Many times I go around the world to speak, and people ask me questions about the challenges, my moments, some of my regrets. 1998: A single mother of four, three months after the birth of my fourth child, I went to do a job as a research assistant. I went to Northern Liberia. And as part of the work, the village would give you lodgings. And they gave me lodging with a single mother and her daughter.
Često držim pedavanja širom sveta, i ljudi me pitaju o izazovima, mojim trenucima i o stvarima zbog kojih se kajem. 1998.: kao samohrana majka četvoro dece, tri meseca nakon rođenja mog četvrtog deteta, počela sam da radim kao asistent istraživača. Otišla sam u severni deo Liberije. U sklopu posla, selo mi je obezbedilo smeštaj kod samohrane majke i njene kćeri.
This girl happened to be the only girl in the entire village who had made it to the ninth grade. She was the laughing stock of the community. Her mother was often told by other women, "You and your child will die poor." After two weeks of working in that village, it was time to go back. The mother came to me, knelt down, and said, "Leymah, take my daughter. I wish for her to be a nurse." Dirt poor, living in the home with my parents, I couldn't afford to. With tears in my eyes, I said, "No."
Ispostavilo se da je ta devojčica jedina u tom selu koja je upisala deveti razred. Ljudi u selu su joj se podsmevali. Druge žene su njenoj majci često govorile: "Ti i tvoje dete ćete umreti siromašne." Posle dve nedelje rada u tom selu, došlo je vreme za povratak. Majka je došla kod mene, klekla i rekla: "Lejma, povedi moju kćer. Želim da bude medicinska sestra." Živela sam u velikom siromaštvu, u kući svojih roditelja, i nisam mogla to da priuštim. Sa suzama u očima, rekla sam: "Ne."
Two months later, I go to another village on the same assignment and they asked me to live with the village chief. The women's chief of the village has this little girl, fair color like me, totally dirty. And all day she walked around only in her underwear. When I asked, "Who is that?" She said, "That's Wei. The meaning of her name is pig. Her mother died while giving birth to her, and no one had any idea who her father was." For two weeks, she became my companion, slept with me. I bought her used clothes and bought her her first doll. The night before I left, she came to the room and said, "Leymah, don't leave me here. I wish to go with you. I wish to go to school." Dirt poor, no money, living with my parents, I again said, "No." Two months later, both of those villages fell into another war. Till today, I have no idea where those two girls are.
Dva meseca kasnije, odlazim u drugo selo, sa istim zadatkom, i ponudili su mi da živim sa upravnikom sela. Njegova žena ima tu devojčicu, iste boje kao i ja, potpuno prljavu. Po čitav dan ona je tumarala okolo samo u svom donjem vešu. Kada sam upitala: "Ko je to?", žena mi je odgovorila: "To je Vei. Njeno ime znači svinja. Majka joj je umrla na porođaju, a niko nije imao pojma ko je njen otac." Te dve nedelje, ona je postala moj saputnik, spavala je pored mene. Kupila sam joj staru odeću i njenu prvu lutku. Veče pre nego što je trebalo da odem, došla je u moju sobu i rekla: "Lejma, ne ostavljaj me ovde. Želim da pođem s tobom. Želim da idem u školu." Veoma siromašna, bez novca, živeći u kući s mojim roditeljima, ponovo sam rekla: "Ne." Dva meseca potom, u oba sela je izbio rat. Ni danas ne znam gde su te devojčice.
Fast-forward, 2004: In the peak of our activism, the minister of Gender Liberia called me and said, "Leymah, I have a nine-year-old for you. I want you to bring her home because we don't have safe homes." The story of this little girl: She had been raped by her paternal grandfather every day for six months. She came to me bloated, very pale. Every night I'd come from work and lie on the cold floor. She'd lie beside me and say, "Auntie, I wish to be well. I wish to go to school."
