TED2014
Kitra Cahana: A glimpse of life on the road
Kitra Cahana: Tregime te te pastreheve dhe te fshehurve
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Si nje vajze e vogel, foto-gazetarja dhe TED Fellow Kitra Cahana enderronte per t'u larguar nga shtepia dhe per te jetuar e lire ne rruge. Tani si e rritur dhe nje endacake e veteshpallur, ajo ndjek nomadet moderne ne shtepite e tyre - vagonat e trenave, ndalesat e autobuzve, parkingje, banjo publike - duke na dhene nje kendveshtrim ne nje kulture margjinale.
Kitra Cahana - Vagabond photojournalist + conceptual artist
Kitra Cahana is a Canadian photographer who blurs the line between anthropologist and journalist. Full bio
Kitra Cahana is a Canadian photographer who blurs the line between anthropologist and journalist. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
Kur isha e vogel, gjithmone imagjinoja
00:12
As a little girl, I always imagined
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00:15
I would one day run away.
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se nje dite do te merrja rruget.
00:17
From the age of six on,
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Nga mosha 6 vjecare dhe me vone,
00:19
I kept a packed bag with some clothes
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mbaja gati nje cante me disa rroba
00:21
and cans of food tucked away
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dhe kanace me ushqime qe i fshihja
00:22
in the back of a closet.
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pas nje rafti.
00:24
There was a deep restlessness in me,
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Ishte nje shqetesim i thelle per mua,
00:27
a primal fear that I would fall prey
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nje frike primare qe une do te bija pre
00:30
to a life of routine and boredom.
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e nje jete rutine dhe te merzitshme.
00:32
And so, many of my early memories involved
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Dhe keshtu, shume nga
kujtimet e mia te hershme perfshijne
kujtimet e mia te hershme perfshijne
00:35
intricate daydreams where
I would walk across borders,
I would walk across borders,
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enderra me syhapur, te nderlikuara
ku mund te ecja pertej kufijve,
ku mund te ecja pertej kufijve,
00:39
forage for berries,
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te ushqehesha me manaferra,
00:40
and meet all kinds of strange people
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dhe te takoja te gjithe llojet
e njerezve te cuditshem
e njerezve te cuditshem
00:42
living unconventional lives on the road.
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te cilet jetonin nje jete
pa kushtezime ne rrugetim.
pa kushtezime ne rrugetim.
00:45
Years have passed, but many of the adventures
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Vitet kane kaluar, por shume nga aventurat
00:48
I fantasized about as a child --
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qe kam fantazuar ne femijeri --
00:50
traveling and weaving my way
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duke udhetuar dhe u endur ne menyren time
00:52
between worlds other than my own —
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ndermjet boteve te ndryshme nga ajo e imja --
00:54
have become realities through my work
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jane bere realitet nepermjet punes sime
00:56
as a documentary photographer.
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si fotografe dokumentare.
00:58
But no other experience has felt as true
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Por asnje eksperience tjeter nuk
e kam ndjere kaq shume te vertete
e kam ndjere kaq shume te vertete
01:01
to my childhood dreams
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sesa enderrat e mia te femijerise
01:03
as living amongst and documenting the lives
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duke jetuar ne mes tyre dhe dokumentuar jetet
01:06
of fellow wanderers across the United States.
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e endacakeve permes Shteteve te Bashkuara.
01:11
This is the nomadic dream,
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Kjo eshte endrra nomade,
01:13
a different kind of American dream
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nje lloj ndryshe e endrres amerikane
01:15
lived by young hobos, travelers,
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e cila jetohet nga endacaket, udhetaret,
01:18
hitchhikers, vagrants and tramps.
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autostopistet dhe vagabondet.
01:21
In most of our minds,
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Ne mendjen tone,
01:23
the vagabond is a creature from the past.
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vagabondet jane krijesa nga e shkuara.
