Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED

譯者: Adrienne Lin 審譯者: Jimmy Yeh

I'm a storyteller.

我是一位作家。

And I would like to tell you a few personal stories

今天想向各位分享我的幾個故事

about what I like to call "the danger of the single story."

以及一個我稱做是「單一故事的危險性」。

I grew up on a university campus in eastern Nigeria.

我在奈及利亞東部的一個大學校園長大

My mother says that I started reading at the age of two,

我媽媽說我兩歲就會看書，

although I think four is probably close to the truth.

但我想四歲比較接近事實。

So I was an early reader,

我很小就愛看書，而我當時讀的是

and what I read were British and American children's books.

英美的童書。

I was also an early writer,

我也很小就開始寫作。

and when I began to write, at about the age of seven,

大約七歲就開始寫故事，

stories in pencil with crayon illustrations

用鉛筆寫故事加上蠟筆畫的插圖，

that my poor mother was obligated to read,

成了我媽媽必須要看的東西。

I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading:

而我寫的，正是我所讀的那些故事。

All my characters were white and blue-eyed,

我的角色都是白皮膚、藍眼睛

they played in the snow,

他們在雪中玩耍

they ate apples,

他們吃蘋果

(Laughter)

(笑)

and they talked a lot about the weather,

還有，他們常常聊到天氣，

how lovely it was that the sun had come out.

晴天是多麼的令人愉悅

(Laughter)

(笑)

Now, this despite the fact that I lived in Nigeria.

但這實在有點奇怪，因為

I had never been outside Nigeria.

我住在奈及利亞，也沒出國過

We didn't have snow, we ate mangoes,

我們那裡不下雪、吃的是芒果

and we never talked about the weather,

也從來不討論天氣

because there was no need to.

因為實在沒什麼好說的。

My characters also drank a lot of ginger beer,

我筆下的角色很常喝薑汁汽水

because the characters in the British books I read

因為那些英美童書中的角色

drank ginger beer.

就是喝薑汁汽水

Never mind that I had no idea what ginger beer was.

更別說我當時根本不知道薑汁汽水是什麼了

(Laughter)

(笑)

And for many years afterwards,

而在那之後的幾年，我就非常想試試

I would have a desperate desire to taste ginger beer.

薑汁汽水的滋味

But that is another story.

但那是另一個故事了。

What this demonstrates, I think,

從我個人的經驗，我想

is how impressionable and vulnerable we are

這證明了我們對事物的印象是多麼容易

in the face of a story,

受故事的影響，

particularly as children.

尤其是小孩子。

Because all I had read were books in which characters were foreign,

因為我小時候所有的讀物

書中的角色全是外國人，

I had become convinced that books

我自然就相信

by their very nature had to have foreigners in them

我寫的故事裡面就該有外國人

and had to be about things with which I could not personally identify.

也要有一些在我生活中

無法親身體會的事物。

Now, things changed when I discovered African books.

後來，我發現了非洲作家的作品

There weren't many of them available,

當時這樣的作品並不多

and they weren't quite as easy to find as the foreign books.

也不像那些外國書容易取得。

但因為有Chinua Achebe和Camara Laye這些非洲作家

But because of writers like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye,

I went through a mental shift in my perception of literature.

我對文學作品的看法

有很大的轉變。

I realized that people like me,

我了解到，像我這樣的人：

girls with skin the color of chocolate,

巧克力膚色的女孩，

whose kinky hair could not form ponytails,

頂著爆炸頭而不是綁著馬尾，

could also exist in literature.

也能出現在文學作品中。

I started to write about things I recognized.

我開始寫作我熟悉的事物。

Now, I loved those American and British books I read.

我也喜愛我讀的那些英美童書

They stirred my imagination. They opened up new worlds for me.

它們激發了我的想像力、為我開啟新的世界。

But the unintended consequence

但這種結果是

was that I did not know that people like me

我認為像我這樣的人

could exist in literature.

無法出現在文學裡

So what the discovery of African writers did for me was this:

所以發現這些非洲作家的作品，

It saved me from having a single story of what books are.

讓我對於文學

不再有單一故事

I come from a conventional, middle-class Nigerian family.

我們家是普通的中產階級

My father was a professor.

我的父親是教授

My mother was an administrator.

