Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger: Our story of rape and reconciliation
ת'ורדיס אלבה, טום סטריינג'ר: הסיפור שלנו על אונס ופיוס
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and descriptions of sexual violence
של אלימות מינית]
when I was 18 years old,
on an international exchange program.
חילופי תלמידים בינלאומית.
who prefers proper icy cold weather,
מזג-אוויר קר כקרח,
when I got on a plane to Iceland,
מטוס לאיסלנד,
my parents and brothers goodbye.
of a beautiful Icelandic family
איסלנדית יפיפיה.
of the melodic Icelandic language.
האיסלנדית המלודיסטית.
period of homesickness.
that you don't yet fully understand
עדיין לא לגמרי מבין
I try out for the school play,
במחזה של בית-הספר
being part of the play,
to just hold hands
רק כדי להחזיק ידיים
and she met my friends.
והיא פגשה את החברים שלי.
for a bit over a month
and in love for the first time.
בפעם הראשונה.
of our relationship,
girl in the world.
rum for the first time that night, too.
לשתות רום בפעם הראשונה.
to call me an ambulance,
in shining armor,
towards him soon turned to horror
מהר הפכה לאימה
and get on top of me.
ולעלות עליי.
too weak to fight back,
מכדי להאבק,
on my alarm clock.
seconds in two hours.
and crying for weeks,
about rape like I'd seen on TV.
כמו שראיתי בטלויזיה.
what had happened to me as rape,
to address what had happened.
להתעסק במה שקרה.
where girls are taught
from being raped that night,
להיאנס בלילה ההוא,
from being raped that night
להיאנס בלילה ההוא
that I tried to stifle.
around my mind as it should've,
כפי שהייתה אמורה.
with memories of the night before.
של הלילה הקודם.
of reality was forbidden.
הייתה אסורה.
refuted any recognition
in the days afterwards
במשך ימים לאחר מכן,
myself it was sex and not rape.
שזה היה סקס ולא אונס.
spine-bending guilt for.
a couple of days later,
of my year in Iceland,
of heavyheartedness each time.
something immeasurably wrong.
רע לאין שיעור.
I sunk the memories deep,
הטבעתי את הזכרונות עמוק בפנים,
של תשע שנים
as "Denial and Running."
כ"הכחשה ובריחה".
the real torment that I caused,
את העינוי שגרמתי,
of my inner speak,
upon other parts of my life
that I wasn't a bad person.
שאני לא אדם רע.
this dark corner of myself,
בפינה החשוכה הזו שלי
for a nervous breakdown.
under a soul-crushing load of silence
עומס כבד של שתיקה
that I cared about,
with misplaced hatred and anger
of the door in tears
in moments of inspiration,
ברגעים של השראה
to be constantly fidgeting,
להיות תמיד בתזוזה,
as the words streamed out of my pen,
במילים זורמות החוצה מהעט שלי,
I've ever written,
שאי פעם כתבתי,
that he subjected me to,
was my way out of my suffering,
הדרך שלי החוצה מהסבל,
he deserved my forgiveness,
of negative responses,
no response whatsoever.
that I didn't prepare myself for
full of disarming regret.
had been imprisoned by silence.
of an eight-year-long correspondence
בת שמונה שנים
that I'd wrongfully shouldered,
על כתפיי שלא בצדק,
owned up to what he'd done.
בלב שלם.
from gut-wrenching
closure for me.
didn't feel personal enough,
אישי מספיק,
screen on the other side of the planet.
בקצה השני של העולם.
to explore to its fullest.
לחקור אותו לעומקו.
to propose a wild idea:
are geographically like this.
גיאוגרפית בצורה הזו.
a stunningly powerful environment
סביבה עוצמתית להפליא
and forgiveness.
and rapprochement been tested
ריפוי והתקרבות מחדש
to sit within the truth of its past,
באמת של עברה,
of its history.
that Cape Town had on us.
שהיה לקייפ-טאון עלינו.
our life stories to each other,
פשוטו כמשמעו,
our own history.
of being honest,
with a certain exposure,
absolutely couldn't fathom
were spoken aloud and felt,
דוברו בקול רם והורגשו,
but liberating laughter.
to each other intently.
אחד לשני בתשומת לב.
were aired with an unfiltered purity
שודרו בטוהר ללא סינון
than lighten the soul.
מלהקל על הנשמה.
is a very human emotion --
מאוד אנושי --
as he had hurt me.
out of the hatred and anger,
אל מחוץ לשנאה והכעס,
my doubts along the way.
on that landing strip in Cape Town,
a therapist and a bottle of vodka
ובקבוק של ודקה
for understanding in Cape Town
husband, Vidir,
in a victorious feeling
ניצחון אחרי הכל,
could be built out of the ruins.
that you needed when you were younger.
שהזדקקת לו כשהיית צעיר.
that the shame wasn't mine,
upon my return from Cape Town,
כשחזרתי מקייפ-טאון,
to people from both ends
לאנשים משני צידי הסולם
to hear when we were younger.
כשהיינו צעירים יותר.
that inevitably accompany it --
בלתי נמנע מלוות אותו --
in their connotations.
בהקשר שלהן.
as someone damaged,
has been branded a rapist,
מתוייג כאנס,
to call him a monster --
לכנות אותו מפלצת --
what it is in human societies
מה הדבר בחברות אנושיות
the humanity of those who commit it?
באנושיות של אלו המבצעים אותה?
if we're making them feel less than?
אם אנו גורמים להם להרגיש פחותים?
to one of the biggest threats
לאחד האיומים הגדולים ביותר
around the world,
are part of the problem?
הן חלק מהבעיה?
were a self-centered taking.
היו אנוכיים.
social influences
behavior around me.
as having less intrinsic worth,
and symbolic claim to their bodies.
על הגוף שלהן.
are external to me, though.
הן חיצוניות לי.
making choices,
מחליט החלטות,
under the weight of responsibility.
of humanity would be burnt.
to really own what I did,
אמיתית על מה שעשיתי,
the entirety of who I am.
to constitute the sum of who you are.
was starved of oxygen,
with the clean air of acceptance --
this wonderful person standing next to me;
שעומד כאן לצידי;
and shockingly everyday grouping of men
ומזעזעת של גברים יום-יומיים
toward their partners.
changed my accord with myself,
שינה את ההסכמה שלי עם עצמי,
to female survivors of sexual violence,
at a great distance from the truth.
את שני הצדדים הרחק מהאמת.
conversation happening now,
that there's less retreating
but important discussion.
to add our voices to it.
להוסיף את הקול שלנו לכך.
that we're prescribing for others.
שאנו קוראים לאחרים לעשות כן.
how to handle their deepest pain
איך להתמודד עם הכאב העמוק ביותר שלהם
you are in the world,
to speak out about rape.
לדבר על אונס.
traumatic event of my life
הטראומתי ביותר של חיי
without getting ostracized,
מבלי להיות מוחרמת,
my fellow survivors who can't.
לעמיתיי השורדים שלא יכולים.
violence being a global pandemic.
המינית היא מגיפה עולמית.
on my own healing journey
במסע ההחלמה שלי
I've been reading, writing
for over a decade now,
are almost exclusively women.
הם כמעט באופן בלעדי נשים.
sexual violence as a women's issue.
לאלימות מינית כאל בעיה של נשים.
against women and men
נגד נשים וגברים
underrepresented in this discussion.
we could alleviate
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