TEDGlobal 2007
Joseph Lekuton: A parable for Kenya
约瑟夫．乐库顿讲述一个肯尼亚的寓言
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肯尼亚国会议员约瑟夫．乐库顿在介绍完他非凡的教育历程后，讲述了一个昭示非洲如何发展的寓言，不啻于希望之声。
Joseph Lekuton - Kenyan MP
A teacher, writer and member of the Kenyan parliament, Joseph Lekuton has an inspiring vision for Kenya. Full bio
A teacher, writer and member of the Kenyan parliament, Joseph Lekuton has an inspiring vision for Kenya. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:18
My name is Joseph, a Member of Parliament in Kenya.
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我叫约瑟夫，是肯尼亚的一名议员。
00:21
Picture a Maasai village,
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想像一下，有一天晚上，
00:23
and one evening, government soldiers come, surround the village
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在一个马塞村庄里，来了一队政府军，他们围起村子，
00:27
and ask each elder to bring one boy to school.
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要每个家长都送一个男孩去上学。
00:29
That's how I went to school --
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我是这样开始上学的——
00:31
pretty much a government guy pointing a gun
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一个兵用枪指着我爸
00:33
and told my father, "You have to make a choice."
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说：“你必须得做个决定。”
00:35
So, I walked very comfortably to this missionary school
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那是个教会学校，一个美国传教士开的，
00:38
that was run by an American missionary,
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当我相当惬意地走进学校时，
00:40
and the first thing the American missionary gave me was a candy.
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这位传教士递给我的第一件东西居然是一块糖
00:43
I had never in my life ever tasted candy.
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我以前从来都没有尝过糖是什么滋味儿
00:45
So I said to myself, with all these hundred other boys,
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在几百名男孩面前，我心想到，
00:47
this is where I belong. (Laughter)
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这儿才是我属于的地方。
00:50
Stayed
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（笑声）
00:51
when everybody else was dropping out.
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别人退学了，我一直留下来。
00:53
My family moved; we're nomads.
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我的家庭迁来迁去。我们是游牧人。
00:55
Every time school closed -- it was a boarding school and I was seven --
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每次学期结束学校放假——那是个寄宿学校，我那时七岁——
00:57
you had to travel until you find them.
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我就得一路穿行直到找到他们为止。
00:59
Fifty miles, 40 miles, it doesn't matter.
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50英里，40英里，都不重要。
01:01
You slept in the bush, but you kept going.
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睡在灌木丛里，可是你还是得继续走。
01:03
And I stayed. I don't know why I stayed, but I stayed.
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而我坚持到底。不知道为什么我会坚持，但是我就是待了下去。
01:06
And all of a sudden I passed the national examination,
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然后突然间，我通过了全国中考，
01:10
found myself in a very beautiful high school in Kenya.
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发现自己进入了一个肯尼亚的美丽的高中。
01:13
And I finished high school. And just walking, I found a man
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我读完了高中。然后我就这么走着，发现有一个人
01:17
who gave me a full scholarship to the United States.
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给了我一笔去美国的全额奖学金。
01:20
My mother still lives in a cow-dung hut,
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我妈妈仍旧住在遍地牛粪的棚屋里，
01:22
none of my brothers are going to school,
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我的兄弟们没有一个在上学，
01:24
and this man told me, "Here, go."
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而这个人却对我说，“给你，去吧。”
01:26
So I got a scholarship to St. Lawrence University, Upstate New York;
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于是我拿着奖学金去了纽约州北部的圣劳伦斯大学。
01:30
finished that. And then after that I went to Harvard Graduate School;
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念完本科后，我又去了哈佛读研。
01:35
finished that. And then I worked in DC a little bit:
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读完研后，我在华盛顿工作了一阵子。
01:38
I wrote a book for National Geographic and taught history, U.S. history.
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我给国家地理写了一本书，也教授美国历史的课程。
01:41
And every time, I kept going back home
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我每次回到我的家乡，
01:44
listening to the problems of these people --
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不断的听到人们的问题，
01:46
sick people, people with no water, all this stuff --
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人们患病，人们没有水，所有这种事。
01:48
and every time I go back to America, I kept thinking about them.
