La gent del meu país em diu agitador, revolucionari, irritant, rebel, activista, la veu del poble. Però no sempre he sigut així.
People back home call me a heckler, a troublemaker, an irritant, a rebel, an activist, the voice of the people. But that wasn't always me.
De petit tenia un malnom. Solien dir-me Softy, és a dir, noi inofensiu.
Growing up, I had a nickname. They used to call me Softy, meaning the soft, harmless boy.
Igual que qualsevol altre ésser humà, evitava problemes. De petit, em van ensenyar a callar. No discuteixis, fes el que et diguin. A l'escola dominical em van ensenyar a no enfrontar-me, a no discutir, i, encara que tingués raó, a parar l'altra galta.
Like every other human being, I avoided trouble. In my childhood, they taught me silence. Don't argue, do as you're told. In Sunday school, they taught me don't confront, don't argue, even if you're right, turn the other cheek.
Tot això es va veure reforçat pel clima polític de l'època. (Rialles) Kenya és un país on ets culpable fins que es demostri que ets ric. (Rialles) Els kenyans pobres tenen 5 cops més possibilitats de ser disparats a mort per la policia, que hauria de protegir-los, que pels delinqüents. Tot això es va veure reforçat pel clima polític del moment. Teníem un president, Moi, que era un dictador. Va governar el país amb severitat, i qui s'atrevia a qüestionar la seva autoritat era detingut, torturat, empresonat o fins i tot assassinat. Això vol dir que s'ensenyava la gent a ser covards intel·ligents, a no ficar-se en problemes. Ser un covard no era un insult. Ser un covard era un elogi. Ens deien que un covard torna a casa amb la seva mare. Que volia dir que si no et ficaves en problemes, seguiries viu.
This was reinforced by the political climate of the time. (Laughter) Kenya is a country where you are guilty until proven rich. (Laughter) Kenya's poor are five times more likely to be shot dead by the police who are meant to protect them than by criminals. This was reinforced by the political climate of the day. We had a president, Moi, who was a dictator. He ruled the country with an iron fist, and anyone who dared question his authority was arrested, tortured, jailed or even killed. That meant that people were taught to be smart cowards, stay out of trouble. Being a coward was not an insult. Being a coward was a compliment. We used to be told that a coward goes home to his mother. What that meant: that if you stayed out of trouble you're going to stay alive. I used to question this advice,
Jo dubtava d'aquest consell. Fa 8 anys, vam tenir unes eleccions a Kenya, i els resultats van ser intensament disputats. El que va venir després van ser terribles actes de violència, violacions, i l'assassinat de més de 1000 persones. La meva feina era documentar la violència. Com a fotògraf, vaig fer milers de fotos, i després de dos mesos, els dos polítics es van reunir, van prendre una tassa de te, van signar un acord de pau i el país va tirar endavant.
and eight years ago we had an election in Kenya, and the results were violently disputed. What followed that election was terrible violence, rape, and the killing of over 1,000 people. My work was to document the violence. As a photographer, I took thousands of images, and after two months, the two politicians came together, had a cup of tea, signed a peace agreement, and the country moved on. I was a very disturbed man because I saw the violence firsthand.
Vaig quedar molt afectat perquè vaig conèixer la violència de primera mà. Vaig veure els assassinats. Vaig veure els desplaçaments. Vaig conèixer dones que havien estat violades, i em va afectar, però el país mai va parlar d'això. Fingíem. Vam convertir-nos en covards intel·ligents. Vam decidir no ficar-nos en problemes i no parlar-ne.
I saw the killings. I saw the displacement. I met women who had been raped, and it disturbed me, but the country never spoke about it. We pretended. We all became smart cowards. We decided to stay out of trouble and not talk about it. Ten months later, I quit my job. I said I could not stand it anymore.
10 mesos després, vaig deixar la meva feina. Vaig dir que no podia aguantar-ho més. Després de deixar la feina, vaig decidir organitzar els meus amics per parlar sobre la violència al país, per parlar sobre l'estat de la nació, i l'1 de juny de 2009 era el dia que aniríem a l'estadi i intentaríem cridar l'atenció del president. És una festa nacional, es retransmet arreu del país, i vaig anar a l'estadi. Els meus amics no van venir. Era allà tot sol, i no sabia pas què fer, tenia por, però tenia ben clar que aquell dia havia de prendre una decisió. Podia viure com un covard, com tothom, o plantaria cara? I quan el president es va aixecar a parlar, em vaig veure d'empeus, cridant al president dient-li que recordés les víctimes de la violència després de les eleccions, que aturés la corrupció. I de sobte, com sortits del no-res la policia va caure sobre meu com ferotges lleons. Em van tapar la boca i em van arrossegar fora de l'estadi on em van apallissar salvatgement i em van tancar a la presó. Aquella nit la vaig pasar al fred terra de ciment de la presó. I allò em va fer pensar, què era el que em feia sentir així? Els meus amics i familiars pensaven que era boig per haver fet allò, i les imatges que havia pres no em deixaven viure. Les imatges que havia pres, només eren una xifra per a molts kenyans. La majoría de kenyans no va veure la violència. Per ells era tan sols una història.
