ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chris Abani - Novelist, poet
Imprisoned three times by the Nigerian government, Chris Abani turned his experience into poems that Harold Pinter called "the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable." His novels include GraceLand (2004) and The Virgin of Flames (2007).

Why you should listen

Chris Abani's first novel, published when he was 16, was Masters of the Board, a political thriller about a foiled Nigerian coup. The story was convincing enough that the Nigerian government threw him in jail for inciting a coincidentally timed real-life coup. Imprisoned and tortured twice more, he channeled the experience into searing poetry.

Abani's best-selling 2004 novel GraceLand is a searing and funny tale of a young Nigerian boy, an Elvis impersonator who moves through the wide, wild world of Lagos, slipping between pop and traditional cultures, art and crime. It's a perennial book-club pick, a story that brings the postcolonial African experience to vivid life.

Now based in Los Angeles, Abani published The Virgin of Flames in 2007. He is also a publisher, running the poetry imprint Black Goat Press.

More profile about the speaker
Chris Abani | Speaker | TED.com
TED2008

Chris Abani: On humanity

Chris Abani對人性的沉思

Filmed:
946,913 views

Chris Abani 述說人們的故事,勇於對抗士兵的人們、熱情的人們、展現人性的人們。伊博語「ubuntu」指的是我們只有在面對他人的時候,才能反射出自己的人性。
- Novelist, poet
Imprisoned three times by the Nigerian government, Chris Abani turned his experience into poems that Harold Pinter called "the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable." His novels include GraceLand (2004) and The Virgin of Flames (2007). Full bio

