Vincent Cochetel: I was held hostage for 317 days. Here's what I thought about…
وینسنت کوشتل: تجربه من از ۳۱۷ روز گروگان بودن
Vincent Cochetel is the Director of the Bureau for Europe at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Full bio
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their humanity,
"وقایع امنیتی" بایگانی شده.
of humanitarian aid workers
in Chechnya in the '90s.
در دهه ۹۰ به ارمغان بیاورند.
shelter experts,
for these crimes.
meaning every day.
the dark street of my mind.
to be at the side of the victim,
some comfort, some protection,
امنیت و آرامش برایشان ایجاد کنند،
protection themselves,
of your newspaper these days
so indifferent to these crimes?
بی تفاوت شده ایم؟
to remember them.
زنده کردن یاد آنها بیابیم.
to which they dedicated their lives.
جانشان را برایش دادند، بپردازیم.
for Refugees to the North Caucasus,
به شمال قفقاز اعزام شدم
vehicles, decoy cars,
، ماشین های گشت
changing homes,
of January '98, it was my turn.
ژانویه سال ۹۸، نوبت من شد.
in Vladikavkaz with a guard,
they put him on the floor,
and forced to kneel,
و روی زانو نشسته بودم
pressed against my neck.
no time for praying.
یا دعا کردن ندارید.
the life I'd just left behind.
were not there to kill me,
had ordered my kidnapping.
started that day.
some of those 317 days of captivity.
تجربه اون ۳۱۷ روز اسارتم بگم.
would come, normally two.
and I returned to darkness.
no newspaper, no one to talk to.
نه روزنامه ای و نه همصحبتی.
one for water, for one waste.
یکی برای آب، یکی هم برای فضولات.
can be a pastime for guards
حکم سرگرمی داشت.
or when they are just bored or drunk?
یا وقتی حوصلهاش سررفته بود یا مست بود.
are particularly difficult to describe.
کار خیلی دشواری است
of loneliness I reached
عمق تنهایی ام،
between sanity and madness.
پیدا نمی کنم.
I played imaginary games of checkers.
تو خیالم چکرز بازی می کردم
trying to trick the other side.
و سعی می کردم سفیدها رو ببرم.
family and my colleague, the guard, Edik.
و محاظفم، ادیک، عذابم می داد.
exercise on the spot.
of memorization games.
مشغول می کردم.
and thoughts that are not normal.
افکاری بوجود میاره که عادی نیستن.
to resist, to shout, to cry,
و فریاد بزنه
orders you to shut up
"ساکت باش
there is no one to arbitrate.
بدون داور و قاضی.
very aggressively, and he told me,
و بهم گفت:
and beg for your food."
باید زانو بزنی و التماس کنی."
so I insulted him.
بهش فحش دادم.
I insulted his ancestors.
he threw the food into my waste.
غذا رو ریخت تو سطل فضولات.
with the same demand.
دوباره همون درخواست.
the body was full of pain.
when you have so little.
to make it to another candle.
رسیدن دوباره به شمع بود.
from North Ossetia to Chechnya,
in the trunks of different cars,
در راه بودم،
to tie me on the chair,
I could not understand,
I did not want to understand.
اصلا نمی خواستم بفهمم.
was the duration of the tape:
I don't know what it was,
که بالای سرم گریه می کرد.
خیلی آشفته بود.
Is he feeling better?"
may have leaked some details
نگهبان ها دهن لقی کرده اند
supplying medicines to local clinics
we talked about families.
about cars, about women,
about cars, about women.
the last song on the tape.
که در عمرم می دیدم.
to another place.
very close -- it was quite unusual --
خیلی نزدیک--خیلی عجیب بود--
a very soft voice, he said,
provided my family
in nearby Dagestan."
It was like a blade in the belly.
مثل چاقویی بود که وارد شکمت بشه.
to try to reconcile
در ذهنم هضم کنم
to assist that family
همه فعالیت هایمان را زیر سوال ببرم.
که آنها ما رو چطور می بینند.
that they know why we are there
آنها میدآنند ما چرا آنجا رفتیم
is not that easy,
چندان آسان نیست،
a substitute for political solution.
جایگزین راه حل های سیاسی نیست.
چون حتی یک جان هم ارزش دارد.
difference you make --
a small group of individuals --
گروه کوچکی از افراد--
an earthquake or a typhoon,
و یا طوفان
coming from all over the world,
when we help refugees,
کمک می کنیم
by conflict, or stateless persons,
یا آدم های بی کشور،
by overwhelming suffering,
و همانجا متوقف می شوند.
so many ways people can help.
