I could never have imagined that a 19-year-old suicide bomber would actually teach me a valuable lesson. But he did. He taught me to never presume anything about anyone you don't know.
我永远都不会想象到 一个19岁的自杀式炸弹袭击者 会给我上了珍贵的一堂课 但这就是事实 他教会了我,永远不要对陌生人 先入为主地妄下结论
On a Thursday morning in July 2005, the bomber and I, unknowingly, boarded the same train carriage at the same time, standing, apparently, just feet apart. I didn't see him. Actually, I didn't see anyone. You know not to look at anyone on the Tube, but I guess he saw me. I guess he looked at all of us, as his hand hovered over the detonation switch. I've often wondered: What was he thinking? Especially in those final seconds.
那是2005年7月,一个周四早晨 我并不知道 自己与这位袭击者同时 上了同一节地铁车厢, 我们站得很近,也就几英尺远 我没注意他 实际上,我没有注意任何人 人们在地铁上一般不会注意任何人 但我想他看见我了 我想当时他正看着我们所有人 手在炸弹开关上犹豫不定地徘徊 之后我经常在想: 他当时在想些什么? 尤其在(爆炸前)最后几秒
I know it wasn't personal. He didn't set out to kill or maim me, Gill Hicks. I mean -- he didn't know me. No. Instead, he gave me an unwarranted and an unwanted label. I had become the enemy. To him, I was the "other," the "them," as opposed to "us." The label "enemy" allowed him to dehumanize us. It allowed him to push that button. And he wasn't selective. Twenty-six precious lives were taken in my carriage alone, and I was almost one of them.
我知道他并不是针对我的 他并不是要去杀掉 或伤害我——吉尔•希克斯 因为他根本就不认识我 不认识 反之,他给我贴了一个 莫须有的,可怕的标签 我成了敌人 于他而言,我只算是“别人” 与“我们”不同的“他们” 这个“敌人”的标签允许他 把我们全都非人化 也允许了他去按下那个按钮 我们并不是某个特定的目标 仅仅是我所在的那一个车厢, 26个宝贵的生命消逝了 我也几乎成为了其中的一员
In the time it takes to draw a breath, we were plunged into a darkness so immense that it was almost tangible; what I imagine wading through tar might be like. We didn't know we were the enemy. We were just a bunch of commuters who, minutes earlier, had followed the Tube etiquette: no direct eye contact, no talking and absolutely no conversation.
在一个深呼吸所需的瞬间 我们坠入了一片无边无际的黑暗 那黑暗几乎触手可及 或许蹚过柏油的感觉也不过如此 我们不知道我们被划成了“敌人” 我们只是一群上班族,几分钟前 甚至还在遵守地铁乘客礼仪 不跟别人有直接的眼神接触 不讲话 当然也没有任何交谈
But in the lifting of the darkness, we were reaching out. We were helping each other. We were calling out our names, a little bit like a roll call, waiting for responses.
但在那一片黑暗之中 我们伸出了手 我们在帮助彼此 我们叫出了各自的姓名 有点像点名那样 等待着应答
"I'm Gill. I'm here. I'm alive. OK."
“我是吉尔。我在这儿。 我还活着 (对方)好的。”
"I'm Gill. Here. Alive. OK."
“我是吉尔。 在这儿。 还活着。 (对方)好。”
I didn't know Alison. But I listened for her check-ins every few minutes. I didn't know Richard. But it mattered to me that he survived.
我不认识艾莉森 但我每隔几分钟 就期待着她的报到 我也不认识理查德 但他活下来了,这对我意义重大
All I shared with them was my first name. They didn't know that I was a head of a department at the Design Council. And here is my beloved briefcase, also rescued from that morning. They didn't know that I published architecture and design journals, that I was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, that I wore black -- still do -- that I smoked cigarillos. I don't smoke cigarillos anymore. I drank gin and I watched TED Talks, of course, never dreaming that one day I would be standing, balancing on prosthetic legs, giving a talk.
我和他们分享的所有 仅仅是我的名字而已(并不是全名) 他们不知道 我是英国设计理事会的 一个部门主管 我带着我心爱的行李箱 那天早上它也被解救了出来 他们不知道我出版了 建筑设计的期刊 也不知道我是 皇家艺术协会的会员 不知道我穿的是黑衣服—— 现在也穿着—— 他们不知道我抽雪茄 现在已经不抽了 我喝杜松子酒,看TED演讲 当然,当时我也不敢想象 我有一天也会站在这儿 用义肢保持着平衡 发表演讲
I was a young Australian woman doing extraordinary things in London. And I wasn't ready for that all to end. I was so determined to survive that I used my scarf to tie tourniquets around the tops of my legs, and I just shut everything and everyone out, to focus, to listen to myself, to be guided by instinct alone. I lowered my breathing rate. I elevated my thighs. I held myself upright and I fought the urge to close my eyes.
