ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cameron Sinclair - Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity
2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs.

Why you should listen

After training as an architect, Cameron Sinclair (then age 24) joined Kate Stohr to found Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps architects apply their skills to humanitarian efforts. Starting with just $700 and a simple web site in 1999, AFH has grown into an international hub for humanitarian design, offering innovative solutions to housing problems in all corners of the globe.

Whether rebuilding earthquake-ravaged Bam in Iran, designing a soccer field doubling as an HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa, housing refugees on the Afghan border, or helping Katrina victims rebuild, Architecture for Humanity works by Sinclair's mantra: "Design like you give a damn." (Sinclair and Stohr cowrote a book by the same name, released in 2006.)

A regular contributor to the sustainability blog Worldchanging.com, Sinclair is now working on the Open Architecture Network, born from the wish he made when he accepted the 2006 TED Prize: to build a global, open-source network where architects, governments and NGOs can share and implement design plans to house the world.

More profile about the speaker
Cameron Sinclair | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Cameron Sinclair: The refugees of boom-and-bust

Cameron Sinclair: Os refugiados do apogeu e da falência

Filmed:
443,150 views

Na TEDGlobal U, Cameron Sinclair apresenta o custo não declarado de megaprojetos imobiliários que vão a falência: milhares de trabalhadores imigrantes da construção deixados a sua própria sorte e sem um tostão. Para seus colegas arquitetos, diz ele, só há uma resposta ética.
- Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity
2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:18
A few years ago, my eyes were opened
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A alguns anos atrás meus olhos se abriram
00:21
to the dark side of the construction industry.
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para o lado negro da indústria da construção
00:24
In 2006, young Qatari students
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Em 2006, jovens estudantes do Qatar
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took me to go and see the migrant worker camps.
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me levaram para ver os campos de trabalho de imigrantes.
00:29
And since then I've followed the unfolding issue of worker rights.
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Desde então estou seguindo a situação dos direitos trabalhistas.
00:34
In the last six months, more than 300 skyscrapers
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Nos últimos seis meses, mais de 300 arranha-céus
00:36
in the UAE have been put on hold or canceled.
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nos Emirados Árabes foram engavetados ou cancelados.
00:39
Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings
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Atrás das manchetes que estavam por trás destes edifícios
00:42
is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker.
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está o destino dos empregados temporários de construção.
00:46
1.1 million of them.
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1,1 milhões deles.
00:48
Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan
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Principalmente indianos, paquistaneses, cingalêses,
00:51
and Nepalese, these laborers risk everything
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e nepalêses, estes trabalhadores se arriscam completamente
00:53
to make money for their families back home.
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para ganhar dinheiro para suas famílias quando voltarem para casa.
00:56
They pay a middle-man thousands of dollars to be there.
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Eles pagam milhares de dólares a um intermediário para ficar ali.
00:58
And when they arrive, they find themselves in labor camps with no water,
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E quando eles chegam, se encontram em um campo de trabalho sem água,
01:02
no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.
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sem ar-condicionado e seus passaportes são confiscados.
01:06
While it's easy to point the finger at local officials and higher authorities,
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Enquanto é fácil apontar com o dedo os oficiais locais e as autoridades mais altas,
01:10
99 percent of these people are hired by the private sector,
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99 por cento dessas pessoas são contratadas pelo setor privado.
01:14
and so therefore we're equally, if not more, accountable.
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E por este motivo somos igualmente, se não mais, responsáveis.
01:17
Groups like Buildsafe UAE have emerged,
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Grupos como Buildsafe UAE surgiram.
01:20
but the numbers are simply overwhelming.
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Mas os números são simplesmente avassaladores.
01:22
In August 2008,
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Em Agosto de 2008,
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UAE public officials noted
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Oficiais públicos dos EAU notaram
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that 40 percent of the country's 1,098 labor camps
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que 40 por cento dos 1.098 campos de trabalho do país
01:30
had violated minimum health and fire safety regulations.
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violaram as leis mínimas de segurança e saúde.
01:33
And last summer, more than 10,000 workers
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E no último verão, mais de 10.000 trabalhadores
01:36
