ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Leymah Gbowee - Peace activist, Nobelist
Leymah Gbowee is a peace activist in Liberia. She led a women's movement that was pivotal in ending the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003, and now speaks on behalf of women and girls around the world.

Why you should listen

Liberia's second civil war, 1999-2003, brought an unimaginable level of violence to a country still recovering from its first civil war (1989-96). And much of that violence was directed at women: Systematic rape and brutality used women's bodies as fields for war.

Leymah Gbowee, who'd become a social worker during the first war, helped organize an interreligious coalition of Christian and Muslim women called the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement. Dressed in white, these thousands of women staged pray-ins and nonviolent protests demanding reconciliation and the resuscitation of high-level peace talks. The pressure pushed Charles Taylor into exile, and smoothed the path for the election of Africa’s first female head of state, Leymah's fellow 2011 Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Gbowee is the founder and president of Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, which provides educational and leadership opportunities to girls, women and the youth in West Africa.

More profile about the speaker
Leymah Gbowee | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls

Leymah Gbowee: Te shpalosim inteligjencen, pasionin dhe madheshtin e vajzave

Filmed:
1,320,003 views

Fituesja e qmimit Nobel Leymah Gbowee ka dy histori te fuqishme per te na treguar - ate te transformimit te jetes se saj, dhe te potencialit te pashftytezuar te vajzave rreth botes. A mund te transformojm botes duke shpalosur madheshtin e vajzave
- Peace activist, Nobelist
Leymah Gbowee is a peace activist in Liberia. She led a women's movement that was pivotal in ending the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003, and now speaks on behalf of women and girls around the world. Full bio

