ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lemn Sissay - Poet and playwright
An award-winning playwright and popular broadcaster in the UK, as well as the author of five poetry books, Lemn Sissay has a way with words.

Why you should listen

Lemn Sissay wears many hats as a writer and performer.

The author of five poetry collections, Sissay's poems dot the London landscape and are etched into major landmarks, from the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics to The Royal Festival Hall. In 2006, Desmond Tutu unveiled his sculpture poem "Gilt of Cain," located near Fenchurch Street Station. Currently an associate artist at Southbank Centre and patron of the Letterbox Club, Sissay was named the official poet of the London 2012 Olympics. His poetry art has also been displayed at The Royal Academy.

Sissay is perhaps best known for his work for the BBC, which shines a spotlight on his upbringing as a foster child in the UK. In 1995, he shared his story in the BBC documentary Internal Flight and his BBC radio documentary Child of the State was nominated for a 2010 Sony Award. His play Something Dark charts his quest to find his family. After a long search, he located his birth mom in Gambia and has since come to know the rest of his family.

More profile about the speaker
Lemn Sissay | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxHousesOfParliament

Lemn Sissay: A child of the state

Lemn Sissay: 国家的孤儿

Filmed:
905,635 views

文学作品中充满了大量被领养、收容和流浪的孤儿,从先知摩西、灰姑娘、雾都孤儿、到哈利·波特等等。这些书中人物让我们如此着迷,然而现实却相反,为什么这么多失去双亲的孩子却选择隐藏自己的过去?作为诗人和剧作家的 Lemn Sissay 就此向我们述说了他的感人经历。
- Poet and playwright
An award-winning playwright and popular broadcaster in the UK, as well as the author of five poetry books, Lemn Sissay has a way with words. Full bio

