TEDGlobal 2011
Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana
Jarreth Merz: 用影片紀錄迦納的民主
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Jarreth Merz，瑞士迦納裔的製片人，2008年來到迦納拍攝國家選舉。他在當地所見帶給他有關於民主的新領悟 -- 也讓他重新認識自己。
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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我在瑞士出生
00:19
and raised in Ghana, West Africa.
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在西非的迦納長大。
00:22
Ghana felt safe to me as a child.
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我小時候，迦納是個安全的地方。
00:24
I was free, I was happy.
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我感到自由又開心。
00:28
The early 70s
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1970年代初期
00:30
marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.
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迦納在音樂和藝術有卓越的發展。
00:33
But then by the end of the decade,
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但到了1970年代末期時，
00:35
the country had fallen back into political instability
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這國家陷入政治動盪
00:38
and mismanagement.
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和管理不善的局勢。
00:42
In 1979,
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1979年，
00:44
I witnessed my first military coup.
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我首次親眼見證軍事政變。
00:48
We the children had gathered at a friend's house.
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我們這些小孩聚集在一個朋友家。
00:51
It was a dimly lit shack.
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一間光線微暗的簡陋小屋。
00:53
There was a beaten up black and white television
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裡面有一台破爛的黑白電視，
00:55
flickering in the background,
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螢幕背景閃爍不定，
00:58
and a former head of state and general
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有一位前任國家元首，也是將軍，
01:00
was being blindfolded
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被矇住眼睛
01:02
and tied to the pole.
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且被綁在柱子上。
01:04
The firing squad aimed, fired --
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行刑隊瞄準，開火 --
01:07
the general was dead.
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將軍死了。
01:09
Now this was being broadcast live.
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當時這是實況轉播。
01:12
And shortly after, we left the country,
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不久之後，我們離開迦納，
01:15
and we returned to Switzerland.
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回到瑞士。
01:17
Now Europe came as a shock to me,
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歐洲帶給我很大的衝擊，
01:20
and I think I started feeling the need
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我想我開始認為
01:23
to shed my skin in order to fit in.
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我需要卸下外表以求融入。
01:26
I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.
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我想要像隻變色龍一樣混入其中。
01:28
I think it was a tactic of survival.
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我想這是一種生存的策略。
01:31
And it worked, or so I believed.
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而這確實生效，或者我相信是這樣。
01:34
So here I was in 2008
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到了2008年，
01:39
wondering where I was in my life.
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我對當時的人生感到困惑。
01:42
And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.
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而且我覺得身為一個演員，我已經被定型。
01:45
I was always playing the exotic African.
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我總是扮演外來的非洲人。
01:48
I was playing the violent African,
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我扮演殘暴的非洲人，
01:50
the African terrorist.
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非洲恐怖分子。
01:52
And I was thinking,
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而我想，
01:54
how many terrorists could I possibly play
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再這樣繼續扮演恐怖分子，
01:56
before turning into one myself?
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恐怕我自己真的也會變成恐怖分子？
01:59
And I had become ashamed of the other,
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而且我變得對另一個身分感到羞愧，
02:02
the African in me.
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我體內的非洲人。
02:05
And fortunately I decided in 2008
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幸運的是，我在2008年決定
02:08
to return to Ghana,
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要回到迦納，
02:10
after 28 years of absence.
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在消失28年之後。
02:13
I wanted to document on film
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我要用影片紀錄
02:15
the 2008 presidential elections.
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2008年的總統選舉。
02:18
And there, I started by searching
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在那裡，我開始找尋
02:21
for the footprints in my childhood.
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我童年的足跡。
02:23
And before I even knew it,
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在我發現之前，
02:25
I was suddenly on a stage
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突然間我在一個舞臺上
02:27
surrounded by thousands of cheering people
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被上千個歡呼的人們圍繞著，
02:29
during a political rally.
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這是一個政治集會。
02:31
And I realized that, when I'd left the country,
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而且我了解到，當我之前離開這個國家時，
02:34
free and fair elections in a democratic environment
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民主環境下的自由和公平的選舉
02:37
were a dream.
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只是個夢想。
02:39
And now that I'd returned, that dream had become reality,
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當我回去時，這個夢想已經成真，
02:42
though a fragile reality.
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雖然仍是個極脆弱的事實。
02:44
And I was thinking,
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於是我在想，
02:46
was Ghana searching for its identity
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迦納是否在尋找它的身分
02:48
like I was looking for my identity?
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如同我在尋找我的一般？
02:50
Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor
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發生在迦納的
02:52
for what was happening in me?