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

00:18
My search搜索 is always to find ways方法 to chronicle編年史,
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我一直尋找以編年的方式
00:23
to share分享 and to document文件 stories故事 about people, just everyday每天 people.
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來分享、紀錄關於人們的故事
00:28
Stories故事 that offer提供 transformation轉型, that lean into transcendence超越,
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關於轉變、自我超越的故事
00:33
but that are never sentimental感傷,
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這些故事從不感傷
00:35
that never look away from the darkest最黑暗 things about us.
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從不逃避自我的黑暗面
00:39
Because I really believe that we're never more beautiful美麗
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因為我相信我們最醜陋的時候
00:42
than when we're most ugly醜陋.
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才是最美麗的時候
00:44
Because that's really the moment時刻 we really know what we're made製作 of.
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因為只有那一刻,我們才會了解真正的自己
00:48
As Chris克里斯 said, I grew成長 up in Nigeria尼日利亞
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我在奈及利亞長大
00:53
with a whole整個 generation -- in the '80s --
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我的世代,80年代
00:55
of students學生們 who were protesting抗議 a military軍事 dictatorship專政, which哪一個 has finally最後 ended結束.
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每個學生都參予軍政獨裁的抗爭,所幸現在結束了
01:01
So it wasn't just me, there was a whole整個 generation of us.
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所以不只有我,而是全部的人
01:03
But what I've come to learn學習
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我所學到的
01:06
is that the world世界 is never saved保存 in grand盛大 messianic救世主 gestures手勢,
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是這個世界不會因為有救世主而改變
01:10
but in the simple簡單 accumulation積累 of gentle溫和, soft柔軟的, almost幾乎 invisible無形 acts行為 of compassion同情,
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而是簡單的溫柔,每天可以看到的無形的悲憫
01:17
everyday每天 acts行為 of compassion同情.
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能拯救世界
01:19
In South Africa非洲, they have a phrase短語 called UbuntuUbuntu的.
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在南非,有個詞叫 ubuntu
01:26
UbuntuUbuntu的 comes out of a philosophy哲學 that says,
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ubuntu的意思大概是
01:28
the only way for me to be human人的 is for you to reflect反映
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展現人性的唯一方式,只有當別人的行為
01:32
my humanity人性 back at me.
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反映在你身上的時候
01:34
But if you're like me, my humanity人性 is more like a window窗口.
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對我來說,我的人性像一扇窗
01:38
I don't really see it, I don't pay工資 attention注意 to it
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我看不見它,也不特別注意
01:40
until直到 there's, you know, like a bug竊聽器 that's dead on the window窗口.
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除非窗戶上停了一隻蟲的時候
01:43
Then suddenly突然 I see it, and usually平時, it's never good.
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那時候才看的見,通常也是不妙的時候
01:47
It's usually平時 when I'm cussing罵人 in traffic交通
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通常是當我卡在車陣裡
01:50
at someone有人 who is trying to drive駕駛 their car汽車 and drink coffee咖啡
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看著別人開著車、喝咖啡
01:53
and send發送 emails電子郵件 and make notes筆記.
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寄電子郵件、寫東西
01:57
So what UbuntuUbuntu的 really says
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ubuntu 真正的意思是
02:00
is that there is no way for us to be human人的 without other people.
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沒有別人的存在是無法展現人性的
02:05
It's really very simple簡單, but really very complicated複雜.
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聽起來簡單又複雜
02:08
So, I thought I should start開始 with some stories故事.
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我用故事來說
02:11
I should tell you some stories故事 about remarkable卓越 people,
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一些動人的故事
02:13
so I thought I'd start開始 with my mother母親.
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先從我母親講起
02:16
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:17
And she was dark黑暗, too.
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她也很黑
02:19
My mother母親 was English英語.
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我媽媽是英國人
02:20
My parents父母 met會見 in Oxford牛津 in the '50s,
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我的父母在50年代相識
02:22
and my mother母親 moved移動 to Nigeria尼日利亞 and lived生活 there.
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之後我媽搬到奈及利亞住
02:24
She was five foot腳丫子 two, very feisty易怒的 and very English英語.
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她大概158公分,脾氣火爆,非常的英國
02:28
This is how English英語 my mother母親 is -- or was, she just passed通過.
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她有多英國呢
02:31
She came來了 out to California加州, to Los洛杉磯 Angeles洛杉磯, to visit訪問 me,
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有次她到洛杉磯來看我
