ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez - 9/11 mothers
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue.

Why you should listen

Phyllis Rodriguez is an artist, a teacher and a social justice activist. On September 11, 2001, her son Greg died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Rodriguez and her husband wrote an open letter, "Not in Our Son's Name," calling on President Bush to oppose a military response in Afghanistan.

Aicha el-Wafi is an activist with the French feminist group Ni Putes Ni Soumise, working with Muslim women. Her son, Zacarias Moussaoui, was tried in relation to the attacks on US soil, and faced the possibility of execution if convicted.

In November 2002, Phyllis Rodriguez and several other relatives of victims of the attacks were invited to meet Aicha el-Wafi. Rodriguez and el-Wafi have since appeared together throughout Europe and the US, telling their story of reconciliation and forgiveness.

More profile about the speaker
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2010

Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez: The mothers who found forgiveness, friendship

治愈911:寻找宽恕,友谊的母亲们

Filmed:
964,245 views

菲莉斯·罗德里格斯和艾莎·瓦非从不计较得失之中衍生出了紧密的友情。罗德里格斯的儿子在2001年911撞击世贸大厦时丧生;瓦非的儿子撒迦利亚·穆萨维因发起这次袭击而被定罪并判处死刑。为了寻求希望中的和平,这两位母亲互相了解并互相倚重。
- 9/11 mothers
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Phyllis菲利斯 Rodriguez罗德里格斯: We are here today今天
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菲莉斯·罗德里格斯:我们今天站在这里
00:18
because of the fact事实
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是因为
00:20
that we have what most people consider考虑
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我们拥有大多数认为的
00:22
an unusual异常 friendship友谊.
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不寻常的一份友情。
00:24
And it is.
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而且它的确是这样。
00:26
And yet然而, it feels感觉 natural自然 to us now.
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现在,我们已经感觉很自然了。
00:29
I first learned学到了
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我起初知道
00:31
that my son儿子 had been in the World世界 Trade贸易 Center中央
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我的儿子在2001年9月11日早晨
00:35
on the morning早上 of September九月 11th, 2001.
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进入了世贸大厦。
00:39
We didn't know
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我们不知道
00:41
if he had perished遇难 yet然而
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是否他还活着
00:43
until直到 36 hours小时 later后来.
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直到事发36小时之后。
00:48
At the time,
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那时,
00:50
we knew知道 that it was political政治.
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我知道这是政治原因。
00:53
We were afraid害怕 of what our country国家 was going to do
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我们担心国家会以我们孩子的名义
00:56
in the name名称 of our son儿子 --
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要做的那些事--
00:58
my husband丈夫, Orlando奥兰多, and I and our family家庭.
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我丈夫,奥兰多,和我以及我们一家。
01:01
And when I saw it --
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当我看到的时候--
01:03
and yet然而, through通过 the shock休克,
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可是,经历了这种震惊,
01:05
the terrible可怕 shock休克,
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可怕的震惊,
01:07
and the terrible可怕 explosion爆炸 in our lives生活, literally按照字面,
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真正意义上的生活中可怕的震惊,
01:13
we were not vengeful复仇.
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我们并没有心存报复。
01:16
And a couple一对 of weeks later后来
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几周之后
01:18
when Zacarias扎卡里亚斯 Moussaoui穆萨维 was indicted被起诉
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当撒迦利亚·穆萨维被指控为
01:21
on six counts计数 of conspiracy阴谋 to commit承诺 terrorism恐怖主义,
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六个密谋制造恐怖袭击的份子之一,
01:26
and the U.S. government政府 called for a death死亡 penalty罚款
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同时美国政府对他将判决
01:29
for him, if convicted被定罪,
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死刑,如果定罪的话,
01:31
my husband丈夫 and I spoke out
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我丈夫和我
01:34
in opposition反对 to that, publicly公然.
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也用完全不同的角度,群众的角度讨论过这些。
01:37
Through通过 that
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通过这些
01:39
and through通过 human人的 rights权利 groups,
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也通过人权组织,
01:41
we were brought together一起
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我们走到了一起
01:43
with several一些 other victims'受害者 families家庭.
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还有一些其他受害者家属。
01:46
When I saw Aicha艾莎 in the media媒体,
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当我在媒体上看到艾莎,
01:49
coming未来 over when her son儿子 was indicted被起诉,
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同时她的儿子被指控的时候,
01:52
and I thought, "What a brave勇敢 woman女人.
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我就想,“多么勇敢的女人。