Godina 2004. Na vrhuncu našeg aktivizma, ministar Liberije me je pozvao i rekao: "Lejma, imam za tebe jednu devetogodišnjakinju. Hoću da je odvedeš kući jer nemamo sigurne kuće." Ovo je priča te devojčice: silovao ju je njen deda sa očeve strane svakog dana, šest meseci. Došla je kod mene naduvena, veoma bleda. Svake noći kada bih se vratila sa posla i legla na hladan pod, ona bi legla pored mene i rekla: "Tetkice, želim da budem dobro. Želim da idem u školu."
2010: A young woman stands before President Sirleaf and gives her testimony of how she and her siblings live together, their father and mother died during the war. She's 19; her dream is to go to college to be able to support them. She's highly athletic. One of the things that happens is that she applies for a scholarship. Full scholarship. She gets it. Her dream of going to school, her wish of being educated, is finally here. She goes to school on the first day. The director of sports who's responsible for getting her into the program asks her to come out of class. And for the next three years, her fate will be having sex with him every day, as a favor for getting her in school.
2010.: Mlada žena stoji ispred predsednice Sirlif i priča svoju priču kako ona i njena braća i sestre žive zajedno, a roditelji su im poginuli u ratu. Ima 19 godina. Sanja o tome da se školuje kako bi mogla da ih izdržava. Sportski je građena. Jedna od stvari koja se desila je ta da je konkurisala za stipendiju. Punu stipendiju. Dobija je. Njen san da ide u školu, njena želja da se obrazuje, konačno su ostvareni. Odlazi u školu prvog dana. Profesor fizičkog koji je odgovoran za njen program je zamoli da izađe iz učionice. Sledeće tri godine, je bila osuđena na seksualne odnose sa njim svakog dana za uslugu što ju je pustio u školu.
Globally, we have policies, international instruments, work leaders. Great people have made commitments -- we will protect our children from want and from fear. The U.N. has the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Countries like America, we've heard things like No Child Left Behind. Other countries come with different things. There is a Millennium Development called Three that focuses on girls. All of these great works by great people aimed at getting young people to where we want to get them globally, I think, has failed.
Globalno, postoji politika, internacionalni instrumenti, vođe poslova. Veliki ljudi su se obavezali da ćemo zaštititi našu decu od požude i straha. Postoji Povelja o pravima deteta Ujedinjenih nacija. Iz zemalja poput Amerike dolaze inicijative kao što je "Nijedno dete zanemareno". Druge zemlje imaju različite stvari. Postoji milenijumski pokret koji se zove "Tri" i fokusiran je na devojčice. Sva ova izuzetna dela izuzetnih ljudi posvećena usmeravanju mladih ljudi ka onome gde bismo globalno želeli da budu, su po mom mišljenju propala.
In Liberia, for example, the teenage pregnancy rate is three to every 10 girls. Teen prostitution is at its peak. In one community, we're told, you wake up in the morning and see used condoms like used chewing gum paper. Girls as young as 12 being prostituted for less than a dollar a night. It's disheartening, it's sad. And then someone asked me, just before my TEDTalk, a few days ago, "So where is the hope?"
Na primer, u Liberiji, je trudna svaka treća od deset tinejdžerki. Maloletničko prostituisanje je na vrhuncu. U jednoj zajednici su nam rekli, da kada se probudiš ujutru ugledaš upotrebljene kondome kao papiriće od žvaka. Čak i dvanaestogodišnjakinje rade kao prostitutke, za manje od dolar za jednu noć. To je srceparajuće, to je žalosno. A onda me je neko pitao, baš pre mog izlaganja ovde, pre nekoliko dana, "Pa, ima li nade?"
Several years ago, a few friends of mine decided we needed to bridge the disconnect between our generation and the generation of young women. It's not enough to say you have two Nobel laureates from the Republic of Liberia when your girls' kids are totally out there and no hope, or seemingly no hope. We created a space called the Young Girls Transformative Project. We go into rural communities and all we do, like has been done in this room, is create the space. When these girls sit, you unlock intelligence, you unlock passion, you unlock commitment, you unlock focus, you unlock great leaders. Today, we've worked with over 300. And some of those girls who walked in the room very shy have taken bold steps, as young mothers, to go out there and advocate for the rights of other young women.
