I was basically concerned about what was going on in the world. I couldn't understand the starvation, the destruction, the killing of innocent people. Making sense of those things is a very difficult thing to do. And when I was 12, I became an actor. I was bottom of the class. I haven't got any qualifications. I was told I was dyslexic. In fact, I have got qualifications. I got a D in pottery, which was the one thing that I did get -- which was useful, obviously. And so concern is where all of this comes from. And then, being an actor, I was doing these different kinds of things, and I felt the content of the work that I was involved in really wasn't cutting it, that there surely had to be more.
Bio sam stvarno zabrinut stvarima koje su se događale u svijetu. Nisam mogao razumjeti glad, uništavanje, ubijanje nevinih ljudi. Razumjeti te stvari vrlo je teško. Kada sam imao 12 godina, postao sam glumac. Bio sam najgori u razredu. Nisam imao nikakve kvalifikacije. Rekli su mi da imam disleksiju. U stvari, imao sam kvalifikacije. Imao sam 2 iz lončarstva, jedine stvari koja mi je dobro išla a to mi je, očigledno, bilo korisno. I tako je zabrinutost zapravo razlog svega ovoga. A tada sam, kao glumac, činio raznovrsne stvari i osjećao zadovoljstvo radom u koji sam bio uključen, no to nije bilo to, sigurno se moglo više učiniti.
And at that point, I read a book by Frank Barnaby, this wonderful nuclear physicist, and he said that media had a responsibility, that all sectors of society had a responsibility to try and progress things and move things forward. And that fascinated me, because I'd been messing around with a camera most of my life. And then I thought, well maybe I could do something. Maybe I could become a filmmaker. Maybe I can use the form of film constructively to in some way make a difference. Maybe there's a little change I can get involved in. So I started thinking about peace, and I was obviously, as I said to you, very much moved by these images, trying to make sense of that. Could I go and speak to older and wiser people who would tell me how they made sense of the things that are going on? Because it's obviously incredibly frightening.
Baš tada, pročitao sam knjigu Franka Barnabya, izvanrednog nuklearnog fizičara, koji je rekao da mediji imaju odgovornost, da svi dijelovi društva imaju odgovornost da trudom i napretkom pomiču stvari prema naprijed. I to me fasciniralo, zato što sam se većinu života igrao s kamerom. I tada sam pomislio, možda bih i ja mogao nešto učiniti. Možda bih mogao režirati filmove. Možda mogu konstruktivno iskoristiti formu filma i na neki način donijeti promjenu. Možda postoji mala promjena u koju se mogu uključiti. I tako sam počeo razmišljati o miru, i bio sam očito, kao što sam vam rekao, vrlo potresen ovim slikama, pokušavajući ih razumjeti. Jesam li trebao ići kod starih i mudrih ljudi koji bi mi rekli kako razumjeti stvari koje su se događale? A to je, očigledno, bilo nevjerojatno zastrašujuće.
But I realized that, having been messing around with structure as an actor, that a series of sound bites in itself wasn't enough, that there needed to be a mountain to climb, there needed to be a journey that I had to take. And if I took that journey, no matter whether it failed or succeeded, it would be completely irrelevant. The point was that I would have something to hook the questions of -- is humankind fundamentally evil? Is the destruction of the world inevitable? Should I have children? Is that a responsible thing to do? Etc., etc.
Ali tada sam shvatio da, zabavljajući se sa strukturom filma kao glumac, niz od nekoliko šokantnih riječi neće biti dovoljan, te da će provedba projekta biti vrlo teška, da ću morati ići određenim putem. Ali odlučio sam probati, pa bilo to uspješno ili ne, bit će zapravo potpuno nebitno. Poanta je bila da imam nešto na čemu mogu temeljiti pitanja - je li čovječanstvo u svojoj biti zlo? Je li uništenje svijeta neizbježno? Trebam li imati djecu? Je li to odgovorno ponašanje? Itd., itd.
So I was thinking about peace, and then I was thinking, well where's the starting point for peace? And that was when I had the idea. There was no starting point for peace. There was no day of global unity. There was no day of intercultural cooperation. There was no day when humanity came together, separate in all of those things and just shared it together -- that we're in this together, and that if we united and we interculturally cooperated, then that might be the key to humanity's survival. That might shift the level of consciousness around the fundamental issues that humanity faces -- if we did it just for a day.
I tako sam razmišljao o miru, i pomislio, gdje je ishodište mira? I upravo mi je tada sinula ideja. Ne postoji ishodište mira. Ne postoji dan globalnog ujedinjenja. Ne postoji dan međukulturalne suradnje. Ne postoji dan kada će se čovječanstvo ujediniti u različitim stvarima i međusobno ih dijeliti, i shvatiti da ovo zajedno činimo, te da bi, ako se ujedinimo i međukulturalno surađujemo, baš u tome mogli pronaći ključ ljudskog preživljenja. To bi možda moglo pomaknuti razinu svijesti s obzirom na temeljne probleme s kojima je čovječanstvo suočeno, ako to učinimo samo na jedan dan.
