TEDGlobal 2011
Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana
Jarreth Merz: filmando a democracia em Gana
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Jarreth Merz - um cineasta suiço-ganense, foi a Gana em 2008 para filmar a eleição nacional. O que ele viu lhe ensinou novas lições sobre democracia - e sobre si mesmo.
Jarreth Merz - Filmmaker
Jarreth Merz' new film, "An African Election," follows the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana from start to finish. Full bio
Jarreth Merz' new film, "An African Election," follows the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana from start to finish. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
I was born in Switzerland
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Eu nasci na Suíça
00:19
and raised in Ghana, West Africa.
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e cresci em Gana, África Ocidental.
00:22
Ghana felt safe to me as a child.
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Quando criança, sentia-me seguro em Gana.
00:24
I was free, I was happy.
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Eu era livre, eu era feliz.
00:28
The early 70s
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O início da década de 1970
00:30
marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.
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marca um período de excelência musical e artística em Gana.
00:33
But then by the end of the decade,
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Mas lá pelo final da década,
00:35
the country had fallen back into political instability
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o país tinha novamente instabilidade política
00:38
and mismanagement.
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e desgoverno.
00:42
In 1979,
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Em 1979,
00:44
I witnessed my first military coup.
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testemunhei meu primeiro golpe militar.
00:48
We the children had gathered at a friend's house.
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Nós crianças nos juntamos na casa de amigos.
00:51
It was a dimly lit shack.
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Era uma cabana mal iluminada.
00:53
There was a beaten up black and white television
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Havia uma velha televisão branco e preto
00:55
flickering in the background,
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piscando ao fundo,
00:58
and a former head of state and general
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e um ex-chefe de estado e general
01:00
was being blindfolded
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estava sendo vendado
01:02
and tied to the pole.
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e amarrado a um poste.
01:04
The firing squad aimed, fired --
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Um esquadrão apontou, atirou --
01:07
the general was dead.
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o general estava morto.
01:09
Now this was being broadcast live.
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E isto estava sendo transmitido ao vivo.
01:12
And shortly after, we left the country,
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Logo depois, deixamos o país,
01:15
and we returned to Switzerland.
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e retornamos à Suíça.
01:17
Now Europe came as a shock to me,
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A Europa foi um choque para mim,
01:20
and I think I started feeling the need
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e achava que começava a sentir necessidade
01:23
to shed my skin in order to fit in.
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de mudar a cor de minha pele para combinar com a dos demais.
01:26
I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.
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Eu queria me misturar como um camaleão.
01:28
I think it was a tactic of survival.
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Eu achei que era uma tática de sobrevivência.
01:31
And it worked, or so I believed.
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E funcionou, ou acreditei que sim.
01:34
So here I was in 2008
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Daí eu estava em 2008
01:39
wondering where I was in my life.
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pensando o que fazia de minha vida.
01:42
And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.
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E senti que estava sendo um ator de um papel só.
01:45
I was always playing the exotic African.
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Sempre era o exótico africano.
01:48
I was playing the violent African,
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Eu representava o africano violento,
01:50
the African terrorist.
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o africano terrorista.
01:52
And I was thinking,
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E eu pensava,
01:54
how many terrorists could I possibly play
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quantos papéis de terrorista devo fazer
01:56
before turning into one myself?
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antes de me tornar um?
01:59
And I had become ashamed of the other,
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E eu acabei com vergonha dos outros,
02:02
the African in me.
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do africano dentro de mim.
02:05
And fortunately I decided in 2008
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Felizmente decidi em 2008
02:08
to return to Ghana,
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retornar a Gana,
02:10
after 28 years of absence.
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depois de 28 anos longe.
02:13
I wanted to document on film
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Queria documentar em filme
02:15
the 2008 presidential elections.
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as eleições presidenciais de 2008.
02:18
And there, I started by searching
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E lá, comecei a procurar
02:21
for the footprints in my childhood.
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as pegadas de minha infância.
02:23
And before I even knew it,
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E antes que eu percebesse,
02:25
I was suddenly on a stage
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estava eu no palco
02:27
surrounded by thousands of cheering people
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cercado por milhares de pessoas gritando
02:29
during a political rally.
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em um comício político.
02:31
And I realized that, when I'd left the country,
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Percebi que, quando eu deixei o país,
02:34
free and fair elections in a democratic environment
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eleições livres e justas em um ambiente democrático
02:37
were a dream.
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eram um sonho.
02:39
And now that I'd returned, that dream had become reality,
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E agora que retornava, aquele sonho tinha se tornado realidade,
02:42
though a fragile reality.
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embora uma frágil realidade.
02:44
And I was thinking,
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E eu pensava,
02:46
was Ghana searching for its identity
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estava Gana à procura de sua identidade
02:48
like I was looking for my identity?
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assim como eu procurava pela minha?
02:50
Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor
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O que acontecia em Gana era uma metáfora
02:52
for what was happening in me?
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do que acontecia comigo?
02:56
And it was as if through the standards of my Western life,
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E era como se através do meu padrão de vida ocidental,
03:02
I hadn't lived up to my full potential.
