Who belongs in a city? | OluTimehin Adegbeye

Translator: Elmer Wei Reviewer: Sylvia He

Cities are like siblings in a large polygamous family.

唔同嘅城市就好似 同父異母嘅兄弟姊妹

Each one has a unique personality and is headed in a distinct direction.

個個有獨特嘅性格同發展方向

But they all have somewhat shared origins.

但係佢哋有共同嘅起源

Sometimes I think postcolonial cities are like the children

有時我覺得後殖民城市 就好似兩個最唔受寵嘅妾侍

of the two least-favorite wives,

生嘅細路一樣

who are constantly being asked,

時時俾人問：

"Ah, why can't you be more like your sister?"

「你點解唔學下人呢？」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The "why" of cities is largely the same, no matter where they are:

無論地理位置，城市存在嘅理由 大致上係一樣：

an advantageous location that makes trade and administration possible;

為貿易同行政提供方便

the potential for scalable opportunities

畀有技術同冇技術工人發揮潛力嘅機會

for the skilled and unskilled alike;

a popular willingness to be in constant flux

推動社會演變

and, of course, resilience.

同埋加強社會抵禦逆境嘅能力

The "how" of cities, however, is a whole other story.

但係，城市存在嘅方式 又係另外一回事

How are they run?

佢哋係點運作呢？

How do they grow?

佢哋係點發展呢？

How do they decide who belongs and who doesn't?

佢哋又點決定邊個可以立足 邊個要走人呢？

Lagos is my home.

拉哥斯係我嘅故鄉

You can always find the Nigerians

聽到噪音同舞樂聲

by following the noise and the dancing, right?

你就知道有尼日利亞人，係咪？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Like any major city, that place is a lot of things,

同其他大城市一樣 拉哥斯有好多面

many of which are highly contradictory.

當中有幾面係自相矛盾

Our public transportation doesn't quite work,

我哋嘅公共交通系統唔係咁得

so we have these privately owned bright yellow buses

於是我哋引入鮮黃色嘅私營巴士

that regularly cause accidents.

但成日發生意外

Luxury car showrooms line badly maintained and often flooded roads.

豪華汽車陳列室隔籬 係保養惡劣同周時淹水嘅馬路

Street evangelism is only slightly less ubiquitous

喺街上嘅福音傳道同街頭嘅騷擾案 都一樣咁多

than street harassment.

Sex workers sometimes have two degrees, a bank job

有啲性工作者 有兩個學位、有份工喺銀行

and a prominent role in church.

仲喺教會度好活躍添

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

On any given day,

喺任何一日

there can be either a party or a burned body

街頭上一係見到派對

一係見到燒燶嘅屍體

in the middle of a street.

There is so much that is possible in Lagos

喺拉哥斯，有好多事有可能

and so much that isn't,

亦有好多事冇可能

and very often the difference between possibility and impossibility

好多時，可能同冇可能之間嘅差別

is simply who you are,

就睇你嘅身份、你嘅運氣

and if you're lucky enough, who you're connected to.

同埋人脈

Belonging in Lagos is a fluid concept

能唔能夠喺拉哥斯立足有好多變數

determined by ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender,

譬如你嘅種族、性取向，同性別

but most visibly and often most violently,

不過最明顯同最強烈嘅因素係社會階層

class.

Before Nigeria became a country,

喺尼日利亞建國之前

fisherpeople from the inland creeks started to come down the Lagos lagoon

嚟自內陸嘅漁民 開始遷移到拉哥斯潟湖

and establish villages along the coast.

沿住岸邊起村莊

About 60 years later, my grandfather, Oludotun Adekunle Kukoyi,

大約六十年後，我嘅爺爺 Oludotun Adekunle Kukoyi

also arrived in Lagos.

亦來咗拉哥斯

Like me, he was an alumnus of the University of Ibadan,

同我一樣，佢亦係伊巴丹大學嘅校友

a young member of the educated elite in the independence era.

係喺獨立時代 受過教育嘅年輕精英

Over time, he built an illustrious career as a land surveyor,

佢慢慢喺土地測量界創出成就

mapping out now-bustling neighborhoods

將生滿野草嘅爛地

when they were just waist-high wild grass.

規劃成繁榮嘅市區

He died when I was nine.

佢過身嗰陣我先至九歲

And by that time, my family, like the families of those fisherpeople,

嗰時，我嘅屋企人 就好似當初嘅漁民一樣

knew Lagos as home.

