We do not choose where to be born. We do not choose who our parents are. But we do choose how we are going to live our lives.
我们无法选择在哪儿出生, 也无法选择父母, 但是我们却可以选择如何生活。
I did not choose to be born in South Sudan, a country rife with conflict. I did not choose my name -- Nyiriak, which means "war." I've always rejected it and all the legacy it was born into. I choose to be called Mary. As a teacher, I've stood in front of 120 students, so this stage does not intimidate me.
我不曾选择出生在南苏丹, 一个充满着冲突的国家, 我也不曾选择自己的名字, 伊妮娅克, 意思是“战争”。 我一直很讨厌这个名字, 和这个名称所带来的一切苦痛。 所以我选择改名为玛丽。 作为一名老师, 我曾站在120名学生面前授课, 所以这个舞台吓不倒我。
My students come from war-torn countries. They're so different from each other, but they have one thing in common: they fled their homes in order to stay alive. Some of them belong to parents back home in South Sudan who are killing each other because they belong to a different tribe or they have a different belief. Others come from other African countries devastated by war. But when they enter my class, they make friends, they walk home together, they do their homework together. There is no hatred allowed in my class.
学生们来自饱受战争蹂躏的国家, 他们虽然各不相同, 却有着一个共同点, 为了活命,背井离乡。 他们中的有些父母, 正在南苏丹的家里, 相互厮杀, 因为他们属于不同部落, 有不同的信仰。 还有一些学生, 来自那些被战争摧毁的非洲国家, 但是当他们进入教室, 就成为了彼此的朋友, 一起回家, 一起做作业。 我不许任何仇恨在我的教室里滋长。
My story is like that of so many other refugees. The war came when I was still a baby. And my father, who had been absent in most of my early childhood, was doing what other men were doing: fighting for the country. He had two wives and many children. My mother was his second wife, married to him at the age of 16. This is simply because my mother came from a poor background, and she had no choice. My father, on the other hand, was rich. He had many cows.
我的故事和许多其他难民的一样, 战争爆发时,我还是襁褓中的婴儿, 而我父亲, 那个几乎缺席了 我整个幼儿时期的父亲, 和其他男人一样, 为我们的祖国浴血奋战。 他有两个妻子,和许多孩子, 我的母亲是他的第二任妻子, 嫁给他的时候年仅16岁, 仅仅只是因为她出身贫寒, 所以别无选择。 另一方面,我的父亲很富有, 还有许多头牛。
Gunshots were the order of the day. My community was constantly under attack. Communities would fight each other as they took water along the Nile. But that was not all. Planes would drop the spinning and terrifying bombs that chopped off people's limbs. But the most terrifying thing for every single parent was to see their children being abducted and turned into young soldiers.
枪林弹雨是家常便饭, 因为我们的村庄经常受到袭击, 为了争夺在尼罗河边取水而 常常爆发冲突, 但还不止如此, 飞机在我们上空盘旋, 投下骇人的炸弹, 瞬间就炸断人的肢体。 但对每一位家长来说, 最可怕的事情是, 看到他们的孩子被绑架, 然后训练成年轻的战士。
My mother dug a trench that soon became our home. But yet, we did not feel protected. She had to flee in search of a safe place for us. I was four years old, and my younger sister was two. We joined a huge mass of people, and together we walked for many agonizing days in search of a secure place. But we could barely rest before we were attacked again. I remember my mother was pregnant, when she would take turns to carry me and my younger sister.
我的母亲挖了一条战壕, 那很快成了我们的家。 但我们还是觉得很危险, 所以她不得不四处奔走, 为我们找安全的落脚点。 我当时四岁,妹妹才两岁, 我们就跟着一大群人走, 走了好多天,痛苦不堪, 就为了寻找一个安全的地方。 可是我们几乎不能休息, 生怕被再被袭击。 我记得母亲当时有孕在身, 还要轮流抱着我和我妹妹。
We finally made it across the Kenyan border, yes. But that was the longest journey that I have ever had in my whole life. My feet were raw with blisters. To our surprise, we found other family members who had fled into the camp earlier on, where you all are today, the Kakuma camp. Now, I want you all to be very quiet just for a moment. Do you hear that? The sound of silence. No gunshots. Peace, at last. That was my first memory of this camp. When you move from a war zone and come to a secure place like Kakuma, you've really gone far.