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eu não tivesse vivido todo o meu potencial.
03:05
I mean, nor had Ghana,
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Quero dizer, nem Gana,
03:07
even though we had been trying very hard.
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apesar de termos tentado muito.
03:09
Now in 1957,
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Já em 1957,
03:11
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country
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Gana foi o primeiro país sub-saariano
03:13
to gain its independence.
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a conseguir independência.
03:15
In the late 50s,
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No final da década de 1950,
03:17
Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.
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o Produto Nacional Bruto de Gana e Singapura eram iguais.
03:20
I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country
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Já hoje, Singapura é um país de primeiro mundo
03:23
and Ghana is not.
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e Gana não é.
03:26
But maybe it was time to prove to myself,
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Mas talvez fosse a hora de provar a mim mesmo,
03:29
yes, it's important to understand the past,
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sim, é importante entender o passado,
03:31
it is important to look at it in a different light,
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é importante ver sob outro ponto de vista,
03:35
but maybe we should look at the strengths in our own culture
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mas talvez devêssemos ver os pontos fortes de nossa cultura
03:39
and build on those foundations in the present.
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e construir o presente a partir dessa base.
03:43
So here I was, December 7th, 2008.
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Eu estava lá, 7 de dezembro de 2008.
03:48
The polling stations opened to the voters at 7:00 AM,
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Os locais de votação abriram às 7h00,
03:53
but voters, eager to take their own political fate into their hands,
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mas os eleitores, ansiosos de tomar em suas mãos o destino político,
03:57
were starting to line up at 4:00 AM in the morning.
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começaram a formar filas a partir das 4 da madrugada.
04:00
And they had traveled from near, they had traveled from far,
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E eles vieram de perto, eles vieram de longe,
04:03
because they wanted to make their voices heard.
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porque queriam ser ouvidos.
04:05
And I asked one of the voters, I said, "Whom are you going to vote for?"
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Perguntei a um dos eleitores: 'Em quem você vai votar?'
04:08
And he said, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."
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Ele respondeu: 'Desculpe-me, eu não posso contar.'
04:11
He said that his vote was in his heart.
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Ele disse que seu voto vinha do coração.
04:14
And I understood, this was their election,
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Compreendi, era a eleição deles,
04:17
and they weren't going to let anyone
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e eles não permitiriam que ninguém
04:19
take it away from them.
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tirasse isto deles.
04:21
Now the first round of the voting didn't bring forth a clear winner --
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Ao final da votação em primeiro turno, não houve um vencedor --
04:24
so nobody had achieved the absolute majority --
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ninguém atingiu a maioria absoluta --
04:28
so voting went into a second round three weeks later.
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portanto tivemos o segundo turno depois de três semanas.
04:31
The candidates were back on the road; they were campaigning.
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Os candidatos voltaram às ruas, eles estavam em campanha.
04:34
The rhetoric of the candidates, of course, changed.
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A retórica dos candidatos, claro, mudou.
04:36
The heat was on.
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A temperatura aumentou.
04:38
And then the cliche came to haunt us.
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E o clichê veio nos assombrar.
04:43
There were claims of intimidation
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Houve intimidações
04:45
at the polling stations,
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nos locais de votação,
04:47
of ballot boxes being stolen.
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urnas foram roubadas.
04:51
Inflated results started coming in
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Resultados viciados começaram a ser anunciados
04:54
and the mob was starting to get out of control.
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e a multidão começou a ficar fora de controle.
04:57
We witnessed the eruption of violence in the streets.
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Testemunhamos a erupção da violência nas ruas.
05:01
People were being beaten brutally.
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Batiam brutalmente no povo.
05:04
The army started firing their guns. People were scrambling.
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O exercito começou a atirar. O povo se misturava.
05:07
It was complete chaos.
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O caos era completo.
05:09
And my heart sank,
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Deu um aperto no coração,
05:11
because I thought, here we are again.
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porque pensei, tudo de novo!
05:13
Here is another proof
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Mais uma evidência
05:15
that the African is not capable of governing himself.
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de que o africano não é capaz de se governar.
05:18
And not only that, I am documenting it --
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E não só isso, eu registrava isso --
05:21
documenting my own cultural shortcomings.
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registrava a minha estreiteza cultural.
05:25
So when the echo of the gunshots
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Então, quando o eco dos tiros
05:28
had lingered,
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ainda soava,
05:30
it was soon drowned by the chanting of the mob,
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foi logo abafado pelo canto do povo,
05:32
and I didn't believe what I was hearing.
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e eu não acreditei no que estava escutando.
05:34
They were chanting, "We want peace.
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Eles estavam cantando: 'Nós queremos paz.
05:36
We want peace."
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Nós queremos paz.'
05:39
And I realized it had to come from the people.
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Percebi que isto vinha do povo.
05:42
After all, they decide,
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Depois de tudo, eles decidiram,
05:44
and they did.
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e assim o fizeram.
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So the sounds that were before distorted and loud,
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Os sons que estavam distorcidos e altos,
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were suddenly a melody.
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de repente eram uma melodia.
05:53
The sounds of the voices were harmonious.