Pre par godina, nekoliko mojih prijatelja je odlučilo da treba da premostimo jaz između naše generacije i generacije mladih žena. Nije dovoljno reći imate dva laureata Nobelove nagrade u republici Liberiji, kada su pri tome vaše devojčice na ulicama i to bez nade, ili bar tako izgleda. Stvorili smo pokret nazvan "Projekat za pomoć mladim devojkama". Posećujemo seoske zajednice i radimo isto ono što se radi u ovoj prostoriji, a to je - stvaramo atmosferu. Kada ove devojčice sednu, vi date šansu inteligenciji, date šansu strasti, date šansu posvećenosti, date šansu usredsređenosti, date šansu velikim vođama. Do danas smo radili sa više od 300 devojčica. Neke od tih devojaka koje su stidljivo ušle u sobu su preuzele odvažne korake, kao mlade majke, da izađu i da se zalažu za prava drugih mladih žena.
One young woman I met, teen mother of four, never thought about finishing high school, graduated successfully; never thought about going to college, enrolled in college. One day she said to me, "My wish is to finish college and be able to support my children." She's at a place where she can't find money to go to school. She sells water, sells soft drinks and sells recharge cards for cellphones. And you would think she would take that money and put it back into her education. Juanita is her name. She takes that money and finds single mothers in her community to send back to school. Says, "Leymah, my wish is to be educated. And if I can't be educated, when I see some of my sisters being educated, my wish has been fulfilled. I wish for a better life. I wish for food for my children. I wish that sexual abuse and exploitation in schools would stop." This is the dream of the African girl.
Jedna mlada žena koju sam srela, tinejdžerka sa četvoro dece, nikada nije pomišljala da završi školu, uspešno je diplomirala; nikada nije pomišljala da studira, upisala se na fakultet. Jednog dana mi je rekla: "Želim da završim fakultet i izdržavam svoju decu." Živi na mestu gde ne može doći do novca za školovanje. Prodaje vodu, sokove, kartice za mobilne telefone. Pomislili biste da štedi taj novac i ulaže u svoje obrazovanje. Zove se Huanita. Ona taj novac daje samohranim majkama u svojoj zajednici koje šalje nazad u školu. Ona kaže: "Lejma, moja želja je da se obrazujem. A ako ja ne mogu da se obrazujem, kada vidim da se neka od mojih sestara obrazuje, moja želja se ostvaruje. Želim bolji život. Želim hranu za moju decu. Želim da prestane seksualno zlostavljanje i iskorištavanje u školama." Ovo je san afričke devojke.
Several years ago, there was one African girl. This girl had a son who wished for a piece of doughnut because he was extremely hungry. Angry, frustrated, really upset about the state of her society and the state of her children, this young girl started a movement, a movement of ordinary women banding together to build peace. I will fulfill the wish. This is another African girl's wish. I failed to fulfill the wish of those two girls. I failed to do this. These were the things that were going through the head of this other young woman -- I failed, I failed, I failed. So I will do this. Women came out, protested a brutal dictator, fearlessly spoke. Not only did the wish of a piece of doughnut come true, the wish of peace came true. This young woman wished also to go to school. She went to school. This young woman wished for other things to happen, it happened for her.
Pre nekoliko godina, živela je jedna afrička devojčica. Imala je sina koji je želeo komadić krofne jer je bio jako gladan. Ljuta, frustrirana, zaista uznemirena stanjem svog društva i stanjem svoje dece, ova mlada devojka je osnovala pokret, gde su se obične žene udružile da bi se izborile za mir. Ja ću ispuniti tu želju. Ovo je želja druge afričke devojke. Nisam uspela da ispunim želje te dve devojke. Nisam uspela. Ovo su bile stvari koje su prolazile kroz glavu tim mladim ženama - nisam uspela, nisam uspela, nisam uspela. Ja ću uraditi to. Žene su izašle, usprotivile se brutalnom diktatoru, govorile bez straha. Ne samo da je želja za parčetom krofne ispunjena, već je i želja za mirom ispunjena. Ova mlada žena je takođe želela da ide u školu. Išla je u školu. Ova mlada žena je želela da se dese i druge stvari, i one su se desile.
