategy, it's human.

这没有用 但这是个办法，是人性。

And the way to counter it

而对抗它的方法

is to practice at remaining present to each other

是在暴风雨过去很久以后

long after the storm has passed.

依然习惯出席在彼此的生活中

That's how we turn these miracles into lasting change.

这就是我们将这些奇迹转化 为持久变化的方法。

And speaking of miracles,

说到奇迹，

the thing that I find most amazing about this work

我觉得这项工作最令人惊叹的是，

is that the people who are creating the hope

那些为民主复兴创造希望的人，

for the renewal of democracy,

the people who are doing the rebuilding that is the source of this hope,

那些从事重建工作的人， 那些希望的源泉，

they themselves are not even citizens.

他们甚至并不是（美国）公民。

I am so grateful to have been able to share their stories with you today.

我很感恩能在今天 与你们分享他们的故事。

And now it's my pleasure to introduce them to you.

现在我很荣幸向你们介绍他们。

Mariano Alvarado, Baeliz Gonzalez and Saul Hernandez.

马里亚诺·阿尔瓦拉多、贝利兹·冈萨雷斯

以及索尔·埃尔南德斯。

(Applause)

（掌声）