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.
家鄉的人稱我是擾亂者, 闖禍精,討厭鬼, 反抗者,活動家, 為民喉舌的人。 但我並不是一直是這樣的一個人。
Growing up, I had a nickname. They used to call me Softy, meaning the soft, harmless boy. 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.
在成長過程中,我有一個暱稱。 他們叫我軟仔。 意思是一個很柔軟,無害的男孩。 和其他人一樣, 我盡量避開麻煩。 小時候,他們教我要沈默。 不要反嘴,聽話就是。 在星期日的主日學校,他們教我 不要對抗,不要爭論, 即使你是對的,轉過臉去。
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.
那時的政治氛圍加強了這一點。 (笑聲) 在肯亞,你是有罪的 除非你被證明你是有錢人。 (笑聲) 比起被罪犯所殺, 肯亞的窮人有五倍的機率 被應該保護他們的警察所槍殺。 被應該保護他們的警察所槍殺。 這也是被那時的政治氛圍所促成的。 我們那時的總統,莫依,是一個獨裁者。 他以鐵腕統治國家。 任何挑戰他的權威的人, 都被逮捕,折磨,關進監獄, 或者甚至被殺。 因此,人們被教得聰明了, 不要自找麻煩。 懦夫不是恥辱。 懦夫的稱呼是讚嘆。 我們被教導 一個懦夫可以回家見到母親。 意思是:如果你不惹麻煩, 你才能活著。
I used to question this advice, 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.
我一直懷疑這個忠告。 八年前,我們肯亞有一個選舉, 選舉結果被激烈爭論。 選舉後發生很嚴重的暴力,強暴, 以及有一千多人被殺。 我的工作是紀錄這個暴行。 我是攝影記者, 我照了幾千張相片。 兩個月後, 兩個政客見面、喝茶, 簽了一份和平協議書, 國家繼續向前走。
I was a very disturbed man because I saw the violence firsthand. 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.
我那時非常不安, 因為我親眼目睹那些暴行。 我看到人們被殺。 我看到人們流離失所。 我與曾被強暴的女人見面, 我覺得非常不安。 但是在這個國家裏沒人敢說話。 我們假裝。 我們都成為聰明的懦夫。 我們決定逃避麻煩, 不去談論它。
Ten months later, I quit my job. I said I could not stand it anymore. 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.
十個月後,我辭掉我的工作。 我說我再也無法忍受下去了。 辭職後,我決定組織我的朋友們, 談論這個國家的暴力, 來談論這個國家的狀態。 2009年6月1日是 我們本來要去體育場, 引起總統的注意的日子 那是一個國定假日。 消息已在國內傳播了, 我去了體育場。 我的朋友都沒有露面。 我獨自一人, 我不知如何是好。 我很害怕, 但我知道在那一天, 我必須決定。 我能夠像個懦夫一樣活著, 和其他人一樣, 還是我要表明我的的立場? 當總統站起來說話時, 我發現自己站起來, 對著總統大叫, 提醒他要記得選舉後的暴力犧牲者, 要制止貪腐。 突然,不知從哪裡出來, 像是飢餓的獅子,警察撲向我。 他們遮住我的嘴, 將我從體育場拖出來。 然後他們對我施以暴力, 再將我關進監牢。 我在監獄裡的寒冷的水泥地上過了一晚, 那使我開始想。 是什麼讓我覺得這樣呢? 我的朋友和家人都認為我的行為很瘋狂, 我照的相擾亂了我的生命。 我照的這些照片 對許多肯亞人來說只是一個數字。 大多數的肯亞人沒有目睹那些暴力行為。 對他們而言,只是一個故事。
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.
所以我決定在開始做街頭展覽。 展示國內的暴力相片, 來引起人們談論。 我們在過內各地展示這些相片, 那就是我成為活動家的開始, 因為我決定不再沈默, 開始要談論這些事。 我們到各地。我們從街頭展覽, 成為有關這個國家的狀況的政治繪圖, 談論有關貪腐,以及很壞的領導。 我們甚至舉行象徵性的葬禮。 我們將活豬送入肯亞的國會 作為我們的政客的貪婪的象徵。 這些在烏干達和其他國家都有人做過, 最有力的是有些影像被媒體採用, 在全國各地廣泛的傳播。
Where I used to stand up alone seven years ago, 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.
七年前我曾經獨自站立的地方, 現在我屬於許多和我志同道合的 團體的一份子。 當我站著談論這些事時, 我再也不是孤單一個人了。 我屬於一群熱愛這個國家的 年輕人的團體, 他們想要帶來改變, 他們不再害怕, 而且他們不再是聰明的懦夫。 這是我的故事。 那天在體育館, 我以一個聰明的懦夫站起來。 以那個行動,我告別了24年以來的 懦夫生活。
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)
你的生命中有兩天是最強而有力的: 你出生的那天, 和你發現生命的理由的那天。 在體育館對著總統大叫的那天, 我發現了我出生的真正理由, 就是面對不正義,我不會再沈默。 你知道你出生的理由嗎? 謝謝! (掌聲)
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?
湯姆.賴利:這是一個驚人的故事。 我想問你幾個問題。 所以,PAWA254 是你創立的一個工作室, 讓年輕人可以去那裏, 利用電子化媒體的力量 來做一些行動。 目前PAWA在做什麼?
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?
班尼菲斯.馬王吉: 我們有一個 電影製片人, 塗鴉藝術家,音樂家的團體。 當這個國家有一個問題, 我們會聚在一起,我們集思廣益, 然後對那個問題採取行動。 所以我們最強而有力的工具是藝術。 因為我們住在一個非常忙碌的世界, 人們在他們的生活裡非常忙碌, 他們沒有時間閱讀。 所以我們以藝術包裝我們的活動, 和我們的訊息。 所以用音樂,塗鴉,藝術, 那就是我們在做的。 班尼菲斯.馬王吉:我可以再說一件事嗎?
TR: Yeah, of course. (Applause)
湯姆.賴利: 當然可以。 (掌聲)
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.
班尼菲斯.馬王吉:除了被逮捕、 施暴、威脅、 我發現我的聲音, 我可以為我相信的站出來的那一刻, 我就不再害怕。 我曾被稱為軟仔, 但我不再是個軟仔。 因為我發現我是誰, 也就是我要做什麼, 而且在做那些事的那種美。 知道我生來就是注定要做這個, 沒有比那個更有力的了。 因為你不會害怕, 你只是繼續過你的日子。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)