Thank you so much. It's really scary to be here among the smartest of the smart.
Ju faleminderit shume. Eshte me te vertete e frikshme te jesh ketu ne mesin e njerezve me te mencur nga me te mencurit.
(Laughter)
Jam ketu per t'iu treguar disa tregime te pasionit.
I'm here to tell you a few tales of passion. There's a Jewish saying that I love: What is truer than truth? Answer: the story.
Ekziston nje thenie hebraike qe me pelqen shume. Cka eshte me e vertete se e verteta? Pergjigjia: Tregimi.
I'm a storyteller. I want to convey something that is truer than truth about our common humanity. All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up: justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues, freedom. I'm aware of the mystery around us, so I write about coincidences, premonitions, emotions, dreams, the power of nature, magic.
Une jam nje treguese historirash. Une deshiroj te percjelle dicka qe eshte me e vertete se e verteta ne lidhje me njerezimin tone te perbashket. Te gjitha historirat me interesojne, por disa me ngacmojne aq sa perfundoj duke i shkruar ato. Disa tema perseriten: drejtesia, besnikeria, dhuna, vdekja, ceshtjet politike e sociale, liria. Jam e vetedijshme per misterin qe na rrethon, keshtu qe shkruaj ne lidhje me rastesite, parandjenjat, ndjenjat, enderrat, fuqine e natyres, magjine.
In the last 20 years, I have published a few books, but I have lived in anonymity until February of 2006, when I carried the Olympic flag in the Winter Olympics in Italy. That made me a celebrity.
Ne 20 vitet e fundit kam publikuar disa libra, por kam jetuar ne anonimitet deri me shkurt 2006, kur kam bartur flamurin Olimpik ne lojerat dimerore Olimpike ne Itali. Kjo me beri te famshme. Tani njerezit me njohin te Macy's,
(Laughter)
Now people recognize me in Macy's, and my grandchildren think that I'm cool.
dhe niperit e mbesat e mia mendojne qe jam e vecante. (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
Me lejoni te iu tregoj per kater minutat e mi te fames.
Allow me to tell you about my four minutes of fame. One of the organizers of the Olympic ceremony, of the opening ceremony, called me and said that I had been selected to be one of the flag bearers. I replied that surely, this was a case of mistaken identity, because I'm as far as you can get from being an athlete. Actually, I wasn't even sure that I could go around the stadium without a walker.
Nje nga organizatoret e ceremonise se lojrave Olimpike, te ceremonise hapese, me telefonoi dhe me tha qe isha perzgjedhur te isha nje nga barteset e flamujve. Une u pergjigja duke thene qe ky ishte me siguri nje rast i ngaterrimit te identiteteve sepse une jam larg se qenit atlete. Ne fakt, as qe isha e sigurte qe do te mund te ecja perrreth stadiumit pa karroce ndihmese.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
I was told that this was no laughing matter. This would be the first time that only women would carry the Olympic flag. Five women, representing five continents, and three Olympic gold medal winners. My first question was, naturally: What was I going to wear?
Me thane qe kjo s'eshte nje gje per te qeshur. Kjo do te ishte hera e pare qe vetem femrat do te mbartnin flamurin Olimpik. Pese femra, duke perfaqesuar pese kontinente, dhe tre fitues Olimpik te medaljes se arte. Pyetja ime e pare natyrisht ishte, cfare do te vishja?
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
"A uniform," she said, and asked for my measurements. My measurements. I had a vision of myself in a fluffy anorak, looking like the Michelin Man.
Nje uniforme, me tha ajo, dhe me pyeti per madhesite trupore. Permasat e mia trupore. Imagjinova vetem me nje gezof me pendla, Me pamje te personazhit Michelin.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
By the middle of February, I found myself in Turin, where enthusiastic crowds cheered when any of the 80 Olympic teams was in the street. Those athletes had sacrificed everything to compete in the games. They all deserved to win, but there's the element of luck. A speck of snow, an inch of ice, the force of the wind can determine the result of a race or a game. However, what matters most, more than training or luck, is the heart. Only a fearless and determined heart will get the gold medal. It is all about passion. The streets of Turin were covered with red posters announcing the slogan of the Olympics: "Passion lives here." Isn't it always true?