最有,我们越过了 肯尼亚边界,谢天谢地。 但那是我一辈子走过最长的路, 我的双脚磨起了水泡。 但出乎意料的是, 我们找到了早些时候 逃到难民营其他家人, 就是今天你们所在的难民营, 卡库马难民营。 现在,我想请大家 保持安静,就一会。 大家听到了吗? 是寂静的声音, 没有枪响, 平静,终于到来了。 那就是我对这个 难民营最初的记忆。 当你离开交战区, 来到了像卡库马这样安全的地方, 真的是一段很远的距离。
I only stayed in the camp for three years, though. My father, who had been absent in most of my early childhood, came back into my life. And he organized for me to move with my uncle to our family in Nakuru. There, I found my father's first wife, my half sisters and my half brothers. I got enrolled in school. I remember my first day in school -- I could sing and laugh again -- and my first set of school uniforms, you bet. It was amazing. But then I came to realize that my uncle did not find it fit for me to go to school, simply because I was a girl. My half brothers were his first priority. He would say, "Educating a girl is a waste of time." And for that reason, I missed many days of school, because the fees were not paid. My father stepped in and organized for me to go to boarding school. I remember the faith that he put in me over the couple of years to come. He would say, "Education is an animal that you have to overcome. With an education, you can survive. Education shall be your first husband." And with these words came in his first big investment. I felt lucky!
虽然,我只在难民营里呆了三年, 我的父亲,那个几乎缺席了 我整个幼儿时代的父亲, 回到了我的身边, 安排我跟我的叔叔一起, 搬到我们在纳库鲁的家。 在那里,我见到了 父亲的第一任妻子, 和同父异母的姐妹和兄弟, 还上学了 我记得我上学的第一天 —— 我又能唱又能笑了—— 我的第一套校服, 你们猜怎么着? 美呆了。 但我渐渐意识到, 叔叔认为我不太适合上学, 就因为我是女孩。 我同父异母的兄弟, 才是他优先考虑的对象。 他说:“女孩受教育 简直就是浪费时间。” 正因如此,我落了很多天的课程, 因为没有交学费。 我的父亲插手了这件事, 安排我去一所寄宿学校就读。 还记得父亲那几年给我的信念 他说,“教育是你必须得驯化的动物, 只有教育,能让你生存下去, 教育会是你的第一任丈夫。” 说完这些话,(他为我) 投了第一笔巨资, 我真的好幸运。
But I was missing something: my mother. My mother had been left behind in the camp, and I had not seen her since I left it. Six years without seeing her was really long. I was alone, in school, when I heard of her death. I've seen many people back in South Sudan lose their lives. I've heard from neighbors lose their sons, their husbands, their children. But I never thought that that would ever come into my life.
但我真的好想念一个人: 我的母亲。 我的母亲被留在了难民营, 离开后我一直没能再看到她。 六年都看不到她, 真的是很长时间。 我只身一人, 在学校里, 当我听到她死讯的时候。 在南苏丹的时候, 我目睹了很多人 失去了他们的性命。 我也从邻居的口中, 听到他们说失去儿子、丈夫、, 失去孩子, 但我从来没有想过这事 会发生在我身上。
A month earlier, my stepmother, who had been so good to me back in Nakuru, died first. Then I came to realize that after giving birth to four girls, my mother had finally given birth to something that could have made her be accepted into the community -- a baby boy, my baby brother. But he, too, joined the list of the dead.