母親是行政人員

And so we had, as was the norm,

也因此家境還不錯，

live-in domestic help, who would often come from nearby rural villages.

家裡也有能力請傭人來幫忙

So, the year I turned eight, we got a new house boy.

我八歲那年，來家裡幫忙的是個男孩

His name was Fide.

叫做 Fide。

The only thing my mother told us about him was that his family was very poor.

媽媽唯一告訴我們的

是他們家非常窮

My mother sent yams and rice, and our old clothes, to his family.

我媽媽會送蕃薯、米

和一些舊衣服給他們家。

And when I didn't finish my dinner, my mother would say,

如果我晚餐沒吃完，我媽會說

"Finish your food! Don't you know? People like Fide's family have nothing."

「把飯吃完！妳不知道Fide他們家的人都沒東西吃嗎。」

So I felt enormous pity for Fide's family.

所以我非常可憐 Fide。

Then one Saturday, we went to his village to visit,

一個星期六，我們拜訪他們的村落。

and his mother showed us a beautifully patterned basket

他媽媽給我們看了一個編織精美的籃子，

made of dyed raffia that his brother had made.

是他哥哥用染色的棕櫚樹葉編成的

I was startled.

我嚇傻了。

It had not occurred to me that anybody in his family

我從沒想過他們家的人

could actually make something.

有能力作出那樣的東西

All I had heard about them was how poor they were,

我所聽到的只有他們多窮

so that it had become impossible for me to see them as anything else but poor.

所以我眼中的他們，除了窮之外

看不到別的。

Their poverty was my single story of them.

他們的貧窮是我對他們的單一故事

Years later, I thought about this when I left Nigeria

幾年後，我到美國唸大學

to go to university in the United States.

我又想起這件事

I was 19.

當時19歲

My American roommate was shocked by me.

我的美籍室友被我嚇到了。

She asked where I had learned to speak English so well,

她問我去哪學這麼標準的英文

and was confused when I said that Nigeria

聽到我回答，奈及利亞的官方語言

happened to have English as its official language.

剛好是英文時，她還一臉疑惑。

She asked if she could listen to what she called my "tribal music,"

她請我放放我的「部落音樂」

and was consequently very disappointed

結果看到我拿出瑪麗亞凱莉的時候

when I produced my tape of Mariah Carey.

整個大感失望。

(Laughter)

(笑)

She assumed that I did not know how to use a stove.

她想當然地認為

我不會用爐子

What struck me was this:

我突然意識到，她還沒見過我

She had felt sorry for me even before she saw me.

就已經可憐我了。

Her default position toward me, as an African,

她對我這個非洲人的預設立場

was a kind of patronizing, well-meaning pity.

是可憐、好意的憐憫

My roommate had a single story of Africa:

我室友對非洲有個單一故事

a single story of catastrophe.

就是它充滿災難。

In this single story,

在這單一故事裡，容不下

there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way,

非洲與她有任何相似之處

no possibility of feelings more complex than pity,

容不下除了憐憫之外的態度

no possibility of a connection as human equals.

容不下同是人類則生而平等。

I must say that before I went to the U.S.,

我承認我到美國之前

I didn't consciously identify as African.

沒有完全意識到自己是非洲人。

But in the U.S., whenever Africa came up, people turned to me.

但在美國，只要提到「非洲」，大家就會轉向我

Never mind that I knew nothing about places like Namibia.

也不管我對像納米比亞的地方一點都不了解。

But I did come to embrace this new identity,

但我雙手擁抱這個新身分

and in many ways I think of myself now as African.

在很多面向我認為自己是非洲人。

Although I still get quite irritable when Africa is referred to as a country,

但聽到大家把非洲當成一個國家時

我還是會有點生氣。

the most recent example being my otherwise wonderful flight

最近一次，就是在兩天前拉哥斯起飛的班機上

from Lagos two days ago,

這趟旅行近乎完美

in which there was an announcement on the Virgin flight

就差在維京航空的機上廣播

about the charity work in "India, Africa and other countries."

關於「印度、非洲、和其他國家」的慈善工作

(Laughter)

(笑)

So, after I had spent some years in the U.S. as an African,

在美國當了幾年的非洲人之後

I began to understand my roommate's response to me.