So obviously we didn't have any money. I was living at my mom's place. And we started writing letters to everybody. You very quickly work out what is it that you've got to do to fathom that out. How do you create a day voted by every single head of state in the world to create the first ever Ceasefire Nonviolence Day, the 21st of September? And I wanted it to be the 21st of September because it was my granddad's favorite number. He was a prisoner of war. He saw the bomb go off at Nagasaki. It poisoned his blood. He died when I was 11. So he was like my hero. And the reason why 21 was the number is 700 men left, 23 came back, two died on the boat and 21 hit the ground. And that's why we wanted it to be the 21st of September as the date of peace.
No, očigledno, uopće nismo imali novca. Živio sam kod mame. Počeli smo svima slati pisma. Dosta brzo shvatiš što moraš učiniti kako bi to riješio. Kako osmisliti dan koji bi podržali sve vođe svih država svijeta kako bismo stvorili prvi Dan primirja i nenasilja, i to 21. rujna? A želio sam da to bude 21. rujna jer je to bio najdraži broj moga djeda. On je bio ratni zatočenik. Svjedočio je eksploziji bombe u Nagasakiju. To mu je otrovalo krv. Umro je kada sam imao 11 godina. Bio je moj heroj. A razlog zašto je izabran 21. rujna je taj što je 700 muškaraca otišlo, 23 se vratilo, dva su umrla na brodu, a 21 je došao kući. I to je razlog zašto smo željeli da 21. rujna bude datum mira.
So we began this journey, and we launched it in 1999. And we wrote to heads of state, their ambassadors, Nobel Peace laureates, NGOs, faiths, various organizations -- literally wrote to everybody. And very quickly, some letters started coming back. And we started to build this case. And I remember the first letter. One of the first letters was from the Dalai Lama. And of course we didn't have the money; we were playing guitars and getting the money for the stamps that we were sending out all of [this mail]. A letter came through from the Dalai Lama saying, "This is an amazing thing. Come and see me. I'd love to talk to you about the first ever day of peace." And we didn't have money for the flight. And I rang Sir Bob Ayling, who was CEO of BA at the time, and said, "Mate, we've got this invitation. Could you give me a flight? Because we're going to go see him." And of course, we went and saw him and it was amazing. And then Dr. Oscar Arias came forward.
I tako smo krenuli na naše putovanje, i započeli projekt 1999. godine. Pisali smo vođama država, njihovim veleposlanicima, dobitnicima Nobelove nagrade za mir, nevladinim organizacijama, klericima, raznim organizacijama - doslovno, pisali smo svakome. I ubrzo, pisma s odgovorima su počela dolaziti. I tako smo počeli graditi naš projekt. Sjećam se prvog pisma. Jedno od prvih pisama je bilo ono od Dalai Lame. Naravno, nismo imali novca; svirali smo gitare i zarađivali novac za poštanske marke koje smo slali na pismima. U pismu od Dalai Lame je pisalo: "Ovo je nevjerojatna stvar. Dođite i posjetite me. Želio bih s vama razgovarati o prvom danu mira ikad." Nismo imali novca za let. Nazvao sam Sir Boba Aylinga koji je u to vrijeme bio izvršni direktor British Airwaysa, i rekao: "Prijatelju, dobili smo jednu pozivnicu. Biste li nam mogli platiti let? Razlog je što ga namjeravamo posjetiti." Naravno, otišli smo, vidjeli ga i bilo je zadivljujuće. Tada nas je kontaktirao Dr. Oscar Arias.
And actually, let me go back to that slide, because when we launched it in 1999 -- this idea to create the first ever day of ceasefire and non-violence -- we invited thousands of people. Well not thousands -- hundreds of people, lots of people -- all the press, because we were going to try and create the first ever World Peace Day, a peace day. And we invited everybody, and no press showed up. There were 114 people there -- they were mostly my friends and family. And that was kind of like the launch of this thing. But it didn't matter because we were documenting, and that was the thing. For me, it was really about the process. It wasn't about the end result. And that's the beautiful thing about the camera. They used to say the pen is mightier than the sword. I think the camera is. And just staying in the moment with it was a beautiful thing and really empowering actually.