01:55
Someday日后 I want to meet遇到 that woman女人 when I'm stronger."
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当我更坚强的时候,我想见见这个女人。”
01:58
I was still in deep grief哀思;
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我仍旧沉浸在悲伤中,
02:00
I knew知道 I didn't have the strength强度.
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我知道我不够坚强。
02:02
I knew知道 I would find her someday日后,
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我知道有一天我能找到她,
02:04
or we would find each other.
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也许我们会找到彼此。
02:06
Because, when people heard听说 that my son儿子 was a victim受害者,
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因为,当人们听说我儿子是受害者的时候,
02:10
I got immediate即时 sympathy同情.
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我立即得到了同情。
02:13
But when people learned学到了
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但是当人们听说
02:15
what her son儿子 was accused被告 of,
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她的儿子是被指控的时候,
02:17
she didn't get that sympathy同情.
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她却没有得到同情。
02:19
But her suffering痛苦 is equal等于 to mine.
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但是她和我一样的痛苦。
02:22
So we met会见 in November十一月 2002,
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于是我们在2002年11月相遇了。
02:25
and Aicha艾莎 will now tell you
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接下来艾莎会告诉你们
02:28
how that came来了 about.
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事情是怎么发生的。
02:33
(Translator翻译者) Aicha艾莎 el-Wafi埃尔 - 瓦菲: Good afternoon下午, ladies女士们 and gentlemen绅士.
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(翻译员)艾莎·瓦非:下午好,女士们先生们。
02:39
I am the mother母亲 of Zacarias扎卡里亚斯 Moussaoui穆萨维.
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我是撒迦利亚·穆萨维的母亲。
02:48
And I asked
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我请求
02:53
the Organization组织 of Human人的 Rights
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人权组织
02:55
to put me in touch触摸 with the parents父母 of the victims受害者.
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让我和那些受害者的父母取得联系。
03:03
So they introduced介绍 me
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于是他们就把我介绍给
03:06
to five families家庭.
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5个家庭。
03:12
And I saw Phyllis菲利斯, and I watched看着 her.
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当我遇见菲莉斯的时候,我注意到她。
03:17
She was the only mother母亲 in the group.
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她是这个团体中唯一的母亲。
03:22
The others其他 were brothers兄弟, sisters姐妹.
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其他都是兄弟,姐妹。
03:28
And I saw in her eyes眼睛
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当我从她的目光中看出
03:30
that she was a mother母亲, just like me.
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她是个母亲,和我一样的母亲。
03:34
I suffered遭遇 a lot as a mother母亲.
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作为一个母亲我也遭受了很多悲痛。
03:41
I was married已婚 when I was 14.
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我14岁结的婚。
03:46
I lost丢失 a child儿童 when I was 15,
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15岁失去了第一个孩子,
03:51
a second第二 child儿童 when I was 16.
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16岁失去了第二个孩子。
03:57
So the story故事 with Zacarias扎卡里亚斯 was too much really.
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所以撒迦利亚的事对我真的意味太多。
04:03
And I still suffer遭受,
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我仍旧还在悲痛中,
04:07
because my son儿子
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因为我的儿子
04:09
is like he's buried隐藏 alive.
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就像被活埋了一样。
04:14
I know she really cried哭了 for her son儿子.
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我了解她的确为她儿子痛哭不已。
04:19
But she knows知道 where he is.
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但是她起码知道他在哪里。
04:28
My son儿子, I don't know where he is.
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我儿子,我甚至不知道他在何方。
04:30
I don't know if he's alive. I don't know if he's tortured折磨.
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我不知道他是否还活着。我不知道他是否被虐待过。
04:32
I don't know what happened发生 to him.
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我不知道在他身上发生了什么。
04:38
So that's why I decided决定 to tell my story故事,
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这也是为什么我决定讲述我的故事的原因,
04:40
so that my suffering痛苦 is something positive for other women妇女.
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以便我的痛苦能对其他妇女有些正面的帮助。
04:48
For all the women妇女, all the mothers母亲 that give life,
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为了所有的妇女,所有赐予生命的母亲,
04:55
you can give back,
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你们可以恢复,
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you can change更改.
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你们可以改变。
04:59
It's up to us women妇女,
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这取决于我们妇女,
05:02
because we are women妇女,
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因为我们是女人,
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because we love our children孩子.
