Melissa Fleming: A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea. The story of two survivors
Melissa Fleming: S'enfonsa un vaixell amb 500 refugiats a bord. La història de dos supervivents.
Melissa Fleming sheds light on their devastating plight and remarkable resilience of refugees. Full bio
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of people fleeing for their lives,
sobre gent que fuig per sobreviure,
and unfriendly seas.
i mars hostils.
that keeps me awake at night,
que no em deixa dormir a la nit,
in Egypt working day wages.
treballant per un jornal.
of his thriving business back in Syria
que havia deixat a Síria,
was still raging in its fourth year.
seguia encesa després de quatre anys.
that once welcomed them there
havia acollit al principi
tried to kidnap her.
van intentar raptar-la.
thinking only of her future,
que només pensava en el seu futur,
with a fellow Syrian refugee named Bassem.
d'un refugiat sirià, en Bassem.
and he said to Doaa,
a Egipte i li va dir a la Doaa,
busquem asil, seguretat.
the promise of a new life."
la promesa d'una nova vida."
for her hand in marriage.
they had to risk their lives,
haurien d'ariscar la vida,
notorious for their cruelty.
coneguts per la seva crueltat.
She never learned to swim.
Mai no havia après a nedar.
and already 2,000 people had died
mort 2.000 persones
all the way to Northern Europe,
havia pogut arribar al nord d'Europa,
si hi podia anar,
they consented,
van dir que sí,
2,500 dollars each --
estalvis, 2.300 euros per cap,
when the call came,
va arribar la trucada.
hundreds of people on the beach.
amb centenars de persones a la platja.
onto an old fishing boat,
fins a un vell pesquer,
500 a coberta.
Africans, Muslims and Christians,
africans, musulmans i cristians,
little Sandra, six years old --
la petita Sandra, de 6 anys,
crammed together shoulder to shoulder,
com en una llauna de sardines,
crammed up to her chest,
encongides cap al pit,
they were sick with worry
estaven molt preocupats
from the rough sea.
una premonició.
"I fear we're not going to make it.
"Em temo que no ho aconseguirem.
"Please be patient.
"Si us plau, tingues paciència.
we will get married
ens casarem
were getting agitated.
s'estaven posant nerviosos.
"When will we get there?"
"Quan arribarem?"
and he insulted them.
i els va insultar.
the shores of Italy."
a la costa d'Itàlia."
a smaller boat, 10 men on board,
que s'acostava, amb 10 homes a bord,
hurling insults,
i a insultar,
to all disembark
que desembarquessin
more unseaworthy boat.
i en molt males condicions.
for their children,
pels seus fills
refused to disembark.
a desembarcar.
a tota velocitat
in the side of Doaa's boat,
i va foradar el vaixell de la Doaa,
and Bassem were sitting.
la vostra carn!"
as the boat capsized and sank.
sotsobrava i s'enfonsava.
estaven condemnades.
of the boat as it sank,
del vaixell mentre s'enfonsava,
was cut to pieces by the propeller.
destrossava un nen petit.
"Si us plau, deixa't anar,
will kill you, too."
her arms and her legs,
a moure cames i braços,
Bassem found a life ring.
va trobar un flotador.
in swimming pools and on calm seas.
o en mars encalmats.
dangling by the side.
penjant pels costats.
i es va mantenir flotant.
van sobreviure,
in groups, praying for rescue.
pregant que els rescatessin.
i ningú no va arribar,
tota esperança,
life vests off and sank into the water.
es treien els salvavides i s'enfonsaven.
with a small baby perched on his shoulder,
petita a les espatlles,
to stay afloat, and he said to them,
per no enfonsar-se, i els va dir:
the courage anymore."
Ja no tinc ànims."
over to Bassem and to Doaa,
al Bassem i la Doaa,
Doaa, Bassem and little Malek.
en Bassem i la petita Malek.
in this story right here
en aquesta història
take these kinds of risks?
que s'arrisquen d'aquesta manera?
in exile, in limbo.
a l'exili, als llimbs.
from a war that has been raging
amb una guerra que fa
have been completely destroyed.
han estat destruïts completament.
Patrimoni de la Humanitat per l'UNESCO:
into neighboring countries,
als països veïns
for them in the desert.
camps de refugiats al desert.
live in camps like these,
viuen en camps com aquests,
millions, live in towns and cities.
milions, viuen en pobles i ciutats.
that once welcomed them
que un dia els van acollir
water systems, sanitation.
sistemes d'aigua, lavabos...
could never handle such an influx
podrien gestionar mai un flux així
four million people over the borders,
gairebé 4 milions de persones,
are on the run inside the country.
estan desplaçades dintre del país.
the Syrian population
de la població siriana
countries hosting so many.
que n'acullen tants:
has done too little to support them.
ha fet molt poc per ajudar-los.
months into years.
els mesos en anys.
to be temporary.
ha de ser temporal.
que són a l'aigua.
and Bassem was getting very weak.
i el Bassem s'estava afeblint molt.
to say to Bassem,
de dir-li al Bassem:
to our future. We will make it."
a l'esperança, al nostre futur.
that I put you in this situation.
en aquesta situació.
as much as I love you."
com t'estimo a tu."
drowned before her eyes.
seva vida s'ofegava davant dels seus ulls.
small 18-month-old daughter, Masa.
seva filla, Masa, de 18 mesos.
in the picture earlier,
hem vist abans,
s'acabava d'ofegar,
everything in her power
tot el que pogués
"Please take this child.