After quitting my job, I decided to organize my friends to speak about the violence in the country, to speak about the state of the nation, and June 1, 2009 was the day that we were meant to go to the stadium and try and get the president's attention. It's a national holiday, it's broadcast across the country, and I showed up at the stadium. My friends did not show up. I found myself alone, and I didn't know what to do. I was scared, but I knew very well that that particular day, I had to make a decision. Was I able to live as a coward, like everyone else, or was I going to make a stand? And when the president stood up to speak, I found myself on my feet shouting at the president, telling him to remember the post-election violence victims, to stop the corruption. And suddenly, out of nowhere, the police pounced on me like hungry lions. They held my mouth and dragged me out of the stadium, where they thoroughly beat me up and locked me up in jail. I spent that night in a cold cement floor in the jail, and that got me thinking. What was making me feel this way? My friends and family thought I was crazy because of what I did, and the images that I took were disturbing my life. The images that I took were just a number to many Kenyans. Most Kenyans did not see the violence. It was a story to them.
I vaig decidir començar una exposició al carrer per ensenyar les imatges de violència per tot el país i fer que la gent parlés del tema. Vam viatjar pel país i vam mostrar les imatges, i aquest viatge em va iniciar al camí de l'activisme, on vaig decidir no quedar-me mai més callat, parlar sobre aquestes coses. Vam viatjar, i el nostre objectiu més enllà de la exposició era el graffiti polític sobre la situació del país parlant de corrupció, la manca de lideratge. També vam fer enterraments simbòlics. Van enviar porcs vius al parlament de Kenya com a símbol de la cobdícia dels nostres polítics. S'ha fet també a Uganda i altres països, i el més important va ser que les imatges van ser recollides pels mitjans de comunicació i transmeses a la resta del pais i del continent.
And so I decided to actually start a street exhibition to show the images of the violence across the country and get people talking about it. We traveled the country and showed the images, and this was a journey that has started me to the activist path, where I decided to become silent no more, to talk about those things. We traveled, and our general site from our street exhibit became for political graffiti about the situation in the country, talking about corruption, bad leadership. We have even done symbolic burials. We have delivered live pigs to Kenya's parliament as a symbol of our politicians' greed. It has been done in Uganda and other countries, and what is most powerful is that the images have been picked by the media and amplified across the country, across the continent. Where I used to stand up alone seven years ago,
Si fa 7 anys em vaig quedar sol, ara pertanyo a una comunitat que és al meu costat. Ja no estic sol quan parlo d'aquestes coses. Pertanyo a un grup de joves passionats pel seu país que volen aconseguir un canvi, i que ja no tenen por, que ja no son uns covards intel·ligents. Així que aquesta és la meva història. Aquell dia, a l'estadi, em vaig aixecar com un covard intel·ligent. Amb aquell gest vaig dir adéu a 24 anys de covardia.
now I belong to a community of many people who stand up with me. I am no longer alone when I stand up to speak about these things. I belong to a group of young people who are passionate about the country, who want to bring about change, and they're no longer afraid, and they're no longer smart cowards. So that was my story. That day in the stadium, I stood up as a smart coward. By that one action, I said goodbye to the 24 years living as a coward.
Hi ha dos grans dies a la vida: el dia que neixes i el dia que descobreixes per què. Aquell dia, aixecant-me a l'estadi, cridant al president, vaig descobrir per què havia nascut de veritat, que ja no callaria davant la injustícia. Saps per què vas nèixer tu? Gràcies. (Aplaudiments)
There are two most powerful days in your life: the day you're born, and the day you discover why. That day standing up in that stadium shouting at the President, I discovered why I was truly born, that I would no longer be silent in the face of injustice. Do you know why you were born? Thank you. (Applause)
Tom Rielly: Es una història increible. Només vull fer-te un parell de preguntes ràpides. Així que PAWA254 heu creat un estudi, un lloc on els joves poden acudir i aprofitar el poder dels mitjans digitals per fer alguna cosa, per actuar Què està passant ara amb PAWA?
Tom Rielly: It's an amazing story. I just want to ask you a couple quick questions. So PAWA254: you've created a studio, a place where young people can go and harness the power of digital media to do some of this action. What's happening now with PAWA?
Boniface Mwangi: Tenim aquesta comunitat de cineastes, graffiters, músics...i quan passa alguna cosa al pais ens reunim, pensem junts i ens centrem en aquest tema. La nostra eina més poderosa és l'art, Perquè vivim en un món molt ocupat, la gent està molt ocupada amb la seva vida i no tenen temps de llegir. Així que concentrem el nostre activisme, el nostre missatge, en l'art. Des de la música, el graffiti, l'art, això és el que fem. Puc dir una cosa més?
Boniface Mwangi: So we have this community of filmmakers, graffiti artists, musicians, and when there's an issue in the country, we come together, we brainstorm, and take up on that issue. So our most powerful tool is art, because we live in a very busy world where people are so busy in their life, and they don't have time to read. So we package our activism and we package our message in art. So from the music, the graffiti, the art, that's what we do. Can I say one more thing?
T.R: És clar. (Aplaudiment)
TR: Yeah, of course. (Applause)
B.M: Tot i haver estat arrestat, colpejat, amenaçat, quan vaig descobrir la meva veu, que de veritat podia lluitar per allò en que creia, ja no tinc por. Solien dir-me Softy però ja no ho sóc, perquè he descobert qui sóc, això és el que realment vull fer. I es tan bonic fer això. Res no et dóna tant poder com això, saber que això és el que he de fer. Perquè no tens por, simplement continues vivint la teva vida.
BM: In spite of being arrested, beaten up, threatened, the moment I discovered my voice, that I could actually stand up for what I really believed in, I'm no longer afraid. I used to be called softy, but I'm no longer softy, because I discovered who I really am, as in, that's what I want to do, and there's such beauty in doing that. There's nothing as powerful as that, knowing that I'm meant to do this, because you don't get scared, you just continue living your life.
Gràcies.
Thank you.
(Aplaudiment)
(Applause)