I zapravo - dopustite mi da se vratim jedan slajd nazad, jer kada smo krenuli s ovim 1999. godine, s idejom da stvorimo prvi ikad utemeljen dan primirja i nenasilja, pozvali smo tisuće ljudi. Dobro, ne baš tisuće, ali stotine ljudi, puno ljudi, sve medije, zato što nam je namjera bila pokušati i stvoriti prvi ikad utemeljen Svjetski dan mira, miroljubivi dan. Pozvali smo sve, ali mediji nisu došli. Bilo je 114 ljudi - većinom su to bili moji prijatelji i moja obitelj. I to je bio nekakav početak ovoga projekta. No to nas nije zamaralo zato što smo sve dokumentirali, i to je bila prava stvar. Za mene, bit je zapravo bila u samom procesu. Nije bila u krajnjem rezultatu. I to je lijepa odlika kamere. Govore da je olovka jača od mača. Mislim da je zapravo to kamera. I samo uživanje u trenutku je bila lijepa stvar, a ujedno i osnažujuća.
So anyway, we began the journey. And here you see people like Mary Robinson, I went to see in Geneva. I'm cutting my hair, it's getting short and long, because every time I saw Kofi Annan, I was so worried that he thought I was a hippie that I cut it, and that was kind of what was going on. (Laughter) Yeah, I'm not worried about it now. So Mary Robinson, she said to me, "Listen, this is an idea whose time has come. This must be created." Kofi Annan said, "This will be beneficial to my troops on the ground." The OAU at the time, led by Salim Ahmed Salim, said, "I must get the African countries involved." Dr. Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace laureate, president now of Costa Rica, said, "I'll do everything that I can." So I went and saw Amr Moussa at the League of Arab States. I met Mandela at the Arusha peace talks, and so on and so on and so on -- while I was building the case to prove whether this idea would make sense.
I tako smo započeli naše putovanje. A ovdje možete vidjeti ljude poput Mary Robinson koju sam posjetio u Ženevi. Rezao sam kosu, a ona je bila malo duža, malo kraća, zato što sam kod svakog susreta s Kofi Annanom bio jako zabrinut zbog njegove pomisli da sam hippie, pa sam je rezao, i to je otprilike bilo to što se događalo. (Smijeh) Istina, sada nisam zabrinut o kosi. Mary Robinson mi je rekla: "Slušaj, ovo je ideja čije je vrijeme došlo. Ona se mora ostvariti." Kofi Annan je rekao: "Ovo će koristiti mojim vojnicima." Salim Ahmed Salim, vođa tadašnje OAU je poručio: "Moram u projekt uključiti afričke države." Dr. Oscar Arias, dobitnik Nobelove nagrade za mir, trenutačni predsjednik Costa Ricae, je rekao: "Učinit ću sve što budem mogao." Otišao sam u posjet i Amr Moussi u Arapskoj ligi. Sastao sam se Mandelom na mirovnim pregovorima u Arushi, i tako dalje, i tako dalje, i tako dalje - i to sam radio dok sam razvijao projekt kako bih dokazao da će ova ideja imati smisla.
And then we were listening to the people. We were documenting everywhere. 76 countries in the last 12 years, I've visited. And I've always spoken to women and children wherever I've gone. I've recorded 44,000 young people. I've recorded about 900 hours of their thoughts. I'm really clear about how young people feel when you talk to them about this idea of having a starting point for their actions for a more peaceful world through their poetry, their art, their literature, their music, their sport, whatever it might be. And we were listening to everybody.
I tada smo slušali ljude. Sve smo snimali. Posjetio sam 76 država u zadnjih 12 godina. Uvijek sam razgovarao sa ženama i djecom, gdje god sam išao. Snimio sam 44,000 mladih ljudi. Snimio sam otprilike 900 sati njihovih razmišljanja. Stvarno mi je jasno kako se mladi ljudi osjećaju kada im pričaš o toj ideji kao početnoj točki za njihova djelovanja ka mirnijem svijetu kroz njihovu poeziju, njihovu umjetnost, njihovu književnost, njihovu glazbu, njihov sport ili što god što rade. I slušali smo svakoga.
And it was an incredibly thing, working with the U.N. and working with NGOs and building this case. I felt that I was presenting a case on behalf of the global community to try and create this day. And the stronger the case and the more detailed it was, the better chance we had of creating this day. And it was this stuff, this, where I actually was in the beginning kind of thinking no matter what happened, it didn't actually matter. It didn't matter if it didn't create a day of peace. The fact is that, if I tried and it didn't work, then I could make a statement about how unwilling the global community is to unite -- until, it was in Somalia, picking up that young girl. And this young child who'd taken about an inch and a half out of her leg with no antiseptic, and that young boy who was a child soldier, who told me he'd killed people -- he was about 12 -- these things made me realize that this was not a film that I could just stop. And that actually, at that moment something happened to me, which obviously made me go, "I'm going to document. If this is the only film that I ever make, I'm going to document until this becomes a reality." Because we've got to stop, we've got to do something where we unite -- separate from all the politics and religion that, as a young person, is confusing me. I don't know how to get involved in that process.