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因为我们爱我们的孩子。
05:13
We must必须 be hand-in-hand手牵手
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我们一定要联手起来
05:15
and do something together一起.
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一起做一些事。
05:19
It's not against反对 women妇女,
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这事不是为了反对妇女,
05:21
it's for us, for us women妇女,
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这是为了我们,为了我们妇女,
05:23
for our children孩子.
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为了我们的孩子们。
05:34
I talk against反对 violence暴力, against反对 terrorism恐怖主义.
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我反对暴力,反对恐怖主义。
05:37
I go to schools学校
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我去学校
05:39
to talk to young年轻, Muslim穆斯林 girls女孩
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和那些年轻的穆斯林女孩交谈
05:42
so they don't accept接受 to be married已婚 against反对 their will very young年轻.
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所以在她们年少时不会接受违背她们意志的婚姻。
05:58
So if I can save保存 one of the young年轻 girls女孩,
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如果我能拯救一个年轻的女孩,
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and avoid避免 that they get married已婚 and suffer遭受 as much as I did,
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从而避免她们过早结婚而像我一样遭受这么多,
06:06
well this is something good.
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起码这就是好的事情。
06:10
This is why I'm here in front面前 of you.
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这就是为什么我在这里站在你们面前。
06:12
PRPR: I would like to say
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菲莉斯·罗德里格斯:我想说的是
06:14
that I have learned学到了 so much from Aicha艾莎,
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我从艾莎这里学到了很多,
06:17
starting开始 with that day we had our very first meeting会议
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回首我们初次见面的那天
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with other family家庭 members会员 --
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还有其他家庭的成员--
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which哪一个 was a very private私人的 meeting会议 with security安全,
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这是个受保护的很私下的聚会,
06:25
because it was November十一月 2002,
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因为当时是2002年11月,
06:28
and, frankly坦率地说, we were afraid害怕 of the super-patriotism超级爱国主义 of that time in the country国家 --
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老实说,我们担心国内的那些极端(左翼)爱国主义者--
06:34
those of us family家庭 members会员.
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那些我们家族成员。
06:38
But we were all so nervous紧张.
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但是我们都很紧张。
06:41
"Why does she want to meet遇到 us?"
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“为什么她想见我们?”
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And then she was nervous紧张.
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同时她也很紧张。
06:46
"Why did we want to meet遇到 her?"
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“为什么我们想见她?”
06:48
What did we want from each other?
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我们彼此间想得到些什么?
06:52
Before we knew知道 each others'其他' names, or anything,
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在我们了解其他人的姓名和其他一些事情之前,
06:55
we had embraced拥抱 and wept哭泣.
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我们已经哭着相互抱在一起。
06:57
Then we satSAT in a circle
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接着我们坐成一个圈
07:00
with support支持, with help,
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在和解的环境下和那些经历过此事的人
07:02
from people experienced有经验的 in this kind of reconciliation和解.
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互相扶持,互相帮助。
07:06
And Aicha艾莎 started开始,
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艾莎起的头
07:08
and she said,
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她讲述道,
07:10
"I don't know if my son儿子
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“我不知道我的儿子
07:13
is guilty有罪 or innocent无辜,
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是有罪还是无辜的,
07:15
but I want to tell you how sorry I am
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但是我想告诉你们我有多么抱歉
07:18
for what happened发生 to your families家庭.
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对于那些发生在你们家庭里的事。
07:23
I know what it is to suffer遭受,
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我知道这是很痛苦,
07:26
and I feel that if there is a crime犯罪,
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同时我以为,如果有人犯罪的话,
07:30
a person should be tried试着 fairly相当 and punished处罚."
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那人应该被公平的对待和定罪。”
07:35
But she reached到达 out to us in that way,
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但她是用这种方式与我们感同身受。
07:39
and it was, I'd like to say, it was an ice-breaker破冰船.
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这是,我想说,这是一种冰释前嫌的方式。
07:43
And what happened发生 then is we all told our stories故事,
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接下去发生的是,我们全都讲述了自己的故事,
07:47
and we all connected连接的 as human人的 beings众生.
