ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Clemantine Wamariya - Storyteller, human rights advocate
In her work, Clemantine Wamariya is learning and sharing how remembering our life experiences in story form guides us to make sense and appreciate our present moments.

Why you should listen

Clemantine Wamariya is a human rights advocate, social entrepreneur and public speaker committed to inspiring others through the power of storytelling. Her personal accounts of childhood in Rwanda, displacement throughout war-torn countries and various refugee camps have encouraged myriads of people to persevere despite great odds. With no formal education before the age of 13, Wamariya went on to graduate from Yale University with a BA in Comparative Literature.

Wamariya was recognized for her dedication to improving the lives of others, especially the underserved. In 2011, President Obama appointed her, as the youngest member in history, to the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and she was reappointed in 2016. She continues to share her experiences of adversity and seized opportunities as a way to reframe the way her audiences think, whether it be about their own privilege or basic human rights -- and she strives to catalyze development personally, locally and globally. Though still a nomad, she is based out of San Francisco, where she is writing her first book, due in spring 2018.

More profile about the speaker
Clemantine Wamariya | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2017

Clemantine Wamariya: War and what comes after

Clemantine Wamariya: A guerra e o que acontece depois

Filmed:
1,057,110 views

Clemantine Wamariya tinha seis anos de idade quando a Guerra Civil de Ruanda obrigou ela e sua irmã a fugirem de casa em Kigali, deixando para trás os pais e tudo o que conheciam. Nesta palestra profundamente pessoal, ela conta a história de como ela se tornou uma refugiada, morando em acampamentos em sete países ao longo dos seis anos seguintes e como ela tentou entender o que aconteceu depois.
- Storyteller, human rights advocate
In her work, Clemantine Wamariya is learning and sharing how remembering our life experiences in story form guides us to make sense and appreciate our present moments. Full bio

