Melissa Fleming: A boat carrying 500 refugees sunk at sea. The story of two survivors
מליסה פלמינג: ספינה נושאת 500 פליטים שוקעת במצולות ים. זהו סיפורן של שתי ניצולות
Melissa Fleming sheds light on their devastating plight and remarkable resilience of refugees. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
of people fleeing for their lives,
של אנשים הנסים על נפשם
and unfriendly seas.
ונתיבים ימיים עוינים.
that keeps me awake at night,
in Egypt working day wages.
עובדת במשכורת יומית.
of his thriving business back in Syria
עסקיו המשגשגים בבית, בסוריה
was still raging in its fourth year.
עדיין השתוללה, זו השנה הרביעית.
that once welcomed them there
tried to kidnap her.
thinking only of her future,
שחושבת על העתיד שלה,
with a fellow Syrian refugee named Bassem.
שגם הוא פליט סורי, בשם באסם.
and he said to Doaa,
והוא אמר לדואא,
the promise of a new life."
הבטחה לחיים חדשים.
for her hand in marriage.
they had to risk their lives,
יהיה עליהם לסכן את חייהם,
notorious for their cruelty.
הידועים לשמצה בשל אכזריותם.
She never learned to swim.
and already 2,000 people had died
וכבר 2000 אנשים מתו
all the way to Northern Europe,
עד לצפון אירופה,
they consented,
2,500 dollars each --
2500 דולר עבור כל אחד מהם --
when the call came,
hundreds of people on the beach.
שבו היו כבר מאות אנשים.
onto an old fishing boat,
אל ספינת דיג ישנה,
Africans, Muslims and Christians,
מוסלמים ונוצרים,
little Sandra, six years old --
סנדרה הקטנה, בת השש --
crammed together shoulder to shoulder,
דחוסות יחדיו כתף אל כתף,
crammed up to her chest,
they were sick with worry
from the rough sea.
"I fear we're not going to make it.
"אני חוששת שלא נצליח לעשות את זה.
"Please be patient.
we will get married
were getting agitated.
"When will we get there?"
"מתי כבר נגיע לשם?"
and he insulted them.
the shores of Italy."
נגיע לחופי איטליה".
a smaller boat, 10 men on board,
ספינה קטנה יותר, 10 אנשים על הסיפון,
hurling insults,
to all disembark
more unseaworthy boat.
שאינה כשירה לשוט.
for their children,
refused to disembark.
in the side of Doaa's boat,
על מנת לפעור בה חור,
and Bassem were sitting.
as the boat capsized and sank.
of the boat as it sank,
was cut to pieces by the propeller.
שנגרס לחתיכות על ידי המדחף.
will kill you, too."
her arms and her legs,
את זרועותיה ואת רגליה,
Bassem found a life ring.
in swimming pools and on calm seas.
או בחוף הים.
dangling by the side.
in groups, praying for rescue.
life vests off and sank into the water.
ההצלה שלהם ושקעו אל תוך המים.
with a small baby perched on his shoulder,
כשתינוקת קטנה נחה על כתפו,
to stay afloat, and he said to them,
והוא אמר להם,
the courage anymore."
over to Bassem and to Doaa,
Doaa, Bassem and little Malek.
in this story right here
take these kinds of risks?
in exile, in limbo.
from a war that has been raging
have been completely destroyed.
into neighboring countries,
for them in the desert.
live in camps like these,
millions, live in towns and cities.
חיים בעיירות ובערים.
that once welcomed them
water systems, sanitation.
תשתיות מים, מתקני תברואה.
could never handle such an influx
לא יכולות היו להתמודד עם שטף כזה
four million people over the borders,
4 מיליון אנשים אל מעבר לגבול
are on the run inside the country.
עדיין במנוסה בתוך המדינה.
the Syrian population
countries hosting so many.
שמספקות מקלט לכל כך הרבה אנשים.
has done too little to support them.
עושה מעט מדי כדי לתמוך בהן.
months into years.
to be temporary.
and Bassem was getting very weak.
to say to Bassem,
to our future. We will make it."
למען עתידנו. אנחנו נצליח".
that I put you in this situation.
שהכנסתי אותך למצב הזה.
as much as I love you."
drowned before her eyes.
טובע לנגד עיניה.
small 18-month-old daughter, Masa.
בת 18 החודשים, מסא.
in the picture earlier,
everything in her power
"Please take this child.
I will not survive."
who was terrified of the water,
of two little baby kids.
and they were agitated,
והן היו עצבניות,
to them from the Quran.
and turning black.
this is how Doaa probably looked
and approached her
and the mother drowned,
to find you water and food."
the little boy into the water.
crossing in the sky.
hoping they would see her,
as the sun was going down,
let them rescue me."
like she shouted for about two hours.
צעקה במשך שעתיים תמימות.
but finally the searchlights found her
זרקורי החיפוש מצאו אותה
clutching onto two babies.
they got oxygen and blankets,
נתנו להן חמצן ושמיכות,
to pick them up
"What of Malek?"
"מה עם מאלכּ?"
did not survive --
in the boat's clinic.
been pulled up onto the rescue boat,
that wreck, of the 500.
investigation into what happened.
לגבי נסיבות הטביעה.
about mass murder at sea,
לגבי רצח המונים בלב ים,
hospital on Crete,
Her kidneys were failing.
הכליות שלה חדלו לפעול.
in their medical power to save them,
כדי להציל אותן
singing her words.
and said pretty words to her in Arabic.
ודיקלמו מילים יפות בערבית.
about the miracle baby,
על התינוקת המופלאה,
without food or anything to drink,
ללא מזון וללא שום שתייה,
from all over the country.
was in another hospital on Crete,
בבית חולים אחר בכרתים,
home as soon as she was released.
מיד כשהשתחררה.
about Doaa's survival,
was published on Facebook.
what happened to my brother?
Do you know if they survived?"
אולי את יודעת האם הם שרדו?"
my little niece, Masa."
to Sweden with his family
with him in Sweden,
מסא תתאחד עמו בשוודיה,
in a beautiful orphanage in Athens.
בבית יתומים מקסים באתונה.
about her survival, too.
שלה עשו כנפיים גם כן.
about this slight woman,
she could survive all this time
most prestigious institutions,
אחד המוסדות היוקרתיים של יוון,
with her family there.
and her father and her younger siblings
ואת אחיה הקטנים
or a politician
fight injustice.
לקחת את הסיכון הזה?
for her to study in Europe?
ללמוד באירופה?
an airplane to Sweden?
program for Syrian refugees,
של פליטים סורים,
in the 1970s. Why not now?
מדוע לא עכשיו?
in the neighboring countries
the wars, the persecution
את המלחמות, את הרדיפות
so many people
their economies, the changes of culture.
משינויי התרבות בארצם,
than saving human lives?
fundamental here
crossing a sea to reach safety.
כדי להגיע למקלט.
on those dangerous boats
על הסירות המסוכנות ההן
that dangerous journey
for themselves and their children.
who drowned with them,
did not die in vain?
in which every life matters?
שבו חיי כל אדם חשובים?
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