Nabila Alibhai: Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow
Nabila Alibhai: Porque é que pessoas de diferentes credos estão a pintar as suas igrejas de amarelo
Nabila Alibhai leads inCOMMONS, a new cultural production lab focused on invigorating public spaces and inspiring collective responsibility for our cultural and environmental heritage. Full bio
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can either be to contract
pode ser fecharmo-nos
hold on to each other,
e apoiarmo-nos uns nos outros,
os nossos medos.
goes into overdrive
entra em derrapagem
that we no longer engage with.
com quem deixamos de interagir.
and we lose empathy.
aumenta e perdemos empatia.
about a group of people
challenge of terrorism
mundial do terrorismo,
where strangers connect in solidarity.
para criarem elos de solidariedade.
as irrational divisions began as a child.
a obcecar-me quando eu era miúda.
Kenyan Muslim of Indian origin,
de origem indiana, de quarta geração,
marriage in my family
na minha família
comunidade religiosa.
que isso acontecia.
to do with colonialism?
of the same public spaces with others.
os mesmos espaços públicos com os outros.
e motivaram as minhas opções de carreira.
and they drove my career choices.
in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed.
e na Tanzânia foram alvo de bombas.
to the Middle East
to find insecure environments to work in,
ambientes inseguros onde trabalhar,
as the time of terrorism.
como a época do terrorismo.
when 9/11 happened,
quando ocorreu o 11 de setembro
to Kenya to work with refugees
para trabalhar com refugiados.
e no Afeganistão.
os espaços físicos
de bem-estar e de pertença.
to Nairobi from Afghanistan.
e regressei a Nairobi.
had besieged Westgate shopping center,
o centro comercial de Westgate,
in a day of utter horror.
num dia de extremo horror.
was beginning to change,
more like the fear and terror-weary
com as cidades cheias de medo,
em que eu tinha trabalhado.
in fear-driven ways.
cheia de medo.
an erosion of human connection.
das relações humanas.
religious lines are deepening,
estão a aprofundar-se
how much we have in common.
do que é que temos em comum.
our confidence in humanity
a nossa confiança na humanidade
corajosa e visivelmente.
a group of people in Nairobi
de pessoas em Nairobi
artists, development workers.
técnicos de desenvolvimento.
our challenge as threefold:
o nosso problema em três áreas:
from the narrative of terrorism
da narrativa do terrorismo
of the people that live there;
da população que lá vivia;
beyond race, tribe or religion
sem etnia, sem tribo ou sem religião
transcend our differences;
as nossas diferenças;
that would help restore empathy
que ajudasse a recuperar a empatia,
was an artist and architect,
era artista e arquiteto,
in other parts of the world
noutras partes do mundo
and spectacular ways.
e espetaculares.
of different faiths
de diferentes credos
each other's houses of worship,
os templos de adoração uns dos outros,
sinagogas e igrejas —
the true essence of their faith,
a verdadeira essência da sua fé,
in kindness, generosity and friendship.
na bondade, na generosidade e na amizade.
between houses of worship
a paintbrush with other neighbors,
com outros vizinhos,
não apenas com a cabeça,
and with their hearts.
sculptures in the landscape
a ser esculturas na paisagem
from very different backgrounds
de origens muito diferentes
"Cor da Fé".
began approaching houses of worship:
imediatamente a abordar os locais de culto
to more than 60 rabbis,
mais de 60 rabis, imãs,
by a global pandemic of fear
estão exacerbados,
with the hierarchy of decision-making
a hierarquia de tomada de decisões
would have to make the decision.
que tinha de tomar a decisão.
to the archbishop.
the people that pay for the building
as pessoas que pagam o edifício
dos edifícios
and the painting of the buildings
a dependência histórica
of missionary and donor dependence
unconditional civic action,
sem condicionalismos
da forma mais difícil.
would keep asking us
que mostrássemos o nosso reconhecimento.
we wouldn't be here.