Nga mesi i shkurtit, gjeta veten ne Torino, ku turmat entuziaste brohorisnin kurdo qe ndonjeri nga 80 ekipet Olimpike dilte ne parade. Ata atlete kishin flijuar cdo gje per te marre pjese ne ato lojera. Te gjithe meritonin te fitonin, por ishte edhe elementi i fatit. Nje fjolle bore, dy centimetra akulli, forca e eres, mund te percaktojne rezultatin e nje gare apo nje loje. Sidocofte, ajo qe ka rendesi me se shumti - me shume se trajnimi apo fati - eshte zemra. Vetem nje zemer e pa frike dhe e vendosur do te fitoje medaljen e arte. Pasioni eshte me i rendesishmi element. Rruget e Torinos ishin te mbuluara me postera te kuq qe shpallnin logon e Olimpiades. Pasioni jeton ketu. A nuk eshte kjo e vertete gjithhere? Zemra eshte ajo qe na udheheq dhe percakton fatin tone.
Heart is what drives us and determines our fate. That is what I need for my characters in my books: a passionate heart. I need mavericks, dissidents, adventurers, outsiders and rebels, who ask questions, bend the rules and take risks. People like all of you in this room. Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters.
Kjo eshte cka me duhet per personazhet e librave te mi: nje zemer plot pasion. Me duhen te cuditshmit, disidentet, aventurieret, te jashtmit dhe rebelet, ata qe bejne pyetje, qe perkulin rregullat dhe qe rrezikojne. Njerez si te gjithe ju qe ndodheni ketu. Njerezit e mire me njohuri te zakonshme nuk bejne per personazhe interesante.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
They only make good former spouses.
Ata jane vecse ish-bashkeshorte te mire.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
(Applause)
(Duartrokitje)
In the greenroom of the stadium, I met the other flag bearers: three athletes and the actresses Susan Sarandon and Sophia Loren. Also, two women with passionate hearts: Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Prize winner from Kenya who has planted 30 million trees, and by doing so, she has changed the soil, the weather, in some places in Africa, and of course, the economic conditions in many villages; and Somaly Mam, a Cambodian activist who fights passionately against child prostitution. When she was 14 years old, her grandfather sold her to a brothel. She told us of little girls raped by men who believe that having sex with a very young virgin will cure them from AIDS, and of brothels where children are forced to receive 15 clients per day, and if they rebel, they are tortured with electricity.
Ne dhomen e gjelbert te stadiumit, takova barteset tjera te flamujve: tri atlete, dhe aktoret Susan Sarandon dhe Sofia Loren. Gjithashtu, edhe dy gra me zemra pasionante. Wangari Maathai, fituesja e cmimit Nobel nga Kenia e cila ka mbjellur 30 milione peme. Dhe duke bere keshtu, ajo ka arritur te ndryshoje dheun, motin, ne disa vende ne Afrike, dhe gjithashtu kushtet ekonomike ne shume fshatra. Po ashtu Somaly Mam, nje aktiviste nga Kamboxha e cila lufton me pasion kunder prostitucionit te femijeve. Kur ajo ishte 14 vjec, gjyshi i saj e shiti tek nje shtepi publike. Ajo na tregoi per vajzat e reja qe ishin dhunuar nga burra te cilet mendonin qe po qe se benin seks me nje vajze shume te re, ata do te sherosheshin nga SIDA. Dhe po ashtu na tregoi per shtepi publike ku femijet detyrohen te pranojne pese, deri me 15 kliente per dite, dhe ku nese rebelohen, ato torturohen me rryme elektrike.
In the greenroom, I received my uniform. It was not the kind of outfit that I normally wear, but it was far from the Michelin Man suit that I had anticipated. Not bad, really. I looked like a refrigerator.