我漸漸了解我室友的反應。

If I had not grown up in Nigeria,

如果我不是在奈及利亞長大，我所認識的非洲

and if all I knew about Africa were from popular images,

就會是普遍的形象，

I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes,

我也會認為非洲充滿了

漂亮的風景、美麗的動物

beautiful animals,

and incomprehensible people,

和野蠻人

fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and AIDS,

打著沒意義的仗、死於貧窮與愛滋

unable to speak for themselves

沒有思想

and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner.

等待好心的白人

來拯救我們

I would see Africans in the same way that I,

我看待非洲就會像小時候

as a child, had seen Fide's family.

看待 Fide 家那樣

This single story of Africa ultimately comes, I think, from Western literature.

這種對於非洲的單一故事，我想是從西方文學開始的。

Now, here is a quote from the writing of a London merchant called John Lok,

下面是一位英國商人

約翰洛克所寫的，

who sailed to west Africa in 1561

他在1561年航行到西非

and kept a fascinating account of his voyage.

並且詳細的記下他的航程。

After referring to the black Africans as "beasts who have no houses,"

在形容非洲人為

「沒有房子的野獸」之後

he writes, "They are also people without heads,

他寫道: 「他們沒有頭」

having their mouth and eyes in their breasts."

「嘴巴和眼睛長在胸部」

Now, I've laughed every time I've read this.

我每次讀完每次笑。

And one must admire the imagination of John Lok.

大家也一定很欽佩約翰洛克的想像力。

But what is important about his writing

但最重要的是，他寫的東西

is that it represents the beginning

開始了

of a tradition of telling African stories in the West:

西方人眼中傳統的非洲印象

A tradition of Sub-Saharan Africa as a place of negatives,

一種次撒哈拉非洲的負面印象

of difference, of darkness,

是和他們不同且黑暗的印象，

of people who, in the words of the wonderful poet Rudyard Kipling,

住著一群，我引用詩人羅德雅．吉百齡

所寫的

are "half devil, half child."

「半是惡魔，半是人」

And so, I began to realize that my American roommate

我漸漸了解我美國室友的想法

must have throughout her life

她的一生

seen and heard different versions of this single story,

一定聽過各種版本的

單一故事，

as had a professor,

就如有位教授

who once told me that my novel was not "authentically African."

曾告訴我，我的小說描寫的不是「真正的非洲」。

Now, I was quite willing to contend

我願意承認小說裡

that there were a number of things wrong with the novel,

有些錯誤的地方，

that it had failed in a number of places,

不夠好的部份，

but I had not quite imagined that it had failed

但我很難想像我的小說

at achieving something called African authenticity.

沒有傳達「真正的非洲」。

In fact, I did not know what African authenticity was.

而事實上我不曉得

什麼叫「真正的非洲」。

The professor told me that my characters were too much like him,

那位教授說，我書中的角色

太像他了

an educated and middle-class man.

受教育、中產階級。

My characters drove cars.

我筆下的角色開車

They were not starving.

沒有餓肚子

Therefore they were not authentically African.

所以他們不是真正的非洲人。

But I must quickly add that I too am just as guilty

但我也要馬上承認我自己

in the question of the single story.

對別人也犯過單一故事的錯。

A few years ago, I visited Mexico from the U.S.

幾年前，我到墨西哥

The political climate in the U.S. at the time was tense,

當時美國的政治情況有點緊張

and there were debates going on about immigration.

大家都在吵移民話題。

And, as often happens in America,

在美國就會常常聽到

immigration became synonymous with Mexicans.

移民等同於墨西哥人這一類的話。

There were endless stories of Mexicans

還有一堆關於墨西哥人的故事

as people who were fleecing the healthcare system,

說他們是如何

鑽醫療系統的漏洞

sneaking across the border,

從邊境溜進來

being arrested at the border, that sort of thing.

在邊界被逮捕之類的事。

I remember walking around on my first day in Guadalajara,

我就記得第一天在瓜達拉哈拉逛街時

watching the people going to work,

看著工作的人們，

rolling up tortillas in the marketplace,

市場裡有人做西班牙蛋餅

smoking, laughing.

抽菸、大笑。

I remember first feeling slight surprise.

我記得我當時有點吃驚

And then, I was overwhelmed with shame.

