ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Monika Bulaj - Photographer
Monika Bulaj’s stunning, painting-like photographs blur religious and cultural divisions, exploding stereotypes. She is a TED Fellow.

Why you should listen

Monika Bulaj is a photographer and writer who explores -- in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe -- the dim areas of monotheism, where the sacred can transcend borders: Bonfires, dances, cults of the dead, possession rites. She describes outskirts and deserts, frontiers and megalopolis. And the world of the last ones: nomads, farmers, immigrants, outcasts, untouchables and impure.

Her photos and reportaging have been published by GEO, National Geographic (Italy), La Repubblica, periodicals by Gruppo Espresso and Rcs, Courrier International, Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), Internazionale, Freundin, Teatr (Poland) and other international magazines.
She has displayed more than 50 personal exibitions in Italy, Germany, Ungheria, Bulgaria, Egypt.

Her books include Libya felix, a travel into Sufism and the world of the Tuaregh; Figli di Noè, on minorities and faiths in Azerbaijian; Rebecca e la pioggia, on the nomadic tribe of the Dinka of South Sudan; Gerusalemme perduta with Paolo Rumiz, the special correspondent of La Repubblica, on the pellegrinage in the research of the Eastern Christians; Genti di Dio, viaggio nell'Altra Europa, a synthesis of 20 years of research in East Europe and Israel, and her latest book, Bozy ludzie. 

She has screenwritten documentaries, among which is the movie Romani Rat (2002) by M. Orlandi, on the Holocaust of the Roms, with the contribution of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. She's the director, photography director, and screenwriter of the documentary Figli di Noè, about the villages of Caucasus on the border between Dagestan and Azerbaigian.

Bulaj is a TED Fellow. Read TED's Q&A with Monika Bulaj >>

More profile about the speaker
Monika Bulaj | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Monika Bulaj: The hidden light of Afghanistan

Monika Bulaj: La llum amagada d'Afganistan.

Filmed:
669,507 views

La fotògrafa Monika Bulaj comparteix amb nosaltres poderoses i íntimes imatges d'Afganistan -- imatges quotidianes, de rituals, d'homes i dones. Deixant de banda titulars, què sap realment el món sobre aquest lloc?
- Photographer
Monika Bulaj’s stunning, painting-like photographs blur religious and cultural divisions, exploding stereotypes. She is a TED Fellow. Full bio