Ne dhomen e gjelbert une mora uniformen time. Nuk ishte lloji i rrobave qe une vesh zakonisht, por po ashtu ishte larg nga kostumi i personazhit Michelin te cilen po e prisja. Ne fakt, nuk ishin edhe aq keq. Une dukesha si nje frigorifer.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
But so did most of the flag bearers, except Sophia Loren, the universal symbol of beauty and passion. Sophia is over 70 and she looks great. She's sexy, slim and tall, with a deep tan. Now, how can you have a deep tan and have no wrinkles? I don't know. When asked in a TV interview how could she look so good, she replied, "Posture."
Por po ashtu dukeshin shumica e barteseve te flamujve, pervec Sofia Loren-it, simbolit universal te bukurise dhe pasionit. Sofia eshte mbi 70 vjece dhe duket shume bukur. Ajo eshte joshese, e holle dhe e gjate, e nxire nga dielli. Tani, si mund te jesh e nxire nga dielli dhe te mos kesh rrudha? Nuk e di. Kur e kane pyetur ne nje interviste televisioni, "Si mund te dukej kaq e bukur?" Ajo eshte pergjigjur, "Qendrimi. Shpina ime eshte gjithmone drejte,
(Laughter)
"My back is always straight, and I don't make old people's noises."
dhe une nuk i bej zhurmat e te moshuarve."
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
So there you have some free advice from one of the most beautiful women on earth: no grunting, no coughing, no wheezing, no talking to yourselves, no farting.
Keshtu, ja ku keni ca keshilla falas nga njera nga femrat me te bukura ne bote. Mos u kollit, mos gerrhit, mos flisni me veten, mos pordhni.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
Well, she didn't say that, exactly.
Ne fakt, ajo s'e tha kete fiks.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
At some point around midnight, we were summoned to the wings of the stadium, and the loudspeakers announced the Olympic flag, and the music started -- by the way, the same music that starts here, the "Aida" march. Sophia Loren was right in front of me. She's a foot taller than I am, not counting the poofy hair.
Ne nje pike afersisht rreth mesnates, na ftuan tek krahet e stadiumit, dhe me ane te makinave te zerimit paralajmeruan flamurin Olimpik, dhe muzika filloi -- meqe ra fjala, ishte e njejta muzike si ketu, pjesa muzikore Aida. Sofia Loren-i ishte perpara meje - ajo eshte rreth 30 cm me e gjate se une, duke mos llogaritur floket e saj.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
She walked elegantly, like a giraffe on the African savanna, holding the flag on her shoulder. I jogged behind --
Ajo ecte ne menyre elegante, si nje gjirafe ne savanat afrikane, duke bartur flamurin ne krahun e saj. Une vrapoja lehtas pas saj -- (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
-- ne maje te gishtave, duke bartur flamurin ne doren e zgjatur,
on my tiptoes, holding the flag on my extended arm, so that my head was actually under the damn flag.
ne menyre qe koka ime te ishte perfundi te mallkuarit flamur. (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
Te gjithe aparatet digjitale ishin, natyrisht, te fokusuar te Sofia Loren-i.
All the cameras were, of course, on Sophia. That was fortunate for me, because in most press photos, I appear too -- although, often between Sophia's legs --
Kjo gje ishte me fat per mua, ngaqe ne shumicen e fotografive te shtypit dukem edhe une, ndonese shpesh ne mes te kembeve te Sofia-s. (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
Vendi ku shumica e burrave do te deshironin te ishin.
a place where most men would love to be.
(Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
(Duartrokitje)
(Applause)
Kater minutat me te mire te te gjithe jetes sime
The best four minutes of my entire life were those in the Olympic stadium. My husband is offended when I say this, although I have explained to him that what we do in private usually takes less than four minutes --
ishin ato ne stadiumin Olimpik. Bashkeshorti im shpesh ofendohet kur une them kete -- ndonese ia kam shpjeguar se ato qe ne bejme ne ambient te mbyllur zakonisht marrin me pak se kater minuta --
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
so he shouldn't take it personally.