一个月以前, 我在纳库鲁对我特别好的继母 是家里第一个死去的人。 然后我意识到, 在生完我们四个女孩后, 我的母亲最终生出了 一个让她最终被那个社会所接纳的 男婴, 我的小弟弟。 但是他, 也死了。
The most hurting part for me was the fact that I wasn't able to attend my mother's burial. I wasn't allowed. They said her family did not find it fit for her children, who are all girls, to attend her burial, simply because we were girls. They would lament to me and say, "We are sorry, Mary, for your loss. We are sorry that your parents never left behind any children." And I would wonder: What are we? Are we not children? In the mentality of my community, only the boy child counted. And for that reason, I knew this was the end of me.
令我最痛心的是, 我甚至不能参加我母亲的葬礼, 因为不允许我参加。 他们说,妈妈生的都是女孩, 女孩不适合参加她的葬礼, 仅仅因为我们是女孩。 他们沉痛地对我说, “玛丽, 你母亲的离世我们深感遗憾, 很遗憾你们父母没留下后代。” 于是我就在想, 那我们算什么? 我们难道就不是她的孩子吗? 在我们社会里 人们有这样一种心态, 只有男孩才算数。 而正是因为这个理由, 我知道我于他们毫无意义。
But I was the eldest girl. I had to take care of my siblings. I had to ensure they went to school. I was 13 years old. How could I have made that happen? I came back to the camp to take care of my siblings. I've never felt so stuck. But then, one of my aunts, Auntie Okoi, decided to take my sisters. My father sent me money from Juba for me to go back to school. Boarding school was heaven, but it was also so hard. I remember during the visiting days when parents would come to school, and my father would miss. But when he did come, he repeated the same faith in me. This time he would say, "Mary, you cannot go astray, because you are the future of your siblings."
但作为最年长的女孩, 我必须承担起照顾妹妹的责任, 我必须确保她们可以上学。 那年我才13岁, 我怎么可能做到这一切啊? 我回到难民营去照顾我的妹妹, 我从来没感到这么无助过。 但幸好我的一个阿姨,奥可伊, 决定收留我妹妹, 我的父亲才又从朱巴给我打钱, 让我得以重新回到校园。 寄宿学校就像天堂一般, 但同样也很煎熬。 我记得在访问日, 家长们会来学校看望孩子们, 但我的父亲却总是不在。 当他真的来了, 他会重复他对我的厚望, 这回他说, “玛丽,你千万不要误入歧途, 因为你是兄弟姐妹们的未来。”
But then, in 2012, life took away the only thing that I was clinging on. My father died. My grades in school started to collapse, and when I sat for my final high school exams in 2015, I was devastated to receive a C grade. OK, I keep telling students in my class, "It's not about the A's; it's about doing your best." That was not my best. I was determined. I wanted to go back and try again. But my parents were gone. I had no one to take care of me, and I had no one to pay that fee. I felt so hopeless.
但,在2012年时, 生活带走了我赖以生存的希望, 我的父亲去世了。 我的成绩一落千丈, 在2015年的高中毕业考试里, 我很痛苦,因为我只拿了个及格。 我一直和我班上的学生说, “关键不在于成绩是否优秀; 而是你有没有全力以赴。” 而我没有尽全力。 我下定决心, 我想回到学校,再试一次。 可我的父母已经不在了, 没有人会照顾我, 也没有人会替我交学费, 当时我真的很无助。
But then, one of my best friends, a beautiful Kenyan lady, Esther Kaecha, called me during this devastating moment, and she was like, "Mary, you have a strong will. And I have a plan, and it's going to work." OK, when you're in those devastating moments, you accept anything, right? So the plan was, she organized some travel money for us to travel to Anester Victory Girls High School. I remember that day so well. It was raining when we entered the principal's office. We were shaking like two chickens that had been rained on, and we looked at him. He was asking, "What do you want?" And we looked at him with the cat face. "We just want to go back to school." Well, believe it or not, he not only paid our school fees but also our uniform and pocket money for food. Clap for him.