Today, this young woman is me, a Nobel laureate. I'm now on a journey to fulfill the wish, in my tiny capacity, of little African girls -- the wish of being educated. We set up a foundation. We're giving full four-year scholarships to girls from villages that we see with potential.
Danas sam ja ta mlada žena, dobitnik Nobelove nagrade. Na putu sam da ispunim želju, koliko je to u mojoj moći, želju mladih afričkih devojaka - da se obrazuju. Osnovali smo fondaciju. Dajemo pune četvorogodišnje stipendije devojčicama iz sela u kojima vidimo potencijal.
I don't have much to ask of you. I've also been to places in this U.S., and I know that girls in this country also have wishes, a wish for a better life somewhere in the Bronx, a wish for a better life somewhere in downtown L.A., a wish for a better life somewhere in Texas, a wish for a better life somewhere in New York, a wish for a better life somewhere in New Jersey.
Ne tražim mnogo od vas. Takođe sam posetila mesta u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama, i znam da devojke iz ove zemlje takođe imaju želje, za boljim životom negde u Bronksu, za boljim životom negde u Los Anđelesu, za boljim životom negde u Teksasu, za boljim životom negde u Njujorku, za boljim životom negde u Nju Džerziju.
Will you journey with me to help that girl, be it an African girl or an American girl or a Japanese girl, fulfill her wish, fulfill her dream, achieve that dream? Because all of these great innovators and inventors that we've talked to and seen over the last few days are also sitting in tiny corners in different parts of the world, and all they're asking us to do is create that space to unlock the intelligence, unlock the passion, unlock all of the great things that they hold within themselves. Let's journey together. Let's journey together.
Hoćete li da mi se pridružite u pokušaju da pomognemo toj devojci, bilo da je ona iz Afrike ili Amerike ili Japana da joj ispunimo želju, njen san, da dostigne taj san? Zato što svi ovi veliki inovatori i izumitelji sa kojima smo razgovarali i koje smo videli poslednjih nekoliko dana, takođe sede i u skrivenim ćoškovima širom sveta, i sve što traže od nas je da stvorimo tu atmosferu koja će osloboditi inteligenciju, osloboditi strast, osloboditi sve divne stvari koje nose u sebi. Putujmo zajedno. Putujmo zajedno.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
Chris Anderson: Thank you so much. Right now in Liberia, what do you see as the main issue that troubles you?
Kris Anderson: Hvala vam mnogo. Upravo sada u Liberiji, šta je to što vam najviše smeta?
LG: I've been asked to lead the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative. As part of my work, I'm doing these tours in different villages and towns -- 13, 15 hours on dirt roads -- and there is no community that I've gone into that I haven't seen intelligent girls. But sadly, the vision of a great future, or the dream of a great future, is just a dream, because you have all of these vices. Teen pregnancy, like I said, is epidemic.
LG: Tražili su mi da vodim Pokret mira Liberije. Kao deo mog posla, obilazim različita sela i gradove - 13,15 sati na prašnjavim putevima - i nema zajednice u kojoj sam bila, a u kojoj nije bilo inteligentnih devojčica. Na žalost, vizija velike budućnosti, ili san o velikoj budućnosti, samo je san, jer se susrećete sa svim tim porocima. Tinejdžerska trudnoća je, kao što sam rekla, epidemija.