-- keshtu qe ai s'duhet ta marri personalisht.
(Laughter)
Kam gjithe ato copa te prera te shtypit nga ato kater minutat magjike,
I have all the press clippings of those four magnificent minutes because I don't want to forget them when old age destroys my brain cells. I want to carry in my heart forever the key word of the Olympics: passion.
sepse nuk deshiroj t'i harroj kur mosha te me kete shkaterruar qelizat e trurit. Deshiroj qe gjithmone ta bart ne zemer fjalen kyce te Olimpiades -- pasionin. Pra ja ku keni nje tregim pasioni.
So here's a tale of passion. The year is 1998, the place is a prison camp for Tutsi refugees in Congo. By the way, 80 percent of all refugees and displaced people in the world are women and girls. We can call this place in Congo a death camp, because those who are not killed will die of disease or starvation. The protagonists of this story are a young woman, Rose Mapendo, and her children. She's pregnant and a widow. Soldiers had forced her to watch as her husband was tortured and killed. Somehow she manages to keep her seven children alive, and a few months later, she gives birth to premature twins, two tiny little boys. She cuts the umbilical cord with a stick and ties it with her own hair. She names the twins after the camp's commanders to gain their favor, and feeds them with black tea because her milk cannot sustain them. When the soldiers burst in her cell to rape her oldest daughter, she grabs hold of her and refuses to let go, even when they hold a gun to her head. Somehow, the family survives for 16 months, and then, by extraordinary luck and the passionate heart of a young American man, Sasha Chanoff, who manages to put her in a US rescue plane, Rose Mapendo and her nine children end up in Phoenix, Arizona, where they're now living and thriving.
Eshte viti 1998, vendi eshte nje kamp burgu per refugjatet Tutsi ne Kongo. Meqe ra fjala, 80 perqind e te gjithe refugjateve dhe njerezve te zhvendosur ne bote jane gra dhe vajza. Ne mund ta quajme kete vend ne Kongo nje kamp vdekjeje, sepse ata qe nuk vriten vdesin nga semundja ose uria. Protagonistet e kesaj historie jane nje grua e re, Rose Mapendo, dhe femijet e saj. Ajo eshte shtatzene dhe e ve. Ushtaret e kane sforcuar ate te shikoje perderisa bashkeshorti i eshte torturuar dhe vrare. Disi ajo ia ka dale mbane te mbaje gjalle te shtate femijet e saj, dhe pas disa muajsh, ajo ka lindur parakohe dy binjake. Dy djeme fare te vegjel. Ajo ka prere kordonin e kerthizes me nje shkop, dhe e ka lidhur me floket e saj. Ajo i ka vene binjakeve emrat e komandanteve te kampit per te gjetur hir te ata, dhe i ka ushqyer femijet me qaj te zi ngaqe qumeshti i saj nuk mund t'i mbante te gjalle. Kur ushtaret futen ne qeline e saj per te dhunuar vajzen e saj te madhe, ajo e kap vajzen e saj dhe refuzon ta leshoje, edhe atehere kur ushtaret i kane vendosur armen ne koke. Disi, familja ka mbijetuar per 16 muaj, dhe me pas, me fat te jashtezakonshem, dhe me zemren pasionante te nje burri te ri Amerikan, Sasha Chanoff, i cili ka arritur ta vendose ate ne nje aeroplan shpetimi te SHBAve, Rose Mapendo dhe te nente femijet e saj kane arritur ne Phoenix te shtetit Arizona, ku tani ata jetojne dhe arrijne suksese.
"Mapendo," in Swahili, means "great love." The protagonists of my books are strong and passionate women like Rose Mapendo. I don't make them up; there's no need for that. I look around, and I see them everywhere. I have worked with women and for women all my life. I know them well. I was born in ancient times, at the end of the world, in a patriarchal Catholic and conservative family. No wonder that by age five, I was a raging feminist -- although the term had not reached Chile yet, so nobody knew what the heck was wrong with me.