已經當拉哥斯係自己嘅家鄉

Among the Yoruba, we have a saying,

我哋約魯巴人有句話：

"Èkó gb’olè, ó gb’ọ̀lẹ,"

「Èkó gb’olè, ó gb’ọ̀lẹ,」

which can be translated to mean that Lagos will welcome anyone.

可以翻譯為：拉哥斯歡迎任何人

But that saying is becoming less and less true.

但係呢嗰句話越嚟越假

Many Lagosians, including the descendants of those fisherpeople

好多拉哥斯人

包括早過我爺爺好幾代 就來到拉哥斯嘅漁民嘅後裔

who arrived generations before my grandfather,

are now being pushed out

宜家正被趕走

to make room for an emergent city

因為一個就嚟成為「新杜拜」嘅城市

that has been described as "the new Dubai."

已經容唔落佢哋

You see, Lagos inspires big dreams, even in its leaders,

拉哥斯激發人有大夢想 甚至激發呢度嘅領袖

and successive governments have declared aspirations

歷屆政府都有宏願 建立一個冇貧人嘅大城市

towards a megacity where poverty does not exist.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the eradication of poverty

唔好彩嘅係

政府嘅策略唔係幫窮人擺脫貧困

as you would expect,

the strategy of choice focuses on eliminating the poor.

而係將窮人趕走

Last October, the Governor announced plans

舊年十月，市長宣佈咗一啲計劃

to demolish every single waterfront settlement in Lagos.

要拆除拉哥斯 每一個沿岸嘅原住民貧民窟

There are more than 40 of these indigenous communities

成個城市有超過四十個 噉樣嘅原住民社區

all over the city,

with over 300,000 people living in them.

總共住咗三十幾萬居民

Otodo Gbame,

Otodo Gbame 係一個擁有百年歷史嘅漁村

a hundred-year-old fishing village

with a population about three-quarters that of Monaco

佢嘅人口大約係摩納哥嘅四分之三

and similar potential for beachfront luxury --

而且有著開發成 摩納哥一樣豪華海濱城市嘅潛力

(Laughter)

was one of the first to be targeted.

（笑聲）

佢係最先被拆除嘅目標

I first heard of Otodo Gbame after the demolition started.

我第一次聽到 Otodo Gbame 嗰時 佢已經拆緊

When I visited in November 2016, I met Magdalene Aiyefoju.

我喺 2016 年 11 月去探訪嘅時候 識咗 Magdalene Aiyefoju

She is a now-homeless woman

佢宜家已經無家可歸

whose surname means, "the world is blind."

佢嘅姓氏意思係︰世界係盲嘅

Magdalene's son Basil was one of over 20 people

呢次抗議霸佔土地裡邊

有超過二十人 被射殺、浸死、或者被斷定死亡

who were shot, drowned

or presumed dead in that land grab.

其中包括 Magdalene Aiyefojue 嘅仔 Basil

Standing outside her shelter, I saw the two white-sand football fields

我企喺佢嘅臨時棲身之所外邊

where Basil used to play.

睇到 Basil 以前踼過嘅兩個白沙足球場

Spread all around us were the ruins of schools, churches,

而周圍嘅學校、教堂、健康中心

a primary health center, shops,

商店同數以千計嘅房屋

thousands of homes.

已經變成廢墟

Young children enthusiastically helped to put up shelters,

細路仔好積極噉幫手搭臨時庇護所

and about 5,000 of the residents, with nowhere else to go,

大約五千名居民冇家可歸

simply stayed put.

亦冇處可走

And then in April,

然後喺四月

state security personnel came back.

州政府又派安全人員嚟

This time, they cleared the community out completely,

呢次，佢哋打人、開槍，同放火

with beatings, bullets and fire.

將全部人趕走曬

As I speak, there are construction crews preparing Otodo Gbame's beaches

就喺宜家，地盤工人正喺 Otodo Gbame 嘅海灘

for anyone who can afford a multi-million-dollar view.

起價值百萬嘅豪華海景屋

The new development is called "Periwinkle Estate."

個新開發區叫「長春花豪宅區」

Forced evictions are incredibly violent and, of course, unconstitutional.

呢種強硬同暴力嘅手段當然違反憲法

And yet, they happen so often in so many of our cities,

但係呢種事件已經 喺太多嘅城市度發生

because the first thing we are taught to forget about poor people

因為我哋第一件被洗腦嘅事就係︰

is that they are people.