Stvarno je bilo nevjerojatno raditi pri UN-u i raditi s nevladinim organizacijama u razvijanju projekta. Osjećao sam da prezentiram projekt u ime globalne zajednice kako bi pokušali utemeljiti ovaj dan. I kako je projekt bivao sve snažniji i detaljniji, tako su se i povećale šanse za stvaranje ovog dana. I upravo je to bilo, taj početak, to razmišljanje da nije bilo bitno što se dogodi. Da i nismo bili stvorili dan mira, ne bi bilo bitno. Činjenica je, da sam pokušao i da nije uspjelo, tada bih mogao reći kako je globalna zajednica nevoljna za ujedinjenjem - i bilo bi nebitno sve dok nisam u Somaliji upoznao jednu djevojčicu. A to je malo dijete izvadilo 4 cm velik trn iz noge bez antiseptika, a drugi dječak koji je bio dijete-vojnik mi je rekao da je ubijao ljude - imao je 12 godina. Te su me stvari prosvijetlile, i shvatio sam da ne mogu odustati od ovoga kao od nekog filma. I tada mi se, u tom trenutku, nešto dogodilo što me natjeralo na to da počnem snimati. I da je ovo jedini film kojeg ikad snimim, snimat ću ovo dok isto ne postane stvarnost. Jer moramo prestati, moramo nešto učiniti i ujediniti se, i u tome biti odijeljeni od politike i religije, a to me, kao mladog čovjeka, zbunjivalo. Nisam znao kako se uključiti u taj proces.
And then on the seventh of September, I was invited to New York. The Costa Rican government and the British government had put forward to the United Nations General Assembly, with 54 co-sponsors, the idea of the first ever Ceasefire Nonviolence Day, the 21st of September, as a fixed calendar date, and it was unanimously adopted by every head of state in the world. (Applause) Yeah, but there were hundreds of individuals, obviously, who made that a reality. And thank you to all of them. That was an incredible moment. I was at the top of the General Assembly just looking down into it and seeing it happen. And as I mentioned, when it started, we were at the Globe, and there was no press. And now I was thinking, "Well, the press it really going to hear this story." And suddenly, we started to institutionalize this day.
I tada su me, 7. rujna, pozvali u New York. Vlada Costa Ricae i britanska vlada su predložili Općoj skupštini Ujedinjenih naroda, zajedno s 54 kosponzora, ideju o prvom Danu primirja i nenasilja, s fiksnim datumom, 21. rujnom, i jednoglasno su je prihvatili svi vođe svih država svijeta. (Pljesak) Da, ali u ovome su sudjelovali stotine ljudi koji su, očito, ideju učinili stvarnom. I zahvaljujem se svima njima. To je bio nevjerojatan trenutak. Odgore sam pratio izglašavanje u zgradi Opće skupštine. Kao što sam rekao, kada smo krenuli, okupili smo se u kazalištu Globe, ali tamo nije bilo medija. I sada sam razmišljao: "Pa, mediji će sada stvarno čuti ovu priču." I odjednom, počeli smo institucionalizirati taj dan.
Kofi Annan invited me on the morning of September the 11th to do a press conference. And it was 8:00 AM when I stood there. And I was waiting for him to come down, and I knew that he was on his way. And obviously he never came down. The statement was never made. The world was never told there was a day of global ceasefire and nonviolence. And it was obviously a tragic moment for the thousands of people who lost their lives, there and then subsequently all over the world. It never happened. And I remember thinking, "This is exactly why, actually, we have to work even harder. And we have to make this day work. It's been created; nobody knows. But we have to continue this journey, and we have to tell people, and we have to prove it can work."
Kofi Annan me ujutro, 11. rujna, pozvao da odradim konferenciju za medije. Bilo je 08:00 kada sam tamo stajao. Čekao sam da siđe jer sam znao da je na putu dolje. Ali, očito, nikada nije došao. Izjava nikada nije bila izrečena. Svijet nikada nije čuo za dan primirja i nenasilja. I očito je to bio tragičan trenutak za tisuće ljudi koji su izgubile živote, tamo, i potom, širom svijeta. Nikada se nije dogodilo. I sjećam se da sam razmišljao: "Ovo je stvarni razog zašto se, u stvari, moramo još više truditi. I moramo učiniti da ovaj dan proradi. Utemeljen je; no nitko ne zna. Moramo nastaviti ovo putovanje i moramo reći ljudima, i moramo dokazati da on može proraditi."
And I left New York freaked, but actually empowered. And I felt inspired by the possibilities that if it did, then maybe we wouldn't see things like that. I remember putting that film out and going to cynics. I was showing the film, and I remember being in Israel and getting it absolutely slaughtered by some guys having watched the film -- that it's just a day of peace, it doesn't mean anything. It's not going to work; you're not going to stop the fighting in Afghanistan; the Taliban won't listen, etc., etc. It's just symbolism. And that was even worse than actually what had just happened in many ways, because it couldn't not work. I'd spoken in Somalia, Burundi, Gaza, the West Bank, India, Sri Lanka, Congo, wherever it was, and they'd all tell me, "If you can create a window of opportunity, we can move aid, we can vaccinate children. Children can lead their projects. They can unite. They can come together. If people would stop, lives will be saved." That's what I'd heard. And I'd heard that from the people who really understood what conflict was about.