我是个年轻的澳大利亚女人, 在伦敦做着不可思议的工作 我还没准备好结束那一切 我迫切地想要活下来 我用围巾充当止血带, 把它缠绕在大腿上 我把所有人,所有事都给屏蔽掉了 只是专注地倾听自己 只接受本能的引导 我放慢呼吸速度 把腿抬起来 我直起身 尽全力不闭上眼
I held on for almost an hour, an hour to contemplate the whole of my life up until this point. Perhaps I should have done more. Perhaps I could have lived more, seen more. Maybe I should have gone running, dancing, taken up yoga. But my priority and my focus was always my work. I lived to work. Who I was on my business card mattered to me. But it didn't matter down in that tunnel.
我坚持了几乎一小时 用这一个小时来思考了到那天为止的 一整个人生 也许我本应该做更多的事 或许我本可以 经历更多事,开拓更多的视野 也许我早就该去跑步,跳舞,练瑜伽 但我的焦点和重心 永远是我的工作 我活着就是为了工作 在名片上我是什么样的 这对我很重要 但在那个地铁隧道里 这一切都不重要了
By the time I felt that first touch from one of my rescuers, I was unable to speak, unable to say even a small word, like "Gill." I surrendered my body to them. I had done all I possibly could, and now I was in their hands.
当我感觉到来自一个搜救员的 第一次触碰时 我什么都说不出来 甚至说不出来 一个小小的单词,比如“吉尔” 我把我自己交给了他们 我做了一切能做的 此刻我把自己的生命交给了他们
I understood just who and what humanity really is, when I first saw the ID tag that was given to me when I was admitted to hospital. And it read: "One unknown estimated female." One unknown estimated female. Those four words were my gift. What they told me very clearly was that my life was saved, purely because I was a human being. Difference of any kind made no difference to the extraordinary lengths that the rescuers were prepared to go to save my life, to save as many unknowns as they could, and putting their own lives at risk. To them, it didn't matter if I was rich or poor, the color of my skin, whether I was male or female, my sexual orientation, who I voted for, whether I was educated, if I had a faith or no faith at all. Nothing mattered other than I was a precious human life.
当我被送进医院时 有个身份标签一直伴随着我 当我第一次看见那个标签时 我理解了到底什么是真正的人性 那上面写着: “一个身份不明的女性" 一个身份不明的女性 这些词是赠予我的礼物 它们清楚地告诉了我 我的生命被挽救 仅仅是因为我是个人 人与人之间没有任何差别 救援人员为了救我的命 为了救更多的人 他们准备好迎接超乎寻常的跋涉 将自己的生命置于危险之中 对他们来说,我富有或是贫穷 我皮肤的颜色 我是男是女 我的性取向 为谁投了票 我是否受过教育 我是否有信仰,这些都不重要 什么都不重要 除了,我代表着一个珍贵的生命
I see myself as a living fact. I am proof that unconditional love and respect can not only save, but it can transform lives. Here is a wonderful image of one of my rescuers, Andy, and I taken just last year. Ten years after the event, and here we are, arm in arm.
我见证了自己作为一个生命体 我的亲身经历证明了 无条件的爱与尊重 不只能拯救生命 更能改变生命 这是一张去年拍摄的让我印象深刻的照片, 是救助我的人之一, 安迪,还有我 事件发生十年后 我们仍在这儿,肩并肩
Throughout all the chaos, my hand was held tightly. My face was stroked gently. What did I feel? I felt loved. What's shielded me from hatred and wanting retribution, what's given me the courage to say: this ends with me is love. I was loved.
穿过那一切的混乱 我的手被紧握着 我的脸被轻抚 我感受到了什么? 我感到被爱着 是什么让我放弃仇恨,放弃复仇 给予我勇气说出: 最终我得到的 只有爱 我被爱着
I believe the potential for widespread positive change is absolutely enormous because I know what we're capable of. I know the brilliance of humanity. So this leaves me with some pretty big things to ponder and some questions for us all to consider: Is what unites us not far greater than what can ever divide? Does it have to take a tragedy or a disaster for us to feel deeply connected as one species, as human beings? And when will we embrace the wisdom of our era to rise above mere tolerance and move to an acceptance for all who are only a label until we know them?
我相信,正能量的传播潜力 是巨大的 因为我知道我们能做什么 我了解人类的智慧 这给了我一些需要思考的东西 以及一些我们都应反思的问题: 我们大家团结在一起的力量 难道不比能摧毁我们的大许多吗? 是不是只有在悲剧或灾难中 我们才能感到彼此间 作为同一个物种,作为人的 那种惺惺相惜? 我们何时才能拥抱 属于我们这个时代的智慧 何时才能超越单纯的宽容 从而升华至一种接受 去接受那些在我们了解他们之前, 都还仅仅是一个标签的人?
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
(Applause)
(掌声)