窮人唔係人

We believe that a home is a thing a person absolutely has a right to,

我哋相信

除咗窮，或者起屋起得唔妥當之外

unless the person is poor and the home is built a certain way

任何人都有權利擁有一間屋

in a certain neighborhood.

But there is no single definition of the word "home."

但係「屋」嘅定義唔淨得一個

After all, what is a slum besides an organic response

其實，貧民窟係咪就係 房屋短缺同收入唔平等咁簡單？

to acute housing deficits and income inequality?

And what is a shanty if not a person making a home for themselves

簡陋乜唔係反映咗

against all odds?

窮人排除萬難幫自己起到間屋咩？

Slums are an imperfect housing solution,

貧民窟雖然唔係完美嘅住屋方案

but they are also prime examples of the innovation, adaptability

但係有創新、適應力同韌力

and resilience at the foundation --

呢三樣嘢

係每一個健全城市嘅核心

and the heart --

of every functional city.

You don't need to be the new Dubai

我哋已經有拉哥斯嘞

when you're already Lagos.

所以就唔需要有第二個杜拜！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

We have our own identity,

我哋有自己嘅文化、自己嘅節奏

our own rhythm,

and as anyone who knows Lagos can tell you,

任何一個熟悉拉哥斯嘅人 都可以話畀你知

poor Lagosians are very often the source of the city's character.

拉哥斯嘅窮人 係呢個城市嘅文化底蘊

Without its poor, Lagos would not be known for its music

冇咗呢班窮人，拉哥斯就唔會有 遠近聞名嘅音樂

or its endless energy

或者無限嘅活力

or even the fact that you can buy an ice cold drink or a puppy

甚至冇人喺你嘅車窗

賣冰飲或者狗仔畀你

through your car window.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The conditions that cause us to define certain neighborhoods as slums

我哋可以幫手改善貧民窟環境

can be effectively improved,

but not without recognizing the humanity and the agency

但係要認同裡邊嘅居民 同佢哋嘅自主權

of the people living in them.

In Lagos, where public goods are rarely publicly available,

喺拉哥斯，公共資源通常好短缺

slum dwellers are often at the forefront of innovating solutions.

但貧民窟居民經常最先揾到解決辦法

After being disconnected from the grid for months

喺電力公司因為唔識收電費 就切斷供電幾個月嘅時候

because the power company couldn't figure out how to collect bills,

one settlement designed a system that collectivized remittances

一個貧民窟就集合每戶電費一次過交

and got everyone cheaper rates into the bargain.

仲幫大家爭取到更平嘅電費

Another settlement created a reform program

另一個貧民窟聘用飛仔做保安

that hires local bad boys as security.

They know every trick and every hideout,

因為飛仔最知壞人嘅路數

so now troublemakers are more likely to get caught and reported to police

所以揾佢哋來捉賊最啱

and fewer of the youth end up engaging in criminal activity.

而且仲會防止後生仔參與犯罪

Yet another settlement recently completed

仲有另一個貧民窟

a flood-safe, eco-friendly communal toilet system.

近期完成咗一個又防水浸 又環保嘅廁所系統

Models like these are being adopted across Lagos.

拉哥斯其他地區亦都開始採用呢個系統

Informal settlements are incorrectly named as the problem.

非正式嘅貧民窟被視為係問題

In fact, the real problems are the factors that create them,

事實上，問題嘅因由 先至係真正嘅問題

like the entrenchment of poverty,

譬如根深蒂固嘅貧困問題

social exclusion

社會上對窮人嘅排斥

and state failures.

同埋國家功能嘅喪失

When our governments frame slums as threats

但我哋嘅政府將貧民窟當成係威脅

in order to justify violent land grabs or forced evictions,

繼而強行搶佔窮人土地或強迫窮人遷移

they're counting on those of us who live in formal housing

但為咗合理化成件事

to tacitly and ignorantly agree with them.

政府會叫我哋默許佢哋嘅所作所為

Rather, we must remind them

反之，我哋要提醒政府

that governments exist to serve not only those who build

唔應該只為起豪宅同住豪宅嘅人服務

and live in luxury homes,

but also those who clean and guard them.

政府亦應為 負責豪宅清潔同保安嘅人服務

Our --

我哋嘅——

(Applause)

（掌聲）

our realities may differ,

我哋家境可能唔同

but our rights don't.