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

00:16
Having spent花费 18 years年份 as a child儿童 of the state
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我是一个孤儿,由国家抚育成人
00:21
in children's儿童 homes家园 and foster培育 care关心,
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在18岁之前都生活在“儿童之家”或者“寄养家庭”,
00:23
you could say that I'm an expert专家 on the subject学科,
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所以对于今天的话题,你可能会称我为专家,
00:26
and in being存在 an expert专家, I want to let you know that
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不过作为专业人士,我希望你能理解
00:29
being存在 an expert专家 does in no way make you right
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即使是专家也不一定能告知你
00:35
in light of the truth真相.
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什么是真理。
00:38
If you're in care关心, legally法律上 the government政府 is your
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如果你是被收养的孩子,法律上来说
00:42
parent, loco疯子 parentisparentis.
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政府就是你的父母。
00:46
Margaret玛格丽特 Thatcher撒切尔 was my mother母亲. (Laughter笑声)
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撒切尔夫人就是我的母亲。(笑声)
00:50
Let's not talk about breastfeeding哺乳. (Laughter笑声)
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不要在意母乳喂养。(笑声)
00:54
Harry掠夺 Potter制陶工人 was a foster培育 child儿童.
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哈利·波特就是一个被收养的孩子。
00:57
Pip果仁 from "Great Expectations期望" was adopted采用;
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《远大前程》里的皮普是个孤儿;
01:02
Superman超人 was a foster培育 child儿童;
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超人也没有双亲;
01:05
Cinderella灰姑娘 was a foster培育 child儿童;
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灰姑娘受尽继母的虐待;
01:08
Lisbeth利斯贝思 Salander萨兰德, the girl女孩 with the dragon tattoo,
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丽丝贝·莎兰德,龙纹身的女孩,
01:12
was fostered培育 and institutionalized制度化;
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也是被收养和训练的;
01:15
Batman蝙蝠侠 was orphaned;
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蝙蝠侠是孤儿;
01:19
Lyra莱拉 BelacquaBelacqua from Philip菲利普 Pullman's普尔曼 "Northern北方 Lights灯火"
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菲利普·普尔曼所著《北极之光》中的贝拉奎亚
01:23
was fostered培育;
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是被收养的;
01:25
Jane Eyre艾尔, adopted采用;
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简·爱,孤儿;
01:27
Roald罗尔德 Dahl's达尔的 James詹姆士 from "James詹姆士 and the Giant巨人 Peach桃子;"
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罗尔德·达尔所著《怪桃历险记》里的詹姆斯
01:32
Matilda明德; Moses摩西 -- Moses摩西! (Laughter笑声)
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玛蒂尔达;摩西——摩西!(笑声)
01:37
Moses摩西! (Laughter笑声) --
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先知摩西!(笑声)
01:40
the boys男孩 in Michael迈克尔 Morpurgo'sMorpurgo的 "Friend朋友 or Foe敌人;"
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迈克尔·莫波格所著《朋友或敌人》中的孩子们
01:44
Alem阿莱姆 in Benjamin本杰明 Zephaniah's西番雅的 "Refugee难民 Boy男孩;"
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本杰明·泽范尼所著《逃难的男孩》中的阿雷姆;
01:48
Luke卢克 Skywalker天空步行者 --
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天行者卢克——
01:51
Luke卢克 Skywalker天空步行者! (Laughter笑声) --
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天行者卢克!(笑声)
01:54
Oliver奥利弗 Twist;
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《雾都孤儿》;
01:56
Cassia决明子 in "The Concubine of Shanghai上海" by Hong香港 Ying;
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虹影所著《上海王》中的小月桂;
02:00
Celie塞利耶 in Alice爱丽丝 Walker's沃克的 "The Color颜色 Purple紫色."
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艾丽斯·沃克所著《紫色姐妹花》中的西丽;
02:04
All of these great fictional虚构 characters人物, all of them
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所有这些著名小说中的人物,他们的共性
02:08
who were hurt伤害 by their condition条件,
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都是生来因成长环境所伤害,
02:12
all of them who spawned催生 thousands数千 of other books图书
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他们催生出数以千计的著作
02:17
and other films影片, all of them
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以及影视作品,无一例外
02:19
were fostered培育, adopted采用 or orphaned.
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都是被收养,收容或者流浪的。
02:23
It seems似乎 that writers作家 know that the child儿童
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似乎作家们很清楚,正是这样的孩子
02:29
outside of family家庭 reflects反映 on what family家庭 truly is
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才能够反映出“家”的真谛
02:36
more than what it promotes促进 itself本身 to be.
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这早已超出它本身所能提供的温暖。
02:40
That is, they also use extraordinary非凡 skills技能