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

00:15
My travelsviatja to AfghanistanL'Afganistan
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Els meus viatges a Afganistàn
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beganva començar manymolts, manymolts yearsanys agofa
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van començar fa molts, molts anys
00:21
on the easternoriental borderfrontera of my countrypaís,
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a la frontera oriental del meu país,
00:24
my homelandpàtria, PolandPolònia.
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la meva pàtria, Polònia.
00:27
I was walkingcaminant througha través the forestsboscos
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Caminava a través dels boscos
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of my grandmother'sàvia talescontes.
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dels contes de la meva àvia.
00:33
A landterra where everycada fieldcamp hidess'amaga a gravesepultura,
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Una terra on cada camp amaga una tomba,
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where millionsmilions of people
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on milions de persones
00:40
have been deporteddeportats or killedmorts
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han estat deportades o assassinades
00:43
in the 20thth centurysegle.
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al segle vint.
00:46
BehindDarrere the destructiondestrucció,
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Darrere la destrucció,
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I foundtrobat a soulànima of placesllocs.
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vaig trobar una ànima de llocs.
00:51
I metes va reunir humblehumil people.
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Vaig conèixer gent humil.
00:53
I heardescoltat theirels seus prayeroració
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Vaig escoltar la seva pregària
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and ateva menjar theirels seus breadpa.
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i vaig menjar el seu pà.
00:57
Then I have been walkingcaminant EastEst for 20 yearsanys --
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Després he estat caminant cap a l'Est durant 20 anys --
01:02
from EasternOriental EuropeEuropa to CentralCentral AsiaÀsia --
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de l'Europa de l'Est a l'Àsia Central --
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througha través the CaucasusCaucas MountainsMuntanyes,
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a través de les muntanyes del Caucas,
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MiddleMitjana EastEst,
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Orient Mitjà,
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NorthNord AfricaÀfrica,
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Àfrica del Nord,
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RussiaRússia.
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Rússia.
01:13
And I ever metes va reunir more humblehumil people.
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I encara vaig conèixer més gent humil.
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And I sharedcompartit theirels seus breadpa and theirels seus prayeroració.
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I vaig compartir el seu pà i la seva pregària.
01:20
This is why I wentva anar to AfghanistanL'Afganistan.
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És per això que vaig anar a l'Afganistan.
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One day, I crossedcreuat the bridgepont
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Un dia, vaig creuar el pont
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over the OxusOxus RiverRiu.
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sobre el riu Oxus.
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I was alonesol on footpeu.
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Caminava tota sola.
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And the AfghanAfganesa soldiersoldat was so surprisedsorprès to see me
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I el soldat afganès es va sorprendre tant de veure'm
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that he forgotoblidat to stampsegell my passportpassaport.
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que es va oblidar de segellar el meu passaport.
01:36
But he gaveva donar me a cuptassa of teate.
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Però em va convidar a una tassa de te.
01:38
And I understoodentès
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I vaig comprendre
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that his surprisesorpresa was my protectionprotecció.
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que la seva sorpresa era la meva protecció.
01:43
So I have been walkingcaminant and travelingviatjant,
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Així que he estat caminant i viatjant,
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by horsescavalls, by yakyak, by truckcamió, by hitchhikingautoestop,
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a cavall, yak, camió, fent autoestop,
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from Iran'sDe l'Iran borderfrontera
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de la frontera d'Iran
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to the bottomfons, to the edgevora of the WakhanWakhan CorridorCorredor.
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fins a baix del tot, a la vora del corredor de Wakhan.
01:56
And in this way
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I en aquest camí
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I could find noorNoor, the hiddenamagat lightllum of AfghanistanL'Afganistan.
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vaig poder trobar "noor", la llum secreta d'Afganistan.
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My only weaponarma
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La meva única arma
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was my notebookLlibreta and my LeicaLeica.
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era la meva llibreta i la meva Leica.
02:12
I heardescoltat prayerspregàries of the SufiSufi --
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Vaig escoltar oracions dels Sufís --
02:14
humblehumil MuslimsMusulmans,
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humils musulmans,
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hatedodiat by the TalibanTalibans.
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odiats pels talibans.
02:18
HiddenOcults riverriu,
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Riu amagat,
02:20
interconnectedinterconnectat with the mysticismmisticisme
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interconnectat amb el misticisme
02:22
from GibraltarGibraltar to IndiaL'Índia.
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des de Gibraltar a l'Índia.
02:25
The mosqueMesquita where the respectfulrespectuós foreignerestranger
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La mesquita on el respectuós estranger
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is showereduna dutxa with blessingsbenediccions
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és ruixat amb benediccions
02:32
and with tearsllàgrimes,
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i amb llàgrimes,
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and welcomedbenvinguda as a giftregal.
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i benvingut com si fos un regal.
02:39
What do we know
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Què sabem ara
02:41
about the countrypaís and the people
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sobre el país i la gent
02:43
that we pretendfingir to protectprotegir,
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que pretenem protegir,
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about the villagespobles
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sobre els poblets
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where the only one medicinemedicina
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on la única medicina
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to killmatar the paindolor and to stop the hungerfam
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per calmar el dolor i aturar la gana
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is opiumopi?
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és l'opi?
02:55
These are opium-addictedOPI-addicte people
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Aquestes persones són addictes a l'opi
02:58
on the roofscobertes of KabulKabul
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als sostres de Kabul
03:01
10 yearsanys after the beginninginici of our warguerra.
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10 anys després de l'inici de la nostra guerra.
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These are the nomadnòmada girlsnoies
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Aquestes són les noies nòmades
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who becamees va convertir prostitutesprostitutes for AfghanAfganesa businessmenempresaris.
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que es van tornar prostitutes per a homes de negocis afganesos.
03:12
What do we know about the womendones
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Què sabem de les dones
03:14
10 yearsanys after the warguerra?
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10 anys després de la guerra?
03:16
ClothedVestit in this nylonniló bagbossa,
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Vestides amb aquesta bossa de niló,
03:18
madefet in ChinaXina,
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feta a Xina,
03:20
with the namenom of burqaBurqa.
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amb el nom de burca.
03:24
I saw one day,
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Vaig veure un dia,
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the largestel més gran schoolescola in AfghanistanL'Afganistan,
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l'escola més gran de l'Afganistan,
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a girls'noies schoolescola.
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una escola de noies.
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13,000 girlsnoies
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13.000 noies
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studyingestudiant here
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estudiant aquí
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in the roomshabitacions undergroundsubterrani,
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a les sales subterrànies,
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fullple of scorpionsescorpins.
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plenes d'escorpions.
03:44
And theirels seus love [for studyingestudiant]
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I el seu amor [per estudiar]
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was so biggran that I criedplorava.
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era tant gran que vaig plorar.
03:52
What do we know
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Què sabem
03:54
about the deathmort threatsamenaces by the TalibanTalibans
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sobre les amenaces de mort dels talibans
03:57
nailedclavat on the doorsportes
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clavades a les portes
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of the people who dares'atreveix to sendenviar theirels seus daughtersfilles to schoolescola as in BalkhBalkh?
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de la gent que gosa enviar les seves filles a l'escola com a Balkh?
04:05
The regionregió is not securesegura, but fullple of the TalibanTalibans,
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La regió no és segura, és plena de talibans,
04:08
and they did it.
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i ho van fer.
04:10
My aimobjectiu is to give a voiceveu
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El meu objectiu es donar una veu
04:12
to the silentsilenciós people,
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a la gent callada,
04:15
to showespectacle the hiddenamagat lightsllums
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per a ensenyar les llums amagades
04:19
behinddarrere the curtaincortina of the great gamejoc,
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darrere la cortina del gran joc,
04:22
the smallpetit worldsmons ignoredignorat by the mediamitjans de comunicació
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els petits mons ignorats pels mitjans
04:25
and the prophetsprofetes of a globalglobal conflictconflicte.
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i els profetes d'un conflicte global.
04:27
ThanksGràcies.
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Gràcies.
04:29
(ApplauseAplaudiments)
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(Aplaudiments)
Translated by Pablo Plana
Reviewed by Eduardo Otsoa

