Cities are like siblings in a large polygamous family. Each one has a unique personality and is headed in a distinct direction. But they all have somewhat shared origins. Sometimes I think postcolonial cities are like the children of the two least-favorite wives, who are constantly being asked, "Ah, why can't you be more like your sister?"
唔同嘅城市就好似 同父異母嘅兄弟姊妹 個個有獨特嘅性格同發展方向 但係佢哋有共同嘅起源 有時我覺得後殖民城市 就好似兩個最唔受寵嘅妾侍 生嘅細路一樣 時時俾人問: 「你點解唔學下人呢?」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
The "why" of cities is largely the same, no matter where they are: an advantageous location that makes trade and administration possible; the potential for scalable opportunities for the skilled and unskilled alike; a popular willingness to be in constant flux and, of course, resilience. The "how" of cities, however, is a whole other story. How are they run? How do they grow? How do they decide who belongs and who doesn't?
無論地理位置,城市存在嘅理由 大致上係一樣: 為貿易同行政提供方便 畀有技術同冇技術工人發揮潛力嘅機會 推動社會演變 同埋加強社會抵禦逆境嘅能力 但係,城市存在嘅方式 又係另外一回事 佢哋係點運作呢? 佢哋係點發展呢? 佢哋又點決定邊個可以立足 邊個要走人呢?
Lagos is my home. You can always find the Nigerians by following the noise and the dancing, right?
拉哥斯係我嘅故鄉 聽到噪音同舞樂聲 你就知道有尼日利亞人,係咪?
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Like any major city, that place is a lot of things, many of which are highly contradictory. Our public transportation doesn't quite work, so we have these privately owned bright yellow buses that regularly cause accidents. Luxury car showrooms line badly maintained and often flooded roads. Street evangelism is only slightly less ubiquitous than street harassment. Sex workers sometimes have two degrees, a bank job and a prominent role in church.
同其他大城市一樣 拉哥斯有好多面 當中有幾面係自相矛盾 我哋嘅公共交通系統唔係咁得 於是我哋引入鮮黃色嘅私營巴士 但成日發生意外 豪華汽車陳列室隔籬 係保養惡劣同周時淹水嘅馬路 喺街上嘅福音傳道同街頭嘅騷擾案 都一樣咁多 有啲性工作者 有兩個學位、有份工喺銀行 仲喺教會度好活躍添
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
On any given day, there can be either a party or a burned body in the middle of a street.
喺任何一日 街頭上一係見到派對 一係見到燒燶嘅屍體
There is so much that is possible in Lagos and so much that isn't, and very often the difference between possibility and impossibility is simply who you are, and if you're lucky enough, who you're connected to. Belonging in Lagos is a fluid concept determined by ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, but most visibly and often most violently, class.
喺拉哥斯,有好多事有可能 亦有好多事冇可能 好多時,可能同冇可能之間嘅差別 就睇你嘅身份、你嘅運氣 同埋人脈 能唔能夠喺拉哥斯立足有好多變數 譬如你嘅種族、性取向,同性別 不過最明顯同最強烈嘅因素係社會階層
Before Nigeria became a country, fisherpeople from the inland creeks started to come down the Lagos lagoon and establish villages along the coast. About 60 years later, my grandfather, Oludotun Adekunle Kukoyi, also arrived in Lagos. Like me, he was an alumnus of the University of Ibadan, a young member of the educated elite in the independence era. Over time, he built an illustrious career as a land surveyor, mapping out now-bustling neighborhoods when they were just waist-high wild grass. He died when I was nine. And by that time, my family, like the families of those fisherpeople, knew Lagos as home.
喺尼日利亞建國之前 嚟自內陸嘅漁民 開始遷移到拉哥斯潟湖 沿住岸邊起村莊 大約六十年後,我嘅爺爺 Oludotun Adekunle Kukoyi 亦來咗拉哥斯 同我一樣,佢亦係伊巴丹大學嘅校友 係喺獨立時代 受過教育嘅年輕精英 佢慢慢喺土地測量界創出成就 將生滿野草嘅爛地 規劃成繁榮嘅市區 佢過身嗰陣我先至九歲 嗰時,我嘅屋企人 就好似當初嘅漁民一樣 已經當拉哥斯係自己嘅家鄉
Among the Yoruba, we have a saying, "Èkó gb’olè, ó gb’ọ̀lẹ," which can be translated to mean that Lagos will welcome anyone. But that saying is becoming less and less true. Many Lagosians, including the descendants of those fisherpeople who arrived generations before my grandfather, are now being pushed out to make room for an emergent city that has been described as "the new Dubai." You see, Lagos inspires big dreams, even in its leaders, and successive governments have declared aspirations towards a megacity where poverty does not exist. Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the eradication of poverty as you would expect, the strategy of choice focuses on eliminating the poor.