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

00:15
Many times
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Shpesh here
00:17
I go around the world to speak,
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une udhetoj rreth botes per te folur
00:20
and people ask me questions
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dhe njerezit me bejne pyetje
00:22
about the challenges,
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rreth sfidave
00:24
my moments,
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mementeve,
00:27
some of my regrets.
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disa nga gjerat qe pendohem.
00:29
1998:
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1998
00:32
A single mother of four,
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Nje nene beqare e kater femijeve
00:34
three months after the birth of my fourth child,
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tre muaj pas lindjes se femijut te katert
00:38
I went to do a job
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shkova te punoj
00:41
as a research assistant.
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si asistente per kerkime.
00:45
I went to Northern Liberia.
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Shkova ne Liberin Veriore
00:48
And as part of the work,
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Si pjese e punes
00:51
the village would give you lodgings.
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fshati do te te jepte vendin ku te banosh.
00:54
And they gave me lodging with a single mother
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Ata me strehuan mua me nje nen beqare
00:57
and her daughter.
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dhe te bijen e saj.
00:59
This girl happened to be
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Vajza qelloj te ishte
01:02
the only girl in the entire village
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e vetjma vajze beqare ne te gjithe fshatin
01:04
who had made it
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qe kishte arritur
01:06
to the ninth grade.
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deri ne klasen e nente.
01:08
She was the laughing stock of the community.
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Ajo ishte bere objekt tallje nga i gjithe komuniteti
01:11
Her mother was often told by other women,
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Grate e tjera shpesh i thoshin nenes se saj
01:14
"You and your child
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"Ti dhe femija yt
01:16
will die poor."
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do te vdisnin te varfer"
01:19
After two weeks of working in that village,
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Pas dy javes ne ate fshat
01:22
it was time to go back.
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ishte koha te kthehesha.
01:24
The mother came to me, knelt down,
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Nena e vajzes erdhi te une, u gjunjezua
01:28
and said, "Leymah, take my daughter.
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dhe me tha "Leymah, merre vajzen time.
01:32
I wish for her
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Une dua qe ajo
01:34
to be a nurse."
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te behet nje infermiere"
01:37
Dirt poor, living in the home with my parents,
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Une isha shum e varfer, duke jetuar ne shtepi me prinderit e mi,
01:41
I couldn't afford to.
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nuk kisha mundesi ta mbaja vajzen.
01:44
With tears in my eyes,
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Me lot ne sy e mi,
01:46
I said, "No."
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i thash "Jo"
01:49
Two months later,
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Pas dy muajsh
01:51
I go to another village
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shkova ne nje fshat tjeter
01:53
on the same assignment
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me te njejten detyre
01:55
and they asked me to live with the village chief.
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dhe me thane te jetoja me prijesin e fashtit
01:59
The women's chief of the village has this little girl,
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Gruaja e prijesit kishte nje vajze te vogel,
02:02
fair color like me,
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e cila kishte te njejten ngjyre si une,
02:04
totally dirty.
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terresisht e zeze.
02:06
And all day she walked around
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Tere diten ajo versallosej
02:08
only in her underwear.
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vetem ne te brendshme.
02:10
When I asked, "Who is that?"
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Kur une e pyta "Kush eshte ai"
02:13
She said, "That's Wei.
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Ajo me tha "Ky eshte Wei"
02:15
The meaning of her name is pig.
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Kuptimi i emrit te saj ishte derr.
02:18
Her mother died while giving birth to her,
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Nena e saj vdiq derisa po e lindte,
02:21
and no one had any idea who her father was."
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dhe askush nuk kishte iden kush ishte babai i saj"
02:24
For two weeks, she became my companion,
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Per dy jave ajo u be shoqeruesja ime,
02:27
slept with me.
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flinte me mua.
02:29
I bought her used clothes
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Une i bleva asaj rroba te perdorura
02:31
and bought her her first doll.
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dhe kukullen e saj te pare.
02:33
The night before I left,
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Nje nate para se te largohesha
02:36
she came to the room
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ajo erdhi ne dhomen time
02:38
and said, "Leymah, don't leave me here.
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dhe tha, "Leymaj, mos me le ketu
02:40
I wish to go with you.
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Dua te vij me ty
02:42
I wish to go to school."
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Dua te shkoj ne shkolle"
02:44
Dirt poor, no money,
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Une isha akoma shum e varfer, pa para
02:47
living with my parents,
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duke jetuar me prinderit e mije
02:49
I again said, "No."
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thash perseri "Jo"
02:51
Two months later,
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Pas dy muajsh
02:53
both of those villages fell into another war.
