Leo Igwe: Why I choose humanism over faith
ليو إيجوي: لِمَ اخترتُ مذهب الإنسانية على العقيدة
Leo Igwe works to end a variety of human rights violations that are rooted in superstition, including witchcraft accusations, anti-gay hate, caste discrimination and ritual killing. Full bio
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with a different idea of life.
the main teachings of religion --
what on earth is humanism?
ما هي الإنسانية؟
of human beings.
that we, human beings,
إلى حقيقية أننا كبشر
to make a difference in our lives,
that the best humanist lessons I learned
أن أفضل دروس الإنسانية التي تعلمتها
manifestos and declarations.
was from the life of my own parents.
من حياة والديّ الخاصة.
from a poor family background
the circumstances of their bad upbringing
for themselves and for their children.
من أجلهما و من أجل أطفالهما.
trained as a teacher,
وتدرب كأستاذ،
at a local primary school.
of school quite early,
could not afford her education.
ثمن تعليمها.
and taking care of my siblings and me.
ورعايتي أنا وإخوتي.
the Nigerian civil war --
بوقتٍ قصير،
a struggle day by day.
كان هناك صراع يومي.
I can still see water
of our house when it rained.
عندما تمطر.
to supplement the family income.
after school hours or during vacation
أو أثناء الإجازة
no pipe with water.
from the nearby streams.
من الجداول المائية القريبة.
عندما يكون الموسم حارًا وجافًا.
to erect a block apartment
to enjoy a standard of living
للتمتع بمستوى معيشة
when they were growing up.
is my best lesson in humanism.
هي أفضل درس في الإنسانية بالنسبة لي.
I believe that human beings
not predetermined.
our lives and destinies
into those of wealth and prosperity.
من الثروة والازدهار.
to alleviate suffering,
reduce infant mortality
والتقليل من معدل وفيات الرضع
by wishful thinking with our eyes closed
من خلال التمنيات وأعيننا مغلقة
or by expecting salvation from empty sky.
أو توقع الخلاص من السماء الخاوية.
imagine that their religious faith
أن عقيدتهم الدينية
praying for miracles
من أجل حدوث المعجزات
in their lives.
في 114 دولة
in the world's poorest nations.
الأكثر فقرًا.
where 95 percent of the population
حيث 95% من سكانها
of their daily lives, were African.
كانت أفريقية.
many Africans to extraordinary length:
من الأفارقة إلى مدى غير عادي:
to commit ritual killing,
ولارتكاب جرائم ذات طابع طقوسي،
those with a bald head.
على نطاقٍ واسع،
believing in witchcraft,
in reason or in science.
في المنطق أو في العِلم.
children and elderly persons
الأطفال وكبار السن
banished and killed.
والنفي والقتل بشكل روتيني.
and witch persecution in Africa.
واضطهاد السحرة في أفريقيا.
in a proactive approach to life.
فأنا أؤمن بالنهج الاستباقي النشط للحياة.
cannot be achieved only by dreaming
لا يمكنُ تحقيقها من خلال الحلم فقط
لا يمكنُ أن تزول
wishing and imagining
نتمنى ونتخيل
magically disappear.
بطريقة سحرية.
will not fall like manna from heaven.
لن تتساقط علينا مثل المَن من السماء.
by wishing and dreaming.
عن طريق التمني والحُلم.
they tried again.
they plowed ahead,
وحرثا مقدمًا،
we must be adventurous and even daring.
علينا أن نكون مغامرين وحتى جريئين.
with risk and uncertainties.
to do what people have never done.
للقيام بما لم يقم به أحد من قبلنا.
have not been to.
have tried but failed.
of knowledge and understanding
من المعرفة والفهم
not just what is possible
yield our desires.
disappointments and setbacks.
poverty and diseases
والفقر والأمراض
have led to new dangers,
have resulted in new health risks.
بمخاطر صحية جديدة.
create their own problems
تُحدِث مشاكلها الخاصة
to give up or to resign.
that our efforts are of no consequence.
لنعتقد بعدم وجود عواقب لمجهوداتنا.
answers and solutions
we must not despair for humanity.
أعتقد أن علينا أن لا نيأس من أجل الإنسانية
of overwhelming difficulties
new solutions and new cures.
وحلول وعلاجات جديدة.
knocks on the horizon?
في الآفاق؟
to be inventive and innovative,
والإبداع والابتكار،
of a savior from above?
to take our destiny in our hands
لنتولى بأيدينا زمام مصيرنا
in the scheme of life.
to this game of blame
full responsibility for our own lives.
لحياتنا الخاصة.
prisoners of our past.
and pessimism to drain us,
limit our imaginations
for a better and brighter future.
من أجل مستقبل أفضل وأكثر إشراقًا.
مثل الصحن الطائر؟
and the new colonialism
والاستعمار الجديد
including our own self-inflicted wounds.
بما فيها الجراح التي سببناها لأنفسنا.
is damned and doomed.
ومحكوم عليها بالفشل.
the chances and possibility
تم حجزها ولا يمكن إصلاحها
and flourish.
no part of the world
or enslaved in the past.
have moved on,
that the past is gone;
أعتقد بأن الماضي قد ولّى،
with limitless possibilities
بإمكانيات لا حدود لها
and remake our destinies.
begin the urgent task
to our ideas and imaginations,
intelligence and ingenuity
of rebuilding Africa
prosperity and civilization.
من الازدهار والحضارة.
as an African humanist.
وكمتبع أفريقي لمذهب الإنسانية.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Leo Igwe - Human rights activistLeo Igwe works to end a variety of human rights violations that are rooted in superstition, including witchcraft accusations, anti-gay hate, caste discrimination and ritual killing.
Why you should listen
Many of humanity's most pernicious divisions -- factors that keep one person from seeing another as truly human -- are based on superstitions entrenched in societies, such as a belief in witchcraft. As a leader in the Nigerian Humanist Movement, Leo Igwe works to combat those superstitions and the human rights violations they often lead to, including anti-gay hate, sorcery and witchcraft accusations against women and children, ritual killing, human sacrifice, “untouchability,” caste discrimination and anti-blasphemy laws.
Igwe is the former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and he holds a doctoral degree in religious studies from the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies, University of Bayreuth Germany.
Leo Igwe | Speaker | TED.com