TED2014
Zak Ebrahim: I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace.
Zak Ebrahim: Ja sam sin terorista. Evo kako sam odabrao mir.
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Ako ste odgojeni u duhu dogmatizma i mržnje, možete li odabrati drugačiji put? Zak Ebrahim imao je samo sedam godina kad je njegov otac sudjelovao u planiranju bombaškog napada na Svjetski trgovački centar 1993. godine. Njegova šokantna priča ima snažnu poruku i zasigurno će vas nadahnuti.
Zak Ebrahim - Peace activist
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence. Full bio
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:14
On November 5th, 1990,
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Petog studenog 1990.,
00:16
a man named El-Sayyid Nosair walked
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čovjek po imenu El-Sayyid Nosair ušetao je
00:19
into a hotel in Manhattan
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u hotel na Manhattanu
00:21
and assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane,
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i ubio je rabina Meira Kahanea,
00:24
the leader of the Jewish Defense League.
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vođu Židovske obrambene lige.
00:28
Nosair was initially found not guilty of the murder,
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Sudska je presuda prvo bila
da Nosair nije kriv za to ubojstvo,
da Nosair nije kriv za to ubojstvo,
00:31
but while serving time on lesser charges,
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ali dok je bio u zatvoru
zbog drugih optužbi,
zbog drugih optužbi,
00:34
he and other men began planning attacks
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on i drugi muškarci
počeli su planirati napade
počeli su planirati napade
00:37
on a dozen New York City landmarks,
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na desetak znamenitosti u New Yorku,
00:39
including tunnels, synagogues
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uključujući tunele, sinagoge
00:41
and the United Nations headquarters.
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i sjedište Ujedinjenih naroda.
00:44
Thankfully, those plans were foiled
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Srećom, te je planove omeo
00:46
by an FBI informant.
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doušnik FBI-a.
00:49
Sadly, the 1993 bombing
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Na žalost, bombaški napad
00:51
of the World Trade Center was not.
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na Svjetski trgovački centar iz 1993. nije.
00:54
Nosair would eventually be convicted
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Nosair je na kraju osuđen
00:56
for his involvement in the plot.
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zbog sudjelovanja u napadu.
00:59
El-Sayyid Nosair is my father.
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El-Sayyid Nosair je moj otac.
01:04
I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Rođen sam u Pittsburghu, u Pennsylvaniji
01:06
in 1983 to him, an Egyptian engineer,
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1983., od njega, egipatskog inženjera
01:09
and a loving American mother
and grade school teacher,
and grade school teacher,
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i brižne majke Amerikanke,
učiteljice u osnovnoj školi,
učiteljice u osnovnoj školi,
01:13
who together tried their best
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koji su se zajedno trudili
01:14
to create a happy childhood for me.
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osigurati mi sretno djetinjstvo.
01:17
It wasn't until I was seven years old
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Tek kad sam imao sedam godina
01:18
that our family dynamic started to change.
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dinamika naše obitelji počela se mijenjati.
01:22
My father exposed me to a side of Islam
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Otac me izložio strani islama
01:25
that few people, including the majority of Muslims,
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koju rijetki, uključujući većinu muslimana,
01:28
get to see.
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uspiju vidjeti.
01:31
It's been my experience that when people
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Iz mojeg iskustva, kad se ljudi
01:32
take the time to interact with one another,
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potrude razgovarati jedni s drugima,
01:35
it doesn't take long to realize that for the most part,
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vrlo brzo shvate da većinom
01:38
we all want the same things out of life.
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u životu svi želimo iste stvari.
01:40
However, in every religion, in every population,
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No ipak, u svakoj religiji, svakoj populaciji,
01:43
you'll find a small percentage of people
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naći ćete mali postotak ljudi
01:46
who hold so fervently to their beliefs
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koji se tako gorljivo drže svojih uvjerenja
01:49
that they feel they must use any means necessary
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da smatraju kako moraju
koristiti sva potrebna sredstva
koristiti sva potrebna sredstva
01:52
to make others live as they do.
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da bi natjerali druge da žive kao oni.