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O som das vozes humanas era harmônico.
05:56
So it could happen.
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Então pode acontecer.
05:59
A democracy could be upheld peacefully.
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A democracia pode aparecer pacificamente.
06:02
It could be, by the will of the masses
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Pode, pelo desejo das massas
06:05
who were now urgently pressing
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que pressinavam com urgência
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with all their heart and all their will
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com todo o seu coração e todo o seu desejo
06:09
for peace.
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pela paz.
06:11
Now here's an interesting comparison.
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Aqui há uma interessante comparação.
06:14
We in the West,
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Nós do ocidente,
06:16
we preach the values,
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nós pregamos os valores,
06:18
the golden light of democracy,
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a dourada luz da democracia,
06:21
that we are the shining example of how it's done.
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que somos o brilhante exemplo de como fazê-la.
06:24
But when it comes down to it,
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Mas, no que refere à essência,
06:27
Ghana found itself in the same place
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Gana estava no mesmo lugar
06:31
in which the U.S. election stalled
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no qual as eleições presidencias nos EUA
06:33
in the 2000 presidential elections --
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em 2000 emperraram ---
06:35
Bush versus Gore.
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Bush versus Gore.
06:38
But instead of the unwillingness of the candidates
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Mas em vez da relutâncias dos candidatos
06:41
to allow the system to proceed and the people to decide,
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em permitir que o sistema seguisse e o povo decidisse,
06:44
Ghana honored democracy
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Gana honrou a democracia
06:47
and its people.
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e seu povo.
06:49
It didn't leave it up to the Supreme Court to decide;
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Não deixando para a Suprema Corte decidir;
06:52
the people did.
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o povo decidiu.
06:55
Now the second round of voting
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No segundo turno da eleição
06:58
did not bring forth a clear winner either.
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não houve um vencedor novamente.
07:00
I mean, it was so incredibly close.
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Quero dizer, estavam virtualmente empatados.
07:02
The electoral commissioner declared,
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A comissão eleitoral declarou,
07:05
with the consent of the parties,
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com o consentimento dos partidos,
07:07
to run an unprecedented
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que haveria um sem precedente
07:09
second re-run.
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terceiro turno.
07:11
So the people went back to the polls
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Com isso o povo foi novamente votar
07:15
to determine their own president,
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para escolher seu presidente,
07:17
not the legal system.
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e não o judiciário.
07:19
And guess what, it worked.
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E adivinhe, funcionou.
07:23
The defeated candidate
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O candidato derrotado
07:25
gave up power
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desistiu do poder
07:27
and made way for Ghana to move into a new democratic cycle.
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e abriu o caminho para Gana entrar em um novo ciclo democrático.
07:30
I mean, at the absolute time
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Quero dizer, no momento decisivo
07:32
for the absolute need of democracy,
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pela absoluta necessidade de democracia,
07:34
they did not abuse their power.
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eles não abusaram do poder.
07:39
The belief in true democracy and in the people runs deep,
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A crença na verdadeira democracia e no povo é profunda,
07:43
proving that the African is capable of governing himself.
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provando que o africano é capaz de governar-se.
07:48
Now the uphill battle for Ghana and for Africa
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A batalha por Gana e pela África
07:51
is not over,
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não acabou,
07:53
but I have proof that the other side of democracy exists,
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mas provou que há o outro lado da democracia,
07:57
and that we must not take it for granted.
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que não devemos tomar por certo.
08:00
Now I have learned
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Aprendi
08:02
that my place is not just in the West or in Africa,
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que meu lugar não é só no Ocidente ou na África,
08:06
and I'm still searching
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continuo buscando
08:08
for my identity,
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minha identidade,
08:10
but I saw Ghana
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mas vi Gana
08:13
create democracy better.
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criar uma democracia melhor.
08:15
Ghana taught me
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Gana me ensinou
08:17
to look at people differently
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a olhar para o povo de forma diferente
08:19
and to look at myself differently.
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a olhar para mim de forma diferente.
08:22
And yes,
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Ah sim,
08:24
we Africans can.
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nós, africanos, podemos.
08:26
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
08:28
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jarreth Merz - FilmmakerJarreth Merz' new film, "An African Election," follows the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana from start to finish.
Why you should listen
Raised in Ghana, Switzerland and Germany, Jarreth Merz is a filmmaker and actor (you may remember him in the role of Simon of Cyrene in The Passion of the Christ). As a director, his work is rooted in observing life as it presents itself in all its complexities -- as shown in his latest documentary, An African Election, which follows the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, West Africa.
Merz's stepfather, a political player on Ghana, helped him get access behind the scenes; then Jarreth and his cameraman brother Kevin followed the presidential candidates in the unpredictable months leading up to the final night. In chronicling the rough-and-tumble process of a democratic election, the documentary becomes a meditation on the dream of democracy itself. The film screened in the World Documentary competition at Sundance earlier this year. Merz is now working on a “political safari” in Africa.
He says: "An African Election challenges the preconceived notion we have about politics in Ghana or Africa without hiding the brutal realities."
Jarreth Merz | Speaker | TED.com