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

00:13
Words matter.
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As palavras importam.
00:19
They can heal
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Elas podem curar
00:21
and they can kill ...
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e podem matar.
00:24
yet, they have a limit.
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Porém, elas têm um limite.
00:28
When I was in eighth grade,
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Quando eu estava no oitavo ano escolar,
00:32
my teacher gave me a vocabulary sheet
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meu professor me deu
uma folha de vocabulário
00:36
with the word "genocide."
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com a palavra "genocídio".
00:43
I hated it.
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Eu a odiei.
00:46
The word genocide is clinical ...
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A palavra "genocídio" é fria,
00:52
overgeneral ...
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muito genérica,
00:56
bloodless ...
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cruel,
00:58
dehumanizing.
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desumanizadora.
01:03
No word
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Nenhuma palavra
01:06
can describe
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pode descrever
01:08
what this does to a nation.
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o que isso causa a uma nação.
01:14
You need to know,
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Vocês precisam saber
que, nesse tipo de guerra,
01:15
in this kind of war,
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01:19
husbands kills wives,
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maridos matam esposas,
01:22
wives kill husbands,
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esposas matam maridos,
01:26
neighbors and friends kill each other.
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vizinhos e amigos matam uns aos outros.
01:33
Someone
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Alguém,
01:36
in power
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no poder, diz:
01:37
says,
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01:39
"Those over there ...
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"Aqueles ali
01:42
they don't belong.
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não fazem parte.
01:44
They're not human."
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Não são humanos".
01:47
And people believe it.
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E as pessoas acreditam nisso.
01:51
I don't want words
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Não quero palavras
01:54
to describe this kind of behavior.
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que descrevam esse tipo de comportamento.
01:58
I want words to stop it.
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Quero palavras que ponham fim a ele.
02:04
But where are the words to stop this?
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Mas onde estão as palavras
para pôr fim a isso?
02:08
And how do we find the words?
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E como as encontramos?
02:14
But I believe, truly,
we have to keep trying.
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Mas acredito verdadeiramente
que devemos continuar tentando.
02:21
I was born in Kigali, Rwanda.
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Nasci em Kigali, Ruanda.
02:26
I felt loved by my entire family
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Eu me sentia amada
por toda a minha família
02:31
and my neighbors.
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e meus vizinhos.
02:34
I was constantly
being teased by everybody,
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Todos sempre implicavam comigo,
02:38
especially my two older siblings.
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principalmente meus dois
irmãos mais velhos.
02:42
When I lost my front tooth,
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Quando perdi meu dente da frente,
02:45
my brother looked at me and said,
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meu irmão olhou pra mim e disse:
02:47
"Oh, it has happened to you, too?
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"Ah, aconteceu com você também?
02:51
It will never grow back."
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Nunca mais vai nascer".
02:53
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
02:54
I enjoyed playing everywhere,
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Eu gostava de brincar em qualquer lugar,
02:56
especially my mother's garden
and my neighbor's.
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principalmente no jardim
da minha mãe e no do meu vizinho.
03:01
I loved my kindergarten.
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Eu adorava o jardim de infância.
03:04
We sang songs,
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Cantávamos músicas,
03:06
we played everywhere
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brincávamos por toda a parte
e almoçávamos.
03:08
and ate lunch.
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03:11
I had a childhood
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Tive uma infância
03:14
that I would wish for anyone.
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que eu desejaria para qualquer pessoa.
03:20
But when I was six,
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Mas, quando eu tinha seis anos,
03:23
the adults in my family
began to speak in whispers
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os adultos da minha família
começaram a falar em voz baixa
03:29
and shushed me any time
that I asked a question.
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e me pediam silêncio toda vez
que eu fazia uma pergunta.
03:35
One night,
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Certa noite, meus pais chegaram.
03:36
my mom and dad came.
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03:39
They had this strange look
when they woke us.
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Eles estavam com uma expressão
estranha quando nos acordaram.
03:43
They sent my older sister Claire and I
to our grandparent's,
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Eles mandaram minha irmã mais velha
Claire e eu para a casa de nossos avós,
03:48
hoping whatever was happening
would blow away.
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com a esperança de que o que quer
que estivesse acontecendo acabaria.
03:54
Soon we had to escape from there, too.
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Logo tivemos que fugir de lá também.
03:59
We hid,
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Nós nos escondíamos,
04:00
we crawled,
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nos arrastávamos,
04:02
we sometimes ran.
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às vezes, corríamos.
04:08
Sometimes I heard laughter
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Às vezes, eu ouvia risos,
04:14
and then screaming and crying
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depois, gritos e choro
04:19
and then noise that I had never heard.
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e, então, um barulho
que eu nunca tinha ouvido.
04:24
You see,
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Entendam, eu não sabia
04:25
I did not know
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04:29
what those noises were.
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o que eram aqueles barulhos.