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又因他们运用超凡的写作技巧
02:45
to deal合同 with extraordinary非凡 situations情况 on a daily日常 basis基础.
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来处理日常生活中与众不同的情景。
02:49
How have we not made制作 the connection连接?
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我们如何于孤儿建立起关系?
02:53
And why have we not made制作 the connection连接, between之间
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我们又为何不尝试着去与他们交往
02:57
— How has that happened发生? —
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要怎样去做?
02:59
between之间 these incredible难以置信 characters人物 of popular流行 culture文化
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与这些与众不同的个体,
03:03
and religions宗教, and the fostered培育, adopted采用 or orphaned child儿童
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在我们身边的这些被收养或流浪荡孤儿
03:08
in our midst中间? It's not our pity可怜 that they need.
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他们需要的不是我们的同情,
03:13
It's our respect尊重.
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而是我们的尊重。
03:15
I know famous著名 musicians音乐家,
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我认识著名的音乐家,
03:18
I know actors演员 and film电影 stars明星 and millionaires百万富翁 and novelists小说家
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我认识演员和影星,百万富翁和作家
03:23
and top最佳 lawyers律师 and television电视 executives高管
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高级律师和电视高管
03:26
and magazine杂志 editors编者 and national国民 journalists记者
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杂志编辑和国家记者
03:29
and dustbinmendustbinmen and hairdressers美发师, all who were
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环卫工和理发匠,他们都曾是
03:32
looked看着 after children孩子, fostered培育, adopted采用 or orphaned,
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被看护的小孩,领养的,收容的或者从小流浪,
03:35
and many许多 of them grow增长 into their adult成人 lives生活
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他们中的绝大部分成年以后
03:38
in fear恐惧 of speaking请讲 of their background背景, as if it may可能
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都害怕谈论到这些背景,因为这样做可能会
03:42
somehow不知何故 weaken削弱 their standing常设 in the foreground前景,
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或多或少会黯淡他们的表面光鲜,
03:46
as if it were somehow不知何故 Kryptonite氪石, as if it were a time bomb炸弹
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好似一片逆鳞,又仿佛是一颗定时炸弹
03:50
strapped on the inside. Children孩子 in care关心,
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埋在内心深处。那些生来得到呵护的孩子,
03:54
who've谁一直 had a life in care关心, deserve值得 the right
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注定有权享受被关爱的人生,
03:58
to own拥有 and live生活 the memory记忆 of their own拥有 childhood童年.
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活在他们自己的童年回忆中。
04:03
It is that simple简单.
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它就是这么简单。
04:06
My own拥有 mother母亲 — and I should say this here —
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我的生母——在这里不得不这么说
04:10
she same相同 to this country国家 in the late晚了 '60s,
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她于60年代后期来到了这个国家
04:14
and she was, you know, she found发现 herself她自己 pregnant,
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然后,你们都能理解,她发现自己怀孕了,
04:17
as women妇女 did in the late晚了 '60s. You know what I mean?
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如同60年代女性那样,你们应该知道我指的是什么?
04:19
They found发现 themselves他们自己 pregnant.
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她们都发现自己怀孕了。
04:21
And she sort分类 of, she had no idea理念 of the context上下文
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她是那种,浑然不觉,
04:26
in which哪一个 she'd landed登陆.
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对自己所来到的国家毫无概念。
04:30
In the 1960s -- I should give you some context上下文 -- in the 1960s,
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在60年代,我应该给你们一些那个时期的背景描述,
04:34
if you were pregnant and you were single,
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如果你怀孕却仍然单身,
04:37
you were seen看到 as a threat威胁 to the community社区.
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你将被视为对社区的威胁。
04:40
You were separated分离 from your family家庭 by the state.
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你会被国家赶出你的家庭。
04:46
You were separated分离 from your family家庭 and placed放置 into
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你会离开自己的家然后被安置在
04:49
mother母亲 and baby宝宝 homes家园.
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母婴看护所。
04:51
You were appointed任命 a social社会 worker工人.
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你会被指派给一位社工。
04:54
The adoptive parents父母 were lined up.
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他负责牵线那些正排队等待的领养者。
04:57