01:55
A few months prior to his arrest,
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Nekoliko mjeseci prije njegova uhićenja,
01:57
he sat me down and explained that
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posjeo me i objasnio mi
01:59
for the past few weekends, he and some friends
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da su proteklih nekoliko vikenda
on i njegovi prijatelji
on i njegovi prijatelji
02:02
had been going to a shooting range on Long Island
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išli na streljanu na Long Islandu
02:04
for target practice.
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kako bi vježbali pucanje.
02:07
He told me I'd be going with him the next morning.
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Rekao mi je da ću
sljedećeg jutra ići s njim.
sljedećeg jutra ići s njim.
02:10
We arrived at Calverton Shooting Range,
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Stigli smo na streljanu Calverton,
02:12
which unbeknownst to our group was being watched
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za koju nismo znali
02:15
by the FBI.
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da je pod nadzorom FBI-a.
02:18
When it was my turn to shoot,
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Kad je bio moj red da pucam,
02:19
my father helped me hold the rifle to my shoulder
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otac mi je pomogao držati pušku na ramenu
02:21
and explained how to aim at the target
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i pojasnio mi kako da naciljam metu
02:23
about 30 yards off.
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koja je bila udaljena 30-ak metara.
02:26
That day, the last bullet I shot
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Tog dana, posljednji metak
koji sam ispalio
koji sam ispalio
02:28
hit the small orange light that sat on top of the target
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pogodio je malo narančasto
svjetlo na vrhu mete
svjetlo na vrhu mete
02:31
and to everyone's surprise, especially mine,
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i na iznenađenje svih, osobito moje,
02:35
the entire target burst into flames.
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čitava meta se zapalila.
02:39
My uncle turned to the other men,
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Moj ujak okrenuo se drugim muškarcima
02:40
and in Arabic said, "Ibn abuh."
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i na arapskom rekao, "Ibn abuh."
02:44
Like father, like son.
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Kakav otac, takav sin.
02:47
They all seemed to get a really
big laugh out of that comment,
big laugh out of that comment,
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Svi su se dobro nasmijali
zbog tog komentara,
zbog tog komentara,
02:50
but it wasn't until a few years later
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ali tek sam nekoliko godina kasnije
02:52
that I fully understood what
they thought was so funny.
they thought was so funny.
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u potpunosti shvatio
što su im je bilo tako smiješno.
što su im je bilo tako smiješno.
02:56
They thought they saw in me the same destruction
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Mislili su da u meni vide
istu sposobnost uništavanja
istu sposobnost uništavanja
02:58
my father was capable of.
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koju je imao i moj otac.
03:01
Those men would eventually be convicted
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Te su ljude na kraju osudili
03:04
of placing a van filled with
1,500 pounds of explosives
1,500 pounds of explosives
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za parkiranje kombija punog eksploziva
03:08
into the sub-level parking lot of the
World Trade Center's North Tower,
World Trade Center's North Tower,
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na podzemno parkiralište sjevernog tornja
Svjetskog trgovačkog centra,
Svjetskog trgovačkog centra,
03:12
causing an explosion that killed six people
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što je prouzročilo eksploziju
koja je ubila šestero ljudi
koja je ubila šestero ljudi
03:15
and injured over 1,000 others.
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i ozlijedila više od 1000 drugih.
03:18
These were the men I looked up to.
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To su bili ljudi u koje sam se ugledao.
03:20
These were the men I called
ammu, which means uncle.
ammu, which means uncle.
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Te sam muškarce zvao ammu, što znači ujak.
03:25
By the time I turned 19,
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Do svoje 19. godine
03:26
I had already moved 20 times in my life,
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selio sam se već 20 puta
03:30
and that instability during my childhood
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i ta nestabilnost u mojem djetinjstvu
03:32
didn't really provide an opportunity
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nije mi baš davala priliku
03:33
to make many friends.
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da steknem prijatelje.
03:35
Each time I would begin to feel
comfortable around someone,
comfortable around someone,
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Kad god bih se počeo
ugodno osjećati s nekime,
ugodno osjećati s nekime,
03:38
it was time to pack up and move to the next town.
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bilo je vrijeme za pakiranje i selidbu.
03:41
Being the perpetual new face in class,
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Budući da sam uvijek bio novi u razredu,
03:44
I was frequently the target of bullies.