04:32
They were neither human --
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Não eram humanos,
04:34
and also at the same time,
they were human.
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mas, ao mesmo tempo, também eram.
04:38
I saw people who were not breathing.
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Vi pessoas que não estavam respirando.
04:43
I thought they were asleep.
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Achei que estavam dormindo.
04:48
I still didn't understand what death was,
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Eu ainda não entendia o que era a morte,
04:53
or killing in itself.
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ou assassinato.
04:57
When we would stop
to rest for a little bit
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Quando parávamos para descansar
um pouquinho, ou para procurar comida,
05:01
or search for food,
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05:03
I would close my eyes,
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eu fechava meus olhos,
05:05
hoping when I opened them,
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esperando que, quando eu os abrisse,
eu estaria acordada.
05:07
I would be awake.
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05:11
I had no idea which direction was home.
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Eu não sabia onde estava minha casa.
05:16
Days were for hiding
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Os dias eram para se esconder,
05:20
and night for walking.
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e a noite, para caminhar.
(Suspiro)
05:28
You go from a person who's away from home
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Você passa de uma pessoa
que está longe de casa
05:33
to a person with no home.
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a uma pessoa sem lar.
05:37
The place that is supposed to want you
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O lugar que deveria querer você
o coloca para fora,
05:39
has pushed you out,
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05:44
and no one takes you in.
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e ninguém acolhe você.
05:48
You are unwanted
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Você é rejeitado
05:52
by anyone.
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por todos.
05:56
You are a refugee.
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Você é um refugiado.
06:02
From age six to 12,
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Dos seis aos doze anos,
morei em sete países diferentes,
06:04
I lived in seven different countries,
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06:08
moving from one refugee camp to another,
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mudando de um acampamento
de refugiados para outro,
06:12
hoping we would be wanted.
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esperando ser querida.
06:18
My older sister Claire,
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Minha irmã mais velha, Claire,
06:20
she became a young mother ...
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tornou-se mãe jovem
06:25
and a master at getting things done.
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e especialista em fazer as coisas.
06:29
When I was 12,
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Quando eu tinha 12 anos,
06:31
I came to America with Claire
and her family on refugee status.
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vim para os EUA com Claire
e a família dela como refugiados.
06:39
And that's only the beginning,
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E isso é só o começo,
06:42
because even though I was 12 years old,
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porque, mesmo que eu tivesse 12 anos,
06:45
sometimes I felt like three years old
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às vezes, eu me sentia
com 3 anos e, às vezes, com 50.
06:47
and sometimes 50 years old.
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06:50
My past receded,
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Meu passado desaparecia,
tornava-se confuso, distorcido.
06:52
grew jumbled,
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06:54
distorted.
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06:56
Everything was too much
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Tudo era demais
06:59
and nothing.
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e nada.
07:02
Time seemed like pages torn out of a book
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O tempo parecia páginas
arrancadas de um livro
07:08
and scattered everywhere.
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e espalhadas por toda a parte.
07:11
This still happens to me
standing right here.
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Isso ainda acontece comigo bem aqui.
07:20
After I got to America,
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Depois que cheguei aos EUA,
07:25
Claire and I did not talk about our past.
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Claire e eu não conversávamos
sobre nosso passado.
07:31
In 2006,
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Em 2006, depois de 12 anos
07:33
after 12 years
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07:37
being separated away from my family,
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separada de meus familiares,
07:39
and then seven years
knowing that they were dead
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sabendo havia sete anos que estavam mortos
e eles achando que nós estávamos mortos,
07:42
and them thinking that we were dead,
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07:44
we reunited ...
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nós nos reunimos
07:47
in the most dramatic,
American way possible.
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do modo americano mais dramático possível:
07:53
Live,
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ao vivo,
07:55
on television --
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na TV,
07:57
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
07:58
on "The Oprah Show."
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no programa da Oprah.
08:00
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
08:01
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
08:09
I told you, I told you.
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Eu te disse.
08:10
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
08:13
But after the show,
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Mas, após o programa,
08:20
as I spent time with my mom and dad
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enquanto eu passava o tempo
com minha mãe, meu pai,
08:25
and my little sister
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minha irmãzinha
08:28
and my two new siblings that I never met,
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e meus dois novos irmãos
que eu nunca havia conhecido,
08:33
I felt anger.
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fiquei com raiva.
08:36
I felt every deep pain in me.
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Eu sentia toda a dor profunda em mim.
08:43
And I know that
there is absolutely nothing,
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Sei que não há absolutamente nada,
08:48
nothing,
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nada,
08:50
that could restore the time
we lost with each other
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que possa devolver o tempo perdido
08:55
and the relationship we could've had.