painfully late in the game
is code for getting paid to participate.
era código para lhes pagar a participação.
is it really faith?"
poderá chamar-se fé?"
asking the question,
fazendo uma pergunta:
asking the question,
a perguntar:
was the perceived risk of standing apart.
de ficarmos isolados.
that flat-out refused to participate
que se recusou liminarmente a participar.
drawing attention to itself
that also feared becoming a target.
que também receava tornar-se um alvo.
that pledged to participate.
que se comprometeram a participar.
and reinforced it with their own meaning.
e reforçaram-na com o seu significado.
that they're not terrorists.
que não eram terroristas.
through their doors to ask questions.
a quem quisesse fazer perguntas.
sobre o fosso
and the younger generation,
e a geração mais nova
many faiths are grappling with right now.
que muitos credos estão a tentar hoje.
to build neighborhood solidarity
a solidariedade no bairro
de violência nas eleições.
"Porquê o amarelo?"
through their congregations
pelas suas congregações e pela rádio.
stepped forward and helped
avançaram e ajudaram
civil society organizations.
com organizações da sociedade civil.
a thousand liters of yellow paint
mil litros de tinta amarela,
in what they now call "optimistic yellow."
a que hoje chamamos "amarelo otimista".
joined forces with a university
associou-se a uma universidade
de conversas por "tweet"
on issues of faith,
sobre questões de fé,
in the context of religion,
num contexto de religião,
and tribe and nation,
na tribo e na nação,
and in the younger generation.
e na geração mais nova.
was launched at a gallery event
num evento numa galeria
of gallerygoers
incrível de frequentadores de galerias
and artists and businesspeople.
de artistas e de gente de negócios.
picking up a paintbrush,
of the conversation and connection
grande parte da conversa e da interligação
and painted a church yellow,
e pintaram de amarelo uma igreja,
performed while we painted.
atuaram durante a pintura.
did features on Colour in Faith
fez reportagens sobre a "Cor na Fé"
as a way of bringing communities together.
como uma forma de unir comunidades.
das redes sociais inflamaram-se,
continued to stay in touch.
a manter o contacto.
politics with a platform of peace,
com uma plataforma de paz
as far as Argentina and the US
lá longe, na Argentina e nos EUA
this idea, spreads across the world,
esta ideia, pelo mundo inteiro,
those who mean well in yellow.
destaca quem procura o bem,
neighborhoods together,
that when threats come knocking,
quando as ameaças surgirem,
sift fact from rumor
os boatos da verdade
can come together and send a message
pode unir-se e passar uma mensagem
that wish to do us harm.
pretendem fazer-nos mal.
que a esperança também é.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nabila Alibhai - Place-makerNabila Alibhai leads inCOMMONS, a new cultural production lab focused on invigorating public spaces and inspiring collective responsibility for our cultural and environmental heritage.
Why you should listen
Nabila Alibhai is the founder of inCOMMONS, an organization that develops and invigorates public spaces and builds collective leadership. inCOMMONS's New York-based sister company, limeSHIFT, uses the same principles and embeds artists into workplaces to make them more happy, purposeful and creative. She recently authored "How Colour Replaces Fear," a chapter in the book Art & The City, about art that heals divisions and unites communities.
Currently, inCOMMONS's main projects are Colour in Faith, a neighborhood solidarity project through art; building an inclusive sculptural space with Nairobi City County; experimenting with art and healing; and looking for partners to create urban sweet spaces for our greatest gardeners: (pollinators) bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. limeSHIFT is working with New York City's Carnegie Hall on a traveling installation called Espejismo.
Alibhai had a 13-year career working on different aspects of conflict transformation from communications to health and resilience. She has worked on projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, the United States and Switzerland. She has held positions in the Aga Khan Development Network, the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration. As a Research Fellow in MIT's Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies, she advanced her efforts to influence health, security and community solidarity through public spaces. She is now based in her home country of Kenya.
Nabila Alibhai | Speaker | TED.com