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te dyja keto fshtera fillaun nje lufte tjeter.
02:56
Till today, I have no idea
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Deri ne sot, nuk kam asnje ide
03:00
where those two girls are.
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se ku jane ato dy vajza.
03:02
Fast-forward, 2004:
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Ne 2004;
03:06
In the peak of our activism,
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ne kulm te aksionit tone
03:09
the minister of Gender Liberia called me
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ministri i Gender Liberia me thirri
03:11
and said, "Leymah, I have a nine-year-old for you.
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dhe tha "Leymah, kam nje femije 9 vjeqar per ty.
03:14
I want you to bring her home
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Dua qe ti ta marresh ate ne shtepi
03:16
because we don't have safe homes."
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sepse ne nuk kemi shtepi te sigurta"
03:18
The story of this little girl:
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Kete vajzen e vogel
03:20
She had been raped
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e kishte dhunuar
03:22
by her paternal grandfather
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gjyshi i saj nga babai
03:24
every day for six months.
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gjdo dit per gjashte muaj.
03:26
She came to me bloated,
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Ajo erdhi tek une e fryre
03:29
very pale.
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dhe shum e zbehte.
03:31
Every night I'd come from work and lie on the cold floor.
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Cdo nate kur une vija nga puna dhe shtrihesha ne dyshemen e ftohte
03:34
She'd lie beside me
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Ajo shtrihej prance meje
03:36
and say, "Auntie, I wish to be well.
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dhe thojshe "Teze, dua te behet mire
03:39
I wish to go to school."
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Dua te shkoj te shkoll"
03:42
2010:
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2010
03:44
A young woman stands before President Sirleaf
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Nje grua e re qendron perpara President Sirleaf
03:47
and gives her testimony
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dhe i tregon atij
03:49
of how she and her siblings live together,
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sesi ajo dhe motrat e vellezerit e saj jetojn se bashku,
03:52
their father and mother died during the war.
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se nena dhe babai kishin vdekur gjate luftes.
03:55
She's 19; her dream is to go to college
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Ajo eshte 19 dhe eshte e saj eshte te shkoj ne kolegj
03:58
to be able to support them.
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qe te mundet te mbaje familjen e saj.
04:00
She's highly athletic.
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Ajo eshte shum atletike.
04:02
One of the things that happens
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Qfar ndodhi eshte
04:04
is that she applies for a scholarship.
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qe ajo aplikoj per burse.
04:06
Full scholarship. She gets it.
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Burse te plote. E fitoj ate.
04:08
Her dream of going to school,
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Endrra e saj per te shkuar ne shkoll,
04:10
her wish of being educated,
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per tu edukuar
04:12
is finally here.
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erdhi me ne fund.
04:14
She goes to school on the first day.
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Ajo shkon ne shkolle ne diten e saj te pare
04:17
The director of sports
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Direktori i sporteve
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who's responsible for getting her into the program
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qe eshte pergjegjes per ta futur ate ne program
04:21
asks her to come out of class.
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e therret ate jashte klases.
04:23
And for the next three years,
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Dhe fati i saj per tre vitet e ardhsme
04:25
her fate will be
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do te jete
04:27
having sex with him every day,
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te beje seks me te qdo dite,
04:30
as a favor for getting her in school.
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si favor per te lene ate ne shkolle.
04:33
Globally, we have policies,
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Ne bote ne kemi ligje,
04:37
international instruments,
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politika internacionale,
04:39
work leaders.
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lider te punes,
04:41
Great people have made commitments --
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Njerez te medhenj kane bere marrveshje
04:43
we will protect our children
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ne do te mbrojm femijet tone
04:46
from want and from fear.
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nga lufta dhe nga frika
04:48
The U.N. has the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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U.N ka Konventen per te Drejtat e Femijeve
04:52
Countries like America, we've heard things like No Child Left Behind.
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Ne shtetet si Amerika ne degjojm gjera si Asnje Femije te Mos Braktiset
04:56
Other countries come with different things.
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Ne shtetet e tjera degjojm gjera tjera.
04:59
There is a Millennium Development called Three
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Ka nje Milenium Development qe quhet Three
05:01
that focuses on girls.
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qe fokusohet tek vajzat.
05:05
All of these great works by great people
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Te gjitha keto pune te medha nga njerez te medhenj
05:07
aimed at getting young people
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qe kane per qellim ti marrin njerezit e rinje
05:09
to where we want to get them globally,
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e ti dergojn ku ata deshirojn te jene ne bote
05:12
I think, has failed.
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Une mendoj qe ka deshtuar.
05:14
In Liberia, for example,
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Ne Liberi per shembull
05:17
the teenage pregnancy rate
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rata e shtatezanise te vajzat adoleshente eshte
05:19