02:35
and we went to Malibu馬里布, which哪一個 she thought was very disappointing令人失望.
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我們去馬里布,她對那裡很失望
02:37
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:39
And then we went to a fish restaurant餐廳,
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我們到了一家海鮮餐廳
02:41
and we had Chad乍得, the surfer衝浪者 dude花花公子, serving服務 us,
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服務生是個衝浪手,叫Chad
02:44
and he came來了 up and my mother母親 said,
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我媽就問他
02:46
"Do you have any specials特價, young年輕 man?"
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『小夥子,你們有什麼特餐』
02:48
And Chad乍得 says, "Sure, like, we have this, like, salmon三文魚,
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Chad回答:『當然,就有那個鮭魚』
02:52
that's, like, rolled熱軋 in this, like, wasabi芥末, like, crust脆皮.
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『還有那個哇沙米,把他那個捲起來』
02:54
It's totally完全 rad拉德."
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『超屌』
02:56
And my mother母親 turned轉身 to me and said,
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我媽就問我
02:59
"What language語言 is he speaking請講?"
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『他說的是什麼鬼話』
03:01
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:02
I said, "English英語, mum沉默."
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我說:「是英文,媽」
03:04
And she shook震撼 her head and said,
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她搖了搖頭,說
03:06
"Oh, these Americans美國人. We gave them a language語言,
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「這些美國人,我們給了它們一個好好的語言」
03:08
why don't they use it?"
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「為什麼還不用呢」
03:10
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:16
So, this woman女人, who converted轉換 from the Church教會 of England英國
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這個女人,在嫁給我爸的時候
03:20
to Catholicism天主教 when she married已婚 my father父親 --
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從英國國教轉信天主教
03:22
and there's no one more rabid瘋狂的 than a Catholic天主教徒 convert兌換 --
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沒有人比這些後來轉信天主教的人更激進了
03:26
decided決定 to teach in the rural鄉村 areas in Nigeria尼日利亞,
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她決定到奈及利亞鄉下教書
03:30
particularly尤其 among其中 Igbo伊博 women婦女,
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特別是教伊博女人
03:32
the Billings比林斯 ovulation排卵 method方法,
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算排卵期來節育
03:34
which哪一個 was the only approved批准 birth分娩 control控制 by the Catholic天主教徒 Church教會.
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是天主教堂唯一同意的節育方式
03:38
But her Igbo伊博 wasn't too good.
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但她的伊博語不太好
03:42
So she took me along沿 to translate翻譯.
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所以她帶著我去當翻譯
03:44
I was seven.
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我才七歲
03:46
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:47
So, here are these women婦女,
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這些女人
03:49
who never discuss討論 their period with their husbands丈夫,
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從沒跟自己丈夫討論過生理期
03:52
and here I am telling告訴 them, "Well, how often經常 do you get your period?"
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然後我還得問她們:「妳生理期多久一次」
03:56
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:57
And, "Do you notice注意 any discharges放電?"
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「有沒有注意到什麼分泌物」
03:59
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:00
And, "How swollen is your vulva外陰?"
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「陰部有多腫」
04:02
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:07
She never would have thought of herself她自己 as a feminist女權主義者,
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我媽從不認為自己是女性主義者
04:10
my mother母親, but she always used to say,
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但她常說
04:13
"Anything a man can do, I can fix固定."
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「男人能"做"的,我都能"補"」
04:16
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
04:23
And when my father父親 complained抱怨 about this situation情況,
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我爸跟她抱怨過
04:28
where she's taking服用 a seven-year-old七十歲 boy男孩
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她怎麼帶著七歲的兒子
04:30
to teach this birth分娩 control控制, you know,
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去教節育的這件事
04:32
he used to say, "Oh, you're turning車削 him into --
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他會說:「喔,妳快把他」
04:34
you're teaching教學 him how to be a woman女人."
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「教成女人了」
04:36
My mother母親 said, "Someone有人 has to."
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我媽會說:「總要有人犧牲」
04:38
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:39
This woman女人 -- during the Biafran比夫拉 war戰爭,
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在內戰期間
04:43
we were caught抓住 in the war戰爭.
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我們都捲入戰爭中