Mapendo, ne gjuhen Suahili, nenkupton dashuri te madhe. Protagonistet e librave te mi jane gra te forta dhe pasionante sikurse Rose Mapendo. Une nuk i shpik. Nuk kam nevoje te bej kete. Une shikoj perrreth dhe i shoh cdokund. Une kam punuar me gra dhe per gra gjate gjithe jetes sime. Une i njoh mire ato. Une kam lindur ne kohera te lashta, ne fund te botes, ne nje familje patriarkale dhe konservative katolike. Prandaj nuk eshte cudi qe qysh ne moshen pese vjecare kam qene nje feministe e ndezur -- ndonese kjo fjale s'kishte arritur ende ne Kili, keshtu qe askush nuk e dinte se c'dreqin s'ishte ne rregull me mua.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
I would soon find out that there was a high price to pay for my freedom and for questioning the patriarchy. But I was happy to pay it, because for every blow that I received, I was able to deliver two.
Shpejte e kam zbuluar se me duhej te paguaja nje cmim te larte per lirine time, si dhe per venien te pyetje te patriarkalizmit. Por une isha e gezuar te mund ta paguaja kete cmim, ngaqe per secilen goditje qe mirrja, mund t'i jipja dy. (Te qeshura)
(Laughter)
Once, when my daughter Paula was in her twenties, she said to me that feminism was dated, that I should move on. We had a memorable fight. Feminism is dated? Yes, for privileged women like my daughter and all of us here today, but not for most of our sisters in the rest of the world, who are still forced into premature marriage, prostitution, forced labor. They have children that they don't want or they cannot feed. They have no control over their bodies or their lives. They have no education and no freedom. They are raped, beaten up and sometimes killed with impunity. For most Western young women of today, being called a "feminist" is an insult. Feminism has never been sexy, but let me assure you that it never stopped me from flirting, and I have seldom suffered from lack of men.
Njehere, kur vajza ime Paula ishte ne te njezetat, ajo me tha mua qe feminizmit i kishte kaluar koha, qe mua me duhej ta tejkaloja kete. Patem nje zenke per t'u mbajtur ne mend. Feminizmit i kishte kaluar koha? Po, per femra te privilegjuara si puna e vajzes sime dhe te gjitha neve ketu, por jo per shumicen e motrave tona ne pjesen tjeter te botes te cilat ende detyrohen te martohen para kohe, sforcohen ne prostitucion, pune te dhunshme -- te bejne femije te cilet ato nuk i duan ose nuk mund t'i ushqejne. Ato nuk kane pushtet mbi trupat e tyre, mbi jetet e tyre. Ato nuk jane shkolluar dhe nuk kane liri. Ato jane dhunuar, goditur dhe ndonjehere vrare pa ndeshkim per vraresit, Per shumicen e femrave te reja perendimore sot, te quhesh feministe eshte nje fyerje. Feminizmi asnjehere s'ka qene nje gje atraktive, por me lejoni te iu siguroj qe kjo s'me nga ndaluar asnjehere qe te flirtoj, dhe une rralle kam vuajtur nga mungesa e meshkujve.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
Feminism is not dead, by no means. It has evolved. If you don't like the term, change it, for Goddess' sake. Call it "Aphrodite" or "Venus" or "bimbo" or whatever you want. The name doesn't matter, as long as we understand what it is about, and we support it.
Feminizmi nuk ka vdekur, fare. Vetem ka evoluar. Nese nuk iu pelqen fjala, atehere nderrojeni, per hir te Zotit. Quajeni Aferdite, ose Venere, ose bimbo, ose si te doni, emri nuk ka rendesi, perderisa ne e dime se per cfare eshte fjala, dhe perderisa e mbeshtesim. Tani nje tregim tjeter pasioni, por ky eshte nje tregim i trishtuar.