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我们作为平等人互相交流着。
07:49
By the end结束 of the afternoon下午 --
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在下午结束的时候--
07:51
it was about three hours小时 after lunch午餐 --
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大概是午餐之后3个小时--
07:55
we'd星期三 felt as if we'd星期三 known已知 each other forever永远.
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我们感觉就好像我们永远了解彼此一样。
07:57
Now what I learned学到了 from her,
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我从她身上学到的,
07:59
is a woman女人, not only who could be so generous慷慨
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是作为一个女人,可以变的如此宽容
08:02
under these present当下 circumstances情况
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不但在当时的情况下
08:04
and what it was then,
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那时所发生的,
08:06
and what was being存在 doneDONE to her son儿子,
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和她孩子所经历过的遭遇,
08:08
but the life she's had.
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而且是她所经历的人生。
08:10
I never had met会见
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从我经历过的不同文化和环境,
08:12
someone有人 with such这样 a hard life,
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我从来没有见到过,
08:14
from such这样 a totally完全 different不同 culture文化 and environment环境 from my own拥有.
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有如此艰苦命运的人。
08:19
And I feel
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我觉得
08:21
that we have
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我们有着
08:23
a special特别 connection连接,
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一种特别的联系,
08:25
which哪一个 I value very much.
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一种我很珍惜的联系。
08:27
And I think it's all about
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我想这都是因为
08:30
being存在 afraid害怕 of the other,
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互相之间的关心,
08:32
but making制造 that step
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但是当做到这地步
08:35
and then realizing实现, "Hey, this wasn't so hard.
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就会意识到,“啊,这不是那么难。
08:38
Who else其他 can I meet遇到 that I don't know,
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我还能遇见一些我所不了解的人,
08:40
or that I'm so different不同 from?"
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或是和我与众不同的人吗?
08:44
So, Aicha艾莎,
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所以,艾莎,
08:46
do you have a couple一对 of words
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你有要总结的
08:48
for conclusion结论?
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话吗?
08:50
Because our time is up.
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因为我们的时间快到了。
08:52
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
09:00
(Translator翻译者) AWAW: I wanted to say
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(翻译员)艾莎·瓦非:我想说
09:02
that we have to try to know other people, the other.
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我们要尝试着了解其他人,其他事,
09:08
You have to be generous慷慨,
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你要变得大度,
09:10
and your hearts心中 must必须 be generous慷慨,
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同时你的心境也必须变得宽容,
09:12
your mind心神 must必须 be generous慷慨.
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你的想法必须变得大度。
09:15
You must必须 be tolerant宽容.
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你要学会宽恕。
09:20
You have to fight斗争 against反对 violence暴力.
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你不得不与暴力作斗争。
09:26
And I hope希望 that someday日后 we'll all live生活 together一起
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我希望有一天我们会生活在一起
09:29
in peace和平 and respecting关于 each other.
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和平尊重其他人。
09:32
This is what I wanted to say.
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这就是我想说的。
09:34
(Applause掌声)
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Translated by Ralph Jin
Reviewed by Angelia King

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez - 9/11 mothers
Aicha el-Wafi and Phyllis Rodriguez met around a shared tragedy -- and their friendship has become a powerful symbol for forgiveness and dialogue.

Why you should listen

Phyllis Rodriguez is an artist, a teacher and a social justice activist. On September 11, 2001, her son Greg died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Rodriguez and her husband wrote an open letter, "Not in Our Son's Name," calling on President Bush to oppose a military response in Afghanistan.

Aicha el-Wafi is an activist with the French feminist group Ni Putes Ni Soumise, working with Muslim women. Her son, Zacarias Moussaoui, was tried in relation to the attacks on US soil, and faced the possibility of execution if convicted.

In November 2002, Phyllis Rodriguez and several other relatives of victims of the attacks were invited to meet Aicha el-Wafi. Rodriguez and el-Wafi have since appeared together throughout Europe and the US, telling their story of reconciliation and forgiveness.

More profile about the speaker
Aicha el-Wafi + Phyllis Rodriguez | Speaker | TED.com