Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger: Our story of rape and reconciliation
ثورديس إيلفا وتوم سترينجر: قصتنا عن الاغتصاب والمصالحة
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and descriptions of sexual violence
صادمة ووصف لعنفٍ جنسي،
when I was 18 years old,
عندما كنت أبلغ من العمر 18 عامًا،
on an international exchange program.
في برنامج التبادل الدولي.
who prefers proper icy cold weather,
أفضل الطقس الجليدي البارد،
when I got on a plane to Iceland,
عندما صعدت إلى الطائرة متجهًا لآيسلاندا،
my parents and brothers goodbye.
of a beautiful Icelandic family
of the melodic Icelandic language.
اللغة الأيسلندية الرخيمة.
period of homesickness.
من الحنين إلى الوطن.
that you don't yet fully understand
لاتفهمها جيدًا بعد
I try out for the school play,
أشارك في مسرحية المدرسة،
being part of the play,
to just hold hands
لنشابك أيدينا فقط
and she met my friends.
هي بأصدقائي.
for a bit over a month
and in love for the first time.
ومغرمة للمرة الأولى.
of our relationship,
girl in the world.
حظًا في العالم.
rum for the first time that night, too.
شُربَ الرم في تلك الليلة أيضًا.
to call me an ambulance,
in shining armor,
في درعه اللامع،
towards him soon turned to horror
سرعان ما تحول إلى رعب
and get on top of me.
too weak to fight back,
on my alarm clock.
seconds in two hours.
في ساعتين.
and crying for weeks,
about rape like I'd seen on TV.
مثل ما شاهدت على التلفاز.
what had happened to me as rape,
ما حدث لي بأنه اغتصاب،
to address what had happened.
من التبليغ عن ما حدث.
where girls are taught
من نصيبي أنا.
from being raped that night,
دون تعرضي للاغتصاب في تلك الليلة،
from being raped that night
تعرضي للاغتصاب في تلك الليلة
that I tried to stifle.
around my mind as it should've,
كما كان ينبغي لها أن تكون،
with memories of the night before.
of reality was forbidden.
الأمر كان محظورًا.
refuted any recognition
in the days afterwards
في الأيام التالية
myself it was sex and not rape.
بأنه كان ممارسة للجنس وليس اغتصابًا.
spine-bending guilt for.
بذنب يقصم الظهر.
a couple of days later,
of my year in Iceland,
of heavyheartedness each time.
something immeasurably wrong.
شيئًا خاطئًا لا يغتفر.
I sunk the memories deep,
تلك الذكريات عميقًا،
as "Denial and Running."
لها هو "الإنكار والهرب".
the real torment that I caused,
العذاب الحقيقي الذي تسبّبت به،
of my inner speak,
upon other parts of my life
that I wasn't a bad person.
بأنني لم أكن شخصًا سيئًا.
this dark corner of myself,
لهذا الجانب المظلم من نفسي،
for a nervous breakdown.
under a soul-crushing load of silence
صمتٍ ساحقٍ للنفس
that I cared about,
with misplaced hatred and anger
of the door in tears
in moments of inspiration,
لحظات الإلهام،
to be constantly fidgeting,
احتجت أن اكون دائمة الحركة،
as the words streamed out of my pen,
وهي تنهمر من قلمي،
I've ever written,
that he subjected me to,
was my way out of my suffering,
كان طريقي للخروج من معاناتي،
he deserved my forgiveness,
يستحق عفوي،
of negative responses,
no response whatsoever.
لا استجابة على الإطلاق.
that I didn't prepare myself for
full of disarming regret.
had been imprisoned by silence.
of an eight-year-long correspondence
that I'd wrongfully shouldered,
كنت تحملتها بغير وجه حق،
owned up to what he'd done.
from gut-wrenching
closure for me.
didn't feel personal enough,
لم يكن شخصيًا كفاية،
screen on the other side of the planet.
على الجانب الأخر من الكوكب.
to explore to its fullest.
أن نكمله إلى أخره.
to propose a wild idea:
are geographically like this.
a stunningly powerful environment
and forgiveness.
and rapprochement been tested
في الشفاء والتقارب
to sit within the truth of its past,
أن تتعايش مع حقيقة ماضيها،
of its history.
that Cape Town had on us.
our life stories to each other,
our own history.
of being honest,
على أن نكون صادقين،
with a certain exposure,
absolutely couldn't fathom
were spoken aloud and felt,
قِيل عاليًا وشُعِرَ به،
but liberating laughter.
غير متوقعة تمامًا ولكن محرّرة.
to each other intently.
لبعضنا البعض باهتمام.
were aired with an unfiltered purity
بصفاء غير منمّق
than lighten the soul.
is a very human emotion --
عاطفة بشرية جدًا --
as he had hurt me.
out of the hatred and anger,
من الغضب والكراهية،
my doubts along the way.