Napustio sam New York uplašen, ali zapravo osnažen. I osjećao sam se inspiriran mogućnostima da, ako proradi, možda više nećemo viđati takve stvari. Sjećam se da sam nakon izlaska filma otišao do cinika. Prikazivao sam film, i sjećam se da je u Izraelu bio apsolutno popljuvan od strane nekih ljudi koji su gledali film i rekli: "Pa to je samo dan mira, on ne znači ništa. Neće uspjeti. Nećete uspjeti zaustaviti borbe u Afganistanu. Talibani vas neće slušati, itd., itd. To je samo puki simbolizam." A to je zapravo bilo gore od onoga što se na razne načine već bilo događalo i zato ovo nije smjelo ne uspjeti. Govorio sam u Somaliji, Burundiju, Gazi, Zapadnoj obali, Indiji, Šri Lanki, Kongu, i gdje god sam bio ljudi bi mi poručili: "Ako nas možeš otvoriti prema prilikama, mi možemo dovesti pomoć, možemo cijepiti djecu. Djeca mogu voditi svoje projekte. Mogu se ujediniti. Mogu se zbližiti. Ako ljudi prestanu ratovati, životi će biti spašeni. To je ono što sam čuo. A čuo sam to od ljudi koji su stvarno razumjeli značenje sukoba.
And so I went back to the United Nations. I decided that I'd continue filming and make another movie. And I went back to the U.N. for another couple of years. We started moving around the corridors of the U.N. system, governments and NGOs, trying desperately to find somebody to come forward and have a go at it, see if we could make it possible. And after lots and lots of meetings obviously, I'm delighted that this man, Ahmad Fawzi, one of my heroes and mentors really, he managed to get UNICEF involved. And UNICEF, God bless them, they said, "Okay, we'll have a go." And then UNAMA became involved in Afghanistan. It was historical. Could it work in Afghanistan with UNAMA and WHO and civil society, etc., etc., etc.? And I was getting it all on film and I was recording it, and I was thinking, "This is it. This is the possibility of it maybe working. But even if it doesn't, at least the door is open and there's a chance."
I onda sam se vratio u Ujedinjene narode. Odlučio sam da ću nastaviti snimati te režirati još jedan film. I tako sam se nakon dvije godine vratio u UN. Počeli smo proučavati strukturu sustava UN-a, vlada i nevladinih organizacija očajno pritom pokušavajući naći nekoga tko će doći do nas i podržati nas i procijeniti je li to moguće. I nakon, očigledno, nebrojenih sastanaka bio sam sretan da je ovaj čovjek, Ahmad Fawzi, jedan od mojih heroja i mentora, uspio u projekt uključiti UNICEF. A iz UNICEF-a, Bog ih blagoslovio, su rekli: "Podržat ćemo vas." A tada se i UNAMA uključila u stanje u Afganistanu. Bilo je povijesno. Može li projekt proraditi u Afganistanu s UNAMA-om, WHO-om i cilvilnim društvom, itd., itd., itd.? A ja sam sve to snimao, dokumentirao i pomislio: "To je to. Sada postoji vjerojatnost da možda i proradi. Ali ako i ne bude tako, barem su jedna vrata otvorena te tako postoji mogućnost."
And so I went back to London, and I went and saw this chap, Jude Law. And I saw him because he was an actor, I was an actor, I had a connection to him, because we needed to get to the press, we needed this attraction, we needed the media to be involved. Because if we start pumping it up a bit maybe more people would listen and there'd be more -- when we got into certain areas, maybe there would be more people interested. And maybe we'd be helped financially a little bit more, which had been desperately difficult. I won't go into that. So Jude said, "Okay, I'll do some statements for you."
I tako sam se vratio u London gdje sam se sastao s mladićem, Judeom Lawom. A posjetio sam ga jer je on glumac; a i ja sam glumac. Dobro smo se slagali u namjeri da se trebamo obratiti medijima, trebali smo njihovu pozornost, trebali smo ih uključiti. Jer ako projekt počnemo oglašavati, možda će nas više ljudi i poslušati i bit će ih više - pogotovo kada se proširimo na određene regije - možda će se više ljudi zainteresirati. I možda će nam i malo pomoći na financijskom planu s kojim nam je bilo vrlo, vrlo teško. Neću u to ulaziti. I tako je Jude rekao: "O.K., snimit ću neke poruke za tebe."