It was the primary purpose目的 of the social社会 worker工人, the aim目标,
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这一社工的基本目的和目标,
05:01
to get the woman女人 at her most vulnerable弱势 time
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就是趁一个女人在她一生中
05:04
in her entire整个 life, to sign标志 the adoption采用 papers文件.
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最脆弱的时候,让她签下收养协议。
05:09
So the adoption采用 papers文件 were signed.
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就这样,我的收养协议被签下了。
05:11
The mother母亲 and baby's宝宝 homes家园 were often经常 run by nuns修女.
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母婴看护所通常是由修女运营。
05:15
The adoption采用 papers文件 were signed,
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在收养协议被签署之后,
05:18
the child儿童 was given特定 to the adoptive parents父母, and the mother母亲
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孩子将被送到养父母家中,而生母
05:22
shipped back to her community社区
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重返她所在的社区
05:24
to say that she'd been on a little break打破.
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告诉大家,她刚刚休了个假。
05:27
A little break打破.
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一个休假。
05:30
A little break打破.
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一个休假。
05:31
The first secret秘密 of shame耻辱 for a woman女人
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作为女人最为羞耻的秘密
05:35
for being存在 a woman女人, "a little break打破."
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只是“一个休假”。
05:40
The adoption采用 process处理 took, like, a matter of months个月,
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领养过程花费差不多数个月的时间,
05:43
so it was a closed关闭 shop, you know, sealed密封 deal合同,
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所以这是一个闭门企业,敲定协议,
05:47
an industrious勤劳, utilitarian功利 solution:
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一个实用的解决方案:
05:54
the government政府, the farmer农民,
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政府扮演了农民,
05:57
the adopting采用 parents父母, the consumer消费者,
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养父母扮演了消费者
06:01
the mother母亲, the earth地球, and the child儿童, the crop作物.
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生母是大地,而孩子,就是那庄稼。
06:06
It's kind of easy简单 to patronize宠幸 the past过去,
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这是一种非常容易抛弃过去,
06:10
to forego放弃 our responsibilities责任 in the present当下.
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又卸下眼前责任的方式。
06:15
What happened发生 then is a direct直接 reflection反射
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那时发生的状况,也反映出
06:19
of what is happening事件 now. Everybody每个人 believed相信 themselves他们自己
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我们现今的思维。每个人都相信
06:24
to be doing the right thing by God and by the state
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他们在上帝、在政府要求下做出的事情都是正确的
06:29
for the big society社会, fast-tracking快速跟踪 adoption采用.
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是为了整个社会利益的,如同那快餐式的领养。
06:36
So anyway无论如何, she comes here, 1967, she's pregnant,
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总之,她来到了这里,在1967年怀孕,
06:41
and she comes from Ethiopia埃塞俄比亚 that was celebrating庆祝
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她从埃塞俄比亚来这里
06:46
its own拥有 jubilee欢乐 at the time
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庆祝自己的犹太教节日
06:49
under the Emperor皇帝 Haile海尔 Selassie塞拉西,
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来纪念希利王,
06:51
and she lands土地 months个月 before the Enoch Powell鲍威尔 speech言语,
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她来到这里的几个月后
06:56
the "Rivers里弗斯 of Blood血液" speech言语.
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伊诺克·鲍威尔发表了“血流成河”的演说。
06:59
She lands土地 months个月 before the Beatles披头士乐队 release发布 "The White白色 Album专辑,"
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她来到这里的几个月后,披头士发行了《白色专辑》
07:03
months个月 before Martin马丁 Luther路德 King国王 was killed杀害.
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她来到这里的几个月后,马丁·路德·金的遇害。
07:06
It was a summer夏季 of love if you were white白色.
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那时的白人是天之骄子,
07:08
If you were black黑色, it was a summer夏季 of hate讨厌.
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而黑人则受到不公正对待,
07:12
So she goes from Oxford牛津, she's sent发送 to the north of England英国
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所以她离开牛津,被送到了英国北部的
07:18
to a mother母亲 and baby宝宝 home, and appointed任命 a social社会 worker工人.
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一个母婴看护所,并被指派了一个社工。
07:22
It's her plan计划. You know, I have to say this in the Houses房屋 --
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这也是她自己的计划。我不得不在这里说——