我哋約魯巴人有句話: 「Èkó gb’olè, ó gb’ọ̀lẹ,」 可以翻譯為:拉哥斯歡迎任何人 但係呢嗰句話越嚟越假 好多拉哥斯人 包括早過我爺爺好幾代 就來到拉哥斯嘅漁民嘅後裔 宜家正被趕走 因為一個就嚟成為「新杜拜」嘅城市 已經容唔落佢哋 拉哥斯激發人有大夢想 甚至激發呢度嘅領袖 歷屆政府都有宏願 建立一個冇貧人嘅大城市 唔好彩嘅係 政府嘅策略唔係幫窮人擺脫貧困 而係將窮人趕走
Last October, the Governor announced plans to demolish every single waterfront settlement in Lagos. There are more than 40 of these indigenous communities all over the city, with over 300,000 people living in them. Otodo Gbame, a hundred-year-old fishing village with a population about three-quarters that of Monaco and similar potential for beachfront luxury --
舊年十月,市長宣佈咗一啲計劃 要拆除拉哥斯 每一個沿岸嘅原住民貧民窟 成個城市有超過四十個 噉樣嘅原住民社區 總共住咗三十幾萬居民 Otodo Gbame 係一個擁有百年歷史嘅漁村 佢嘅人口大約係摩納哥嘅四分之三 而且有著開發成 摩納哥一樣豪華海濱城市嘅潛力
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
was one of the first to be targeted.
佢係最先被拆除嘅目標
I first heard of Otodo Gbame after the demolition started. When I visited in November 2016, I met Magdalene Aiyefoju. She is a now-homeless woman whose surname means, "the world is blind." Magdalene's son Basil was one of over 20 people who were shot, drowned or presumed dead in that land grab. Standing outside her shelter, I saw the two white-sand football fields where Basil used to play. Spread all around us were the ruins of schools, churches, a primary health center, shops, thousands of homes. Young children enthusiastically helped to put up shelters, and about 5,000 of the residents, with nowhere else to go, simply stayed put. And then in April, state security personnel came back. This time, they cleared the community out completely, with beatings, bullets and fire. As I speak, there are construction crews preparing Otodo Gbame's beaches for anyone who can afford a multi-million-dollar view. The new development is called "Periwinkle Estate."
我第一次聽到 Otodo Gbame 嗰時 佢已經拆緊 我喺 2016 年 11 月去探訪嘅時候 識咗 Magdalene Aiyefoju 佢宜家已經無家可歸 佢嘅姓氏意思係︰世界係盲嘅 呢次抗議霸佔土地裡邊 有超過二十人 被射殺、浸死、或者被斷定死亡 其中包括 Magdalene Aiyefojue 嘅仔 Basil 我企喺佢嘅臨時棲身之所外邊 睇到 Basil 以前踼過嘅兩個白沙足球場 而周圍嘅學校、教堂、健康中心 商店同數以千計嘅房屋 已經變成廢墟 細路仔好積極噉幫手搭臨時庇護所 大約五千名居民冇家可歸 亦冇處可走 然後喺四月 州政府又派安全人員嚟 呢次,佢哋打人、開槍,同放火 將全部人趕走曬 就喺宜家,地盤工人正喺 Otodo Gbame 嘅海灘 起價值百萬嘅豪華海景屋 個新開發區叫「長春花豪宅區」
Forced evictions are incredibly violent and, of course, unconstitutional. And yet, they happen so often in so many of our cities, because the first thing we are taught to forget about poor people is that they are people. We believe that a home is a thing a person absolutely has a right to, unless the person is poor and the home is built a certain way in a certain neighborhood. But there is no single definition of the word "home." After all, what is a slum besides an organic response to acute housing deficits and income inequality? And what is a shanty if not a person making a home for themselves against all odds? Slums are an imperfect housing solution, but they are also prime examples of the innovation, adaptability and resilience at the foundation -- and the heart -- of every functional city. You don't need to be the new Dubai when you're already Lagos.
