ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez - 9/11 mothers
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue.

Why you should listen

Phyllis Rodriguez is an artist, a teacher and a social justice activist. On September 11, 2001, her son Greg died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Rodriguez and her husband wrote an open letter, "Not in Our Son's Name," calling on President Bush to oppose a military response in Afghanistan.

Aicha el-Wafi is an activist with the French feminist group Ni Putes Ni Soumise, working with Muslim women. Her son, Zacarias Moussaoui, was tried in relation to the attacks on US soil, and faced the possibility of execution if convicted.

In November 2002, Phyllis Rodriguez and several other relatives of victims of the attacks were invited to meet Aicha el-Wafi. Rodriguez and el-Wafi have since appeared together throughout Europe and the US, telling their story of reconciliation and forgiveness.

More profile about the speaker
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2010

Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez: The mothers who found forgiveness, friendship

911的療癒: 兩位媽媽所找到的原諒和友誼

Filmed:
964,245 views

Phyllis Rodriguez 和Aicha el-Wafi 由於同樣經歷了失去兒子的哀傷, 她們建立一段非常不尋常的友誼。Rodriguez 的兒子在二零零一年九一一世貿中心被襲意外中喪生。el-Wafi 的兒子Zacarias Moussaoui 被控參與這場襲擊而判處無期徒刑。為了尋求世界的和平, 這兩個母親走在一起學著怎樣去互相明白和尊重。
- 9/11 mothers
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue. Full bio