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是否象徵發生在我身上的事情？
02:56
And it was as if through the standards of my Western life,
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這彷彿是透過我西方生活的標準，
03:02
I hadn't lived up to my full potential.
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我沒能完全發揮我的潛力。
03:05
I mean, nor had Ghana,
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我的意思是，迦納也沒有，
03:07
even though we had been trying very hard.
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即使我們已經非常努力嘗試。
03:09
Now in 1957,
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在1957年時，
03:11
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country
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迦納是第一個位於撒哈拉沙漠以南
03:13
to gain its independence.
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取得獨立的國家。
03:15
In the late 50s,
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在1950年代末期，
03:17
Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.
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迦納和新加坡有相同的國內生產總值。
03:20
I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country
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我指的是，今日，新加坡是第一世界的國家
03:23
and Ghana is not.
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而迦納不是。
03:26
But maybe it was time to prove to myself,
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但或許那時是該向我自己證明，
03:29
yes, it's important to understand the past,
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是的，了解過去是很重要的事，
03:31
it is important to look at it in a different light,
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從另一個觀點看待它很重要，
03:35
but maybe we should look at the strengths in our own culture
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但或許我們應該關注於我們自己文化中的優點
03:39
and build on those foundations in the present.
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將這些當作當下發展的基石。
03:43
So here I was, December 7th, 2008.
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2008年12月7日，我人在那裡。
03:48
The polling stations opened to the voters at 7:00 AM,
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投票所早上7點開放選民投票，
03:53
but voters, eager to take their own political fate into their hands,
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而渴望親手決定國家政治命運的選民們，
03:57
were starting to line up at 4:00 AM in the morning.
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當天凌晨4點就開始排隊。
04:00
And they had traveled from near, they had traveled from far,
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有人從附近過來，有人從遠方趕來，
04:03
because they wanted to make their voices heard.
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因為他們要自己的聲音被聽見。
04:05
And I asked one of the voters, I said, "Whom are you going to vote for?"
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於是我問其中一個選民，我說：「你要把票投給誰？」
04:08
And he said, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you."
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而他回答：「很抱歉，我不能告訴你。」
04:11
He said that his vote was in his heart.
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他說他的選擇在他的心中。
04:14
And I understood, this was their election,
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我才了解，這是他們的選舉，
04:17
and they weren't going to let anyone
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而他們不會讓任何人
04:19
take it away from them.
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剝奪他們的權利。
04:21
Now the first round of the voting didn't bring forth a clear winner --
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當第一輪投票的開票結果沒有產生明確的優勝者 --
04:24
so nobody had achieved the absolute majority --
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沒有一個參選者得到絕對多數的選票 --
04:28
so voting went into a second round three weeks later.
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三周之後選舉進入第二輪投票。
04:31
The candidates were back on the road; they were campaigning.
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參選者又回到路上；他們繼續宣傳。
04:34
The rhetoric of the candidates, of course, changed.
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想當然而，參選者使用的言詞改變了。
04:36
The heat was on.
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氣氛愈來愈火爆。
04:38
And then the cliche came to haunt us.
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接著舊戲碼上演紛擾人心。
04:43
There were claims of intimidation
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投票所傳出
04:45
at the polling stations,
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有人遭受恐嚇，
04:47
of ballot boxes being stolen.
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還有投票箱被偷的消息。
04:51
Inflated results started coming in
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誇張的消息開始散播，
04:54
and the mob was starting to get out of control.
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大眾也開始失去控制。
04:57
We witnessed the eruption of violence in the streets.
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我們親眼見證暴力行為在街上爆發。
05:01
People were being beaten brutally.
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人們被殘暴地對待。
05:04
The army started firing their guns. People were scrambling.
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軍隊開始開槍。人群竄動。
05:07
It was complete chaos.
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完全陷入混亂之中。
05:09
And my heart sank,
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而我的心也沉了下去，
05:11
because I thought, here we are again.
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因為我當時想，這真是老調重彈。
05:13
Here is another proof
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又是一個證明
05:15
that the African is not capable of governing himself.
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非洲人不能管理好自己。
05:18
And not only that, I am documenting it --
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猶有勝之，我還在記錄這場景 --
05:21
documenting my own cultural shortcomings.
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記錄我自己文化的短處。
05:25
So when the echo of the gunshots
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於是當槍聲的回音
05:28
had lingered,
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仍在耳邊迴盪時，
05:30
it was soon drowned by the chanting of the mob,
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群眾朗誦聲很快地掩沒槍聲，
05:32
and I didn't believe what I was hearing.