04:45
It was my mother母親 with five little children孩子.
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我媽帶著五個小孩
04:48
It takes her one year, through通過 refugee難民 camp after refugee難民 camp,
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一個難民營逃到另一個,一年的時間
04:51
to make her way to an airstrip簡易機場 where we can fly out of the country國家.
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她逃到一個可以讓我們出國的機場
04:53
At every一切 single refugee難民 camp, she has to face面對 off soldiers士兵
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每個難民營,她都要面對士兵
04:59
who want to take my elder長老 brother哥哥 Mark標記, who was nine,
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因為他們想抓我九歲的哥哥Mark
05:01
and make him a boy男孩 soldier士兵.
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去當童兵
05:03
Can you imagine想像 this five-foot-two五英尺二 woman女人,
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你能想想這個158公分的小婦人
05:05
standing常設 up to men男人 with guns槍砲 who want to kill us?
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對抗著想殺我們的士兵嗎
05:09
All through通過 that one year,
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那一整年
05:11
my mother母親 never cried哭了 one time, not once一旦.
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我媽一滴眼淚都沒滴過
05:14
But when we were in Lisbon里斯本, in the airport飛機場,
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但當我們到了Lisbon機場
05:16
about to fly to England英國,
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要飛往倫敦時
05:18
this woman女人 saw my mother母親 wearing穿著 this dress連衣裙,
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有個女人看到我媽
05:21
which哪一個 had been washed so many許多 times it was basically基本上 see through通過,
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穿著洗到快透明的裙子
05:25
with five really hungry-looking kids孩子,
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帶著五個飢餓的孩子
05:28
came來了 over and asked her what had happened發生.
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她就走過來關心
05:30
And she told this woman女人.
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我媽告訴她事情經過
05:31
And so this woman女人 emptied清空 out her suitcase手提箱
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之後這女人把她的行李打開
05:33
and gave all of her clothes衣服 to my mother母親, and to us,
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把全部的衣服給了我們
05:36
and the toys玩具 of her kids孩子, who didn't like that very much, but --
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還有她孩子的玩具,他們可不怎麼高興
05:39
(Laughter笑聲) --
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(笑聲)
05:40
that was the only time she cried哭了.
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就在那時我媽就哭了
05:43
And I remember記得 years年份 later後來, I was writing寫作 about my mother母親,
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幾年後,我因為寫書問起我媽這件事
05:45
and I asked her, "Why did you cry then?"
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我問她:「妳當時為什麼哭」
05:47
And she said, "You know, you can steel your heart
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她說:「面對恐懼、困難」
05:50
against反對 any kind of trouble麻煩, any kind of horror恐怖.
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「可以」
05:53
But the simple簡單 act法案 of kindness善良 from a complete完成 stranger陌生人
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「但面對陌生人簡單的關心」
05:58
will unstitchunstitch you."
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「卻能融化你」
06:04
The old women婦女 in my father's父親的 village, after this war戰爭 had happened發生,
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我父親村莊的老婦人,戰爭的時候
06:08
memorized記憶 the names of every一切 dead person,
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都會記住所有逝去的名字
06:11
and they would sing these dirges輓歌, made製作 up of these names.
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他們會用這些名字編成輓歌
06:18
Dirges輓歌 so melancholic憂鬱 that they would scorch燒焦 you.
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這些輓歌難過到會灼傷你
06:20
And they would sing them only when they planted種植的 the rice白飯,
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他們種植稻米時,會唱著輓歌
06:24
as though雖然 they were seeding播種 the hearts心中 of the dead
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彷彿將逝去的人們,連同稻米一起
06:26
into the rice白飯.
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種植下去
06:28
But when it came來了 for harvest收成 time,
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當收成的時候
06:30
they would sing these joyful快樂 songs歌曲,
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他們會唱著歡樂曲
06:32
that were made製作 up of the names of every一切 child兒童
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用當年新生兒名字
06:34
who had been born天生 that year.
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編成的歡樂曲
06:37
And then the next下一個 planting種植 season季節, when they sang the dirge輓歌,
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直到下一年種植的時候,唱著輓歌時
06:41
they would remove去掉 as many許多 names of the dead
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編出來的死者名字
06:44
that equaled追平 as many許多 people that were born天生.
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會扣掉當年出生的新生兒數目
06:46
And in this way, these women婦女 enacted頒布 a lot of transformation轉型,