So what troubles me is that I was at that place and somehow I'm at this place, and I just don't want to be the only one at this place. I'm looking for ways for other girls to be with me. I want to look back 20 years from now and see that there's another Liberian girl, Ghanaian girl, Nigerian girl, Ethiopian girl standing on this TED stage. And maybe, just maybe, saying, "Because of that Nobel laureate I'm here today." So I'm troubled when I see them like there's no hope. But I'm also not pessimistic, because I know it doesn't take a lot to get them charged up.
Dakle, ono što me brine je to da sam bila tamo, i nekako sam došla i ovde, a ne želim da budem jedina koja je ovde dospela. Tražim načine da druge devojke budu uz mene. Želim da, kada se za 20 godina osvrnem, vidim da jedna devojka iz Liberije, Gane, Nigerije, Etiopije stoji na ovoj TED pozornici. I možda, samo možda, kaže: "Zbog te žene koja je dobila Nobelovu nagradu ja sam danas ovde." Veoma sam zabrinuta kada ih vidim beznadežne. Ali ipak nisam tako pesimistična, jer znam da mi ne treba mnogo da bih ih podstakla.
CA: And in the last year, tell us one hopeful thing that you've seen happening.
KA: Podelite sa nama jednu stvar koja se desila prošle godine, a koja budi nadu, i kojoj ste bili svedok.
LG: I can tell you many hopeful things that I've seen happening. But in the last year, where President Sirleaf comes from, her village, we went there to work with these girls. And we could not find 25 girls in high school. All of these girls went to the gold mine, and they were predominantly prostitutes doing other things. We took 50 of those girls and we worked with them. And this was at the beginning of elections. This is one place where women were never -- even the older ones barely sat in the circle with the men. These girls banded together and formed a group and launched a campaign for voter registration. This is a real rural village. And the theme they used was: "Even pretty girls vote." They were able to mobilize young women.
LG: Mogu da vam pričam o mnogim takvim primerima. Ali prošle godine smo otišli u selo iz kojeg je predsednica Sirlif, otišli smo da radimo sa devojčicama. Nismo mogli da nađemo 25 devojčica u srednjoj školi. Sve ove devojčice su išle u rudnik zlata, a uglavnom su bile prostitutke i radile razne stvari. Okupili smo 50 devojaka i radili sa njima. To je bilo na početku izbora. To je mesto gde žene nikada - čak ni one starije - nisu čak ni sedele u društvu muškaraca. Ove devojke su se udružile, formirale grupu i započele kampanju za registraciju glasača. To je zaista pravo ruralno mesto. A slogan koji su koristile je bio: "Čak i lepe devojke glasaju." Uspele su da okupe mlade žene.
But not only did they do that, they went to those who were running for seats to ask them, "What is it that you will give the girls of this community when you win?" And one of the guys who already had a seat was very -- because Liberia has one of the strongest rape laws, and he was one of those really fighting in parliament to overturn that law because he called it barbaric. Rape is not barbaric, but the law, he said, was barbaric. And when the girls started engaging him, he was very hostile towards them. These little girls turned to him and said, "We will vote you out of office." He's out of office today.
Ali nisu samo to uradile. Otišle su do onih koji su se kandidovali i pitali ih: "Šta je to što ćete pružiti devojkama ove zajednice kada pobedite?" Jedan od tih ljudi koji je već imao mesto je bio vrlo - Liberija ima jedan od najstrožih zakona o silovanju, on je bio jedan od onih koji se zaista bore u parlamentu da preobliče taj zakon jer ga je nazvao varvarskim. Silovanje nije varvarsko, ali zakon, rekao je, jeste. A kada su devojke počele da razgovaraju s njim, bio je veoma neljubazan. Te mlade devojke su se okrenule i rekle mu: "Zbacićemo te sa položaja." On danas više nije na tom položaju.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
CA: Leymah, thank you. Thank you so much for coming to TED.
KA: Lejma, hvala. Hvala mnogo na gostovanju na TED-u.
LG: You're welcome. (CA: Thank you.)
LG: Nema na čemu. (KA: Hvala.)
(Applause)
(Aplauz)