01:26
The word "hobo" conjures up an old
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Fjala "endacak" zgjon
01:28
black and white image
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nje imazh te vjeter bardhe e zi
01:30
of a weathered old man covered in coal,
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te nje plaku te mbuluar me qymyr,
01:32
legs dangling out of a boxcar,
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kembet qe i varen nga nje vagon,
01:34
but these photographs are in color,
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por keto fotografi jane me ngjyra,
01:37
and they portray a community
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dhe ato potretizojne nje komunitet
01:38
swirling across the country,
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qe vertitet permes vendit,
01:40
fiercely alive and creatively free,
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gjallerisht dhe me krijimtari te lire,
01:43
seeing sides of America that no one else
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qe shikojne ane te Amerikes qe askush tjeter
01:45
gets to see.
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nuk mundet ti shikoje.
01:48
Like their predecessors, today's nomads
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Ashtu si paraardhesit e tyre, nomadet e sotem
01:50
travel the steel and asphalt arteries
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udhetojne ne rruget e celikta dhe te asfaltuara
01:53
of the United States.
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te Shteteve te Bashkuara.
01:55
By day, they hop freight trains,
stick out their thumbs,
stick out their thumbs,
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Diten, ata hipin ne trenat e mallrave,
ngrejne gishtin e madh,
ngrejne gishtin e madh,
01:58
and ride the highways with anyone
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dhe udhetojne ne autostrada me ke t'i dale
02:00
from truckers to soccer moms.
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qe nga shofere kamionesh deri te nena femijesh.
02:03
By night, they sleep beneath the stars,
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Naten, ata flejne poshte yjeve,
02:05
huddled together with their packs of dogs,
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kruspull, sebashku me qente e tyre,
02:08
cats and pet rats between their bodies.
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macet apo mijte shtepiake mes tyre.
02:11
Some travelers take to the road by choice,
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Disa udhetare e zgjedhin vete kete rruge,
02:14
renouncing materialism, traditional jobs
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heqin dore nga materializmi, punet tradicionale
02:17
and university degrees in exchange
for a glimmer of adventure.
for a glimmer of adventure.
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dhe diplomat universitare ne shkembim
te nje dritez aventure.
te nje dritez aventure.
02:21
Others come from the underbelly of society,
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Te tjere vine nga kerthiza e shoqerise,
02:24
never given a chance to mobilize upwards:
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asnjehere nuk i eshte dhene nje shans
te permiresojne jeten e tyre:
te permiresojne jeten e tyre:
02:27
foster care dropouts, teenage runaways escaping
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braktises te jetimoreve,
adoleshente qe arratisen
adoleshente qe arratisen
02:30
abuse and unforgiving homes.
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nga shtepi ku abuzohen.
02:33
Where others see stories of privation
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Aty ku te tjeret shohin histori te humbjeve
02:36
and economic failure,
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dhe te deshtimit ekonomik
02:38
travelers view their own existence
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udhetaret shohin ekzistencen e tyre
02:40
through the prism of liberation and freedom.
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nepermjet veshtrimit te lirise dhe pavaresise.
02:44
They'd rather live off of the excess
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Ata me mire te jetojne ne mungese
02:46
of what they view as a wasteful consumer society
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te asaj qe ata e shohin si nje humbje
te shoqerise konsumeriste
te shoqerise konsumeriste
02:49
than slave away at an unrealistic chance
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sesa te jene skllav i nje mundesie jo reale
02:52
at the traditional American dream.
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ne endrren tradicionale amerikane.
02:54
They take advantage of the fact
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Ata shfrytezojne faktin
02:57
that in the United States,
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qe ne Shtetet e Bashkuara,
02:58
up to 40 percent of all food ends up in the garbage
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rreth 40% e te gjithe ushqimit
perfundon ne plehra
perfundon ne plehra
03:02
by scavenging for perfectly good produce
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dhe germojne per ushqime ne gjendje te mire
03:05
in dumpsters and trash cans.
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ne koshet e plehrave.
03:07
They sacrifice material comforts in exchange
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Ata sakrifikojne te mirat materiale ne shkembim
03:10
for the space and the time to explore
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per hapesire dhe kohe per te zbuluar
03:12
a creative interior,
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nje ane te brendshme kreative,
03:14
to dream, to read, to work on music, art and writing.
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per te enderruar, lexuar, per te punuar
mbi muziken, artin dhe te shkruarit.
mbi muziken, artin dhe te shkruarit.
03:19
But there are many aspects to this life
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Por ka shume aspekte ne kete jete
03:21
that are far from idyllic.