protested for the non-payment of wages,
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protestaram pelo não pagamento de seus salários,
01:39
for the poor quality of food, and inadequate housing.
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pela má qualidade da comida e pelas condições de vida inadequadas.
01:42
And then the financial collapse happened.
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E então o colapso financeiro aconteceu.
01:45
When the contractors have gone bust,
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Quando os contratantes foram à falência,
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as they've been overleveraged like everyone else,
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como todos estavam super-faturados como os outros,
01:49
the difference is everything goes missing,
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a diferença é que tudo se perde,
01:52
documentation, passports,
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documentação, passaportes,
01:54
and tickets home for these workers.
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e passagens de volta para esses trabalhadores.
01:56
Currently, right now, thousands of workers are abandoned.
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Atualmente, neste momento, milhares de trabalhadores estão abandonados.
02:00
There is no way back home.
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Não há caminho de volta para casa.
02:02
And there is no way, and no proof of arrival.
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E não há um caminho e nenhuma prova sobre sua chegada.
02:05
These are the boom-and-bust refugees.
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Esses são os refugiados do apogeu e da falência.
02:08
The question is, as a building professional,
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A pergunta é, como um profissional da construção,
02:11
as an architect, an engineer, as a developer,
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como um arquiteto, um engenheiro, como um desenvolvedor,
02:13
if you know this is going on,
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se você sabe que isto está acontecendo,
02:15
as we go to the sights every single week,
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como ir aos locais todas as semanas,
02:18
are you complacent or complicit
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você é complacente ou cúmplice
02:20
in the human rights violations?
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com as violações dos direitos humanos?
02:22
So let's forget your environmental footprint.
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Portanto, vamos esquecer o seu impacto ambiental.
02:25
Let's think about your ethical footprint.
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Vamos pensar sobre o seu impacto ético.
02:27
What good is it
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O que é bom nisso
02:30
to build a zero-carbon, energy efficient complex,
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para construir um complexo de energia eficiente sem emissão de carbono,
02:33
when the labor producing this architectural gem
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quando o trabalho produz esta jóia arquitetônica
02:36
is unethical at best?
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é no mínimo antiético?
02:39
Now, recently I've been told I've been taking the high road.
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Agora, recentemente, Já me disseram que eu tenho tomado o caminho certo.
02:41
But, quite frankly, on this issue,
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Mas francamente sobre esta questão,
02:43
there is no other road.
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não há outro caminho.
02:45
So let's not forget who is really paying the price of this financial collapse.
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Então não vamos esquecer quem realmente está pagando o preço deste colapso financeiro.
02:49
And that as we worry about our next job in the office,
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E com isso que devemos nos preocupar sobre nosso próximo trabalho no escritório.
02:52
the next design that we can get, to keep our workers.
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o próximo projeto que podemos obter, para manter os nossos trabalhadores.
02:56
Let's not forget these men, who are truly dying to work.
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Não nos esqueçamos destes homens, que estão verdadeiramente morrendo de vontade de trabalhar.
02:59
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
03:01
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Sadon França
Reviewed by João Biz

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cameron Sinclair - Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity
2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs.

Why you should listen

After training as an architect, Cameron Sinclair (then age 24) joined Kate Stohr to found Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps architects apply their skills to humanitarian efforts. Starting with just $700 and a simple web site in 1999, AFH has grown into an international hub for humanitarian design, offering innovative solutions to housing problems in all corners of the globe.

Whether rebuilding earthquake-ravaged Bam in Iran, designing a soccer field doubling as an HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa, housing refugees on the Afghan border, or helping Katrina victims rebuild, Architecture for Humanity works by Sinclair's mantra: "Design like you give a damn." (Sinclair and Stohr cowrote a book by the same name, released in 2006.)

A regular contributor to the sustainability blog Worldchanging.com, Sinclair is now working on the Open Architecture Network, born from the wish he made when he accepted the 2006 TED Prize: to build a global, open-source network where architects, governments and NGOs can share and implement design plans to house the world.

More profile about the speaker
Cameron Sinclair | Speaker | TED.com