While I was filming these statements, he said to me, "Where are you going next?" I said, "I'm going to go to Afghanistan." He said, "Really?" And I could sort of see a little look in his eye of interest. So I said to him, "Do you want to come with me? It'd be really interesting if you came. It would help and bring attention. And that attention would help leverage the situation, as well as all of the other sides of it." I think there's a number of pillars to success. One is you've got to have a great idea. The other is you've got to have a constituency, you've got to have finance, and you've got to be able to raise awareness. And actually I could never raise awareness by myself, no matter what I'd achieved. So these guys were absolutely crucial. So he said yes, and we found ourselves in Afghanistan.
Dok smo snimali te poruke, upitao me: "Što ćeš sljedeće uraditi?" Odgovorio sam: "Otići ću u Afganistan." Upitao je: "Stvarno?" Tada sam vidio neku iskru zainteresiranosti u njegovim očima, pa sam ga upitao: "Želiš li poći sa mnom? Bit će stvarno super ako pođeš. To će nam pomoći i povećati publicitet. A taj publicitet će prevagnuti situaciju u našu korist kao i prikazati sve ostale pozitivne stvari." Mislim da postoji nekoliko koraka do uspjeha. Prvi je taj da morate imati super ideju. Drugi su da morate biti dosljedni, da morate imati novca te da imate sposobnost podići svijest ljudi. I ja stvarno nisam sam mogao osvijestiti ljude, ma što god bio postigao. To znači da su ovi ljudi bili apsolutno ključni. I tako je Jude rekao da želi ići pa smo pošli u Afganistan.
It was a really incredible thing that when we landed there, I was talking to various people, and they were saying to me, "You've got to get everybody involved here. You can't just expect it to work. You have to get out and work." And we did, and we traveled around, and we spoke to elders, we spoke to doctors, we spoke to nurses, we held press conferences, we went out with soldiers, we sat down with ISAF, we sat down with NATO, we sat down with the U.K. government. I mean, we basically sat down with everybody -- in and out of schools with ministers of education, holding these press conferences, which of course, now were loaded with press, everybody was there. There was an interest in what was going on. This amazing woman, Fatima Gailani, was absolutely instrumental in what went on as she was the spokesperson for the resistance against the Russians. And her Afghan network was just absolutely everywhere. And she was really crucial in getting the message in.
Doživljaj slijetanja je stvarno bio nevjerojatna stvar jer smo odmah pričali s različitim ljudima, a oni su nam govorili: "Morate uključiti sve ljude koje možete. Ne možete očekivati da proradi samo od sebe. Morate doprijeti do ljudi i raditi. I tako je bilo, putovali smo po okolici i pričali sa starijima, s liječnicima, medicinskim sestrama, održavali smo konferencije za medije, družili se s vojnicima, sastajali se s ISAF-om, s NATO-om, s vladom Ujedinjenog kraljevstva. Mislim da smo se, u stvari, sastali sa svima mogućima - s ministrima obrazovanja smo bili u školama gdje smo održavali konferencije za medije, koje su sada, naravno, bile prepunjene s medijima; svi su bili ondje. Bio je prisutan interes za ono što se događalo. Ova nevjerojatna žena, Fazima Gailani, je apsolutno bila ključna u onome što se događalo budući da je bila zagovornica pružanju otpora prema Rusima. I njezina je afganistanska mreža praktički bila sveprisutna. Bila je stvarno nezamjenjiva u prenošenju naše poruke.
And then we went home. We'd sort of done it. We had to wait now and see what happened. And I got home, and I remember one of the team bringing in a letter to me from the Taliban. And that letter basically said, "We'll observe this day. We will observe this day. We see it as a window of opportunity. And we will not engage. We're not going to engage." And that meant that humanitarian workers wouldn't be kidnapped or killed. And then suddenly, I obviously knew at this point, there was a chance. And days later, 1.6 million children were vaccinated against polio as a consequence of everybody stopping. (Applause) And like the General Assembly, obviously the most wonderful, wonderful moment.
I tada smo otišli kući. Ispunili smo naš dio posla. Sada smo samo trebali čekati što će se dogoditi. Došao sam kući i sjećam se da mi jedan čovjek iz našeg tima donio pismo od Talibana. U tom je pismo u biti pisalo: "Obilježavat ćemo taj dan. Slavit ćemo taj dan. Smatramo ga nositeljem novih mogućnosti. I nećemo napadati. Nećemo se boriti. To je značilo da humanitarni radnici neće biti oteti ili ubijeni. I tada sam, odjednom, spoznao - postoji mogućnost. Nekoliko dana poslije, 1.6 milijun djece je cijepljeno protiv dječje paralize, a to je bila posljedica prestanka borbi. (Pljesak) I kao u Općoj skupštini, tako je i ovaj trenutak bio prekrasan - najdivniji.