is three to every 10 girls.
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tre per gjdo dhjete vajza.
05:23
Teen prostitution is at its peak.
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Prostitucioni adoleshent eshte ne kulmin e saj
05:26
In one community, we're told,
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Ne nje komunitet na thane
05:28
you wake up in the morning
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qe kur zgjohesh ne mengjes
05:30
and see used condoms like used chewing gum paper.
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sheh kondome te perdororur gjithandej sikur jane qamqakez.
05:34
Girls as young as 12 being prostituted
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Vajza 12 vjeqare duke u bere prostituta
05:37
for less than a dollar a night.
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per me pak se nje dollar naten.
05:41
It's disheartening, it's sad.
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Eshte e tmerrshme, e trishturshme.
05:44
And then someone asked me,
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Dikush me pyeti
05:46
just before my TEDTalk, a few days ago,
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para ca dites, para se une te jepja TEKTalk-un
05:48
"So where is the hope?"
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"Ku eshte shpresa"
05:50
Several years ago, a few friends of mine
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Para disa vjetesh disa shoke te mije
05:53
decided we needed to bridge the disconnect
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vendosen qe ne duheshim te kerpecenim shkeputjet
05:55
between our generation
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ne mes ne gjenerates sone
05:57
and the generation of young women.
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dhe gjenerates se grave te reja.
05:59
It's not enough to say
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Nuk mjafton te thuhet
06:01
you have two Nobel laureates from the Republic of Liberia
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qe ju keni dy fitues te cmimit Nobel nga Republika e Liberise
06:04
when your girls' kids are totally out there
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kur vajzat e tuaja jane aty jashte
06:07
and no hope, or seemingly no hope.
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dhe ska asnje shprese, ose duket sikur nuk ka asnje shprese.
06:10
We created a space
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Ne kemi krijuar nje vend
06:12
called the Young Girls Transformative Project.
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te quajtur "Projekti Transformues per Vajza te Reja"
06:15
We go into rural communities
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Ne shkojm neper komuna rurale
06:18
and all we do, like has been done in this room,
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dhe gjithe qka bejme, njesoj sikur ne kete dhome,
06:21
is create the space.
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eshte qe krijojm nje hapesire.
06:24
When these girls sit,
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Kur keto vajza ulen,
06:26
you unlock intelligence,
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ti shpalos inteligjence,
06:29
you unlock passion,
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ti shpalos pasionin,
06:32
you unlock commitment,
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ti shpalos perkushtimin,
06:34
you unlock focus,
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ti shpalos perqendrimin,
06:36
you unlock great leaders.
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ti shpalos udheheqes te medhenj.
06:38
Today, we've worked with over 300.
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Deri me sot kemi punuar me mbi 300 vajza.
06:41
And some of those girls
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Disa nga keto vajza
06:43
who walked in the room very shy
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qe hyne ne dhome shum te turpshme
06:45
have taken bold steps, as young mothers,
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kane marre hapa te forta, si nena te reja,
06:48
to go out there and advocate
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qe dalin dhe japin keshilla
06:51
for the rights of other young women.
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per te drejtat e grave te vogla.
06:54
One young woman I met,
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Nje grua te re qe takova,
06:56
teen mother of four,
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nje nene adoloshente e keter femijeve,
06:58
never thought about finishing high school,
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kurre nuk kishte menduar per te mbaruar shkollen e mesme,
07:00
graduated successfully;
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tani ka diplomuar me sukses;
07:03
never thought about going to college,
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kurre nuk ka menduar rreth shkuarjes ne kolegj,
07:05
enrolled in college.
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u regjistrua ne kolegj.
07:07
One day she said to me,
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Nje dite ajo ne tha mua.
07:09
"My wish is to finish college
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"Deshira ime eshte te perfundoj kolegjin
07:11
and be able to support my children."
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dhe te jem e afte te mbaje femijet e mij"
07:13
She's at a place where she can't find money
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Ajo nuk mund te gjeje parat
07:15
to go to school.
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qe te shkoj ne shkolle.
07:17
She sells water, sells soft drinks
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Ajo shet uje, shet pije te gazuara
07:20
and sells recharge cards for cellphones.
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shet edhe karta per mbushje te telefonave.
07:24
And you would think she would take that money
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Dhe ti do te mendoje qe ajo i merr ato para
07:26
and put it back into her education.
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dhe i vendos per edukimin e saj.
07:29
Juanita is her name.
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Emri i saj eshte Juanita.
07:31
She takes that money
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Ajo i merr ato para
07:33
and finds single mothers in her community
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dhe gjen nenat beqare ne komunitetin e saj
07:36
to send back to school.
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dhe i dergon ne shkolle.
07:38
Says, "Leymah, my wish
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Ajo thote "Leymah, deshira ime
07:40
is to be educated.
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eshte te edukohem.
07:42
And if I can't be educated,