隨後感到非常丟臉

I realized that I had been so immersed in the media coverage of Mexicans

我發現自己完全相信

媒體所報導的墨西哥人

that they had become one thing in my mind,

以至於他們在我心中的形象

the abject immigrant.

就是卑鄙的移民。

I had bought into the single story of Mexicans

我也曾對墨西哥有單一故事

and I could not have been more ashamed of myself.

我也實在感到很羞恥。

So that is how to create a single story,

單一故事的產生

show a people as one thing,

就是以同一種方式

as only one thing,

描述同一種人

over and over again,

一遍又一遍，

and that is what they become.

最後他們就會變成那樣。

It is impossible to talk about the single story

講到單一故事就不能不講

without talking about power.

權力

There is a word, an Igbo word,

我想到權力

that I think about whenever I think about the power structures of the world,

就會想到伊博語裡的一個字

有關世界上的權力結構的 「nkali」

and it is "nkali."

It's a noun that loosely translates to "to be greater than another."

是個名詞，大概翻譯是

「比其他人更厲害」

Like our economic and political worlds,

而就像談到經濟與政治一樣

stories too are defined by the principle of nkali:

故事也是建立在

「nkali」的原則上

How they are told, who tells them,

故事如何傳遞、誰來傳遞，

when they're told, how many stories are told,

什麼時候、多少次

are really dependent on power.

都是由權力控制的。

Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person,

權力不只能述說故事

but to make it the definitive story of that person.

還能創造決定性的故事。

The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes

巴勒斯坦詩人穆里‧巴爾古提曾說

that if you want to dispossess a people,

如果你想剝奪一個人的身分，

the simplest way to do it is to tell their story

最簡單的方法就是說故事

and to start with, "secondly."

而且從「第二點」開頭。

Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans,

所以講美國印地安人的故事時，先講他們的箭

and not with the arrival of the British,

而不是英國殖民

and you have an entirely different story.

就會有全然不同的故事。

Start the story with the failure of the African state,

先講非洲各國

失敗的故事

and not with the colonial creation of the African state,

而不是被殖民的部份

and you have an entirely different story.

就會有全然不同的故事。

I recently spoke at a university

我最近到一所大學演講

where a student told me that it was such a shame

有個學生告訴我

真是可恥

that Nigerian men were physical abusers

奈及利亞的男人都很暴力

like the father character in my novel.

就像我小說中的父親一樣

I told him that I had just read a novel called "American Psycho" --

我告訴他，我最近看了一本小說

書名是《美國殺人魔 》

(Laughter)

(笑)

-- and that it was such a shame

真是可恥

that young Americans were serial murderers.

美國年輕人都是殺人魔

(Laughter)

(笑)

(Applause)

(掌聲)

Now, obviously I said this in a fit of mild irritation.

當時我實在有點不悅

(Laughter)

(笑)

But it would never have occurred to me to think

我從沒有因為

that just because I had read a novel in which a character was a serial killer

我讀了一本關於

連續殺人魔的小說

that he was somehow representative of all Americans.

我就認為所有美國人

都是殺人魔

This is not because I am a better person than that student,

當然不是因為我比那個學生好

but because of America's cultural and economic power,

而是因為美國的文化、經濟地位

I had many stories of America.

所以我對美國有多重故事

I had read Tyler and Updike and Steinbeck and Gaitskill.

我讀Tyler、Updike、Steinbeck、Gaitskill的書

I did not have a single story of America.

對美國，我沒有單一故事。

When I learned, some years ago,

幾年前我得知，讀者想看到

that writers were expected to have had really unhappy childhoods

作者悲慘的童年故事

to be successful,

書才會暢銷，

I began to think about how I could invent horrible things my parents had done to me.

我就開始想要編一些我父母

虐待我的故事

(Laughter)

(笑)

But the truth is that I had a very happy childhood,

但事實是，我有個快樂的童年

full of laughter and love, in a very close-knit family.

充滿歡笑和愛，家人很親近

But I also had grandfathers who died in refugee camps.

但同時，我祖父死在難民營

My cousin Polle died because he could not get adequate healthcare.

我堂弟Polle因為沒有足夠的醫療照顧而去世

One of my closest friends, Okoloma, died in a plane crash

我最好的朋友Okoloma死於墜機

because our fire trucks did not have water.