07:26
It's her plan计划 to have me fostered培育 for a short period of time
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她的计划是让我在短期内先由寄养在别人家,
07:31
while she studies学习. But the social社会 worker工人,
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在她这么考虑时,那位社工,
07:34
he had a different不同 agenda议程.
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他却有着另一个计划。
07:37
He found发现 the foster培育 parents父母, and he said to them,
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他找来领养的父母,然后他告诉他们,
07:41
"Treat对待 this as an adoption采用. He's yours你的 forever永远.
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“把这当成一次收养,他将永远都是你们的,
07:45
His name名称 is Norman诺曼." (Laughter笑声)
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他的名字就叫做诺曼。“(笑声)
07:49
Norman诺曼! (Laughter笑声)
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诺曼!(笑声)
07:51
Norman诺曼!
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诺曼!
07:54
So they took me. I was a message信息, they said.
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就这样,他们带走了我。他们说我是一个福音
08:00
I was a sign标志 from God, they said.
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他们说我是一个来自上帝的信号。
08:02
I was Norman诺曼 Mark标记 Greenwood格林伍德.
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我从此就成了诺曼·马克·格林伍德。
08:06
Now, for the next下一个 11 years年份, all I know is that this woman女人,
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在接下来的11年,我只知道这个女人,
08:10
this birth分娩 woman女人, should have her eyes眼睛 scratched划伤 out
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那个生我的女人,不应该眼睁睁看着
08:12
for not signing签约 the adoption采用 papers文件. She was an evil邪恶 woman女人
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那份收养协议的签署。她是一个邪恶的女人
08:15
too selfish自私 to sign标志, so I spent花费 those 11 years年份
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太过自私,以至于那11年
08:18
kneeling and praying祈祷.
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我都在跪下来祈祷。
08:21
I tried试着 praying祈祷. I swear发誓 I tried试着 praying祈祷.
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我试着祈祷,我发誓我这么做过。
08:24
"God, can I have a bike自行车 for Christmas圣诞?"
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“上帝,我可以在圣诞节得到一辆自行车吗?”
08:28
But I would always answer回答 myself, "Yes, of course课程 you can."
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我总听到内心中有声音回答,“行,你当然可以。”
08:32
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
08:34
And then I was supposed应该 to determine确定 whether是否 that
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这样,我就想来确认,这声音是来自
08:37
was the voice语音 of God or it was the voice语音 of the Devil魔鬼.
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上帝?还是来自魔鬼。
08:40
And it turns out I've got the Devil魔鬼 inside of me.
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结果证明,那是魔鬼的欺骗。
08:47
Who knew知道? (Laughter笑声)
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谁知道呢?(笑声)
08:50
So anyway无论如何, two years年份 sort分类 of passed通过,
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总之,收养我之后过去了两年,
08:53
and they had a child儿童 of their own拥有,
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他们有了自己的孩子,
08:55
and then another另一个 two years年份 passed通过, and they had another另一个 child儿童 of their own拥有,
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又过去了两年,他们又多了一个自己的孩子,
08:57
and then another另一个 time passed通过
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又过去了几年
08:59
and they had another另一个 child儿童 that they called an accident事故,
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他们迎来了第三个孩子,给他起名“意外”,
09:02
which哪一个 I thought was an unusual异常 name名称. (Laughter笑声)
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我觉得这是一个不同寻常的名字。(笑声)
09:05
And I was on the cusp风口浪尖 of, sort分类 of, adolescence青春期,
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而那时,我处在,应该说是在青春期,
09:09
so I was starting开始 to take biscuits饼干 from the tin without asking.
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我开始从罐头里拿饼干而不事前请求允许,
09:13
I was starting开始 to stay out a little bit late晚了, etc等等., etc等等.
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我开始在户外玩而晚回家,等等,等等
09:17
Now, in their religiosity笃信, in their naivete天真,
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现在,由于他们的宗教信仰,他们的天性,
09:21
my mom妈妈 and dad, which哪一个 I believed相信 them to be forever永远,
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我的母亲和父亲,我曾经以为是永远的父母,
09:23
as they said they were, my mom妈妈 and dad
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也曾经是他们这样允诺过,我的母亲和父亲
09:26
conceived设想 that I had the Devil魔鬼 inside of me.
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开始想象我的内心深处藏着魔鬼。
09:33
And what -- I should say this here, because this is how
