TEDGlobal 2011
Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana
Jarreth Merz: Natáčanie demokracie v Ghane
Filmed:
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Jarreth Metz, Švajčiarsko-Ghanský režisér, sa vrátil do Ghany roku 2008, aby natočil národné voľby. To, čo tam videl, ho naučilo mnoho o demokracii aj o ňom samotnom.
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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Narodil som sa vo Švajčiarsku
00:19
and raised in Ghana, West Africa.
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a vyrastal som v Ghane, v západnej Afrike.
00:22
Ghana felt safe to me as a child.
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Ghana mi pripadala bezpečne, keď som bol dieťa.
00:24
I was free, I was happy.
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Bol som voľný, bol som šťastný.
00:28
The early 70s
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Skoré 70-te roky
00:30
marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.
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boli označované za časy hudobnej a umeleckej excelencie v Ghane.
00:33
But then by the end of the decade,
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Ale potom, ku koncu toho desaťročia,
00:35
the country had fallen back into political instability
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sa zem dostala späť do politickej nestability
00:38
and mismanagement.
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a zlého manažmentu.
00:42
In 1979,
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Roku 1979
00:44
I witnessed my first military coup.
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som bol svedkom prvého armádneho štátneho prevratu.
00:48
We the children had gathered at a friend's house.
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My deti sme sa zhromaždili v kamarátovom dome.
00:51
It was a dimly lit shack.
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Bola to slabo osvetlená chatrč.
00:53
There was a beaten up black and white television
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Bola tam takmer rozbitá čierno-biela televízia,
00:55
flickering in the background,
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ktorá blikala v pozadí,
00:58
and a former head of state and general
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a vtedajšia hlava štátu a generál zároveň
01:00
was being blindfolded
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mal previazané oči
01:02
and tied to the pole.
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a bol priviazaný k tyči.
01:04
The firing squad aimed, fired --
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Popravná čata zamierila, vystrelila --
01:07
the general was dead.
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a generál bol mŕtvy.
01:09
Now this was being broadcast live.
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Toto bolo vysielané naživo.
01:12
And shortly after, we left the country,
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Onedlho po tom sme opustili krajinu,
01:15
and we returned to Switzerland.
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a vrátili sa do Švajčiarska.
01:17
Now Europe came as a shock to me,
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Európa bola pre mňa šokom,
01:20
and I think I started feeling the need
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a myslím, že som začal pociťovať potrebu
01:23
to shed my skin in order to fit in.
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zbaviť sa svojej pokožky, aby som zapadol.
01:26
I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.
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Chcel som splynúť ako chameleón.
01:28
I think it was a tactic of survival.
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Myslím, že to bola stratégia prežitia.
01:31
And it worked, or so I believed.
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A fungovalo to -- alebo som si to aspoň myslel.
01:34
So here I was in 2008
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Roku 2008
01:39
wondering where I was in my life.
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som sa začal zaujímať o to, kde som sa nachádzal vo svojom živote.
01:42
And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.
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Cítil som, že som bol ako herec príliš škatuľkovaný.
01:45
I was always playing the exotic African.
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Vždy som hral exotického Afričana.
01:48
I was playing the violent African,
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Hral som násilného Afričana,
01:50
the African terrorist.
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afrického teroristu.
01:52
And I was thinking,
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A myslel som si:
01:54
how many terrorists could I possibly play
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koľko teroristov ešte budem musieť zahrať,
01:56
before turning into one myself?
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aby som sa jedným stal?
01:59
And I had become ashamed of the other,
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Bol som zahanbený mojím druhým ja,
02:02
the African in me.
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tým Afričanom vo mne.
02:05
And fortunately I decided in 2008
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Našťastie som sa roku 2008 rozhodol
02:08
to return to Ghana,
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vrátiť sa späť do Ghany,
02:10
after 28 years of absence.
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po 28-ich rokoch absencie.