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這樣一來,這些女人展現了轉變
06:52
beautiful美麗 transformation轉型.
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美麗的轉變
06:54
Did you know, that before the genocide種族滅絕 in Rwanda盧旺達,
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你們知道,在盧安達大屠殺前
06:58
the word for rape強姦 and the word for marriage婚姻
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強姦這個字,和婚姻
07:01
was the same相同 one?
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是同一個嗎?
07:04
But today今天, women婦女 are rebuilding重建 Rwanda盧旺達.
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今天的盧安達由女人重建
07:08
Did you also know that after apartheid種族隔離,
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你們知道種族隔離過後
07:11
when the new government政府 went into the parliament議會 houses房屋,
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新政府進議會時
07:13
there were no female toilets洗手間 in the building建造?
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是沒有女用廁所的
07:17
Which哪一個 would seem似乎 to suggest建議 that apartheid種族隔離
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表示種族隔離
07:19
was entirely完全 the business商業 of men男人.
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完全是男人的事
07:22
All of this to say, that despite儘管 the horror恐怖, and despite儘管 the death死亡,
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這些例子看出,不管恐懼與死亡
07:26
women婦女 are never really counted.
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女人從不被看在眼裡
07:29
Their humanity人性 never seems似乎 to matter very much to us.
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他們的人性不被在乎
07:34
When I was growing生長 up in Nigeria尼日利亞 --
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當我在奈及利亞長大
07:37
and I shouldn't不能 say Nigeria尼日利亞, because that's too general一般,
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不該說奈及利亞,太廣泛了
07:39
but in Afikpo阿菲波, the Igbo伊博 part部分 of the country國家 where I'm from --
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在Urhobo,我長大的地方
07:42
there were always rites儀式 of passage通道 for young年輕 men男人.
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有成年儀式
07:45
Men男人 were taught to be men男人 in the ways方法 in which哪一個 we are not women婦女,
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教導我們成為男人的方式,就是不要成為女人
07:49
that's essentially實質上 what it is.
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本質就是如此
07:51
And a lot of rituals儀式 involved參與 killing謀殺, killing謀殺 little animals動物,
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這些儀式必須殺動物
07:55
progressing進展 along沿, so when I turned轉身 13 --
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13歲那年輪到我了
07:57
and, I mean, it made製作 sense, it was an agrarian農業 community社區,
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其實儀式正常,因為我們是農業社會
08:00
somebody had to kill the animals動物,
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殺動物是必須的
08:02
there was no Whole整個 Foods食品 you could go and get kangaroo袋鼠 steak牛扒 at --
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因為沒有批發店賣袋鼠肉之類的
08:05
so when I turned轉身 13, it was my turn now to kill a goat山羊.
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所以我13歲時,輪到我要殺一隻羊
08:10
And I was this weird奇怪的, sensitive敏感 kid孩子, who couldn't不能 really do it,
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我是個很怪、個性敏感的孩子,這種事我做不到
08:14
but I had to do it.
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但不得不做
08:16
And I was supposed應該 to do this alone單獨.
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本來是要自己來的
08:18
But a friend朋友 of mine, called Emmanuel靈光,
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但我的朋友Emmanuel
08:20
who was significantly顯著 older舊的 than me,
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比我大好幾歲
08:22
who'd誰願意 been a boy男孩 soldier士兵 during the Biafran比夫拉 war戰爭,
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在內戰時當過童兵
08:24
decided決定 to come with me.
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決定陪我
08:27
Which哪一個 sort分類 of made製作 me feel good,
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我放心很多
08:30
because he'd他會 seen看到 a lot of things.
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因為他經歷過大風大浪
08:32
Now, when I was growing生長 up, he used to tell me
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小時候他會跟我講
08:34
stories故事 about how he used to bayonet刺刀 people,
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他用刺刀殺人
08:36
and their intestines would fall秋季 out, but they would keep running賽跑.
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他們的腸子會掉下來,但還是繼續跑之類的事
08:39
So, this guy comes with me.
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所以他陪著我
08:42
And I don't know if you've ever heard聽說 a goat山羊, or seen看到 one --
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不知道各位有沒有看過羊、聽過他們的叫聲?
08:45
they sound聲音 like human人的 beings眾生,
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聽起來很像人類
08:47
that's why we call tragedies悲劇 "a song歌曲 of a goat山羊."
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所以我們形容悲劇叫"羊的歌聲"
08:50
My friend朋友 Brad布拉德 Kessler凱斯勒 says that we didn't become成為 human人的
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我朋友Brad Kessler說,我們開始養羊的時候
08:55