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而且我每次回到美国，都不断的思考这些问题。
01:51
Then one day, an elder gave me a story and this story went like this:
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后来有一天，一位长辈给我讲了一个故事，是这样说的——
01:55
long time ago, there was a big war between tribes.
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很久以前，部落之间发生了一场大战。
02:00
And there was this specific tribe that was really afraid of this other Luhya tribe.
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其中有一个部落，特别地害怕另一个卢赫雅部落。
02:03
And every time, they sent scouts out there to make sure no one attacked them.
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他们每次都会派人去侦察，以确保没有人来袭击自己。
02:06
So one day, the scouts came running and told the villagers,
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有一天，侦查员跑回来告诉村民们，
02:10
"The enemies are coming. Only half an hour away, they'll be here."
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说：“敌人们要来了，还只有半个小时，他们就会到这儿。”
02:13
So people scrambled, took their things and ready to go, move out.
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于是人们乱作一团，拿好自己的东西准备撤，
02:17
But there were two men:
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但是其中却有这样两个男人，
02:19
one man was blind, one man had no legs -- he was born like that.
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一个是眼盲了，一个天生没有双腿。
02:22
The leader of the chiefs said, "No, sorry. We can't take you. You'll slow us down.
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酋长说到：“不，对不起，我们不能带你们走，你们会拖大家的后腿。
02:26
We have to flee our women and children, we have to run."
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我们得让我们的妇女和儿童们逃走，我们必须得跑。”
02:30
And they were left behind, waiting to die.
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于是他俩被留下等死。
02:33
But these two people worked something out.
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但是这两个人却想了一个办法。
02:36
The blind man said, "Look, I'm a very strong man but I can't see."
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眼盲的男人说：“喏，我是个很强壮的人，但是我看不见东西。”
02:39
The man with no legs says, "I can see as far as the end of the world,
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没有双腿的人说道：“我能看见远至世界的尽处，
02:42
but I can't save myself from a cat, or whatever animals."
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但是我却敌不过任何动物，乃至一只猫。”
02:47
So the blind man went down on his knees, down like this,
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于是盲人蹲了下来，就像这样，
02:51
and told the man with no legs to go over his back, and stood up.
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他告诉无腿的人骑到自己背上，然后站了起来。
02:54
The man on top can see, the blind man can walk.
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骑在上面的人能看，而盲人能走。
02:57
And these guys took off, followed the footsteps of the villagers
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这俩人便沿着村民们留下的脚印一路出发了，
03:00
until they found and passed them.
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直到他们赶上了其他人，并且还超越了他们。
03:05
So, this was told to me in a setup of elders.
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我听着故事的时候，周围还有其他长辈们。
03:09
And it's a really poor area. I represent Northern Kenya:
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那是个相当贫困的地方，我指的是肯尼亚北部——
03:12
the most nomadic, remote areas you can even find.
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你能找得到的，最偏远最流浪的地方。
03:16
And that man told me, "So, here you are.
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讲故事的人对我说：“你在美国受过良好的教育，
03:18
You've got a good education from America,
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也在那儿过着优越的生活，
03:20
you have a good life in America; what are you going to do for us?
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现在你来我们这儿，你能为我们做些什么呢？
03:25
We want you to be our eyes, we'll give you the legs.
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我们希望你当我们的眼睛，我们就做你的腿。
03:28
We'll walk you, you lead us."
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你领着我们大家，我们举着你走。”
03:30
So the opportunity came, and I was always thinking about that:
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于是机遇就这么来了，我总是在思索，
03:33
"what can I do to help my people?
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为了帮助我的人民，我能做些什么？
03:35
Every time you go to an area where for 43 years of independence,
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每当你来到这个43年前就已经独立的国家，
03:38
we still don't have basic health facilities.