برای کمک کردن هست.
to provide some assistance,
برای کمک انجام میدهیم.
I don't know, simply human.
چه می دانم، فقط انسان باشیم.
the day of my release.
I met the then-French prime minister.
با نخست وزیر وقت فرانسه دیدار کردم.
to go to the North Caucasus.
problems you've created for us."
in danger is responsible.
یک وظیفه است.
seriously wanted to stop,
به شکل جدی نمی خواست پایان بگیرد
and a bit of protection
و حفاظت از آنها
for the people.
در زندگی آدمها بود.
Responsibility to Protect.
حفاظت از دیگران، وظیفه ماست.
on various parameters.
به شرایط متعددی بستگی داره،
but there is worse than failing --
اما از این بدتر هم هست--
if you sign up for this sort of job,
اگر این کار را انتخاب کردید،
of joy and sadness,
we cannot help,
کمکشان کنیم،
a lot of people we did not save.
خیلی ها را نتوانستیم نجات دهیم.
their suffering from close,
of that suffering on yourself.
with a lot of bitterness.
where they are witness,
to bring any change.
into positive energy.
به انرژی مثبت تبدیل کنند.
there is no other job like this.
آن را با هیچ کار دیگری عوض نمی کنند.
you make every day.
تغییراتی که ایجاد کردید باشید.
know the risk they are taking
in post-conflict environments,
یا جاهایی که تازه جنگ تمام شده.
increasingly life-threatening,
هر روز بیش از قبل می شود.
aid workers has tripled?
سه برابر شده؟
in Somalia in the late '80s,
در دهه ۸۰ میلادی،
were sometimes victims
the target of these attacks.
a U.N. blue flag or a Red Cross
over the last 20 years,
questioned, and often ignored,
زیر سوال رفته و نا دیده گرفته شده.
we have abandoned the search for justice.
ما دیگر به دنبال جست و جوی عدالت نیستیم.
no consequence whatsoever
humanitarian aid workers.
اصلا و ابدا هیچ عواقبی در پی ندارد.
not to seek any form of justice.
به هیچ وجه قضیه را پیگیری قضایی نکنم.
that's what I was told.
فایده ای نخواهد داشت.
the life of other colleagues.
همکاران دیگر را هم به خطر می اندازی.
with my kidnapping,
در ربودنم نقش داشتن را ببینم.
of the humanitarian aid workers
between '95 and '99,
صورت نگرفت.
are war crimes in international law.
فعالان کارهای بشردوستانه جنایت جنگی محسوب میشود.
against humanitarian aid workers
حمله به فعالان کمک های بشر دوستانه
compared to the refugees I work for.
برایشان کار میکنم، من خیلی خوش شانسم
my whole town destroyed.
my relatives shot in front of me.
در برابر چشمم، چه حسی دارد،
the protection of my country.
از سوی کشورم چیست.
compared to other hostages.
گروگانهای دیگر هم خیلی خوش شانس هستم.
four hostages were beheaded
چهار نفر از گروگانها گردن زده شدند
I was kept in captivity.
that I got from my relatives,
from people I didn't know.
و حتی کسانی که نمی شناسم.
to come out of the darkness.
بیرون آمدن از تاریکی، آنها کمکم کردند.
with the same attention.
after a traumatic incident,
went through a difficult divorce
anything anymore to their spouse?
چیزی را به همسرشان توضیح دهند.
this beautiful inscription at the top.
این جمله زیبا نوشته شده:
nothing is forgotten."
هیچ چیز فراموش نمی شود."
از دست داده ام را فراموش نمی کنم.
aid workers around the world
تمام فعالان در سرتا سر دنیا
they have brought to be switched off.
به ارمغان آوردن، خاموش شود.
asked me, "But why do you continue?
"چرا هنوز ادامه میدی؟"
my kidnapper had won.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Vincent Cochetel - HumanitarianVincent Cochetel is the Director of the Bureau for Europe at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Why you should listen
Vincent Cochetel is the Director of the Bureau for Europe at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There he focuses on the specific challenges of the region — maintaining quality in asylum-seeking procedures, ensuring access to protection for those fleeing the conflict in Syria, combatting a rise in xenophobia, and allocating resources for those affected by conflicts of the past.
In 1998, Cochetel was kidnapped near Chechnya. For 317 days, he was chained to a bed frame in a cellar and deprived of light. But far from withdrawing from humanitarian work, the experience made him more determined than ever to improve the rights of refugees worldwide. He has written articles on numerous refugee issues and contributed to the drafting of several UNHCR training manuals related to staff safety, emergency management, and protection.
Vincent Cochetel | Speaker | TED.com