الشكوك طوال الطريق.
on that landing strip in Cape Town,
الطائرات في كيب تاون،
a therapist and a bottle of vodka
وأشتريت زجاجة فودكا
for understanding in Cape Town
التفاهم في كيب تاون
husband, Vidir,
in a victorious feeling
could be built out of the ruins.
من تحت الأنقاض.
that you needed when you were younger.
الذي أردت أن تكونه عندما كنت صغيرًا.
that the shame wasn't mine,
upon my return from Cape Town,
حثيثًا حين عودتي من كيب تاون،
ساهم في كتابته (توم)،
to people from both ends
للأشخاص من كلا الطرفين
to hear when we were younger.
لسماعها عندما كنّا أصغر.
that inevitably accompany it --
in their connotations.
في مضامينها.
as someone damaged,
has been branded a rapist,
to call him a monster --
what it is in human societies
في المجتمعات البشرية
the humanity of those who commit it?
بإنسانية أولئك الذين يرتكبونه؟
if we're making them feel less than?
يشعرون بأنهم أقل شأنًا؟
to one of the biggest threats
لواحد من أكبر الأخطار
around the world,
are part of the problem?
هي جزء من المشكلة؟
were a self-centered taking.
مفعمة بالأنانية.
social influences
ايجابية في المقام الأول
behavior around me.
as having less intrinsic worth,
and symbolic claim to their bodies.
للمطالبة بأجسادهن.
are external to me, though.
غريبة عني، بالرغم من ذلك.
making choices,
من يتخذ الخيارات،
under the weight of responsibility.
of humanity would be burnt.
to really own what I did,
الاعتراف بما فعلت،
the entirety of who I am.
to constitute the sum of who you are.
أن يشكّل مجمل من تكون.
was starved of oxygen,
المتساهل على الذات،
with the clean air of acceptance --
this wonderful person standing next to me;
الرائعة الواقفة إلى جواري؛
and shockingly everyday grouping of men
الجمع الكبير والمريع من الرجال
toward their partners.
changed my accord with myself,
غيّر وفاقي مع نفسي،
to female survivors of sexual violence,
الناجيات من العنف الجنسي،
at a great distance from the truth.
على مسافة بعيدة جدًا من الحقيقة.
conversation happening now,
that there's less retreating
but important discussion.
to add our voices to it.
that we're prescribing for others.
نفرضها على الأخرين.
how to handle their deepest pain
بكيفية التعامل مع أعمق آلامهم
you are in the world,
to speak out about rape.
traumatic event of my life
without getting ostracized,
بدون أن يتم نبذي،
my fellow survivors who can't.
من الناجين الذين لا يستطيعون.
violence being a global pandemic.
كون العنف الجنسي وباءً عالميًا.
on my own healing journey
أثناء رحلتي للشفاء
I've been reading, writing
for over a decade now,
من عقدٍ من الزمان،
are almost exclusively women.
على نحو حصري تقريبًا.
sexual violence as a women's issue.
العنف الجنسي على أنه قضية المرأة.
against women and men
underrepresented in this discussion.
بشدة في هذا النقاش.
we could alleviate
التي يمكننا تخفيفها
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Thordis Elva - WriterThordis Elva is one of the two authors of "South of Forgiveness," a unique collaboration between a survivor and perpetrator of rape.
Why you should listen
Thordis Elva is a firm believer in the healing potential of dialogue when it comes to ending the silence that shrouds sexual violence. In 2015, she was voted Woman of the Year in her native Iceland due to her tireless campaigning for gender equality.
As an award-winning writer, journalist and public speaker, Elva has utilized many different platforms for her activism, including plays, films and books. Her passion for equality extends to the internet, and she has toured extensively giving lectures about online bullying, non-consensual pornography and digital human rights to audiences such as the United Nations and the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Read a Q&A with Elva about her TED Talk on the TED Blog.
Thordis Elva | Speaker | TED.com
Tom Stranger - Co-author, landscape gardener
Tom Stranger is the co-author "South of Forgiveness."
Why you should listen
Social sciences and the outdoors have been both professional directions and personal themes for Tom Stranger. After studying social science and working in outdoor recreation, Tom Stranger's focus shifted towards working with young people with complex needs -- mental health challenges, substance addiction, homelessness and neurological impairment. His time working with young people has taught him the immense value of listening with intent.
Stranger has recently completed and thoroughly enjoyed a Master of Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, and he has returned to work in the outdoors as a landscaper. During his studies, he was involved as a co-author in the writing of South of Forgiveness. He and the book's primary author, Thordis Elva, share the hope that in speaking up they will add their voices to the ever-growing public discourse around relations of gender and sexual violence.
Read a Q&A with Stranger about his TED Talk on the TED Blog.
Tom Stranger | Speaker | TED.com