02:13
I wanted to document on film
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Chcel som natočiť dokument
02:15
the 2008 presidential elections.
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o prezidentských voľbách 2008.
02:18
And there, I started by searching
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Tam som začal hľadať
02:21
for the footprints in my childhood.
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stopy po mojom detstve.
02:23
And before I even knew it,
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A pred tým, ako som si to stihol uvedomiť,
02:25
I was suddenly on a stage
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som sa náhle ocitol na pódiu
02:27
surrounded by thousands of cheering people
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obkolesený tisíckami jasajúcich ľudí
02:29
during a political rally.
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počas politického mítingu.
02:31
And I realized that, when I'd left the country,
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Keď som opustil krajinu, uvedomil som si,
02:34
free and fair elections in a democratic environment
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že slobodné a čestné voľby v demokratickom prostredí
02:37
were a dream.
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boli snom.
02:39
And now that I'd returned, that dream had become reality,
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A teraz, keď som sa vrátil, ten sen sa stal skutočnosťou --
02:42
though a fragile reality.
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hoci len krehkou.
02:44
And I was thinking,
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Rozmýšľal som,
02:46
was Ghana searching for its identity
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či Ghana hľadala svoju identitu
02:48
like I was looking for my identity?
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rovnako, ako som ju hľadal aj ja?
02:50
Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor
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Bolo to, čo sa dialo v Ghane, len metaforou toho,
02:52
for what was happening in me?
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čo sa dialo mne?
02:56
And it was as if through the standards of my Western life,
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Bolo to, akoby som, kvôli štandardom môjho západniarskeho života,
03:02
I hadn't lived up to my full potential.
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nežil naplno.
03:05
I mean, nor had Ghana,
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A ani Ghana,
03:07
even though we had been trying very hard.
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hoci sme sa veľmi snažili.
03:09
Now in 1957,
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Roku 1957
03:11
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country
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bola Ghana prvým subsaharským štátom,
03:13
to gain its independence.
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ktorý získal nezávislosť.
03:15
In the late 50s,
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V neskorých 50-tych rokoch
03:17
Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.
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mali Ghana s Singapúr rovnaký HDP.
03:20
I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country
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A dnes Singapúr patrí ku vyspelým štátom,
03:23
and Ghana is not.
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ale Ghana nie.
03:26
But maybe it was time to prove to myself,
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Ale možno je čas na to, aby som si povedal,
03:29
yes, it's important to understand the past,
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áno, je dôležité rozumieť minulosti,
03:31
it is important to look at it in a different light,
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je dôležité pozrieť sa na veci v inom svetle,
03:35
but maybe we should look at the strengths in our own culture
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ale možno by sme sa mali pozrieť na silu v našej vlastnej kultúre
03:39
and build on those foundations in the present.
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a stavať na tých základoch aj v súčasnosti.
03:43
So here I was, December 7th, 2008.
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Tak som tam teda bol, siedmeho decembra 2008.
03:48
The polling stations opened to the voters at 7:00 AM,
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Volebné miestnosti sa otvárali ráno o 7:00,
03:53
but voters, eager to take their own political fate into their hands,
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ale voliči, nedočkavo túžiaci vziať osud politiky do vlastných rúk,
03:57
were starting to line up at 4:00 AM in the morning.
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tam stáli v rade už od štvrtej rána.
04:00
And they had traveled from near, they had traveled from far,
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Cestovali zblízka aj zďaleka,
04:03
because they wanted to make their voices heard.
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lebo chceli, aby ich hlasy boli vypočuté.
04:05
And I asked one of the voters, I said, "Whom are you going to vote for?"
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Opýtal som sa jedného z voličov, "Koho budeš voliť?"
04:08
And he said, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."
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A on odvetil, "Prepáč, nemôžem ti to povedať."
04:11
He said that his vote was in his heart.
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Povedal mi, že ten hlas bol v jeho srdci.