So here's another tale of passion, and this is a sad one. The place is a small women's clinic in a village in Bangladesh. The year is 2005. Jenny is a young American dental hygienist who has gone to the clinic as a volunteer during her three-week vacation. She's prepared to clean teeth, but when she gets there, she finds out that there are no doctors, no dentists, and the clinic is just a hut full of flies. Outside, there is a line of women who have waited several hours to be treated. The first patient is in excruciating pain because she has several rotten molars. Jenny realizes that the only solution is to pull out the bad teeth. She's not licensed for that; she has never done it. She risks a lot and she's terrified. She doesn't even have the proper instruments, but fortunately, she has brought some novocaine. Jenny has a brave and passionate heart. She murmurs a prayer and she goes ahead with the operation. At the end, the relieved patient kisses her hands. That day the hygienist pulls out many more teeth.
Vendi eshte nje klinike e vogel per femra ne nje fshat ne Bangladesh. Eshte viti 2005. Xheni eshte nje higjieniste dentare amerikane e re e cila ka shkuar ne klinike si punetore vullnetare gjate tri javeve te saj te pushimit. Ajo eshte e pergatitur te pastroje dhembe, por kur ajo arrin atje, ajo zbulon se aty nuk kishte mjeke, nuk kishte as dentiste, dhe qe klinika ishte thjeshte nje kasolle e mbushur me miza. Jashte kishte nje rresht me femra te cilat kishin pritur per disa ore per t'u trajtuar. Pacientja e pare kishte dhimbte torturuese ngaqe kishte disa dhembe te kalbur. Xheni kupton qe zgjidhja e vetme eshte te hiqen dhembet e keqinj. Por ajo nuk ishte e licencuar per ate pune, ajo kurre nuk kishte bere nje gje te tille. Ajo rrezikoi shume dhe ishte shume e frikesuar. Ajo bile nuk kishte as instrumentet e duhura, por fatmiresisht ajo kishte sjellur me vete ca Novokaine (mpires). Xheni ka nje zemer guximtare dhe pasionante. Ajo kishte pershperitur nje lutje dhe kishte vazhduar me operacionin. Ne fund, pacientia e cliruar kishte puthur duart e saj. Te njejten dite, higjienistja kishte hequr edhe shume dhembe te tjere.
The next morning, when she comes again to the so-called clinic, her first patient is waiting for her with her husband. The woman's face looks like a watermelon. It is so swollen that you can't even see the eyes. The husband, furious, threatens to kill the American. Jenny is horrified at what she has done. But then, the translator explains that the patient's condition has nothing to do with the operation. The day before, her husband beat her up because she was not home in time to prepare dinner for him.
Mengjesin tjeter, kur ajo kishte ardhur prape ne te ashtu-quajturen klinike, pacientia e pare bashke me te shoqin kishin qene duke e pritur ate. Fytyra e asaj gruaje ishte dukur si nje shalqi. Ishte aq e fryre sa nuk mund te vereheshin as syte e saj. I shoqi, tejmase i hidheruar, ishte kercenuar te vriste amerikanen. Xheni ishte tronditur nga ajo qe kishte bere, por me pas, perkthyesi kishte shpjeguar qe gjendja e pacientes nuk kishte asgje te bente me operacionin. Nje dite me pare, i shoqi i saj e kishte goditur ngaqe ajo s'kishte arritur ne shtepi ne kohe per te pergatitur darke per te.
Millions of women live like this today. They are the poorest of the poor. Although women do two-thirds of the world's labor, they own less than one percent of the world's assets. They are paid less than men for the same work, if they're paid at all, and they remain vulnerable because they have no economic independence, and they are constantly threatened by exploitation, violence and abuse. It is a fact that giving women education, work, the ability to control their own income, inherit and own property benefits the society. If a woman is empowered, her children and her family will be better off. If families prosper, the village prospers, and eventually, so does the whole country.