until直到 we started開始 keeping保持 goats山羊.
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我們才是個人
08:57
Anyway無論如何, a goat's山羊 eyes眼睛 are like a child's孩子的 eyes眼睛.
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總之,羊的眼睛很像小孩的眼睛
09:02
So when I tried試著 to kill this goat山羊 and I couldn't不能,
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我試著殺它,但下不了手
09:04
Emmanuel靈光 bent彎曲 down, he puts看跌期權 his hand over the mouth of the goat山羊,
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Emmanuel 蹲下,用手遮住羊的眼睛
09:09
covers蓋子 its eyes眼睛, so I don't have to look into them,
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這樣在我殺的時候
09:12
while I kill the goat山羊.
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可以不用看
09:15
It didn't seem似乎 like a lot, for this guy who'd誰願意 seen看到 so much,
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像他這樣看過大風大浪
09:19
and to whom the killing謀殺 of a goat山羊 must必須 have seemed似乎
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殺羊對他來說沒什麼
09:21
such這樣 a quotidian瘴氣 experience經驗,
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應當稀疏平常
09:23
still found發現 it in himself他自己 to try to protect保護 me.
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但他還是保護著我
09:29
I was a wimp窩囊廢.
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我是個膽小鬼
09:31
I cried哭了 for a very long time.
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哭了很久
09:33
And afterwards之後, he didn't say a word.
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他一句話都沒說
09:35
He just satSAT there watching觀看 me cry for an hour小時.
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就坐在那看我哭了整整1小時
09:37
And then afterwards之後 he said to me,
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之後他對我說
09:39
"It will always be difficult, but if you cry like this every一切 time,
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這種事一定會很困難,但如果每次都哭
09:44
you will die of heartbreak心碎.
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會真的哭死的
09:46
Just know that it is enough足夠 sometimes有時
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知道有時候很難
09:49
to know that it is difficult."
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就夠了
09:54
Of course課程, talking about goats山羊 makes品牌 me think of sheep,
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當然,講到羊我就想到綿羊
09:57
and not in good ways方法.
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不是好的聯想
09:59
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:01
So, I was born天生 two days after Christmas聖誕.
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我生日是12月27日
10:05
So growing生長 up, you know, I had a cake蛋糕 and everything,
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過生日是有蛋糕之類的
10:08
but I never got any presents禮物, because, born天生 two days after Christmas聖誕.
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但從沒有禮物,因為離耶誕節很近
10:13
So, I was about nine, and my uncle叔叔 had just come back from Germany德國,
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我九歲那年,我叔叔從德國回來
10:16
and we had the Catholic天主教徒 priest牧師 over,
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有位神父到家裡作客
10:19
my mother母親 was entertaining娛樂 him with tea.
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我媽媽正在招待他
10:21
And my uncle叔叔 suddenly突然 says, "Where are Chris'克里斯' presents禮物?"
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我叔叔突然說:「Chris的禮物在哪」
10:25
And my mother母親 said, "Don't talk about that in front面前 of guests賓客."
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我媽說:「別在客人面前講這個」
10:29
But he was desperate殊死 to show顯示 that he'd他會 just come back,
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但他急著想讓我們知道他剛回來
10:32
so he summoned傳喚 me up, and he said,
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便叫我過去,說
10:34
"Go into the bedroom臥室, my bedroom臥室.
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「到我房間」
10:36
Take anything you want out of the suitcase手提箱.
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「可以從行李隨便選一樣」
10:38
It's your birthday生日 present當下."
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「當作你的生日禮物」
10:40
I'm sure he thought I'd take a book or a shirt襯衫,
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他以為我會選書或襯衫
10:42
but I found發現 an inflatable充氣 sheep.
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但我找到一隻充氣羊
10:45
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:51
So, I blew自爆 it up and ran into the living活的 room房間,
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我把他吹氣完,跑到客廳
10:53
my finger手指 where it shouldn't不能 have been,
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手指放在不該放的地方
10:55
I was waving揮手 this buzzing餘音繞樑 sheep around,
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搖著這隻有聲音的羊
10:58
and my mother母親 looked看著 like she was going to die of shock休克.
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我媽看起來快昏倒了
11:01
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
11:04
And Father父親 McGetrickMcGetrick was completely全然 unflustered從容不迫,
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但McGetrick神父卻一臉鎮靜
11:07
just stirred攪動 his tea and looked看著 at my mother母親 and said,
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攪拌著他的茶,對我媽說