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e o relacionamento
que poderíamos ter tido.
09:00
Soon, my parents
moved to the United States,
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Logo meus pais se mudaram
para os Estados Unidos,
09:04
but like Claire,
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mas, como Claire,
09:07
they don't talk about our past.
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eles não conversam sobre nosso passado.
09:12
They live in never-ending present.
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Vivem em um presente sem fim,
09:16
Not asking too many questions,
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sem fazer tantas perguntas,
09:19
not allowing themselves to feel --
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nem se permitir sentir,
09:24
moving in small steps.
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e se movimentando a passos pequenos.
09:29
None of us, of course,
can make sense of what happened to us.
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Nenhum de nós, é claro, pode
entender o que aconteceu conosco.
09:38
Though my family is alive --
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Embora minha família esteja viva,
09:42
yes, we were broken,
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sim, estávamos destruídos,
09:45
and yes, we are numb
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e sim, estamos estarrecidos
09:48
and we were silenced
by our own experience.
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e fomos silenciados
por nossa própria experiência.
09:55
It's not just my family.
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Não é apenas a minha família.
10:02
Rwanda is not the only country
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Ruanda não é o único país
10:07
where people have turned on each other
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onde as pessoas têm se voltado
umas contra as outras
10:10
and murdered each other.
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e assassinado umas às outras.
10:13
The entire human race,
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Toda a raça humana,
10:17
in many ways,
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de muitas maneiras,
é como a minha família:
10:18
is like my family.
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10:23
Not dead;
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não está morta,
10:25
yes, broken, numb and silenced
by the violence of the world
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mas, sim, destruída,
estarrecida e silenciada
pela violência do mundo
que tem assumido o controle.
10:31
that has taken over.
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10:35
You see,
161
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O caos da violência
10:36
the chaos of the violence continues inside
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continua por dentro,
nas palavras que usamos
10:41
in the words we use
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10:45
and the stories
we create every single day.
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e nas histórias que criamos a cada dia,
10:51
But also on the labels
that we impose on ourselves
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mas também nos rótulos
que impomos a nós mesmos
10:57
and each other.
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e uns aos outros.
11:01
Once we call someone "other,"
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5096
Quando chamamos alguém de "outro",
11:06
"less than,"
168
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1336
"menos que",
11:07
"one of them"
169
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1256
"um deles"
11:09
or "better than,"
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ou "melhor que",
11:11
believe me ...
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1240
acreditem em mim...
11:16
under the right condition,
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2000
sob a condição certa,
11:20
it's a short path to more destruction.
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4400
é um atalho para mais destruição,
11:25
More chaos
174
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1816
mais caos e mais barulho,
que não entenderemos.
11:27
and more noise
175
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1336
11:29
that we will not understand.
176
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2200
11:33
Words will never be enough
177
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3040
As palavras nunca serão o bastante
11:37
to quantify and qualify
the many magnitudes
178
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5336
para quantificar e qualificar
as muitas dimensões
11:42
of human-caused destruction.
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3000
da destruição causada pelo homem.
11:49
In order for us
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Para nós
11:53
to stop the violence
that goes on in the world,
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4200
pormos fim à violência
que continua no mundo,
11:59
I hope --
182
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1736
espero,
12:01
at least I beg you --
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2536
pelo menos, peço a vocês,
12:03
to pause.
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que façam uma pausa.
12:06
Let's ask ourselves:
185
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Vamos perguntar a nós mesmos:
12:11
Who are we without words?
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3400
"Quem somos nós sem as palavras?"
12:16
Who are we without labels?
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"Quem somos nós sem os rótulos?"
12:21
Who are we in our breath?
188
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3240
"Quem somos nós em nosso fôlego?"
12:26
Who are we in our heartbeat?
189
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"Quem somos nós
na batida de nosso coração?"
12:33
(Applause)
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4760
(Aplausos)
Translated by Maurício Kakuei Tanaka
Reviewed by Leonardo Silva

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Clemantine Wamariya - Storyteller, human rights advocate
In her work, Clemantine Wamariya is learning and sharing how remembering our life experiences in story form guides us to make sense and appreciate our present moments.

Why you should listen

Clemantine Wamariya is a human rights advocate, social entrepreneur and public speaker committed to inspiring others through the power of storytelling. Her personal accounts of childhood in Rwanda, displacement throughout war-torn countries and various refugee camps have encouraged myriads of people to persevere despite great odds. With no formal education before the age of 13, Wamariya went on to graduate from Yale University with a BA in Comparative Literature.

Wamariya was recognized for her dedication to improving the lives of others, especially the underserved. In 2011, President Obama appointed her, as the youngest member in history, to the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and she was reappointed in 2016. She continues to share her experiences of adversity and seized opportunities as a way to reframe the way her audiences think, whether it be about their own privilege or basic human rights -- and she strives to catalyze development personally, locally and globally. Though still a nomad, she is based out of San Francisco, where she is writing her first book, due in spring 2018.

More profile about the speaker
Clemantine Wamariya | Speaker | TED.com

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