呢種強硬同暴力嘅手段當然違反憲法 但係呢種事件已經 喺太多嘅城市度發生 因為我哋第一件被洗腦嘅事就係︰ 窮人唔係人 我哋相信 除咗窮,或者起屋起得唔妥當之外 任何人都有權利擁有一間屋 但係「屋」嘅定義唔淨得一個 其實,貧民窟係咪就係 房屋短缺同收入唔平等咁簡單? 簡陋乜唔係反映咗 窮人排除萬難幫自己起到間屋咩? 貧民窟雖然唔係完美嘅住屋方案 但係有創新、適應力同韌力 呢三樣嘢 係每一個健全城市嘅核心 我哋已經有拉哥斯嘞 所以就唔需要有第二個杜拜!
(Applause)
(掌聲)
We have our own identity, our own rhythm, and as anyone who knows Lagos can tell you, poor Lagosians are very often the source of the city's character. Without its poor, Lagos would not be known for its music or its endless energy or even the fact that you can buy an ice cold drink or a puppy through your car window.
我哋有自己嘅文化、自己嘅節奏 任何一個熟悉拉哥斯嘅人 都可以話畀你知 拉哥斯嘅窮人 係呢個城市嘅文化底蘊 冇咗呢班窮人,拉哥斯就唔會有 遠近聞名嘅音樂 或者無限嘅活力 甚至冇人喺你嘅車窗 賣冰飲或者狗仔畀你
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
The conditions that cause us to define certain neighborhoods as slums can be effectively improved, but not without recognizing the humanity and the agency of the people living in them. In Lagos, where public goods are rarely publicly available, slum dwellers are often at the forefront of innovating solutions. After being disconnected from the grid for months because the power company couldn't figure out how to collect bills, one settlement designed a system that collectivized remittances and got everyone cheaper rates into the bargain. Another settlement created a reform program that hires local bad boys as security. They know every trick and every hideout, so now troublemakers are more likely to get caught and reported to police and fewer of the youth end up engaging in criminal activity. Yet another settlement recently completed a flood-safe, eco-friendly communal toilet system. Models like these are being adopted across Lagos.
我哋可以幫手改善貧民窟環境 但係要認同裡邊嘅居民 同佢哋嘅自主權 喺拉哥斯,公共資源通常好短缺 但貧民窟居民經常最先揾到解決辦法 喺電力公司因為唔識收電費 就切斷供電幾個月嘅時候 一個貧民窟就集合每戶電費一次過交 仲幫大家爭取到更平嘅電費 另一個貧民窟聘用飛仔做保安 因為飛仔最知壞人嘅路數 所以揾佢哋來捉賊最啱 而且仲會防止後生仔參與犯罪 仲有另一個貧民窟 近期完成咗一個又防水浸 又環保嘅廁所系統 拉哥斯其他地區亦都開始採用呢個系統
Informal settlements are incorrectly named as the problem. In fact, the real problems are the factors that create them, like the entrenchment of poverty, social exclusion and state failures. When our governments frame slums as threats in order to justify violent land grabs or forced evictions, they're counting on those of us who live in formal housing to tacitly and ignorantly agree with them. Rather, we must remind them that governments exist to serve not only those who build and live in luxury homes, but also those who clean and guard them. Our --
非正式嘅貧民窟被視為係問題 事實上,問題嘅因由 先至係真正嘅問題 譬如根深蒂固嘅貧困問題 社會上對窮人嘅排斥 同埋國家功能嘅喪失 但我哋嘅政府將貧民窟當成係威脅 繼而強行搶佔窮人土地或強迫窮人遷移 但為咗合理化成件事 政府會叫我哋默許佢哋嘅所作所為 反之,我哋要提醒政府 唔應該只為起豪宅同住豪宅嘅人服務 政府亦應為 負責豪宅清潔同保安嘅人服務 我哋嘅——
(Applause)
(掌聲)
our realities may differ, but our rights don't.