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Dhe nese une nuk mund te edukohem
07:44
when I see some of my sisters being educated,
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kur i shoh disa nga motrat e mija te edukuara,
07:47
my wish has been fulfilled.
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deshira ime plotesohet.
07:49
I wish for a better life.
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Dua nje jete me te mire.
07:51
I wish for food for my children.
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Dua ushqim per femijet e mij.
07:53
I wish that sexual abuse and exploitation in schools would stop."
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Dua qe abuzimi seksual dhe shfrytezimi ne shkolla te ndalet"
07:58
This is the dream of the African girl.
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Kjo eshte endrra e nje vajze afrikane.
08:00
Several years ago,
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Para disa vjeteve,
08:02
there was one African girl.
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njoha nje vajze afrikane.
08:04
This girl had a son
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Kjo vajza kishte nje djale
08:06
who wished for a piece of doughnut
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qe donte nje cope petulle
08:09
because he was extremely hungry.
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pasi qe ishte shum i uritur.
08:12
Angry, frustrated,
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E agresuar, e zemeruar,
08:15
really upset
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e meritur
08:17
about the state of her society
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rreth gjendjes se shoqerise se saj
08:20
and the state of her children,
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dhe per gjendjes e femijeve te saj,
08:22
this young girl started a movement,
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kjo vajze e re filloj nje levizje,
08:24
a movement of ordinary women
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nje levizje te perbere nga gra te zakonshme
08:26
banding together
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qe bashkohen
08:28
to build peace.
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per te bere paqe.
08:30
I will fulfill the wish.
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Une do ta perbush deshiren.
08:32
This is another African girl's wish.
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Kjo eshte nje tjeter deshir e nje vajze afrikane.
08:34
I failed to fulfill the wish of those two girls.
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Une deshtova ne permbushjen e deshirave te atyve dy vajzave.
08:36
I failed to do this.
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Une deshtova.
08:38
These were the things that were going through the head of this other young woman --
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Keto jane gjerat qe po kalonin neper koken e ketyre grave te tjera
08:41
I failed, I failed, I failed.
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Une deshtova, une deshtova, une deshtova
08:44
So I will do this.
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Keshtu qe une do ta bej kete
08:48
Women came out,
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Grate dolen jashte,
08:50
protested a brutal dictator,
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protestuan kunder nje diktatori brutal,
08:53
fearlessly spoke.
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folen pa frike.
08:56
Not only did the wish of a piece of doughnut come true,
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Dhe nuk u plotesua vetem deshira per nje petull,
09:00
the wish of peace came true.
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por u plotesua edhe deshira per paqe.
09:02
This young woman
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Kjo grua e re
09:04
wished also to go to school.
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donte gjithashtu te shkonte ne shkolle.
09:06
She went to school.
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Ajo shkoj ne shkolle.
09:08
This young woman wished for other things to happen,
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Kjo grua e re donte qe te ndodhnin gjera te tjera,
09:10
it happened for her.
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keto ndodhen per te.
09:12
Today, this young woman is me,
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Sot kjo grua e re jam une,
09:16
a Nobel laureate.
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fituese e cmimit Nobel.
09:18
I'm now on a journey
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Jam ne nje udhetim
09:20
to fulfill the wish,
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per te permbushur endrren,
09:22
in my tiny capacity,
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ne kapacitetin tim te vogel
09:24
of little African girls --
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te nje vajze afrikane
09:26
the wish of being educated.
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endrren per tu shkolluar.
09:28
We set up a foundation.
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Ne kemi krijuar bazen.
09:30
We're giving full four-year scholarships
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Ne po japin bursa te plota kater vjeqare
09:32
to girls from villages that we see with potential.
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vajzave neper fshatera qe ne po shkohim kane potencial.
09:35
I don't have much to ask of you.
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Une nuk kam shum per te kerkuar nga ju.
09:38
I've also been to places in this U.S.,
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Une kam qene po ashtu neper vendet e Shteteve te Bashkuara
09:40
and I know that girls in this country
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dhe e di qe edhe vajzat ne kete shtet
09:42
also have wishes,
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kane gjithashtu endrra,
09:44
a wish for a better life somewhere in the Bronx,
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duan nje jeten me te mire diku ne Bronx,
09:47
a wish for a better life
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duan nje jete me te mire
09:49
somewhere in downtown L.A.,
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diku ne L.A - ne e poshtem ,
09:51
a wish for a better life somewhere in Texas,
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duan per nje jete me te mire duku ne Texas,
09:54
a wish for a better life somewhere in New York,
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duan nje jete me te mire diku ne New York,
09:57
a wish for a better life
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duan nje jete me te mire
09:59
somewhere in New Jersey.
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diku ne New Jersey.
10:01
Will you journey with me
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A do te udhetoni ju me mua
10:03