Miliona femra jetojne ne kete menyre tani. Ato jane me te varferat e me te varferve. Ndonese femrat bejne dy te tretat e punes ne bote, ato jane pronare te me pak se nje perqind te pasurise ne bote. Ato paguhen me pak se meshkujt per te kryer te njejten pune nese paguhen edhe pak, ato mbesin te pambrojtura ngaqe nuk kane pavaresi ekonomike, dhe ne menyre konstante ato kercenohen me shfrytezim, dhune dhe abuzim. Eshte fakt qe po t'u japesh femrave shkollim, pune, mundesine per te kontrolluar te ardhurat e tyre financiare, per te trasheguar dhe per te zoteruar prone, do te ishte perfitim per shoqerine. Nese nje femer fuqizohet, femijet edhe familja e saj do te jene ne nje pozite me te mire. Nese familja lulezon, edhe fshati lulezon, dhe heret a vone i gjithe vendi lulezon.
Wangari Maathai goes to a village in Kenya. She talks with the women and explains that the land is barren because they have cut and sold the trees. She gets the women to plant new trees and water them, drop by drop. In a matter of five or six years, they have a forest, the soil is enriched, and the village is saved.
Wangari Maathai shkon ne nje fshat ne Kenia. Ajo flet me femrat, dhe u shpjegon qe dheu eshte shterpe ngaqe ato i kane prere dhe shitur drunjet. Ajo i ben femrat qe te mbjellin peme te reja dhe t'i ujisin ato, pike per pike. Brenda pese apo gjashte vitesh, ato kane nje pyll, dheu eshte pasuruar, fshati eshte shpetuar.
The poorest and most backward societies are always those that put women down. Yet this obvious truth is ignored by governments and also by philanthropy. For every dollar given to a women's program, 20 dollars are given to men's programs. Women are 51 percent of humankind. Empowering them will change everything, more than technology and design and entertainment. I can promise you that women working together -- linked, informed and educated -- can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet. In any war today, most of the casualties are civilians, mainly women and children. They are collateral damage. Men run the world, and look at the mess we have. What kind of world do we want? This is a fundamental question that most of us are asking. Does it make sense to participate in the existing world order? We want a world where life is preserved and the quality of life is enriched for everybody, not only for the privileged.
Shoqerite me te varfura dhe me te prapambetura jane gjithhere ato qe vene femren poshte. Dhe kjo e vertete e qarte injorohet nga qeverite, e po ashtu nga filantropet. Per cdo dollare qe i dedikohet per programe qe u perkushtohen femrave, 20 dollare jepen per programe per meshkuj. Femrat perbejne 51 perqind te njerezimit. Te fuqizohen ato do te ndryshonte gjithcka -- me shume se tekonologjia dhe dizajni dhe argetimi. Mund te iu premtoj qe femrat duke punuar se bashku -- te lidhura, te informuara dhe te shkolluara -- mund te sjellin paqe dhe lulezim ne kete planet te braktisur. Ne cilendo lufte sot, shumica e fatkeqesive u ndodhin civileve, me se shumti femrave dhe femijeve. Ato jane demet anesore. Burrat e udheheqin boten, dhe shikoni lemshin qe kemi. Cfare lloj bote duam? Kjo eshte nje pyetje baze te cilen shumica nga ne po e shtrojme. A ka kuptim te marrim pjese ne rendin boteror ekzistues? Ne duam nje bote ku jeta ruhet, dhe cilesia e jetes pasurohet per secilin, jo vetem per te privilegjuarit.
In January, I saw an exhibit of Fernando Botero's paintings at the UC Berkeley library. No museum or gallery in the United States, except for the New York gallery that carries Botero's work, has dared to show the paintings, because the theme is the Abu Ghraib prison. They are huge paintings of torture and abuse of power, in the voluminous Botero style. I have not been able to get those images out of my mind or my heart.
