Hello. This is my first trip, first time in life I'm outside of the walls of Gaza. I'm so happy to be here.
Zdravo. Ovo je moje prvo putovanje, prvi put u životu sam van zidova Gaze. Tako sam srećna što sam ovde.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
My ambition always was to be a pilot, to fly a plane, to feel free to fly the sky, to touch the sky. But that didn't happen. Simply, I live in Gaza, there is no airport. All borders are closed on every side. We live in one of the biggest prisons in the world. The only thing I can do is just to look up to the sky. On some days, we are lucky if we have electricity for four or five hours. When it's cold, we make a fire on the front or on the roof of our homes. Sometimes we make food, too.
Oduvek sam želela da budem pilot, da upravljam avionom, da budem slobodna i letim nebom, da dotaknem nebo. To se nije desilo. Jednostavno, živim u Gazi, tamo nema aerodroma. Sve granice, sa svih strana su zatvorene. Živimo u jednom od najvećih zatvora u svetu. Sve što mogu da uradim je prosto da gledam gore u nebo. Nekih dana smo srećni, ako imamo struju četiri ili pet sati. Kad je hladno, ložimo vatru ispred ili na krovovima naših domova. Ponekad tako spremamo i hranu.
My job in Gaza is to arrange everything for journalists who come to my homeland to tell the stories about what's going on in Gaza. Many mornings, I had to go to the border area to collect a journalist. If anything should happen to the journalist, or if the journalist decides to cover a story the government doesn't want us to cover, bad things could happen.
Moj posao u Gazi je da sredim sve za novinare koji dolaze u moju domovinu da bi ispričali priče o tome šta se dešava u Gazi. Mnogih jutara sam morala da idem do graničnih oblasti da bih pokupila novinare. Ako se bilo šta desi novinaru ili ako novinar odluči da pokrije priču, vlada ne želi da mi o tome izveštavamo, moglo bi nešto loše da se desi.
Navigating through my country helping journalists, filmmakers, news crews, is my working life. I believe my success comes from building a relationship not only with journalists and the news crews, but also with the communities in the Gaza Strip. These communities who don't want their stories to be told, I never looked to them as stories or numbers. But like me, they are human beings.
Kretanje kroz moju državu, pomaganje novinarima, filmadžijama, ekipama vesti, to je moj posao. Verujem da moj uspeh dolazi iz građenja veza, ne samo s novinarima i ekipama vesti, već i sa zajednicama iz Pojasa Gaze. Ove zajednice koje ne žele da njihove priče budu ispričane, nikada nisam posmatrala kao priče ili kao brojeve. Oni su pre kao i ja, ljudska bića.
I have built up many relationships over 10 years. And guess what? This gives me the chance to get access to people, to stories that others can't. In some certain situations, I feel, as a woman, I have more power. Many male journalists in my society, they want to cover a story about drug addiction in my country. That problem started when the Gaza tunnel was being built. With the siege on Gaza, tunnels brought people all the basic needs like food, building material, other stuff we needed. But not anymore, because the Egyptian side flooded them up with water and they are not working anymore. Drugs were being smuggled, and many young people got addicted, too. In the tradition of the Palestinian society, it's forbidden for men to enter the household. So, no male journalists get the story. But I did.
Izgradila sam mnogo veza tokom više od 10 godina. I znate šta? Ovo mi omogućuje pristup ljudima, pričama kojima drugi nemaju pristup. U nekim konkretnim situacijama, osećam, kao žena, da imam veću moć. Mnogi novinari muškarci iz mog društva žele da pokriju priču o zavisnosti o drogama u mojoj zemlji. Problem je počeo izgradnjom tunela Gaza. Tokom opsade Gaze, tunelima su isporučivane ljudima osnovne potrepštine poput hrane, građevinskog materijala i drugih nužnih stvari. Ali ne više jer ih je egipatska strana potopila vodom i više nisu funkcionalni. Droga se krijumčari i mnogi mladi ljudi su se navukli. U tradiciji palestinskog društva, muškarcima je zabranjeno da uđu u neko domaćinstvo. Pa nijedan novinar muškarac nije mogao da dobije priču. Ali ja jesam.
I have a wonderful husband, a wonderful husband who supports me despite all the criticism he gets from the society. He's at home now with my two kids, and I have another one that's growing in here.
Imam divnog supruga, divnog supruga koji me podržava, uprkos svim kritikama koje mu društvo upućuje. On je kod kuće s moje dvoje dece, a još jedno mi raste ovde.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
When I'm working, I call him every two hours, and he knows if he doesn't hear from me, he should call my contact, the one who gives me access to the story, which is the one who I trust.
Kad radim, zovem ga na svaka dva sata i on zna da, ako mu se ne javim, mora da nazove kontakt osobu, onoga ko mi je dao pristup priči, a to je osoba od poverenja.