04:14
And I understood, this was their election,
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Vtedy som pochopil, že to sú ich voľby
04:17
and they weren't going to let anyone
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a že nedovolia nikomu,
04:19
take it away from them.
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aby im ich zobral.
04:21
Now the first round of the voting didn't bring forth a clear winner --
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Prvé kolo volieb neprinieslo jasného víťaza,
04:24
so nobody had achieved the absolute majority --
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nikto totižto nedosiahol úplnú väčšinu,
04:28
so voting went into a second round three weeks later.
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a tak sa voľby posunuli do druhého kola, o tri týždne neskôr.
04:31
The candidates were back on the road; they were campaigning.
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Kandidáti boli späť na cestách; robili kampane.
04:34
The rhetoric of the candidates, of course, changed.
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Rétorika kandidátov sa však, samozrejme, zmenila.
04:36
The heat was on.
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Napätie začalo.
04:38
And then the cliche came to haunt us.
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A potom nás začalo desiť klišé.
04:43
There were claims of intimidation
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Vyskytli sa tvrdenia, že
04:45
at the polling stations,
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vo volebných miestnostiach
04:47
of ballot boxes being stolen.
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boli ukradnuté volebné urny.
04:51
Inflated results started coming in
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Začali sa objavovať nafúknuté výsledky
04:54
and the mob was starting to get out of control.
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a dav sa vymykal kontrole.
04:57
We witnessed the eruption of violence in the streets.
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Boli sme svedkami výbuchu násilia v uliciach.
05:01
People were being beaten brutally.
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Ľudia boli brutálne bití.
05:04
The army started firing their guns. People were scrambling.
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Armáda začala strieľať. Ľudia sa snažili uniknúť.
05:07
It was complete chaos.
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Bol to úplný chaos.
05:09
And my heart sank,
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Moje srdce klesalo ku dnu,
05:11
because I thought, here we are again.
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lebo som si pomyslel: opäť sa to opakuje.
05:13
Here is another proof
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Tu je ďalší dôkaz,
05:15
that the African is not capable of governing himself.
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že Afričania si nedokážu vládnuť sami.
05:18
And not only that, I am documenting it --
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A nie len to, ja to dokumentujem --
05:21
documenting my own cultural shortcomings.
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dokumentujem moje vlastné kultúrne slabiny.
05:25
So when the echo of the gunshots
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Avšak, keď zvuk zbraní
05:28
had lingered,
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pretrvával,
05:30
it was soon drowned by the chanting of the mob,
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bol umlčaný skandovaním davu,
05:32
and I didn't believe what I was hearing.
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a neverili sme vlastným ušiam.
05:34
They were chanting, "We want peace.
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Kričali, "My chceme mier.
05:36
We want peace."
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My chceme mier."
05:39
And I realized it had to come from the people.
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Potom som si uvedomil, že to musí vychádzať z ľudí.
05:42
After all, they decide,
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Koniec koncov, mali sa rozhodnúť
05:44
and they did.
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a rozhodli sa.
05:46
So the sounds that were before distorted and loud,
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Zvuky, ktoré boli skomolené a hlasné,
05:50
were suddenly a melody.
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sa odrazu stali melódiou.
05:53
The sounds of the voices were harmonious.
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Zvuk ich hlasov bol harmonický.
05:56
So it could happen.
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Môže sa to teda stať.
05:59
A democracy could be upheld peacefully.
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Demokracia môže byť presadzovaná v mieri.
06:02
It could be, by the will of the masses
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Môže byť, vôľou más,
06:05
who were now urgently pressing
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ktoré sa teraz neodbytne tlačili
06:07
with all their heart and all their will
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svojimi srdcami a vôľou
06:09
for peace.
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ku pokoju.
06:11
Now here's an interesting comparison.
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Poviem vám zaujímavé porovnanie.