"Si us plau, agafa aquesta nena.
I will not survive."
Jo no sobreviuré."
who was terrified of the water,
a qui l'aigua l'aterrava,
of two little baby kids.
de dues criatures petites.
and they were agitated,
i estaven nervioses,
per entretenir-les,
to them from the Quran.
and turning black.
inflant i tornant negres.
this is how Doaa probably looked
l'aspecte de la Doaa
and approached her
un altre nen,
and the mother drowned,
i la mare es va ofegar,
to find you water and food."
aigua i menjar per a tu."
the little boy into the water.
a l'aigua.
crossing in the sky.
hoping they would see her,
esperant que la veiessin,
as the sun was going down,
mentre el sol es ponia,
let them rescue me."
que em rescatin."
like she shouted for about two hours.
que cridava durant 2 hores.
but finally the searchlights found her
finalment, els reflectors la van trobar
clutching onto two babies.
aferrada dos nens.
they got oxygen and blankets,
els van donar oxigen i mantes,
to pick them up
a recollir-los
"What of Malek?"
i va preguntar: "I la Malek?"
did not survive --
no havia sobreviscut,
in the boat's clinic.
been pulled up onto the rescue boat,
que mentre les pujaven al vaixell
that wreck, of the 500.
van sobreviure el naufragi.
investigation into what happened.
sobre el que va passar.
about mass murder at sea,
sobre una massacre al mar,
va passar pàgina.
hospital on Crete,
de Creta,
Her kidneys were failing.
Li fallaven els ronyons.
perillosament baixa.
in their medical power to save them,
possible per salvar-la,
no la van deixar mai sola,
singing her words.
cantant-li.
and said pretty words to her in Arabic.
i li van dir paraules boniques en àrab.
va sobreviure.
about the miracle baby,
a parlar de la bebè miraculosa,
without food or anything to drink,
a l'aigua sense menjar ni beure,
from all over the country.
per adoptar-la.
was in another hospital on Crete,
era en un altre hospital de Creta,
home as soon as she was released.
seva quan va sortir de l'hospital.
about Doaa's survival,
que la Dooa havia sobreviscut,
was published on Facebook.
a Facebook.
what happened to my brother?
al meu germà?
Do you know if they survived?"
Als meus amics? Saps si van sobreviure?"
my little niece, Masa."
la meva petita neboda, la Masa."
to Sweden with his family
a Suècia amb la seva família
with him in Sweden,
es reunirà amb ell a Suècia,
in a beautiful orphanage in Athens.
bonic orfenat d'Atenes.
about her survival, too.
de supervivència també es va fer pública.
about this slight woman,
sobre aquesta dona petita
she could survive all this time
sobreviure tot aquell temps
most prestigious institutions,
institucions més prestigioses de Grècia,
with her family there.
and her father and her younger siblings
i els seus germans petits
or a politician
fight injustice.
a lluitar contra la injustícia.
aquest risc?
for her to study in Europe?
per que ella pogués estudiar a Europa?
an airplane to Sweden?
un avió cap a Suècia?
trobar feina?
program for Syrian refugees,
a gran escala per als refugiats sirians,
dels nostres dies?
in the 1970s. Why not now?
en la dècada dels 70. Per què ara no?
in the neighboring countries
als països veïns
the wars, the persecution
les guerres, la persecució
so many people
a tanta gent
aquests problemes,
del que decideixi Europa.
their economies, the changes of culture.
l'economia, els canvis a la cultura.
than saving human lives?
salvar vides humanes?
fundamental here
fonamental aquí
per damunt de la resta,
o d'una persecució
crossing a sea to reach safety.
per aconseguir seguretat.
on those dangerous boats
a aquests perillosos vaixells
that dangerous journey
aquest viatge perillós
for themselves and their children.
per a ell i els seus fills.
de tota una vida
famosos traficants de persones
who drowned with them,
que es van ofegar amb ells,
did not die in vain?
que no van morir en va?
pel que va passar
in which every life matters?
en el que cada vida importi?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Fleming - Voice for refugeesMelissa Fleming sheds light on their devastating plight and remarkable resilience of refugees.
Why you should listen
Almost 60 million people in the world today have been forcefully displaced from their home - a level not seen since WWII. As many as four million Syrian refugees have sought refuge in neighboring countries. In Lebanon, half of these refugees are children; only 20 percent are in school.
Melissa Fleming, Head of Communications and Spokesperson for the High Commissioner at UN's High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), calls on all of us to make sure that refugee camps are healing places where people can develop the skills they'll need to rebuild their hometowns. Investing in this, she says, may well be the most effective relief effort there is. This inspires her and the teams at the UNHCR to tell stories of the individuals who are displaced.
Fleming's 2017 book, A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea, was born out of the story of Doaa Al Zamel, told her in TED Talk.
Fleming was named senior advisor and spokesperson for UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in October 2016.
Melissa Fleming | Speaker | TED.com