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često sam bio meta nasilnicima.
03:46
I kept my identity a secret from my classmates
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Tajio sam svoj identitet
od kolega u razredu
od kolega u razredu
03:48
to avoid being targeted,
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kako ne bi imali pik na mene,
03:50
but as it turns out, being the
quiet, chubby new kid in class
quiet, chubby new kid in class
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ali ispada da, ako si povučen,
bucmast novi dečko u razredu,
bucmast novi dečko u razredu,
03:53
was more than enough ammunition.
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to im daje i više nego dovoljno municije.
03:56
So for the most part, I spent my time at home
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Stoga sam vrijeme
većinom provodio kod kuće,
većinom provodio kod kuće,
03:58
reading books and watching TV
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čitajući knjige i gledajući TV
04:00
or playing video games.
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ili igrajući videoigre.
04:01
For those reasons, my social skills were lacking,
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Zato su moje društvene vještine bile manjkave,
04:04
to say the least,
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da se blago izrazim,
04:06
and growing up in a bigoted household,
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a budući da sam odrastao
u zadrtom kućanstvu,
u zadrtom kućanstvu,
04:08
I wasn't prepared for the real world.
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nisam bio spreman za stvarni svijet.
04:10
I'd been raised to judge people
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Odgojen sam da prosuđujem ljude
04:12
based on arbitrary measurements,
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na temelju proizvoljnih kriterija,
04:14
like a person's race or religion.
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kao što je rasa ili vjera osobe.
04:18
So what opened my eyes?
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Što mi je otvorilo oči?
04:21
One of my first experiences
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Jedno od mojih prvih iskustava
04:23
that challenged this way of thinking
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koje je pobijalo takav način razmišljanja
04:25
was during the 2000 presidential elections.
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bilo je tijekom predsjedničkih izbora 2000.
04:28
Through a college prep program,
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U sklopu programa pripreme za fakultet
04:30
I was able to take part
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sudjelovao sam
04:31
in the National Youth Convention in Philadelphia.
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na Nacionalnoj konvenciji mladeži
u Philadelphiji.
u Philadelphiji.
04:34
My particular group's focus was on youth violence,
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Skupina u kojoj sam bio
bavila se nasiljem među mladima,
bavila se nasiljem među mladima,
04:37
and having been the victim
of bullying for most of my life,
of bullying for most of my life,
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a budući da sam
većinu života bio žrtva nasilja,
većinu života bio žrtva nasilja,
04:40
this was a subject in which
I felt particularly passionate.
I felt particularly passionate.
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za tu sam se temu posebno zanimao.
04:44
The members of our group came
from many different walks of life.
from many different walks of life.
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Članovi naše grupe imali su
različite životne priče.
različite životne priče.
04:48
One day toward the end of the convention,
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Jednog dana, pred kraj konvencije,
04:50
I found out that one of the kids I had befriended
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saznao sam da je jedan od mladića
s kojima sam se sprijateljio
s kojima sam se sprijateljio
04:53
was Jewish.
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Židov.
04:55
Now, it had taken several days
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Sad, trebalo je nekoliko dana
04:57
for this detail to come to light,
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da taj detalj izađe na vidjelo
04:58
and I realized that there was no natural animosity
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i shvatio sam da nema
prirodnog neprijateljstva
prirodnog neprijateljstva
05:02
between the two of us.
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među nama.
05:04
I had never had a Jewish friend before,
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Nikad prije nisam imao
prijatelja židovske vjere
prijatelja židovske vjere
05:07
and frankly I felt a sense of pride
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i iskreno, bio sam ponosan
05:10
in having been able to overcome a barrier
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jer sam svladao prepreku
05:12
that for most of my life I had been led to believe
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za koju su me većinu života uvjeravali
05:14
was insurmountable.
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da je nepremostiva.
05:17
Another major turning point came when
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Još jedna prekretnica dogodila se
05:19
I found a summer job at Busch Gardens,
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kad sam dobio ljetni posao
u Busch Gardensu,
u Busch Gardensu,
05:21
an amusement park.
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zabavnom parku.