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以及——我在这里不得不说,他们就是这样
09:35
they engineered工程 my leaving离开.
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策划着让我离去。
09:37
They satSAT me at a table, my foster培育 mom妈妈, and she said to me,
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他们让我坐在桌前,我的养母开始对我说,
09:41
"You don't love us, do you?" At 11 years年份 old.
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“你不爱我们了,是不是?”,那时我11岁。
09:43
They've他们已经 had three other children孩子. I'm the fourth第四. The third第三 was an accident事故.
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他们已经有了三个孩子,我是第四个。第三个是个意外。
09:46
And I said, "Yeah, of course课程 I do." Because you do.
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我的回答是,“嗯,我当然爱着你们。” 因为你们爱我。
09:50
My foster培育 mother母亲 asked me to go away to think about love
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我的养母要求我离开去想一想什么是爱
09:52
and what it is and to read the Scriptures圣经 and to come back tomorrow明天
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去读一下《圣经》,然后明天再过来
09:55
and give my most honest诚实 and truthful真实 answer回答.
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给她最诚实和真实的回答。
09:58
So this was an opportunity机会. If they were asking me
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所以这是一个机会,如果他们问我
10:01
whether是否 I loved喜爱 them or not, then I mustn't不得 love them,
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我是否爱着他们,然后我又不能回答爱着他们,
10:03
which哪一个 led me to the miracle奇迹 of thought that I thought they wanted me to get to.
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这导致我顺着他们的思路,产生了个奇思妙想,
10:06
"I will ask God for forgiveness饶恕 and His light will shine闪耀
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“我将祈求上帝的宽恕,他的光芒将通过我
10:09
through通过 me to them. How fantastic奇妙." This was an opportunity机会.
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照耀到他们。多么美好啊!”这一定是一个机会。
10:13
The theology神学 was perfect完善, the timing定时 unquestionable不容置疑,
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理论是完美的,时机也是恰到好处的,
10:15
and the answer回答 as honest诚实 as a sinner罪人 could get.
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那回答像一个罪人给出的最诚实的坦白。
10:18
"I mustn't不得 love you," I said to them. "But I will ask God for forgiveness饶恕."
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“我不能爱你们”,我对他们说。“但是我会恳求上帝的原谅。”
10:23
"Because you don't love us, Norman诺曼,
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“既然你不爱我们,诺曼,
10:25
clearly明确地 you've chosen选择 your path路径."
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显然你已经选好了自己的道路。”
10:28
Twenty-four二十四 hours小时 later后来, my social社会 worker工人,
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二十四小时之后,我的那位社工,
10:31
this strange奇怪 man who used to visit访问 me every一切 couple一对 of months个月,
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那位陌生人,每隔几个月就来看看我,
10:34
he's waiting等候 for me in the car汽车 as I say goodbye再见 to my parents父母.
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他在车内等我与父母告别。
10:37
I didn't say goodbye再见 to anybody任何人, not my mother母亲, my father父亲,
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但我没对任何一个人说再见,没有对妈妈,没有对爸爸,
10:39
my sisters姐妹, my brothers兄弟, my aunts阿姨, my uncles叔叔,
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我的姐姐,哥哥,我的婶婶和叔叔,
10:41
my cousins表兄弟, my grandparents祖父母, nobody没有人.
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我的堂弟们,我的祖父母,没和任何一个人。
10:45
On the way to the children's儿童 home, I started开始 to ask myself,
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直到快到儿童收容所,我才开始问起自己,
10:48
"What's happened发生 to me?"
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“我出了什么事吗?”
10:51
It's not that I'd had the rug地毯 pulled from beneath下面 me
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这种感觉不仅仅是从我脚下抽走地毯
10:55
as much as the entire整个 floor地板 had been taken采取 away.
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而是把整个地板都给掀走了。
10:59
When I got to the —
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当我到了——
11:03
For the next下一个 four, five years年份,
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在接下来的四、五年
11:08
I was held保持 in four different不同 children's儿童 homes家园.
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我到了四个不同的儿童收容所,
11:12
On the third第三 children's儿童 home, at 15,
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在第三个收容所时,我是15岁,
11:16
I started开始 to rebel反叛, and what I did was,
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我开始叛逆,我那时候做的是,
11:19
I got three tins罐头 of paint涂料, AirfixAirfix膨胀 paint涂料 that you use for models楷模,
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我拿到三罐油漆,是那种用于做模型的蚀刻片漆,
11:23