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（却发现）我们仍然还是没有基本卫生设施。
03:41
A man has to be transported in a wheelbarrow
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一个病人得用手推车送去
03:43
20, 30 kilometers for a hospital. No clean drinking water.
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20、30公里外的医院就诊。（也）没有干净的饮用水。
03:45
So I said, "I'm going to dedicate myself.
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于是我说，“我要献一份力，
03:48
I'm leaving America. I'm going to run for office."
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我要离开美国。我要回去参加竞选。”
03:51
So last July ... I moved from America in June, ran in July election and won.
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因此去年，我六月里离开的美国，在七月参加竞选并当选。
03:59
And I came for them, and that's my goal.
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我是为他们才来，这是我的目标。
04:03
And right now I have in place, for the last nine months,
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到如今，我在这位子上已有九个月了，
04:06
a plan that in five years, every nomad will have clean drinking water.
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（我）计划五年内，让每个游牧人都能用喝上干净的饮用水。
04:14
We're building dispensaries across that constituency.
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我们会在选区里建立诊所。
04:17
I'm asking my friends from America to help
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我向我的美国朋友们寻求帮忙
04:19
with bringing nurses or doctors to help us out.
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带来护士和医生们帮助大家摆脱困难。
04:22
I'm trying to improve infrastructure.
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我尝试改善基础设施。
04:25
I'm using the knowledge I received from the United States
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我应用从美国以及从我自己社区中学到的知识
04:27
and from my community to move them forward.
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来促进实施。
04:30
I'm trying to develop homegrown solutions to our issues
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对于大家面临的问题，我试图制定出自己的解决方案。
04:34
because we realize that people from outside can come and help us,
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因为我们意识到外面的人能过来帮助我们，
04:37
but if we don't help ourselves, there's nothing we can do.
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但是如果我们连自己都不帮自己的话，那我们真就没什么指望了。
04:40
So my plan right now as I continue with introducing students to different fields --
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所以我现在的计划就是，随着我继续引进各个领域的学生们——
04:45
some become doctors, some lawyers --
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其中有一些会成为医生，一些会是律师——
04:47
we want to produce a comprehensive group of people, students,
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我们想建立一个全面综合的群体，
04:49
who can come back and help us see a community grow
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这些学生们会回来帮助大家
04:52
that is in the middle of a huge economic recession.
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见证经济大衰退中一个社会的成长。
04:56
So as I continue to be a Member of Parliament
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因此，当我还是议会议员，
04:59
and as I continue listening to all of you talking about botany,
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当我不断的听你们谈论着植物学，
05:02
talking about health, talking about democracy, talking about new inventions,
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谈论健康，谈论民主，谈论新发明，
05:05
I'm hoping that one day in my own little community --
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我就希望能有一天，在我自己的社区里——
05:08
which is 26,000 square kilometers,
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它占地两万六千平方公里，
05:10
maybe five times the size of Rhode Island -- with no roads,
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大约相当于五个罗德岛的面积，还没有公路——
05:14
we'll be able to become a model to help others develop.
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我们能成为帮助别人发展的模范。
05:18
Thank you very much. (Applause)
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非常感谢！
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joseph Lekuton - Kenyan MPA teacher, writer and member of the Kenyan parliament, Joseph Lekuton has an inspiring vision for Kenya.
Why you should listen
Born into a Maasai tribe in Northern Kenya, Joseph Lekuton was chosen to attend a missionary boarding school as a child -- sometimes walking 50 miles during vacations to find and rejoin his nomadic family. He won a scholarship to St. Lawrence University, then attended Harvard, and worked as a writer and history teacher in Virginia. He was named a National Geographic Energing Explorer for his work in sharing the culture of Kenya with America, including efforts to share educational resources with nomadic children through the BOMA Fund and Cows for Kids.
In 2006, after a plane crash killed five members of the Kenyan parliament, Lekuton decided to return to Kenya and stand for election to fill the seat in his region. He won a parliamentary seat in the 2006 by-election, and was a member of the winning party in the December 2007 elections -- the results of which continue to be contested throughout Kenya.
Joseph Lekuton | Speaker | TED.com