to help that girl,
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per te ndihmuar ate vajze,
10:06
be it an African girl or an American girl
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ska rendesi nese eshte afrikane ose amerikane
10:09
or a Japanese girl,
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ose japoneze,
10:11
fulfill her wish,
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per te permbushur deshirat e saj,
10:13
fulfill her dream,
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per te permbushur endrrat e saj,
10:15
achieve that dream?
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per te arritur ate enderr?
10:17
Because all of these
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Sepse te gjitha keto
10:19
great innovators and inventors
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zbulime te medha
10:22
that we've talked to and seen
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per te cilat ne kemi folur dhe i kemi pare
10:24
over the last few days
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ne keto ditet e fundit
10:26
are also sitting in tiny corners
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jane te ulur dikund neper qoshe te vogla
10:29
in different parts of the world,
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ne pjese te ndryshme te botes,
10:31
and all they're asking us to do
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dhe gjithe qfare ata kerkojn nga ne
10:33
is create that space
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eshte te krijojm nje hapesire
10:35
to unlock the intelligence,
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per te shpalosur inteligjencen,
10:37
unlock the passion,
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shpalosur pasionin,
10:39
unlock all of the great things
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shpalosur te gjitha gjerat e medha
10:41
that they hold within themselves.
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qe ato mbajne perbrenda.
10:44
Let's journey together. Let's journey together.
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Te udhetojm se bashku. Te udhetojm se bashku.
10:47
Thank you.
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Faliminderit.
10:49
(Applause)
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(Duarktrokitje)
11:12
Chris Anderson: Thank you so much.
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Chris Anderson: Te faleminderohem shum.
11:14
Right now in Liberia,
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Tani ne Liberi
11:16
what do you see
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qfare shihni
11:18
as the main issue that troubles you?
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si problemin qe ju shqeteson me se shumti?
11:21
LG: I've been asked to lead
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LG: Me kane keruar te udheheq
11:23
the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative.
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Inciativen per Pajtimet Liberiane
11:26
As part of my work,
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Si pjese te punes time,
11:28
I'm doing these tours
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une jam duke bere keto turne
11:31
in different villages and towns --
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neper fshatra dhe qytete te ndryshme
11:33
13, 15 hours on dirt roads --
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13, 15 or neper rruge te ndotura
11:37
and there is no community that I've gone into
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dhe nuk ka pasur asnje komutitet qe une kam shkuar
11:40
that I haven't seen intelligent girls.
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ku nuk kam pare vajza inteligjente.
11:44
But sadly,
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Por fatkqesisht,
11:46
the vision of a great future,
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verzioni i nje te ardhme te ndritur,
11:49
or the dream of a great future,
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ose endrra per nje te ardhme te madhe.
11:51
is just a dream,
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eshte thjesht nje enderr,
11:53
because you have all of these vices.
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sepse ekzisonte te gjitha keto vese.
11:55
Teen pregnancy, like I said, is epidemic.
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Shtatzania ne adoleshence, sic e thash, eshte epidemike.
11:58
So what troubles me
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Keshtu qe qfare me shqeteson mua
12:00
is that I was at that place
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eshte qe une isha ne ate vend
12:04
and somehow I'm at this place,
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dhe ne nje menyre akoma jam aty,
12:07
and I just don't want to be the only one
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dhe nuk dua te jem e vetme
12:09
at this place.
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ne ate vend.
12:11
I'm looking for ways
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Jam duke kerkuar menyra
12:13
for other girls to be with me.
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qe edhe vajzat e tjera te jene me mua.
12:15
I want to look back 20 years from now
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Dua të shikoj 20 vjet nga tani
12:18
and see that there's another Liberian girl,
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dhe te shoh te ka ndonje tjeter vajze Liberiane
12:20
Ghanaian girl, Nigerian girl, Ethiopian girl
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vajze Ghanaian, vajze Nigeriane, vajze Etiopiane
12:23
standing on this TED stage.
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duke qendruar ne skenen e TED-it
12:26
And maybe, just maybe, saying,
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Dhe ndoshta, ndoshta do te thote
12:28
"Because of that Nobel laureate
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"Per shkak te asaj fituese te Nobelit
12:30
I'm here today."
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une jam ketu sot"
12:32
So I'm troubled
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Keshtu une shqetesohem
12:34
when I see them like there's no hope.
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kur une i shoh ato sikur nuk ka asnje shprese.
12:37
But I'm also not pessimistic,
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Por une nuk jam pesimiste
12:40
because I know it doesn't take a lot
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sepse e di qe nuk duhet shum
12:42
to get them charged up.
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qe ti ngrise ato.
12:44
CA: And in the last year,
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CA: Dhe ne vitin e fundit
12:46
tell us one hopeful thing
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na trego ndonje gje shpresedhenese
12:48
that you've seen happening.