05:24
There, I was exposed to people
from all sorts of faiths and cultures,
from all sorts of faiths and cultures,
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Ondje sam bio u kontaktu s ljudima
različitih vjera i kultura
različitih vjera i kultura
05:27
and that experience proved to be fundamental
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i to iskustvo pokazalo se ključnim
05:29
to the development of my character.
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za razvoj mojeg karaktera.
05:33
Most of my life, I'd been taught
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Većinu života učili su me
05:34
that homosexuality was a sin, and by extension,
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da je homoseksualnost grijeh, i samim time
05:38
that all gay people were a negative influence.
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svi gay ljudi prestavljali su
negativan utjecaj.
negativan utjecaj.
05:41
As chance would have it, I had the opportunity
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Spletom okolnosti imao sam priliku
05:44
to work with some of the gay performers
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raditi s nekima od gay izvođača
05:45
at a show there,
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u jednoj tamošnjoj predstavi.
05:47
and soon found that many were the kindest,
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Ubrzo sam otkrio da su
mnogi od njih tako ljubazni,
mnogi od njih tako ljubazni,
05:49
least judgmental people I had ever met.
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ljudi s najmanje predrasuda
koje sam ikad upoznao.
koje sam ikad upoznao.
05:53
Being bullied as a kid
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Budući da sam kao dijete bio žrtva nasilja,
05:55
created a sense of empathy in me
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suosjećao sam
05:58
toward the suffering of others,
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s patnjom drugih
05:59
and it comes very unnaturally to me
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i nije mi prirodno
06:01
to treat people who are kind
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ponašati se prema ljudima koji su dobri
06:03
in any other way than how
I would want to be treated.
I would want to be treated.
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na bilo koji drugi način osim onako
kako bih htio da se ponašaju prema meni.
kako bih htio da se ponašaju prema meni.
06:07
Because of that feeling, I was able
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Zbog tog sam osjećaja uspio
06:09
to contrast the stereotypes I'd been taught as a child
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suprostaviti stereotipe
kojima su me učili kao dijete
kojima su me učili kao dijete
06:14
with real life experience and interaction.
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pravim iskustvima i interakcijama.
06:17
I don't know what it's like to be gay,
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Ne znam kako je to biti gay,
06:19
but I'm well acquainted with being judged
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ali dobro sam upoznat s osuđivanjem
06:21
for something that's beyond my control.
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zbog nečega što je izvan moje kontrole.
06:25
Then there was "The Daily Show."
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Tu je bila i emisija "The Daily Show".
06:29
On a nightly basis, Jon Stewart forced me
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Svake me večeri voditelj Jon Stewart tjerao
06:31
to be intellectually honest with
myself about my own bigotry
myself about my own bigotry
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da budem intelektualno iskren
sam sa sobom vezano za svoju zadrtost
sam sa sobom vezano za svoju zadrtost
06:35
and helped me to realize that a person's race,
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i pomogao mi je da shvatim da rasa,
06:37
religion or sexual orientation
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vjera ili seksualna orijentacija
06:40
had nothing to do with the quality of one's character.
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nemaju nikakve veze
s kvalitetom nečijeg karaktera.
s kvalitetom nečijeg karaktera.
06:45
He was in many ways a father figure to me
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On mi je po mnogočemu bio očinska figura
06:48
when I was in desperate need of one.
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kad mi je očajnički trebala.
06:51
Inspiration can often come
from an unexpected place,
from an unexpected place,
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Inspiracija često može doći
iz neočekivanih mjesta
iz neočekivanih mjesta
06:55
and the fact that a Jewish comedian had done more
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i činjenica da je židovski komičar
06:58
to positively influence my worldview
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pozitivnije utjecao na moju sliku svijeta
07:00
than my own extremist father
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nego moj otac ekstremist
07:02
is not lost on me.
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nije mi promakla.
07:05
One day, I had a conversation with my mother
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Jednog sam dana razgovarao s majkom
07:07
about how my worldview was starting to change,
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o tome kako se mijenja moj pogled na svijet
07:10
and she said something to me
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i rekla mi je nešto
07:12
that I will hold dear to my heart
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što će mi biti drago
07:14
for as long as I live.
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dok sam živ.