One of the times in Gaza, during the kidnapping of the British journalist Alan Johnston, I was asked by an American magazine to set up a meeting with the kidnappers in Gaza, and I did. The journalist covering the story and I were asked to meet outside of his hotel. They came, they picked us up in a black van with black windows, they were wearing masks on that day. And they drove us away, far away in the middle of a field. They took our cell phones and we did the interview with the kidnapper outside in that field. I was so scared that day, a day I will never forget.
Jedanput u Gazi, tokom otmice britanskog novinara Alana Džonstona, američki časopis mi je tražio da udesim sastanak sa otmičarima u Gazi, i uradila sam to. Novinarima koji su pokrivali priču i meni je traženo da se sretnemo ispred njegovog hotela. Došli su, pokupili nas u crnom kombiju sa zatamnjenim staklima, tog dana su nosili maske. I odvezli su nas daleko, veoma daleko u sred polja. Uzeli su naše mobilne telefone i napravili smo intervju s otmičarem na otvorenom, na tom polju. Toliko me je bilo strah tog dana, dana koji nikad neću da zaboravim.
So, why do I do what I do? I do it because I believe if I didn't, a huge part of the story about Gaza will be missing. There are some more stories I could tell you about my country. And not all of them are bad. I love my country, despite the terrible situation we live in -- siege, poverty, unemployment -- but there is life. There are people who are dreamers and amazing people full of energy. We have wonderful music, and a great music school. We have parkour dancers who dance in the rubble of their homes. And Gaza is the only place in the Arab world where Muslims and Christians live in strong brotherhood.
Dakle, zašto radim to što radim? Radim to jer verujem da kad ne bih to radila, ogroman deo priče o Gazi bi bio izostavljen. Ima još mnogo priča koje vam mogu ispričati o mojoj zemlji. I nisu sve loše. Volim svoju zemlju, uprkos užasnoj situaciji u kojoj živimo - opsadi, siromaštvu, nezaposlenosti - ali tu je život. Imamo ljude koji su sanjari i divne ljude pune energije. Imamo divnu muziku i sjajnu muzičku školu. Imamo plesače parkura koji plešu na zgarištima svojih domova. A Gaza je jedino mesto u arapskom svetu gde muslimani i hrišćani žive u prisnom bratstvu.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
During the time of war, the hardest part for me is leaving the house early in the morning, leaving my children. I take a picture of them everyday because I never know if I will make it back to them. Being a fixer and a journalist is difficult and dangerous in Gaza. But when I hear the sound of the shelling or the sound of the bombing, I just head straight toward it, because I want to be there first, because these stories should be told.
Tokom rata, najteži deo za mene je da napustim kuću rano ujutru, da napustim decu. Fotografišem ih svakodnevno jer nikad ne znam hoću li uspeti da im se vratim. Biti "fikser" i novinar u Gazi je teško i opasno. Ali kad čujem zvuk artiljerijske vatre ili zvuk bombardovanja, prosto se zaletim u njih jer želim da stignem tamo prva jer ove priče treba da budu ispričane.
When my children were small and we heard the sound of the war, I used to tell them that they were fireworks. Now they are older, they understand. I do have terrible nightmares because of all that I witnessed during war times, especially these lifeless bodies of young children. I still remember a little girl, her name is Hala. She's the only survivor from her family. Her picture will be with me forever. I will never forget her.
Kad su mi deca bila mala i kad bismo čuli zvuk rata, govorila bih im da je to vatromet. Sad su stariji, razumeju. Imam užasne noćne more zbog svega čemu sam bila svedok tokom ratnih vremena, naročito zbog tih beživotnih tela dečice. Još uvek se sećam devojčice, po imenu Hala. Jedina je preživela u svojoj porodici. Njena slika će me uvek pratiti. Nikad je neću zaboraviti.
I'm proud that I can stand here and be here today with you. I'm proud that I can tell you stories, sad and happy, stories about my small corner of the world, Gaza. I'm proud that I am the first female fixer working in Gaza. And the funny thing is they call me Mr. Rambo in Gaza.
Ponosna sam što mogu da stojim ovde i da budem danas ovde sa vama, ponosna sam što mogu da vam pričam priče, tužne i srećne, priče o mom malenom kutku sveta, Gazi. Ponosna sam što sam prva žena fikser koja radi u Gazi. Smešno je što me u Gazi zovu g. Rambo.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
I hope one day, I will get the chance to tell the stories of all other women, all other amazing women I know in my country. I hope that one day I can help other women in my country to be fixers like me. And of course sometimes, I feel I can't do this work anymore, it's just too much for me. But I remember these words: "Don't limit your challenge, but challenge your limit. Don't allow others to stand in front of your dreams."
Nadam se da ću jednog dana biti u prilici da ispričam priče svih drugih žena, svih drugih neverovatnih žena koje poznajem u mojoj zemlji. Nadam se da ću jednog dana moći da pomognem drugim ženama u mojoj zemlji da budu fikseri poput mene. I naravno da ponekad imam osećaj da ne mogu više da obavljam ovaj posao, prosto mi je previše svega. Ali setim se ovih reči: "Ne ograničavaj svoj izazov, već izazovi svoja ograničenja. Ne dozvoli drugima da stanu na put tvojim snovima."
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)