Ne janar pashe nje ekspozite te pikturave te Fernando Botero-s ne bibloteken e Universitetit te Kalifornise ne Berkli. Asnje muzeum apo galeri artesh ne Shtetet e Bashkuara, pervec galerise se New York-ut qe mban punen e Botero's, nuk ka guxuar te shfaqe pikturat per shkak qe tema ishte burgu Abu Ghraib. Ato jane piktura te medha qe shfaqin torturen dhe shperdorimin e fuqise, ne stilin voluminoz Botero. Nuk kam qene ne gjendje t'i heq nga mendja ato imazhe as nga zemra.
What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse. In our species, the alpha males define reality, and force the rest of the pack to accept that reality and follow the rules. The rules change all the time, but they always benefit them, and in this case, the trickle-down effect, which does not work in economics, works perfectly. Abuse trickles down from the top of the ladder to the bottom. Women and children, especially the poor, are at the bottom. Even the most destitute of men have someone they can abuse -- a woman or a child. I'm fed up with the power that a few exert over the many through gender, income, race and class.
Asaj qe i frikesohem me se shumti eshte pushtetit te shoqeruar me mos-ndeshkim. Une i frikesohem shperdorimit te pushtetit, si dhe pushtetit per te shperdoruar. Ne llojin tone, mashkulli alfa perkufizon realitetin, dhe sforcon pjesen tjeter te qenieve te pranojne ate realitet dhe te ndjekin rregullat. Rregullat ndryshojne gjate gjithe kohes, por ata gjithmone iu pershtaten atyre, dhe ne kete rast, efekti i rrjedhjes te poshte, i cili nuk funksionon ne teorine ekonomike, funksionon ketu ne menyre te persosur. Shperdorimi rrjedh te poshte nga larte shkalleve e te poshte ne fund. Femrat dhe femijet, vecanerisht te varferit, jane ne fund. Edhe meshkujt me te varfer kane dike qe mund te keqtrajtojne -- nje femer ose nje femije. Une jam ngopur nga fuqia qe disa e ushtrojne mbi shumicen permes gjinise, te ardhurave, races, dhe klases shoqerore.
I think that the time is ripe to make fundamental changes in our civilization. But for real change, we need feminine energy in the management of the world. We need a critical number of women in positions of power, and we need to nurture the feminine energy in men. I'm talking about men with young minds, of course. Old guys are hopeless; we have to wait for them to die off.
Mendoj qe koha eshte pjekur per te bere keto ndryshime rrenjesore ne qyteterimin tone. Por per ndryshime te verteta, ne na duhet energjia femerore ne menagjimin e botes. Neve na duhet nje numer vendimtar i femrave ne pozicione vendimmarrese, dhe na duhet te iu ushqejme energjine femerore meshkujve. Une po flas per meshkuj me mendje te re, normalisht. Per meshkujt e moshuar nuk ka shprese, duhet te presim deri sa ata te vdesin.
(Laughter)
(Te qeshura)
Yes, I would love to have Sophia Loren's long legs and legendary breasts. But given a choice, I would rather have the warrior hearts of Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam, Jenny, and Rose Mapendo. I want to make this world good. Not better -- but to make it good. Why not? It is possible. Look around in this room -- all this knowledge, energy, talent and technology. Let's get off our fannies, roll up our sleeves and get to work, passionately, in creating an almost-perfect world.
Po, do te me pelqente te kisha kembet e gjata te Sofia Loren-it dhe gjinje legjendare. Por po te mund te zgjidhja, une me shume do te doja te kisha nje zemer luftarake si ajo e Wangari Maathai, Somaly Mam, Xhenit, dhe Rose Mapendo-s. Une dua ta bej kete bote te mire. Jo me te mire se qe eshte, por ta bej te mire. Pse jo? Eshte e mundur. Shikoni perrreth ne kete dhome -- gjithe kjo njohuri, energji, talent, dhe teknologji. Le te ngreme prapanicen, te ngreme menget dhe te fillojme punen, me pasion, ne krijimin e nje bote pothuajse te persosur.
Thank you.
Ju faleminderit.
(Applause and cheers)