And so then we wrapped the film up and we put it together because we had to go back. We put it into Dari and Pashto. We put it in the local dialects. We went back to Afghanistan, because the next year was coming, and we wanted to support. But more importantly, we wanted to go back, because these people in Afghanistan were the heroes. They were the people who believed in peace and the possibilities of it, etc., etc. -- and they made it real. And we wanted to go back and show them the film and say, "Look, you guys made this possible. And thank you very much." And we gave the film over. Obviously it was shown, and it was amazing.
I tada smo završili film i montažirali ga zato što smo se morali vratiti. Preveli smo ga u Dari i Pashto jezik, kao i u mjesne dijalekte. Vratili smo se u Afganistan zato što se približivala sljedeća godina i željeli smo dati podršku ljudima. Ali još važnije od toga, željeli smo se vratiti jer su ljudi u Afganistanu zapravo heroji. Oni su ljudi koji su vjerovali u mir i mogućnosti koje on pruža, itd. itd. - i to su i ostvarili. Željeli smo se vratiti, prikazati im film i reći: "Pogledajte, vi ste ovo učinili mogućim. I hvala vam puno na tome." I tada smo im predali film. Očigledno, bio je prikazan i bilo je čudesno.
And then that year, that year, 2008, this ISAF statement from Kabul, Afghanistan, September 17th: "General Stanley McChrystal, commander of international security assistance forces in Afghanistan, announced today ISAF will not conduct offensive military operations on the 21st of September." They were saying they would stop. And then there was this other statement that came out from the U.N. Department of Security and Safety saying that, in Afghanistan, because of this work, the violence was down by 70 percent. 70 percent reduction in violence on this day at least. And that completely blew my mind almost more than anything.
A tada je, te 2008. godine ISAF 17. rujna iz Kabula u Afganistanu poslala poruku: "General Stanley McChrystal, zapovjednik međunarodnih vojnih snaga u Afganistanu, je izjavio da ISAF neće provoditi borbene vojne operacije na današnji dan, 21. rujna." Rekli su da će prestati. A postojala je i druga izjava koja je došla iz UN-ovog Odjela za zaštitu i sigurnost u kojoj je pisalo da se u Afganistanu, zbog ovoga projekta, stopa nasilja smanjila za 70%. 70% prisutno smanjenje nasilja, barem na ovaj dan. A to me potpuno oborilo s nogu, skoro kao ništa prije.
And I remember being stuck in New York, this time because of the volcano, which was obviously much less harmful. And I was there thinking about what was going on. And I kept thinking about this 70 percent. 70 percent reduction in violence -- in what everyone said was completely impossible and you couldn't do. And that made me think that, if we can get 70 percent in Afghanistan, then surely we can get 70 percent reduction everywhere. We have to go for a global truce. We have to utilize this day of ceasefire and nonviolence and go for a global truce, go for the largest recorded cessation of hostilities, both domestically and internationally, ever recorded.
I sjećam se da sam tada bio zaglavljen u New Yorku, ovoga puta zbog vulkana, što je svakako bio bezazleniji razlog. I tako sam razmišljao o tome što se događa. I stalno sam mislio o tih 70%. 70% smanjenje stope nasilja predstavlja ono što su svi rekli da je praktički nemoguće i neizvedivo. I to me navelo na pomisao; ako možemo postići 70% u Afganistanu, onda svakako to isto možemo postići bilo gdje. Moramo težiti stvaranju globalnog primirja. Moramo iskoristiti ovaj dan primirja i nenasilja i stvarno stvoriti globalni mir. Trebamo težiti najvećem ikad zabilježenom prestanku borbi, kako domaćih tako i međunarodnih.
That's exactly what we must do. And on the 21st of September this year, we're going to launch that campaign at the O2 Arena to go for that process, to try and create the largest recorded cessation of hostilities. And we will utilize all kinds of things -- have a dance and social media and visiting on Facebook and visit the website, sign the petition. And it's in the six official languages of the United Nations. And we'll globally link with government, inter-government, non-government, education, unions, sports. And you can see the education box there. We've got resources at the moment in 174 countries trying to get young people to be the driving force behind the vision of that global truce. And obviously the life-saving is increased, the concepts help.
To je zapravo ono što moramo uraditi. I 21. rujna ove godine pokrenut ćemo kampanju u O2 Areni kako bismo krenuli prema tom procesu - pokušaju stvaranja najvećeg zabilježenog prestanka borbi. I iskoristit ćemo mnoge stvari - imat ćemo bal i profile na socijalnim mrežama, a ljudi će posjetima Facebooku, kao i našoj stranici, moći potpisati peticiju. A ona je prevedena na šest službenih jezika UN-a. Globalno ćemo se povezati s vladama, međunarodnim vijećima, nevladinim, obrazovnim, sportskim i sindikalnim grupama. Tamo na slajdu možete vidjeti edukacijsku brošuru. Trenutačno imamo sredstva raspodijeljena u 174 države u kojima nastojimo potaknuti mlade ljude da postanu pokretači vizije globalnog primirja. I, očigledno, povećano je spašavanje života - znači, koncepti pomažu.