11:09
"It's all right Daphne, I'm Scottish蘇格蘭的."
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沒事的Daphne,我是蘇格蘭人
11:12
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
11:14
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
11:28
My last days in prison監獄, the last 18 months個月,
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我在監獄的最後18個月
11:34
my cellmate獄友 -- for the last year, the first year of the last 18 months個月 --
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18個月裡的第一年
11:38
my cellmate獄友 was 14 years年份 old.
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我的獄友14歲
11:41
The name名稱 was John約翰 James詹姆士,
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他叫約翰詹姆
11:44
and in those days, if a family家庭 member會員 committed提交 a crime犯罪,
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當時,只要家裡有人犯法
11:48
the military軍事 would hold保持 you as ransom贖金
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軍隊就會抓其中一個人當贖金
11:51
till直到 your family家庭 turned轉身 themselves他們自己 in.
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逼你的家人自首
11:53
So, here was this 14-year-old-歲 kid孩子 on death死亡 row.
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所以這個14歲的男孩成了死刑犯
11:56
And not everybody每個人 on death死亡 row was a political政治 prisoner囚犯.
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並非每個死刑犯都是政治犯
11:58
There were some really bad people there.
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有些是真的做了壞事
12:01
And he had smuggled走私 in two comics漫畫, two comic滑稽 books圖書 --
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他偷帶了兩本漫畫書
12:04
"Spiderman蜘蛛俠" and "X-MenX戰警."
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蜘蛛人和X戰警
12:06
He was obsessed痴迷.
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整個很著迷
12:07
And when he got tired of reading them,
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他讀煩讀累的時候
12:09
he started開始 to teach the men男人 in death死亡 row how to read,
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會用他的漫畫書,教其他死刑犯
12:13
with these comic滑稽 books圖書.
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識字讀書
12:15
And so, I remember記得 night after night,
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我記得好幾晚
12:19
you'd hear all these men男人, these really hardened硬化 criminals罪犯,
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會聽到這些凶神惡煞
12:21
huddled around John約翰 James詹姆士, reciting背誦, "Take that, Spidey蜘蛛俠!"
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圍著約翰詹姆,讀著「看招吧蜘蛛人!」
12:26
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
12:28
It's incredible難以置信.
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很神奇的一刻
12:31
I was really worried擔心.
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但我很擔心
12:33
He didn't know what death死亡 row meant意味著.
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他不知道死刑的意思
12:35
I'd been there twice兩次,
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我已經經歷了兩次
12:37
and I was terribly可怕 afraid害怕 that I was going to die.
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所以非常擔心我會死
12:39
And he would always laugh, and say,
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他就會大笑的說
12:41
"Come on, man, we'll make it out."
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「別這樣嘛,我們會出得去的」
12:43
Then I'd say, "How do you know?"
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我就會問:「你怎麼知道」
12:45
And he said, "Oh, I heard聽說 it on the grapevine葡萄藤."
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他會告訴我:「我有小道消息」
12:49
They killed殺害 him.
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他被處死了
12:51
They handcuffed戴上手銬 him to a chair椅子,
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他們把他銬在椅子上
12:54
and they tacked上漲 his penis陰莖 to a table with a six-inch六英寸 nail,
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用六寸長的釘子,把他的老二釘在桌上
13:00
then left him there to bleed流血 to death死亡.
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讓他流血致死
13:03
That's how I ended結束 up in solitary, because I let my feelings情懷 be known已知.
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我無法控制情緒,後來被關禁閉
13:12
All around us, everywhere到處, there are people like this.
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我們身邊都是這樣的人
13:17
The Igbo伊博 used to say that they built內置 their own擁有 gods.
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伊博人說過,他們創造自己的神
13:23
They would come together一起 as a community社區,
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他們會聚在一起
13:25
and they would express表現 a wish希望.
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述說共同的夢想
13:28
And their wish希望 would then be brought to a priest牧師,
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他們把願望告訴祭司
13:30
who would find a ritual儀式 object目的,
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祭司會找個祭祀地點
13:33
and the appropriate適當 sacrifices犧牲 would be made製作,
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舉行祭品儀式
13:35
and the shrine神社 would be built內置 for the god.
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建神壇祭神
13:38
But if the god became成為 unruly不羈 and began開始 to ask for human人的 sacrifice犧牲,
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如果神要求用人作為祭品