因為消防車上沒有水可以救火。

I grew up under repressive military governments

我生活在高壓統治

that devalued education,

政府不重視教育

so that sometimes, my parents were not paid their salaries.

我父母有時是領不到薪水的。

And so, as a child, I saw jam disappear from the breakfast table,

所以在小時候，我看著早餐的果醬消失

then margarine disappeared,

接著乳瑪琳消失

then bread became too expensive,

再來麵包我們也負擔不起

then milk became rationed.

然後牛奶定額配給

And most of all, a kind of normalized political fear

而最嚴重的是政治恐懼

invaded our lives.

侵入了我們的日常生活。

All of these stories make me who I am.

這些故事造就了我

But to insist on only these negative stories

但如果我堅持只寫這些故事

is to flatten my experience

就簡化了我個人的生活經歷，

and to overlook the many other stories that formed me.

也忽略了同樣造就我

的其他故事。

The single story creates stereotypes,

單一故事會造成刻板印象

and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue,

而刻板印象的問題就是

他們並非不正確

but that they are incomplete.

而是不完整

They make one story become the only story.

讓一個故事變成唯一的故事。

Of course, Africa is a continent full of catastrophes:

當然，非洲充滿苦難

There are immense ones, such as the horrific rapes in Congo

有很嚴重的，像是剛果可怕的強暴事件

and depressing ones,

有很悲傷的，像是

such as the fact that 5,000 people apply for one job vacancy in Nigeria.

奈及利亞有五千人搶一個職缺

But there are other stories that are not about catastrophe,

但也有其他美好的故事

and it is very important, it is just as important, to talk about them.

述說它們，也是同等的重要

I've always felt that it is impossible

我總覺得要完全的了解

to engage properly with a place or a person

一個地方或是一個人

without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person.

不去了解全部的故事，是不可能的。

The consequence of the single story is this:

述說單一故事的後果是

It robs people of dignity.

人們的尊嚴被奪去

It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult.

讓我們看不到人類的平等

It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar.

只強調我們有多麼不同

而不是我們的相同處。

So what if before my Mexican trip,

如果我去墨西哥旅行前

I had followed the immigration debate from both sides,

聽過美國和墨西哥雙方的辯論

the U.S. and the Mexican?

事情會變的如何？

What if my mother had told us that Fide's family was poor

如果我媽媽告訴我們Fide家雖窮

and hardworking?

卻很努力工作？

What if we had an African television network

如果有家非洲電視台

that broadcast diverse African stories all over the world?

能在各地播報非洲各種不同的故事呢？

What the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe calls "a balance of stories."

奈及利亞作家Chinua Achebe稱之為

「故事的平衡」

What if my roommate knew about my Nigerian publisher,

如果我室友認識我的奈及利亞出版商

Muhtar Bakare,

Mukta Bakaray

a remarkable man who left his job in a bank

他決然的離開銀行的工作

to follow his dream and start a publishing house?

追逐他的夢想，開了家出版社

Now, the conventional wisdom was that Nigerians don't read literature.

大家普遍認為奈及利亞人不看書

He disagreed.

他不同意

He felt that people who could read, would read,

他認為人們會讀、肯讀

if you made literature affordable and available to them.

只要文學不那麼遙不可及

Shortly after he published my first novel,

他出版我第一本小說後不久

I went to a TV station in Lagos to do an interview,

我到拉哥斯一家電視台接受採訪

and a woman who worked there as a messenger came up to me and said,

一個工作人員走上來告訴我

"I really liked your novel. I didn't like the ending.

「我很喜歡你的書，但我不喜歡結局」

Now, you must write a sequel, and this is what will happen ..."

「你一定要寫續集，然後要這樣這樣寫...」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And she went on to tell me what to write in the sequel.

然後她繼續告訴我續集要怎麼寫。

I was not only charmed, I was very moved.

我感到榮幸而且很感動

Here was a woman, part of the ordinary masses of Nigerians,

一位普通的奈及利亞女人

who were not supposed to be readers.

照理說不會看書

She had not only read the book,

但她不只讀了我的書，還積極參與

but she had taken ownership of it

覺得有義務告訴我

and felt justified in telling me what to write in the sequel.