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qe ju e keni pare te ndodhte.
12:50
LG: I can tell you many hopeful things that I've seen happening.
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LG: Une mund te ju tregoj shum gjera shpresedhenese qe kane ndodhur
12:53
But in the last year,
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Por ne vitin e fundit
12:55
where President Sirleaf comes from, her village,
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ku President Sirlied vije, nga fshati i saj
12:57
we went there to work with these girls.
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ne shkuam te punonim me disa vajza
12:59
And we could not find 25 girls
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dhe nuk mundim te gjenim 25 vajza
13:01
in high school.
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ne shkolle te mesme.
13:03
All of these girls went to the gold mine,
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Te gjtha keto vajza shkonin neper miniera te arit,
13:06
and they were predominantly prostitutes
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dhe ishin kryesisht prostituta.
13:08
doing other things.
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por benin edhe pune te tjera.
13:10
We took 50 of those girls
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Ne morrem 50 nga keto vajza
13:12
and we worked with them.
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dhe ne punuam me ato.
13:14
And this was at the beginning of elections.
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Dhe kjo ishte ne fillimi te zdjedhjeve.
13:17
This is one place where women were never --
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Ky ishte nje vend ku grate kurre
13:19
even the older ones
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madje as ato te vjetrat
13:21
barely sat in the circle with the men.
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nuk uleshin gati fare ne rreth me burrat.
13:24
These girls banded together and formed a group
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Keto gra u bashkuan dhe formuan nje grup.
13:27
and launched a campaign
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dhe filluan nje kampanje
13:29
for voter registration.
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per regjistrimin e votave
13:31
This is a real rural village.
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Ky eshte nje fshat i vertet rural.
13:33
And the theme they used was:
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Dhe motivi qe ato perdoren ishte:
13:35
"Even pretty girls vote."
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"Edhe vajzat e bukura votojn"
13:37
They were able to mobilize young women.
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Ato ishin te gjendje te mobilizonin vajza te reja.
13:39
But not only did they do that,
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Por ato nuk bene vetem aq.
13:42
they went to those who were running for seats
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ato gjithashtu shkuan tek ata qe po kandidonin
13:44
to ask them, "What is it
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dhe i pyeten "Cfare
13:46
that you will give the girls of this community
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do te ju jepni ju vajzave te ketij komuniteti
13:48
when you win?"
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kur ju te fitoni"
13:50
And one of the guys
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Dhe njeri nga djemte
13:52
who already had a seat was very --
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qe tashme kishte fituar nje vend
13:55
because Liberia has one of the strongest rape laws,
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sepse Liberia ka nje nga ligjet me te forta te dhunimit
13:57
and he was one of those really fighting in parliament
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dhe ai ishte nje nga ata qe vertet po luftonte ne parlament
14:00
to overturn that law
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per te rrezuar ate ligj
14:02
because he called it barbaric.
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sepse e quante me te vertet barbar.
14:04
Rape is not barbaric, but the law, he said, was barbaric.
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Dhunimi nuk eshte barbarik, por ligji, tha ai, eshte barbar.
14:08
And when the girls started engaging him,
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Dhe kur vajzat filluan te fitonin kunder tij,
14:10
he was very hostile towards them.
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ai u sill shum armiqesisht ndaj tyre.
14:12
These little girls turned to him and said,
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Keto vajza te vogla u kthyen nga ai dhe i thane,
14:14
"We will vote you out of office."
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"Ne do te ju vendosim juve jashte nga zyra"
14:16
He's out of office today.
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Ai sot nuk eshte me ne zyre.
14:18
(Applause)
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(Duartrokitje)
14:24
CA: Leymah, thank you. Thank you so much for coming to TED.
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CA: Leymah, faliminderit. Faliminderit shum per ardhjen e juaj ne TED.
14:27
LG: You're welcome. (CA: Thank you.)
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LG: Ska perse (CA: Thank you)
14:29
(Applause)
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(Duartrokitje)
Translated by Tringa Krasniqi
Reviewed by Liridon Shala

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Leymah Gbowee - Peace activist, Nobelist
Leymah Gbowee is a peace activist in Liberia. She led a women's movement that was pivotal in ending the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003, and now speaks on behalf of women and girls around the world.

Why you should listen

Liberia's second civil war, 1999-2003, brought an unimaginable level of violence to a country still recovering from its first civil war (1989-96). And much of that violence was directed at women: Systematic rape and brutality used women's bodies as fields for war.

Leymah Gbowee, who'd become a social worker during the first war, helped organize an interreligious coalition of Christian and Muslim women called the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement. Dressed in white, these thousands of women staged pray-ins and nonviolent protests demanding reconciliation and the resuscitation of high-level peace talks. The pressure pushed Charles Taylor into exile, and smoothed the path for the election of Africa’s first female head of state, Leymah's fellow 2011 Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Gbowee is the founder and president of Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, which provides educational and leadership opportunities to girls, women and the youth in West Africa.

More profile about the speaker
Leymah Gbowee | Speaker | TED.com