13:43
the IgbosIgbos would destroy破壞 the god.
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伊博人便會摧毀神
13:45
They would knock down the shrine神社,
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摧毀祭壇
13:48
and they would stop saying the god's name名稱.
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不再呼喚神的名字
13:50
This is how they came來了 to reclaim回收 their humanity人性.
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藉此,重獲人性
13:55
Every一切 day, all of us here,
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每一天,這裡的每個人
13:57
we're building建造 gods that have gone走了 rampant猖獗,
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我們崇拜著猖狂的神
14:00
and it's time we started開始 knocking敲門 them down
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摧毀他們的時候到了
14:03
and forgetting遺忘 their names.
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忘記祂們的名字吧
14:06
It doesn't require要求 a tremendous巨大 thing.
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過程並不難
14:09
All it requires要求 is to recognize認識 among其中 us, every一切 day --
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只要我們每天
14:13
the few少數 of us that can see -- are surrounded包圍 by people
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認知到身邊的人們
14:16
like the ones那些 I've told you.
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就像我說的這樣
14:19
There are some of you in this room房間, amazing驚人 people,
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在座很多不凡的人
14:22
who offer提供 all of us the mirror鏡子 to our own擁有 humanity人性.
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在他們的身上我們看到人性
14:28
I want to end結束 with a poem by an American美國 poet詩人 called Lucille露西爾 Clifton克利夫頓.
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最後我想分享美國詩人Lucille Clifton的一首詩
14:33
The poem is called "Libation," and it's for my friend朋友 VusiVusi
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這首詩《奠酒》獻給我朋友Vusi
14:38
who is in the audience聽眾 here somewhere某處.
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他就在這裡的某處
14:42
"Libation,
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《奠酒》
14:44
North Carolina卡羅來納州, 1999.
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北卡羅來納州,1999年
14:47
I offer提供 to this ground地面, this gin杜松子酒.
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我獻給大地,這琴酒
14:54
I imagine想像 an old man crying哭了 here,
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我想像一個在此哭泣的老人
14:57
out of the sight視力 of the overseer監工.
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遠離著監工
15:01
He pushes his tongue through通過 a hole
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他將舌頭放進口中
15:04
where his tooth would be, if he were whole整個.
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這原本應長滿牙齒的地方
15:09
It aches疼痛 in that space空間 where his tooth would be,
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空洞的疼痛
15:13
where his land土地 would be,
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空洞的大地
15:16
his house, his wife妻子, his son兒子, his beautiful美麗 daughter女兒.
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他的家、妻子、兒子及美麗的女兒
15:22
He wipes濕巾 sorrow悲哀 from his face面對,
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他從臉上拭去悲傷
15:27
and puts看跌期權 his thirsty finger手指 to his thirsty tongue,
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枯渴的手放進枯渴的嘴裡
15:31
and tastes口味 the salt.
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嚐那鹹味
15:37
I call a name名稱 that could be his.
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我喊著也許屬於他的名字
15:39
This is for you, old man.
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獻給你,老人
15:44
This gin杜松子酒, this salty earth地球."
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這琴酒,獻給鹹鹹的大地
15:48
Thank you.
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謝謝
15:50
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Adrienne Lin
Reviewed by Sunshine Hong-Jun, Wang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chris Abani - Novelist, poet
Imprisoned three times by the Nigerian government, Chris Abani turned his experience into poems that Harold Pinter called "the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable." His novels include GraceLand (2004) and The Virgin of Flames (2007).

Why you should listen

Chris Abani's first novel, published when he was 16, was Masters of the Board, a political thriller about a foiled Nigerian coup. The story was convincing enough that the Nigerian government threw him in jail for inciting a coincidentally timed real-life coup. Imprisoned and tortured twice more, he channeled the experience into searing poetry.

Abani's best-selling 2004 novel GraceLand is a searing and funny tale of a young Nigerian boy, an Elvis impersonator who moves through the wide, wild world of Lagos, slipping between pop and traditional cultures, art and crime. It's a perennial book-club pick, a story that brings the postcolonial African experience to vivid life.

Now based in Los Angeles, Abani published The Virgin of Flames in 2007. He is also a publisher, running the poetry imprint Black Goat Press.

More profile about the speaker
Chris Abani | Speaker | TED.com