07:17
She looked at me with the weary eyes
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Pogledala me umornim očima
07:19
of someone who had experienced
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nekoga tko je iskusio
07:20
enough dogmatism to last a lifetime, and said,
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dovoljno dogmatizma
za cijeli život i rekla mi je:
za cijeli život i rekla mi je:
07:24
"I'm tired of hating people."
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„Umorna sam od mržnje.”
07:28
In that instant, I realized how much negative energy
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U tom sam trenutku shvatio
koliko je negativne energije
koliko je negativne energije
07:31
it takes to hold that hatred inside of you.
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potrebno da držite tu mržnju u sebi.
07:36
Zak Ebrahim is not my real name.
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Zak Ebrahim nije moje pravo ime.
07:39
I changed it when my family decided
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Promijenio sam ga
kad je moja obitelj odlučila
kad je moja obitelj odlučila
07:41
to end our connection with my father
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prekinuti veze s mojim ocem
07:42
and start a new life.
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i početi novi život.
07:45
So why would I out myself
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Zašto bih onda rekao tko sam
07:47
and potentially put myself in danger?
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i tako se možda doveo u opasnost?
07:50
Well, that's simple.
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Pa, jednostavno je.
07:52
I do it in the hopes that perhaps someone someday
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Radim to u nadi da će jednog dana netko
07:56
who is compelled to use violence
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tko je prisiljen koristiti nasilje
07:58
may hear my story and realize
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čuti moju priču i shvatiti
08:00
that there is a better way,
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da postoji bolji način,
08:03
that although I had been subjected
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da, iako sam bio izložen
08:04
to this violent, intolerant ideology,
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toj nasilnoj, netolerantnoj ideologiji,
08:07
that I did not become fanaticized.
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nisam postao fanatik.
08:10
Instead, I choose to use my experience
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Umjesto toga, odlučio sam
iskoristiti svoje iskustvo
iskoristiti svoje iskustvo
08:12
to fight back against terrorism,
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kako bih se borio protiv terorizma,
08:15
against the bigotry.
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protiv zadrtosti.
08:19
I do it for the victims of terrorism
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Radim to za žrtve terorizma
08:22
and their loved ones,
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i njihove voljene,
08:24
for the terrible pain and loss
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zbog užasne boli i gubitka
08:26
that terrorism has forced upon their lives.
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koje je terorizam donio u njihove živote.
08:29
For the victims of terrorism, I will speak out
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Za žrtve terorizma, progovorit ću
08:31
against these senseless acts
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protiv tih bezumnih činova
08:34
and condemn my father's actions.
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i osuditi djela svojeg oca.
08:38
And with that simple fact, I stand here as proof
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I s tom jednostavnom činjenicom,
stojim ovdje kao dokaz
stojim ovdje kao dokaz
08:41
that violence isn't inherent in one's religion or race,
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da nasilje nije automatski prisutno
u nečijoj vjeri ili rasi,
u nečijoj vjeri ili rasi,
08:45
and the son does not have to follow
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i da sin ne mora slijediti
08:48
the ways of his father.
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put svojeg oca.
08:51
I am not my father.
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Ja nisam moj otac.
08:54
Thank you. (Applause)
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Hvala. (Pljesak)
08:57
Thank you, everybody. (Applause)
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Hvala vam, ljudi. (Pljesak)
09:01
Thank you all. (Applause)
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Hvala vam svima. (Pljesak)
09:03
Thanks a lot. (Applause)
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Puno hvala. (Pljesak)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zak Ebrahim - Peace activistGroomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence.
Why you should listen
When Zak Ebrahim was seven, his family went on the run. His father, El Sayyid Nosair, had hoped Zak would follow in his footsteps -- and become a jihadist. Instead, Zak was at the beginning of a long journey to comprehend his past.
Zak Ebrahim kept his family history a secret as they moved through a long succession of towns. In 2010, he realized his experience as a terrorist’s son not only gave him a unique perspective, but also a unique chance to show that if he could escape a violent heritage, anyone could. As he told Truthdig.com, “We must embrace tolerance and nonviolence. Who knows this better than the son of a terrorist?”
In 2014 Ebrahim published the TED Book The Terrorist's Son, a memoir written with Jeff Giles about the path he took to turn away from hate. In early 2015 the book won an American Library Association Alex award.
Zak Ebrahim | Speaker | TED.com