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qe jane shume larg ideales.
03:24
No one loses their inner demons
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Askush nuk i humbet demonet
e tyre te brendshem
e tyre te brendshem
03:26
by taking to the road.
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duke marret rruget.
03:28
Addiction is real, the elements are real,
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Varesia eshte reale, elementet jane reale,
03:31
freight trains maim and kill,
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trenat e mallrave gjymtojne dhe vrasin,
03:33
and anyone who has lived on the streets can attest
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dhe kushdo qe ka jetuar ne rruge
mund te vertetoje
mund te vertetoje
03:36
to the exhaustive list of laws
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me nje liste gjitheperfshirese te ligjeve
03:38
that criminalize homeless existence.
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se kriminaliteti i te pastreheve ekziston.
03:42
Who here knows that in many cities
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Kush e di ketu se ne shume qytete
03:43
across the United States it is now illegal
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perrreth Shteteve te Bashkuara eshte tani ilegale
03:46
to sit on the sidewalk,
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te ulesh ne trotuare,
03:48
to wrap oneself in a blanket,
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te mbledhesh veten me nje batanije,
03:52
to sleep in your own car,
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te flesh ne makinen tende,
03:54
to offer food to a stranger?
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ti ofrosh ushqim nje te panjohuri?
03:58
I know about these laws because I've watched
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Une di per keto ligje sepse kam pare
03:59
as friends and other travelers
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sesi shoke dhe udhetare te tjere
04:01
were hauled off to jail or received citations
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jane futur ne burg ose
kane marre paralajmerime
kane marre paralajmerime
04:04
for committing these so-called crimes.
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qe kane kryer keto krime.
04:07
Many of you might be wondering why anyone
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Shume prej jush do jeni duke pyetur
veten se pse ndonjeri
veten se pse ndonjeri
04:10
would choose a life like this,
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do te zgjidhte nje jete te tille,
04:11
under the thumb of discriminatory laws,
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nen gishtin e ligjeve diskriminuese,
04:14
eating out of trash cans,
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duke ngrene ne kazana plehrash,
04:15
sleeping under bridges,
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duke fjetur nen ura,
04:17
picking up seasonal jobs here and there.
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duke bere pune sezonale ketu dhe atje.
04:20
The answer to such a question is as varied
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Pergjigja e ketyre pyetjeve varion
04:23
as the people that take to the road,
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nga njerezit qe takon ne rruge,
04:25
but travelers often respond with a single word:
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por udhetaret shpesh pergjigjen
me nje fjale te vetme:
me nje fjale te vetme:
04:28
freedom.
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liri.
04:31
Until we live in a society where every human
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Per aq kohe sa ne jetojme
ne nje shoqei ku cdo njeri
ne nje shoqei ku cdo njeri
04:34
is assured dignity in their labor
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i sigurohet dinjiteti ne punen e tyre
04:36
so that they can work to live well,
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keshtu qe ata mund te vazhdojne
te punojne per te jetuar mire,
te punojne per te jetuar mire,
04:38
not only work to survive,
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jo vetem te punojne per te jetuar,
04:40
there will always be an element of those
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gjithmone do te kete nje element te tyre
04:42
who seek the open road as a means of escape,
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qe kerkojne rrugen si nje menyre per te shpetuar,
04:45
of liberation and, of course, of rebellion.
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nje liri, dhe sigurisht nje rebelim,
04:50
Thank you.
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Falemnderit.
04:52
(Applause)
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(Duartrokitje)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kitra Cahana - Vagabond photojournalist + conceptual artistKitra Cahana is a Canadian photographer who blurs the line between anthropologist and journalist.
Why you should listen
Kitra Cahana is a wanderer. The American-born photographer was raised in Canada and Sweden, with a father who worked as a rabbi and took his family along with him everywhere he traveled. Cahana's itinerant childhood is evident in her work, which has taken her to teenage "rainbow parties," Venezuelan spiritual rituals, Ukranian Ultra-Orthodox prayer sites, American boxcars and bus stops and many more places. The 2014 TED Fellow embeds herself in the societies she documents, playing the part of photojouralist as well as enthnographer.
Kitra Cahana | Speaker | TED.com