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

00:15
Phyllis菲利斯 Rodriguez羅德里格斯: We are here today今天
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我們今天在此
00:18
because of the fact事實
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因為這個事實
00:20
that we have what most people consider考慮
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我們擁有大多數人所認為的
00:22
an unusual異常 friendship友誼.
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不尋常的友情。
00:24
And it is.
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這是,
00:26
And yet然而, it feels感覺 natural自然 to us now.
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即使如此, 但現在, 我們都感到很自然。
00:29
I first learned學到了
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我第一次知道
00:31
that my son兒子 had been in the World世界 Trade貿易 Center中央
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我的兒子在世界貿易中心
00:35
on the morning早上 of September九月 11th, 2001.
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在二零零一年九月十一日的早上。
00:39
We didn't know
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我們並不知道
00:41
if he had perished遇難 yet然而
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他是否遇害
00:43
until直到 36 hours小時 later後來.
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直到三十六小時之後。
00:48
At the time,
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當時,
00:50
we knew知道 that it was political政治.
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我們知道這是政治的原因。
00:53
We were afraid害怕 of what our country國家 was going to do
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我們都很擔心我們的國家將會做些什麼事
00:56
in the name名稱 of our son兒子 --
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以我們兒子之名---
00:58
my husband丈夫, Orlando奧蘭多, and I and our family家庭.
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我的丈夫, 我, 以及我的家人
01:01
And when I saw it --
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當我們看到---
01:03
and yet然而, through通過 the shock休克,
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雖然, 很震驚
01:05
the terrible可怕 shock休克,
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很可怕的震驚,
01:07
and the terrible可怕 explosion爆炸 in our lives生活, literally按照字面,
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也是我們生命裡的可怕的爆炸
01:13
we were not vengeful復仇.
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但是我們沒有想著要報仇。
01:16
And a couple一對 of weeks later後來
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數個星期之後
01:18
when Zacarias扎卡里亞斯 Moussaoui穆薩維 was indicted被起訴
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當Zacharias Moussaoui 被指控
01:21
on six counts計數 of conspiracy陰謀 to commit承諾 terrorism恐怖主義,
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六項恐佈襲擊的陰謀時,
01:26
and the U.S. government政府 called for a death死亡 penalty罰款
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美國政府要求對他判處死刑
01:29
for him, if convicted被定罪,
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如果罪名成立的話。
01:31
my husband丈夫 and I spoke out
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我和我的丈夫對公開
01:34
in opposition反對 to that, publicly公然.
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反對這判決。
01:37
Through通過 that
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透過這
01:39
and through通過 human人的 rights權利 groups,
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也透過人權組織,
01:41
we were brought together一起
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我們跟
01:43
with several一些 other victims'受害者 families家庭.
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其他受害者家屬組織起來了
01:46
When I saw Aicha艾莎 in the media媒體,
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當我在媒體上看到Aichia,
01:49
coming未來 over when her son兒子 was indicted被起訴,
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為她的兒子的起訴而走過來的時候,
01:52
and I thought, "What a brave勇敢 woman女人.
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我在想: 「這真是一個勇敢的女人。
01:55
Someday日後 I want to meet遇到 that woman女人 when I'm stronger."
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我希望有一天, 當我強壯一點的時候, 可以跟她見面。」
01:58
I was still in deep grief哀思;
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我仍在深深的哀傷之中;
02:00
I knew知道 I didn't have the strength強度.
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我知道我沒有這份力氣。
02:02
I knew知道 I would find her someday日後,
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但我知道我有一天會去找她,
02:04
or we would find each other.
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或, 我們會去找到對方。
02:06
Because, when people heard聽說 that my son兒子 was a victim受害者,
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因為, 當別人聽到我的兒子是受害者,
02:10
I got immediate即時 sympathy同情.
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我即時得到同情。
02:13
But when people learned學到了
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但當人們知道
02:15
what her son兒子 was accused被告 of,
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她的兒子所被指控的事,
02:17
she didn't get that sympathy同情.
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她沒有得到同樣的同情。
02:19
But her suffering痛苦 is equal等於 to mine.
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可是, 她的痛苦是跟我相同的。
02:22
So we met會見 in November十一月 2002,
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我們在二零零二年十一月相見。
02:25
and Aicha艾莎 will now tell you
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現在Aicha會告訴你
02:28
how that came來了 about.
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這些事情是怎樣發生的。
02:33
(Translator翻譯者) Aicha艾莎 el-Wafi埃爾 - 瓦菲: Good afternoon下午, ladies女士們 and gentlemen紳士.
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〈傳譯〉Aicha el-Wafi:午安, 各位先生和女士。
02:39
I am the mother母親 of Zacarias扎卡里亞斯 Moussaoui穆薩維.
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我是Zacharias Moussaoui 的媽媽。
02:48
And I asked
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我去要求
02:53
the Organization組織 of Human人的 Rights
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人權組織
02:55
to put me in touch觸摸 with the parents父母 of the victims受害者.
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讓我去接觸那些受害人的父母。
03:03
So they introduced介紹 me
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所以他們介紹我給
03:06
to five families家庭.
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給五個家庭認識。
03:12
And I saw Phyllis菲利斯, and I watched看著 her.
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我看見Phyllis, 我一直留意著她。
03:17
She was the only mother母親 in the group.