續集該怎麼寫

Now, what if my roommate knew about my friend Funmi Iyanda,

如果我室友認識我的朋友Fumi Onda

a fearless woman who hosts a TV show in Lagos,

勇敢的拉哥斯電視台主持人

and is determined to tell the stories that we prefer to forget?

決定要述說人們寧可遺忘的故事

What if my roommate knew about the heart procedure

如果我室友知道上週拉哥斯醫院

that was performed in the Lagos hospital last week?

的一個心臟手術，會如何呢？

What if my roommate knew about contemporary Nigerian music,

如果我室友知道當代奈及利亞音樂

talented people singing in English and Pidgin,

是融合各種語言的美妙樂曲，英語、皮欽語

and Igbo and Yoruba and Ijo,

伊博語、約魯巴語、伊喬語

mixing influences from Jay-Z to Fela

帶點Jay-Z和菲拉庫堤的曲風

to Bob Marley to their grandfathers.

從Bob Marley到他們的祖父

What if my roommate knew about the female lawyer

如果我室友聽過一位女律師

who recently went to court in Nigeria to challenge a ridiculous law

勇敢的在法庭上

挑戰一項荒唐的立法

that required women to get their husband's consent

規定女人要更新護照

before renewing their passports?

需要丈夫同意，會如何呢？

What if my roommate knew about Nollywood,

如果我室友知道奈萊塢

full of innovative people making films despite great technical odds,

創意的人們利用有限的技術拍攝電影，會如何呢？

films so popular

電影受歡迎程度

that they really are the best example of Nigerians consuming what they produce?

正是奈及利亞人自給自足

最佳的例子

What if my roommate knew about my wonderfully ambitious hair braider,

如果我室友認識我的編髮師

who has just started her own business selling hair extensions?

有野心的她成立了自己的造型接髮事業

Or about the millions of other Nigerians who start businesses and sometimes fail,

或是聽說過奈及利亞

幾百萬人事業數度失敗

but continue to nurse ambition?

還是不放棄的故事？

Every time I am home I am confronted

我每次回家都會面對

with the usual sources of irritation for most Nigerians:

多數奈及利亞人感到不悅的事情

our failed infrastructure, our failed government,

失敗的基礎建設、失敗的政府

but also by the incredible resilience

但也看到人們在面對這樣的政府

of people who thrive despite the government,

所展現的韌性

rather than because of it.

而不是氣餒

I teach writing workshops in Lagos every summer,

每年暑假我會在拉哥斯開寫作班

and it is amazing to me how many people apply,

看到那麼多申請我感到很驚訝

how many people are eager to write,

有這麼多人急著想要

to tell stories.

寫出他們的故事。

My Nigerian publisher and I have just started a non-profit

我和我奈及利亞的出版商成立一個非營利組織

called Farafina Trust,

叫Farafina信託

and we have big dreams of building libraries

我們的夢想是建圖書館

and refurbishing libraries that already exist

整修現有的圖書館

and providing books for state schools

替公立學校添新書

that don't have anything in their libraries,

因為他們圖書館裡沒有書籍

and also of organizing lots and lots of workshops,

還要開設很多的課程

in reading and writing,

教人讀書寫字

for all the people who are eager to tell our many stories.

讓人們說出自己的故事。

Stories matter.

故事很重要

Many stories matter.

多元的故事很重要。

Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign,

有些故事被用來醜化現實

but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.

但故事也可以用來激勵強化人道精神，

Stories can break the dignity of a people,

有些故事能奪去人們的尊嚴

but stories can also repair that broken dignity.

但有些故事能讓人重拾尊嚴。

The American writer Alice Walker wrote this

美國作家愛麗絲渥克寫了

about her Southern relatives who had moved to the North.

關於她住南方的親戚

搬到北方的故事

She introduced them to a book about

她介紹一本書給他們

the Southern life that they had left behind.

內容有關他們所拋下的南方生活

"They sat around, reading the book themselves,

「他們圍坐著，看著書」

listening to me read the book, and a kind of paradise was regained."

「邊聽我說故事，並重拾了心中的樂園。」

I would like to end with this thought:

我想以這句話作結：

That when we reject the single story,

當我們抗拒單一故事

when we realize that there is never a single story

當我們了解，世上沒有任何地方

about any place,

只有單一個故事時

we regain a kind of paradise.

我們就會重拾心中的樂園。

Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

(掌聲)