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Monika Bulaj - Photographer
Monika Bulaj’s stunning, painting-like photographs blur religious and cultural divisions, exploding stereotypes. She is a TED Fellow.

Why you should listen

Monika Bulaj is a photographer and writer who explores -- in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe -- the dim areas of monotheism, where the sacred can transcend borders: Bonfires, dances, cults of the dead, possession rites. She describes outskirts and deserts, frontiers and megalopolis. And the world of the last ones: nomads, farmers, immigrants, outcasts, untouchables and impure.

Her photos and reportaging have been published by GEO, National Geographic (Italy), La Repubblica, periodicals by Gruppo Espresso and Rcs, Courrier International, Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), Internazionale, Freundin, Teatr (Poland) and other international magazines.
She has displayed more than 50 personal exibitions in Italy, Germany, Ungheria, Bulgaria, Egypt.

Her books include Libya felix, a travel into Sufism and the world of the Tuaregh; Figli di Noè, on minorities and faiths in Azerbaijian; Rebecca e la pioggia, on the nomadic tribe of the Dinka of South Sudan; Gerusalemme perduta with Paolo Rumiz, the special correspondent of La Repubblica, on the pellegrinage in the research of the Eastern Christians; Genti di Dio, viaggio nell'Altra Europa, a synthesis of 20 years of research in East Europe and Israel, and her latest book, Bozy ludzie. 

She has screenwritten documentaries, among which is the movie Romani Rat (2002) by M. Orlandi, on the Holocaust of the Roms, with the contribution of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. She's the director, photography director, and screenwriter of the documentary Figli di Noè, about the villages of Caucasus on the border between Dagestan and Azerbaigian.

Bulaj is a TED Fellow. Read TED's Q&A with Monika Bulaj >>

More profile about the speaker
Monika Bulaj | Speaker | TED.com