06:14
We in the West,
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My na západe
06:16
we preach the values,
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hlásame hodnoty --
06:18
the golden light of democracy,
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zlatý svit demokracie --
06:21
that we are the shining example of how it's done.
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že my sme žiariaci príklad toho, ako sa to robí.
06:24
But when it comes down to it,
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Avšak, keď sa na to pozrieme,
06:27
Ghana found itself in the same place
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Ghana sa nachádzala na rovnakom mieste
06:31
in which the U.S. election stalled
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na ktorých sa zastavili voľby
06:33
in the 2000 presidential elections --
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Spojených štátov amerických roku 2000 --
06:35
Bush versus Gore.
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Bush verzus Gore.
06:38
But instead of the unwillingness of the candidates
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Ale namiesto neochoty kandidátov,
06:41
to allow the system to proceed and the people to decide,
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aby dovolili systému napredovať a ľuďom rozhodnúť sa,
06:44
Ghana honored democracy
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Ghana si vážila demokraciu
06:47
and its people.
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a svojich ľudí.
06:49
It didn't leave it up to the Supreme Court to decide;
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Nečakala na najvyšší súd, aby sa rozhodol;
06:52
the people did.
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rozhodli sa ľudia.
06:55
Now the second round of voting
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Druhé kolo volieb
06:58
did not bring forth a clear winner either.
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tiež neprinieslo jasného víťaza.
07:00
I mean, it was so incredibly close.
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Teda, bolo to neuveriteľne blízko.
07:02
The electoral commissioner declared,
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Volebná komisia vyhlásila,
07:05
with the consent of the parties,
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so súhlasom strán,
07:07
to run an unprecedented
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aby usporiadali ďalšie
07:09
second re-run.
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bezprecedentné kolo.
07:11
So the people went back to the polls
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Ľudia sa vrátili späť k urnám,
07:15
to determine their own president,
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aby si určili svojho prezidenta;
07:17
not the legal system.
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a nie legálny systém.
07:19
And guess what, it worked.
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A hádajte čo, fungovalo to.
07:23
The defeated candidate
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Porazený kandidát
07:25
gave up power
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sa vzdal
07:27
and made way for Ghana to move into a new democratic cycle.
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a nechal Ghane priestor, aby sa posunula do nového cyklu demokracie.
07:30
I mean, at the absolute time
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Teda, v čase absolutizmu,
07:32
for the absolute need of democracy,
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pri obrovskej potrebe demokracie,
07:34
they did not abuse their power.
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nezneužili svoju moc.
07:39
The belief in true democracy and in the people runs deep,
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Viera v pravú demokraciu a v ľudí je veľká,
07:43
proving that the African is capable of governing himself.
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a dokazuje to to, že Afrika je schopná vládnuť sama sebe.
07:48
Now the uphill battle for Ghana and for Africa
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Namáhavá bitka pre Ghanu a pre Afriku
07:51
is not over,
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ešte neskončila,
07:53
but I have proof that the other side of democracy exists,
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ale mám dôkaz, že druhá strana demokracie existuje
07:57
and that we must not take it for granted.
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a že ju nemáme pokladať za samozrejmú.
08:00
Now I have learned
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Naučil som sa,
08:02
that my place is not just in the West or in Africa,
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že moje miesto nie je len na Západe, alebo v Afrike,
08:06
and I'm still searching
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ale že stále hľadám
08:08
for my identity,
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svoju identitu,
08:10
but I saw Ghana
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ale videl som Ghanu
08:13
create democracy better.
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vytvoriť si lepšiu demokraciu.
08:15
Ghana taught me
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Ghana ma naučila
08:17
to look at people differently
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pozerať sa na ľudí inak
08:19
and to look at myself differently.
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a pozerať sa inak aj na samého seba.
08:22
And yes,
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Áno,
08:24
we Africans can.
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my Afričania môžeme.
08:26
Thank you.
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Ďakujem.
08:28
(Applause)
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(Potlesk)
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