但係我哋嘅權利冇唔同

The Lagos state government,

拉哥斯州政府就好似非洲太多嘅政府噉

like far too many on our continent,

pays lip service to ideas of inclusion,

口口聲聲話包容

while acting as though progress can only be achieved

但係行動上就只會驅趕、剝削

by the erasure, exploitation and even elimination of groups

甚至消滅一班認為可以犧牲嘅人

it considers expendable.

而取得所謂嘅進步

People living with disabilities who hawk or beg on Lagos streets

靠喺拉哥斯街頭兜售或 乞食維生嘅殘疾人士

are rounded up, extorted

被圍捕、勒索同拘留

and detained.

Women in low-income neighborhoods are picked up

住喺窮區嘅女性

and charged with prostitution,

不論佢哋嘅職業

regardless of what they actually do for a living.

都會被逮捕同被控賣淫

Gay citizens are scapegoated to distract from real political problems.

同性戀市民成為政治上 用來分散注意力嘅替死鬼

But people, like cities, are resilient,

但係人，就好似城市一樣 都有韌力

and no amount of legislation or intimidation or violence

再多嘅立法、恐嚇同暴力

can fully eliminate any of us.

都唔會將我哋完全消滅

Prostitutes, women and women who work as prostitutes

妓女、婦女，做妓女嘅女性

still haven't gone extinct,

經過幾百年嘅壓制都仲未絕種

despite centuries of active suppression.

Queer Africans continue to exist,

即使非洲大部份地方將同性戀視為罪行

even though queerness is now criminalized in most parts of the continent.

同性戀非洲人依然存在

And I'm fairly certain that poor people don't generally tend to just disappear

我好肯定窮人唔會俾趕盡殺絕

because they've been stripped of everything they have.

We are all already here,

我哋嘅存在足以講明邊個屬於呢度

and that answers the question

of whether or not we belong.

When those fisherpeople started to sail down the lagoon

嗰啲漁民來到潟湖下游 搵新嘅地方落腳時

in search of new homes,

it could not have occurred to them

佢哋可能都諗唔到

that the city that would rise up around them

呢個城市發展之後 會唔再認佢哋屬於呢度

would one day insist that they do not belong in it.

I like to believe that my grandfather,

我諗我爺爺喺度劃定拉哥斯嘅新邊界時

in mapping new frontiers for Lagos,

was trying to open it up

佢係想將個城市開放

to make room for other people to be welcomed by the city

來歡迎其他人來遷入

in the same way that he was.

就好似佢曾經俾歡迎佢咁

On my way here, my grandma called me

喺我嚟呢度嘅路上

我嘅嫲嫲打電話畀我

to remind me how proud she was,

同我講佢以我為傲

how proud [my grandfather] and my mother would have been.

話如果我爺爺同媽咪仲在世嘅話 佢哋亦會以我為榮

I am their dreams come true.

因為我實現咗佢哋嘅夢想

But there is no reason why their dreams -- or mine, for that matter --

但係冇理由

佢哋同我可以實現夢想

are allowed to come true

而其他人嘅夢想就變成噩夢

while those of others are turned to nightmares.

And lest we forget:

我哋冇忘記：

the minimum requirement for a dream

冇落腳嘅地方就冇實現夢想嘅地方

is a safe place to lay your head.

It is too late now for Basil,

對於 Basil 嚟講呢個已經太遲

but not for Magdalene,

但係對於 Magdalene 來講

not for the hundreds of thousands,

對於數十萬、數百萬喺拉哥斯人

the millions still under threat in Lagos

同其他城市裡邊 受到同樣威脅嘅人嚟講

or any of our cities.

仲未太遲

The world does not have to remain blind

呢個世界需要正視

to the suffering that is created when we deny people's humanity,

我哋唔當窮人係人時 窮人所受嘅苦難

or even to the incredible potential for growth that exists

同埋需要正視 人人都可以貢獻嘅潛力

when we recognize and value all contributions.

We must hold our governments

我哋必須要求政府同埋自己

and ourselves

accountable

對城市裡面每一個人嘅安居負責

for keeping our shared cities safe for everyone in them,

because the only cities worth building --

因為唯一值得建造嘅城市

indeed, the only futures worth dreaming of --

又或者唯一可以講夢想嘅將來

are those that include all of us,

就係會唔理身份

no matter who we are

生活方式同經濟情況

or how we make homes for ourselves.

去包容我哋所有人

Thank you.

多謝大家

(Applause)

（掌聲）