但我一个最好的朋友, 一位漂亮的肯尼亚女士, 埃斯特·卡恰, 在我绝望之际,打来了电话, 她说,“玛丽,你真的很坚强, 我有个计划,我想应该行得通。” 当人在绝望的时候,会抓紧 任何一根救命的稻草,对吗? 计划是这样的,她筹集了路费, 让我俩到安斯特胜利女子高中去。 那一天,我记得很清楚, 走进校长办公室时,天正下着雨。 我俩像被落汤鸡一样瑟瑟发抖, 我们看着校长, 校长问,“你们想要什么?” 我们恳切的看着他, 像可怜的小猫咪一样, “我们只是想重新上学而已。” 是的,信不信由你们, 校长不仅替我们支付了学费, 给我们买了校服,而且还给 了我们一些买食物用的零花钱。 让我们为他鼓掌。
(Applause)
(掌声)
When I finished my high school career, I became the head girl. And when I sat for the KCSE for a second time, I was able to receive a B minus. Clap.
在我结束我高中生涯时, 我成为了学校里的女学生代表, 而在我第二次参加高中毕业考时, 我拿到了良好。 掌声鼓励。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
So I really want to say thank you to Anester Victory, Mr. Gatimu and the whole Anester fraternity for giving me that chance.
我真心想对加迪姆先生,还有 安斯特胜利女子高中说谢谢, 对给予了我这个机会的 全体安斯特的师生说声谢谢,
From time to time, members of my family will insist that my sister and I should get married so that somebody will take care of us. They will say, "We have a man for you." I really hate the fact that people took us as property rather than children. Sometimes they will jokingly say, "You are going to lose your market value the more educated you become." But the truth is, an educated woman is feared in my community. But I told them, this is not what I want. I don't want to get kids at 16 like my mother did. This is not my life. Even though my sisters and I are suffering, there's no way we are heading in that direction. I refuse to repeat history. Educating a girl will create equal and stable societies. And educated refugees will be the hope of rebuilding their countries someday. Girls and women have a part to play in this just as much as men.
时不时地, 家里人总会唠叨我和妹妹, 让我们赶紧嫁了, 这样就有人照顾我们了。 他们说, “我们给你找好人家了。” 我真的很讨厌他们总是将我们 视为财产,而非孩子。 有时候,他们甚至会开玩笑说, “你读的书越多, 你就会越掉价哦。” 但事实是, 在我的社会里, 人们惧怕受过教育的女人。 但我告诉他们, (结婚)不是我想要的。 我不想像我母亲一样, 16岁时就当上了母亲, 这不是我要的生活。 即使我和我的妹妹们 依然处在水深火热之中, 我们也绝不要重蹈覆辙, 我不要让这样的历史重演。 女孩受教育才能创造一个 公平和稳定的社会, 受教育的难民总有一天会成为 重建他们国家的希望。 女孩和妇女, 也是重建国家的一份子, 她们和男人一样重要。
Well, we have men in my family that encourage me to move on: my half brothers and also my half sisters. When I finished my high school career, I moved my sisters to Nairobi, where they live with my stepsister. They live 17 people in a house. But don't pity us. The most important thing is that they all get a decent education. The winners of today are the losers of yesterday, but who never gave up. And that is who we are, my sisters and I. And I'm so proud of that. My biggest investment in life --
我的家里的男人 总是不断鼓励我前进: 我同父异母的兄弟, 和同父异母的姐妹。 在我高中生涯结束后, 我把妹妹们安顿到了内罗比, 和同父异母的姐妹住在一起。 那所房子里,住着17个人, 但是,不要觉得我们可怜。 最重要的, 是她们都受到了良好的教育。 今天的赢家, 其实就是昨天失意的人, 但是他们永不放弃。 而这就是我们, 我的妹妹们和我, 而我为此感到骄傲。 我人生中最伟大的投资 --
(Applause)
(掌声)
is the education of my sisters. Education creates an equal and fair chance for everyone to make it. I personally believe education is not all about the syllabus. It's about friendship. It's about discovering our talents. It's about discovering our destiny. I will, for example, not forget the joy that I had when I first had singing lessons in school, which is still a passion of mine. But I wouldn't have gotten that anywhere else. As a teacher, I see my classroom as a laboratory that not only generates skills and knowledge but also understanding and hope. Let's take a tree. A tree may have its branches cut, but give it water, and it will grow new branches. For the child of war, an education can turn their tears of loss into a passion for peace. And for that reason, I refuse to give up on a single student in my class.