我哋家境可能唔同 但係我哋嘅權利冇唔同
The Lagos state government, like far too many on our continent, pays lip service to ideas of inclusion, while acting as though progress can only be achieved by the erasure, exploitation and even elimination of groups it considers expendable. People living with disabilities who hawk or beg on Lagos streets are rounded up, extorted and detained. Women in low-income neighborhoods are picked up and charged with prostitution, regardless of what they actually do for a living. Gay citizens are scapegoated to distract from real political problems. But people, like cities, are resilient, and no amount of legislation or intimidation or violence can fully eliminate any of us. Prostitutes, women and women who work as prostitutes still haven't gone extinct, despite centuries of active suppression. Queer Africans continue to exist, even though queerness is now criminalized in most parts of the continent. And I'm fairly certain that poor people don't generally tend to just disappear because they've been stripped of everything they have.
拉哥斯州政府就好似非洲太多嘅政府噉 口口聲聲話包容 但係行動上就只會驅趕、剝削 甚至消滅一班認為可以犧牲嘅人 而取得所謂嘅進步 靠喺拉哥斯街頭兜售或 乞食維生嘅殘疾人士 被圍捕、勒索同拘留 住喺窮區嘅女性 不論佢哋嘅職業 都會被逮捕同被控賣淫 同性戀市民成為政治上 用來分散注意力嘅替死鬼 但係人,就好似城市一樣 都有韌力 再多嘅立法、恐嚇同暴力 都唔會將我哋完全消滅 妓女、婦女,做妓女嘅女性 經過幾百年嘅壓制都仲未絕種 即使非洲大部份地方將同性戀視為罪行 同性戀非洲人依然存在 我好肯定窮人唔會俾趕盡殺絕
We are all already here, and that answers the question of whether or not we belong.
我哋嘅存在足以講明邊個屬於呢度
When those fisherpeople started to sail down the lagoon in search of new homes, it could not have occurred to them that the city that would rise up around them would one day insist that they do not belong in it. I like to believe that my grandfather, in mapping new frontiers for Lagos, was trying to open it up to make room for other people to be welcomed by the city in the same way that he was. On my way here, my grandma called me to remind me how proud she was, how proud [my grandfather] and my mother would have been. I am their dreams come true. But there is no reason why their dreams -- or mine, for that matter -- are allowed to come true while those of others are turned to nightmares. And lest we forget: the minimum requirement for a dream is a safe place to lay your head.
嗰啲漁民來到潟湖下游 搵新嘅地方落腳時 佢哋可能都諗唔到 呢個城市發展之後 會唔再認佢哋屬於呢度 我諗我爺爺喺度劃定拉哥斯嘅新邊界時 佢係想將個城市開放 來歡迎其他人來遷入 就好似佢曾經俾歡迎佢咁 喺我嚟呢度嘅路上 我嘅嫲嫲打電話畀我 同我講佢以我為傲 話如果我爺爺同媽咪仲在世嘅話 佢哋亦會以我為榮 因為我實現咗佢哋嘅夢想 但係冇理由 佢哋同我可以實現夢想 而其他人嘅夢想就變成噩夢 我哋冇忘記: 冇落腳嘅地方就冇實現夢想嘅地方
It is too late now for Basil, but not for Magdalene, not for the hundreds of thousands, the millions still under threat in Lagos or any of our cities. The world does not have to remain blind to the suffering that is created when we deny people's humanity, or even to the incredible potential for growth that exists when we recognize and value all contributions.
對於 Basil 嚟講呢個已經太遲 但係對於 Magdalene 來講 對於數十萬、數百萬喺拉哥斯人 同其他城市裡邊 受到同樣威脅嘅人嚟講 仲未太遲 呢個世界需要正視 我哋唔當窮人係人時 窮人所受嘅苦難 同埋需要正視 人人都可以貢獻嘅潛力
We must hold our governments and ourselves accountable for keeping our shared cities safe for everyone in them, because the only cities worth building -- indeed, the only futures worth dreaming of -- are those that include all of us, no matter who we are or how we make homes for ourselves.
我哋必須要求政府同埋自己 對城市裡面每一個人嘅安居負責 因為唯一值得建造嘅城市 又或者唯一可以講夢想嘅將來 就係會唔理身份 生活方式同經濟情況 去包容我哋所有人
Thank you.
多謝大家
(Applause)
(掌聲)