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她是那個小組裡唯一的媽媽。
03:22
The others其他 were brothers兄弟, sisters姐妹.
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其他都是兄弟或是姊妹。
03:28
And I saw in her eyes眼睛
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我從她的眼睛看到
03:30
that she was a mother母親, just like me.
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她也是一個媽媽, 跟我一樣的。
03:34
I suffered遭遇 a lot as a mother母親.
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我作為一個媽媽很痛苦。
03:41
I was married已婚 when I was 14.
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我十四歲便已經結了婚。
03:46
I lost丟失 a child兒童 when I was 15,
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我在十五歲的時候失去了一個孩子,
03:51
a second第二 child兒童 when I was 16.
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當我十六歲時失去了第二個孩子。
03:57
So the story故事 with Zacarias扎卡里亞斯 was too much really.
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所以和Zacharias的故事實在是太過深刻了。
04:03
And I still suffer遭受,
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但我仍然痛苦,
04:07
because my son兒子
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因為我兒子
04:09
is like he's buried隱藏 alive.
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就像是被活埋了一樣。
04:14
I know she really cried哭了 for her son兒子.
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我知道她真的為兒子而哭。
04:19
But she knows知道 where he is.
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但她知道他在哪裡,
04:28
My son兒子, I don't know where he is.
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我的兒子, 我不知道他在那裡。
04:30
I don't know if he's alive. I don't know if he's tortured折磨.
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我不知道他是否仍然生存, 不知道他是否受到折磨。
04:32
I don't know what happened發生 to him.
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我不知道他發生了什麼事。
04:38
So that's why I decided決定 to tell my story故事,
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於是, 我決定去說我的故事,
04:40
so that my suffering痛苦 is something positive for other women婦女.
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希望令我痛苦的事, 對其他女性來說, 可以有正面的意義。
04:48
For all the women婦女, all the mothers母親 that give life,
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對所有的女人,所有賦予生命的媽媽,
04:55
you can give back,
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你可以貢獻,
04:57
you can change更改.
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你可以改變。
04:59
It's up to us women婦女,
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這取決於我們女人,
05:02
because we are women婦女,
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因為我們都是女人,
05:05
because we love our children孩子.
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因為我們愛我們的孩子。
05:13
We must必須 be hand-in-hand手牽手
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我們一定要手牽手
05:15
and do something together一起.
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一起去做一些事。
05:19
It's not against反對 women婦女,
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這不是反對女性
05:21
it's for us, for us women婦女,
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這是為我們, 為我們女人
05:23
for our children孩子.
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為我們的孩子。
05:34
I talk against反對 violence暴力, against反對 terrorism恐怖主義.
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我講反抗暴力, 反抗恐佈主義。
05:37
I go to schools學校
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我去學校
05:39
to talk to young年輕, Muslim穆斯林 girls女孩
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跟年青的伊斯蘭女孩講說
05:42
so they don't accept接受 to be married已婚 against反對 their will very young年輕.
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令她們不去接受那些不符自己意願的早婚。
05:58
So if I can save保存 one of the young年輕 girls女孩,
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於是, 我可以拯救其中一些女孩,
06:03
and avoid避免 that they get married已婚 and suffer遭受 as much as I did,
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以及防止她的早婚令她們跟我們一樣的受苦,
06:06
well this is something good.
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我想, 這是一些好的事情。
06:10
This is why I'm here in front面前 of you.
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這也是為什麼我會在你們面前。
06:12
PRPR: I would like to say
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PR:我會說
06:14
that I have learned學到了 so much from Aicha艾莎,
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我在Aicha 身上學到很多東西,
06:17
starting開始 with that day we had our very first meeting會議
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由我們第一次的見面開始
06:20
with other family家庭 members會員 --
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也跟其他的家庭成員---
06:22
which哪一個 was a very private私人的 meeting會議 with security安全,
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這是一個高度保密的私人會面,
06:25
because it was November十一月 2002,
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因為當時是二零零二年十一月,
06:28
and, frankly坦率地說, we were afraid害怕 of the super-patriotism超級愛國主義 of that time in the country國家 --
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誠然, 我們也害怕當時國家裡的超級愛國主義---
06:34
those of us family家庭 members會員.
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我們那些家庭成員。
06:38
But we were all so nervous緊張.
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我們全部人都好緊張。
06:41
"Why does she want to meet遇到 us?"
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「她為什麼想去見我們呢?」
06:44
And then she was nervous緊張.
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接著, 她也十分緊張
06:46
"Why did we want to meet遇到 her?"
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「為什麼我們會想去見她呢?」
06:48
What did we want from each other?
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我們大家想在對方身上得到些什麼呢?
06:52
Before we knew知道 each others'其他' names, or anything,
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在我們知道大家的名字或是其他東西之前,
06:55
we had embraced擁抱 and wept哭泣.
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我們已經相擁而哭了。
06:57
Then we satSAT in a circle
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在那些曾經經歷過和解的人的協助之下,
07:00
with support支持, with help,
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讓我們在互相支持和幫助的
07:02
from people experienced有經驗的 in this kind of reconciliation和解.
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圍坐在一圈
07:06
And Aicha艾莎 started開始,
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由Aicha 開始,
07:08
and she said,
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她說:
07:10
"I don't know if my son兒子
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「我不知道我的兒子
07:13
is guilty有罪 or innocent無辜,
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是有罪還是無罪,
07:15
but I want to tell you how sorry I am
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但我想告訴你, 我是怎樣的難過
07:18
for what happened發生 to your families家庭.
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為著你家中所發生的事情。
07:23
I know what it is to suffer遭受,
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我知道這是怎樣的難受
07:26
and I feel that if there is a crime犯罪,
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我認為, 如果這是一個罪行
07:30
a person should be tried試著 fairly相當 and punished處罰."
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那個人應該得到公平的審判及懲罸。」
07:35
But she reached到達 out to us in that way,
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她就是這樣的接觸我們。
07:39
and it was, I'd like to say, it was an ice-breaker破冰船.
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這是, 我會說這是一個破冰的過程。
07:43
And what happened發生 then is we all told our stories故事,
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接著發生的事, 我們每人都說了自己的故事,
07:47
and we all connected連接的 as human人的 beings眾生.
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我們都作為人而被連繫著。
07:49
By the end結束 of the afternoon下午 --
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在那個下午完結的時候---
07:51
it was about three hours小時 after lunch午餐 --
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大概是午餐後的三小時---
07:55
we'd星期三 felt as if we'd星期三 known已知 each other forever永遠.
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我們都感到好像大家已經認識了很久。
07:57
Now what I learned學到了 from her,
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從她身上我學習到,
07:59
is a woman女人, not only who could be so generous慷慨
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作為一個女人, 不單止是她可以如此的寬容
08:02
under these present當下 circumstances情況
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即使在那時的處境
08:04
and what it was then,
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以及往後的日子,
08:06
and what was being存在 doneDONE to her son兒子,
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和所有在她兒子身上所發生的,
08:08
but the life she's had.
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而這就是她所經歷的人生。
08:10
I never had met會見
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我從來沒有遇過
08:12
someone有人 with such這樣 a hard life,
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別人有著如她一樣的刻苦的人生,
08:14
from such這樣 a totally完全 different不同 culture文化 and environment環境 from my own擁有.
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並且是來自一個跟自己全然不同的文化和環境。
08:19
And I feel
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我感到
08:21
that we have
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我們有一種
08:23
a special特別 connection連接,
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很特別的連繫,
08:25
which哪一個 I value very much.
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這是我非常珍惜的。
08:27
And I think it's all about
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我想
08:30
being存在 afraid害怕 of the other,
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由互相害怕,
08:32
but making製造 that step
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但走了這樣一步
08:35
and then realizing實現, "Hey, this wasn't so hard.
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接著發現, 「啊, 這也不是很困難。
08:38
Who else其他 can I meet遇到 that I don't know,
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還有那個我不認識的人
08:40
or that I'm so different不同 from?"
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或是跟我很不一樣的人, 我不可以跟他見面呢?」
08:44
So, Aicha艾莎,
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所以, Aicha
08:46
do you have a couple一對 of words
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你可有些說話
08:48
for conclusion結論?
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去做總結
08:50
Because our time is up.
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因為我們的時間到了
08:52
(Laughter笑聲)
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笑聲
09:00
(Translator翻譯者) AWAW: I wanted to say
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〈傳譯〉AW:我想說
09:02
that we have to try to know other people, the other.
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我們都努力嘗試去認識其他人。
09:08
You have to be generous慷慨,
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我們都要寬容,
09:10
and your hearts心中 must必須 be generous慷慨,
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你的心也要寬容,
09:12
your mind心神 must必須 be generous慷慨.
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你的心念也要寬容。
09:15
You must必須 be tolerant寬容.
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你一定要堅忍,
09:20
You have to fight鬥爭 against反對 violence暴力.
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你要去反抗暴力。
09:26
And I hope希望 that someday日後 we'll all live生活 together一起
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我希望有一天, 我們都能夠
09:29
in peace和平 and respecting關於 each other.
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以和平以及尊重活在一起。
09:32
This is what I wanted to say.
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這是我想說的。
09:34
(Applause掌聲)
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掌聲
Translated by Suet Mei Hau
Reviewed by Jennifer Lien

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez - 9/11 mothers
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue.

Why you should listen

Phyllis Rodriguez is an artist, a teacher and a social justice activist. On September 11, 2001, her son Greg died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Rodriguez and her husband wrote an open letter, "Not in Our Son's Name," calling on President Bush to oppose a military response in Afghanistan.

Aicha el-Wafi is an activist with the French feminist group Ni Putes Ni Soumise, working with Muslim women. Her son, Zacarias Moussaoui, was tried in relation to the attacks on US soil, and faced the possibility of execution if convicted.

In November 2002, Phyllis Rodriguez and several other relatives of victims of the attacks were invited to meet Aicha el-Wafi. Rodriguez and el-Wafi have since appeared together throughout Europe and the US, telling their story of reconciliation and forgiveness.

More profile about the speaker
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez | Speaker | TED.com