Linking up with the Olympics -- I went and saw Seb Coe. I said, "London 2012 is about truce. Ultimately, that's what it's about." Why don't we all team up? Why don't we bring truce to life? Why don't you support the process of the largest ever global truce? We'll make a new film about this process. We'll utilize sport and football. On the Day of Peace, there's thousands of football matches all played, from the favelas of Brazil to wherever it might be. So, utilizing all of these ways to inspire individual action. And ultimately, we have to try that. We have to work together.
Povezali smo se Olimpijskim igrama. Otišao sam do Seba Coea i rekao: "London 2012. se temelji na primirju. Na kraju, to je Igrama i svrha." Zašto se ne povežemo u tim? Zašto ne udahnemo primirju život? Zašto ne biste podržali proces nastanka najvećeg ikad stvorenog globalnog primirja? Napravit ćemo film o tom procesu. Iskoristit ćemo sport i nogomet. Na Dan mira igraju se tisuće nogometnih utakmica, od onih u favelama Brazila do onih bilo gdje u svijetu. I tako, iskorištavajući sve ove načine zapravo inspiriramo pojedince na akciju. I na kraju, moramo pokušati s time. Moramo raditi zajedno.
And when I stand here in front of all of you, and the people who will watch these things, I'm excited, on behalf of everybody I've met, that there is a possibility that our world could unite, that we could come together as one, that we could lift the level of consciousness around the fundamental issues, brought about by individuals. I was with Brahimi, Ambassador Brahimi. I think he's one of the most incredible men in relation to international politics -- in Afghanistan, in Iraq. He's an amazing man. And I sat with him a few weeks ago. And I said to him, "Mr. Brahimi, is this nuts, going for a global truce? Is this possible? Is it really possible that we could do this?" He said, "It's absolutely possible." I said, "What would you do? Would you go to governments and lobby and use the system?" He said, "No, I'd talk to the individuals." It's all about the individuals. It's all about you and me. It's all about partnerships. It's about your constituencies; it's about your businesses. Because together, by working together, I seriously think we can start to change things.
I danas, kada stojim ovdje ispred svih vas, ispred ljudi koji će gledati ovo predavanje, moram reći da sam uzbuđen, u ime svih ljudi koje sam upoznao, zbog postojanja vjerojatnosti o ujedinjenju našeg svijeta, o tome kako možemo postati jedno, kako možemo podići razinu svijesti o temeljnim pitanjima na koja su nam ukazali pojedinci. Sastao sam se se veleposlanikom Brahimijem. Mislim da je on jedan od nevjerojatnih ljudi koji se bave međunarodnom politikom u Afganistanu i Iraku. Stvarno je zadivljujući čovjek. I pričao sam s njim prije nekoliko tjedana. Upitao sam ga: "G. Brahimi, je li ovo ludo, ovo uspostavljenje globalnog primirja? Je li to moguće? Je li uistinu moguće da uspijemo u tome?" Odgovorio je: "To je apsolutno moguće." Upitao sam ga: "Što biste vi uradili? Biste li lobirali kod vlada i koristili sustav?" Odgovorio je: "Ne, pričao bih s pojedincima." Zapravo, u pitanju su pojedinci. U pitanju smo ti i ja. U pitanju su partnerstva. U pitanju su vaše izborne jedinice, vaše tvrtke. Jer zajedno, radeći zajedno, ozbiljno mislim da možemo početi mijenjati stvari.
And there's a wonderful man sitting in this audience, and I don't know where he is, who said to me a few days ago -- because I did a little rehearsal -- and he said, "I've been thinking about this day and imagining it as a square with 365 squares, and one of them is white." And it then made me think about a glass of water, which is clear. If you put one drop, one drop of something, in that water, it'll change it forever.
Nevjerojatan čovjek sada sjedi u publici, no ne znam točno gdje, ali on mi je prije nekoliko dana rekao - naime, imao sam kratku probu - i on mi je rekao: "Razmišljao sam o ovom danu i zamišljao ga kao veliki kvadrat u kojemu su 365 manja kvadrata i jedan od njih je bijele boje." A tada me to ponukalo na razmišljenje o čaši bistre vode. Jer ako u nju dodaš kapljicu, kap bilo čega, u tu vodu, zauvijek ćeš je promijeniti.
By working together, we can create peace one day. Thank you TED. Thank you.
Radeći zajedno, možemo utemeljiti jedan Dan mira. Hvala TED-u. Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Thanks a lot.
Puno vam hvala.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Hvala vam najljepša. Hvala.