and I was -- it was a big children's儿童 home, big Victorian维多利亚时代 children's儿童 home --
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那是一个有规模的儿童收容所,维多利亚儿童收养院
11:27
and I was in a little turret炮塔 at the top最佳 of it,
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我在一个小角楼的顶部,
11:29
and I poured them, red, yellow黄色 and green绿色,
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把那红的、黄的、绿的油漆倾倒下来,
11:32
the colors颜色 of Africa非洲, down the tiles瓷砖.
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那种非洲的色彩,沿着砖墙着落。
11:37
You couldn't不能 see it from the street, because the home
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你没法在街道上看到它们,因为这收容所
11:40
was surrounded包围 by beech榉木 trees树木.
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被山毛榉树重重包围。
11:42
For doing this, I was incarcerated嵌顿 for a year
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因为做了这样的事,我被关了一年禁闭
11:47
in an assessment评定 center中央 which哪一个 was actually其实
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在一个号称“观察评估中心”的地方
11:50
a remand归还 center中央. It was a virtual虚拟 prison监狱
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事实上是一个羁押所,一个虚拟的监狱
11:55
for young年轻 people.
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专门囚禁那些未成年人。
11:59
By the way, years年份 later后来, my social社会 worker工人 said
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顺便一提,数年以后,我的社工告诉我说
12:01
that I should never have been put in there.
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我其实不应该被囚禁在那里,
12:02
I wasn't charged带电 for anything. I hadn't有没有 doneDONE anything wrong错误.
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我并没有任何可以指控的罪行,我没有做错什么。
12:05
But because I had no family家庭 to inquire查询 about me,
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但仅仅因为我没有一个家人能够来取保我,
12:10
they could do anything to me.
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他们也无能为力。
12:14
I'm 17 years年份 old, and
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在我17岁的时候,
12:18
they had a padded棉服 cell细胞.
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他们有一个墙四周塞满软垫的囚室。
12:21
They would march游行 me down corridors走廊 in last-size最后大小 order订购.
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他们从走廊开始按年龄顺序强迫我
12:27
They -- I was put in a dormitory宿舍
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他们——把我关在一间宿舍
12:30
with a confirmed确认 Nazi纳粹 sympathizer同情者.
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与一个被确认为纳粹支持者的人住一起。
12:34
All of the staff员工 were ex-police前警察 -- interesting有趣 --
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所有这些员工都是“前警察”——非常有意思——
12:37
and ex-probation前试用 officers长官.
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以及“前试用官员”。
12:39
The man who ran it was an ex-army前陆军 officer.
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而负责管理的人是一个“前军官”。
12:43
Every一切 time I had a visit访问 by a person who I did not know
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每一次我都由一个不认识的人来探望
12:46
who would feed饲料 me grapes葡萄, once一旦 every一切 three months个月,
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他将喂我一些葡萄,三个月一次,
12:50
I was strip-searched带状搜索.
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我被当成嫌疑犯进行裸身搜查。
12:52
That home was full充分 of young年轻 boys男孩 who were on remand归还
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在那个房间里,充满那未成年人被指控
12:55
for things like murder谋杀.
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犯有类似谋杀的罪行。
13:01
And this was the preparation制备 that I was being存在 given特定
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我就是经由了这些准备过程
13:05
after 17 years年份 as a child儿童 of the state.
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结束了17年作为一个国家的孩子的身份。
13:11
I have to tell this story故事.
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我不得不向大家述说这个故事。
13:13
I have to tell it, because there was no one
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我不得不述说这些,因为这里没有一个人
13:16
to put two and two together一起.
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可以把你们两两凑在一起
13:18
I slowly慢慢地 became成为 aware知道的 that I knew知道 nobody没有人
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我慢慢的开始意识到,我发现没有人
13:21
that knew知道 me for longer than a year.
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会和我在一起超过一年。
13:25
See, that's what family家庭 does.
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看,这就是家庭所能带来的。
13:28
It gives you reference参考 points.
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它能给你参考点。
13:30
I'm not defining确定 a good family家庭 from a bad family家庭.
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我不去区分哪些好的家庭或坏的家庭。
13:33
I'm just saying that you know when your birthday生日 is
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我想说的是,你至少在你的生日