就是对我妹妹们教育的投资。 教育为每个人创造了平等和 公正竞争的机会, 我私以为,教育不只是关乎课程, 而是关于友谊, 关于发掘天赋才能, 关于发现命运。 比方说,我永远不会忘记 我在学校里 上的第一堂音乐课时的快乐, 我依然对此充满热情。 但是如果在别的地方, 我本不会有这样的机会。 作为一名老师, 我将我的教室视为一间实验室, 在这里,学生不仅要学会 技巧和知识, 而且还要学会理解和充满希望。 让我们以树为例, 一棵树可能会让人剪掉树枝, 但是只要你再浇点水, 就又会长出新的枝条。 对于战争中的孩子们来说, 教育可让他们从痛失亲人的眼泪中 振作起来追求和平。 而正是因为这个理由,我绝不放弃 我班级里的任何一个学生。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Education heals. The school environment gives you a focus to focus ahead. Let's take it this way: when you're busy solving mathematical equations, and you are memorizing poetry, you forget the violence that you witnessed back home. And that is the power of education. It creates this place for peace. Kakuma is teeming with learners. Over 85,000 students are enrolled in schools here, which makes up 40 percent of the refugee population. It includes children who lost years of education because of the war back home. And I want to ask you a question: If education is about building a generation of hope, why are there 120 students packed in my classroom? Why is it that only six percent of the primary school students are making it to high school, simply because we do not have enough places for them? And why is it that only one percent of the secondary school graduates are making it to university?
教育具有治愈的力量。 学校的环境, 让你能够专心致志, 心无旁骛的去奋斗。 大家可以这样理解: 当你埋头于解决数学方程式时, 当你在背诵诗歌时, 你就忘记了你曾在家乡看到的 满目疮痍, 这就是教育的力量, 它为和平创造了一片天地。 卡库马现在挤满了求学的人, 有8万5千名学生来到这边的 学校求学, 占难民人口的40%, 其中包括因为家乡战乱 而失去教育机会的孩子们。 我想问在座各位一个问题: 如果教育是为了给一代人树立希望, 那为什么还会有120名学生 挤在我的教室里听课? 为什么只有6%的小学生, 能顺利读到高中, 难道只是因为教室不够? 为什么只有1%的高中毕业生, 能顺利上大学呢?
I began by saying that I am a teacher. But once again, I have become a student. In March, I moved to Rwanda on a scholarship program called "Bridge2Rwanda." It prepares scholars for universities. They are able to get a chance to compete for universities abroad. I am now having teachers telling me what to do, instead of the other way round. People are once again investing in me.
我在开头的时候, 介绍自己说是一名老师, 但是,我又当学生了。 三月份的时候,我迁去了卢旺达, 参加了一个学者项目 “通往卢旺达的桥梁”的, 为学者们上大学做好准备, 让他们能够有机会 争取在国外上大学。 现在我有老师指导我该做什么, 而不是我告诉别人该做什么。 再一次,有人愿意为我的教育投资。
So I want to ask you all to invest in young refugees. Think of the tree that we mentioned earlier. We are the generation to plant it, so that the next generation can water it, and the one that follows will enjoy the shade. They will reap the benefits. And the greatest benefit of them all is an education that will last.
所以我想请在座各位 为年轻的难民们的教育投资。 想一想我之前提到的树的比喻, 我们是植树的一代人, 这样下一代人就可以为其浇水, 再下一代人就可以在树荫下乘凉, 他们就可以收获前人种下的好处。 而在所有的好处之中, 最棒的一点就是 教育会因此永垂不朽。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)