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我不敢相信我所聽到的。
05:34
They were chanting, "We want peace.
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他們呼口號：「我們要和平。
05:36
We want peace."
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我們要和平。」
05:39
And I realized it had to come from the people.
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於是我了解這必須來自於人們。
05:42
After all, they decide,
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追根究底，這是他們的決定。
05:44
and they did.
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他們也確實這麼做了。
05:46
So the sounds that were before distorted and loud,
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原本雜亂喧雜的聲音，
05:50
were suddenly a melody.
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突然間被旋律聲取代。
05:53
The sounds of the voices were harmonious.
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人們的聲音很和諧。
05:56
So it could happen.
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所以這是可以實現的。
05:59
A democracy could be upheld peacefully.
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民主可以和平地被執行。
06:02
It could be, by the will of the masses
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這是有可能的。
06:05
who were now urgently pressing
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藉由全心全意
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with all their heart and all their will
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急切渴望和平的大眾意識
06:09
for peace.
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而達成民主。
06:11
Now here's an interesting comparison.
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現在這有個有趣的比較。
06:14
We in the West,
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在西方世界，
06:16
we preach the values,
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人們鼓吹
06:18
the golden light of democracy,
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寶貴的民主價值觀，，
06:21
that we are the shining example of how it's done.
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並自認為是落實民主的最佳範例。
06:24
But when it comes down to it,
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但是在實際執行時，
06:27
Ghana found itself in the same place
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迦納面臨到
06:31
in which the U.S. election stalled
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同美國在2000年總統大選時
06:33
in the 2000 presidential elections --
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陷入的選舉困境 --
06:35
Bush versus Gore.
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布希對抗高爾。
06:38
But instead of the unwillingness of the candidates
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但是與其在參選者不願意的情況下
06:41
to allow the system to proceed and the people to decide,
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允許體制繼續進行和人民自己決定，
06:44
Ghana honored democracy
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迦納實踐民主
06:47
and its people.
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榮耀它的人民。
06:49
It didn't leave it up to the Supreme Court to decide;
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它並沒有讓最高法院決定；
06:52
the people did.
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而是讓人民做決定。
06:55
Now the second round of voting
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後來到了第二輪投票
06:58
did not bring forth a clear winner either.
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也沒有產生絕對性的當選者。
07:00
I mean, it was so incredibly close.
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我的意思是，參選者得到的票數驚人地相近。
07:02
The electoral commissioner declared,
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取得不同黨派的同意後，
07:05
with the consent of the parties,
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選舉委員會長官宣布，
07:07
to run an unprecedented
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再進行一次前所未有的
07:09
second re-run.
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第二輪投票。
07:11
So the people went back to the polls
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於是人民回到投票所
07:15
to determine their own president,
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決定他們自己的總統，
07:17
not the legal system.
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而不是讓法定系統決定。
07:19
And guess what, it worked.
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你知道嗎，這真的成功了。
07:23
The defeated candidate
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落敗的參選者
07:25
gave up power
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放棄他的權力
07:27
and made way for Ghana to move into a new democratic cycle.
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為迦納讓步以求邁向新的民主境界。
07:30
I mean, at the absolute time
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我要說的是，在那個時間點
07:32
for the absolute need of democracy,
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為了民主的絕對需求，
07:34
they did not abuse their power.
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他們沒有濫用他們的權力。
07:39
The belief in true democracy and in the people runs deep,
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對於真的民主和人民的信任根深蒂固，
07:43
proving that the African is capable of governing himself.
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證明非洲人有能力自治。
07:48
Now the uphill battle for Ghana and for Africa
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至今迦納和非洲的艱難戰役
07:51
is not over,
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尚未結束，
07:53
but I have proof that the other side of democracy exists,
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但我已經看到民主的另外一面確實存在，
07:57
and that we must not take it for granted.
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而我們一定不可以將它視作理所當然。
08:00
Now I have learned
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現在我知道
08:02
that my place is not just in the West or in Africa,
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我的定位不只是在西方或者非洲，
08:06
and I'm still searching
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我仍在找尋
08:08
for my identity,
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我的身分，
08:10
but I saw Ghana
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但我看到迦納
08:13
create democracy better.
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創造更好的民主。
08:15
Ghana taught me
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迦納教導我
08:17
to look at people differently
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用不同的角度看待別人
08:19
and to look at myself differently.
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和看待自己。
08:22
And yes,
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是的。
08:24
we Africans can.
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我們非洲人可以的。
08:26
Thank you.
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謝謝。
08:28
(Applause)
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(掌聲)
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