13:35
by virtue美德 of the fact事实 that somebody tells告诉 you when your birthday生日 is,
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会有人来告诉你,生日到了,
13:37
a mother母亲, a father父亲, a sister妹妹, a brother哥哥, an aunt姑妈, an uncle叔叔,
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会有母亲,父亲,姐姐,哥哥,婶婶,叔叔,
13:39
a cousin表姐, a grandparent祖父母. It matters事项 to someone有人,
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堂弟,祖父。它关系着人与人,
13:41
and therefore因此 it matters事项 to you. Understand理解,
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也因此牵系着你。请理解,
13:43
I was 14 years年份 old, tucked away in myself, into myself,
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我在14岁的时候,把自己藏起来,藏在自己内心,
13:48
and I wasn't touched感动 either, physically物理 touched感动.
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我不去与人交往,也没有肢体接触。
13:52
I'm reporting报告 back. I'm reporting报告 back simply只是 to say that
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让我回到主题,简单的说来
14:01
when I left the children's儿童 home I had two things
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当我离开收容所后,我有两件事
14:04
that I wanted to do. One was to find my family家庭,
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想要达成。一个是寻找我的家人,
14:08
and the other was to write poetry诗歌.
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另一个是写诗。
14:09
In creativity创造力 I saw light.
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在创作中,我看到了曙光。
14:12
In the imagination想像力 I saw the endless无穷 possibility可能性 of life,
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在想象中,我看到了生命无穷尽的可能性,
14:17
the endless无穷 truth真相, the permanent常驻 creation创建 of reality现实,
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真理的无尽,和真相的永恒,
14:23
the place地点 where anger愤怒 was an expression表达
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在那里,愤怒是用来表现
14:29
in the search搜索 for love, a place地点 where dysfunction功能障碍
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对爱的索取;在那里,不完美
14:33
is a true真正 reaction反应 to untruth谎言.
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是真诚对谎言的揭穿。
14:38
I've just got to say it to you all: I found发现 all of my family家庭
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我想告诉你们的是:我已经找到了我所有的家人
14:41
in my adult成人 life. I spent花费 all of my adult成人 life finding发现 them,
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在我成年以后。我用尽所有成年的时光来发现他们,
14:45
and I've now got a fully充分 dysfunctional功能失调 family家庭 just like everybody每个人 else其他.
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现在和在座各位一样,我已经有了虽然不健全但却完整的家庭。
14:49
But I'm reporting报告 back to you to say quite相当 simply只是
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我还是要再向大家做一个简单的总结
14:52
that you can define确定 how strong强大 a democracy民主 is
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你可以定义一个国家的民主程度
14:58
by how its government政府 treats对待 its child儿童.
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通过观察它的政府是如何对待它的孩子。
15:03
I don't mean children孩子. I mean the child儿童 of the state.
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我不是说所有的孩子,而是那些“国家孤儿”。
15:05
Thanks谢谢 very much. It's been an honor荣誉. (Applause掌声)
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非常感谢,非常荣幸。(掌声)
15:10
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Zheqing Fang
Reviewed by Si Xie

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lemn Sissay - Poet and playwright
An award-winning playwright and popular broadcaster in the UK, as well as the author of five poetry books, Lemn Sissay has a way with words.

Why you should listen

Lemn Sissay wears many hats as a writer and performer.

The author of five poetry collections, Sissay's poems dot the London landscape and are etched into major landmarks, from the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics to The Royal Festival Hall. In 2006, Desmond Tutu unveiled his sculpture poem "Gilt of Cain," located near Fenchurch Street Station. Currently an associate artist at Southbank Centre and patron of the Letterbox Club, Sissay was named the official poet of the London 2012 Olympics. His poetry art has also been displayed at The Royal Academy.

Sissay is perhaps best known for his work for the BBC, which shines a spotlight on his upbringing as a foster child in the UK. In 1995, he shared his story in the BBC documentary Internal Flight and his BBC radio documentary Child of the State was nominated for a 2010 Sony Award. His play Something Dark charts his quest to find his family. After a long search, he located his birth mom in Gambia and has since come to know the rest of his family.

More profile about the speaker
Lemn Sissay | Speaker | TED.com