Some of you have heard the story before, but, in fact, there's somebody in the audience who's never heard this story in front of an audience before, so I'm a little more nervous than I normally am telling this story. I used to be a photographer for many years. In 1978, I was working for "TIME Magazine" and I was given a three-day assignment to photograph Amerasian children, children who had been fathered by American GIs all over Southeast Asia, and then abandoned -- 40,000 children all over Asia. I had never heard the word Amerasian before. I spent a few days photographing children in different countries, and like a lot of photographers and a lot of journalists, I always hoped that when my pictures are published, they might actually have an effect on a situation, instead of just documenting it.
Neki od vas već su čuli ovu priču, no postoji netko u publici tko nije čuo priču -- pred publikom -- pa sam malo nervozniji nego inače kada pričam ovu priču. Godinama sam bio fotograf. Godine 1978. radio sam za časopis Time i dobio sam trodnevni zadatak da fotografiram amerazijsku djecu, djecu koju su začeli američki vojnici diljem jugoistočne Azije i napustili -- 40.000 djece diljem Azije. Nikad prije nisam čuo riječ "amerazijski". Nekoliko sam dana fotografirao djecu u različitim zemljama i kao mnogi fotografi i novinari nadam se da će objaviti moje fotografije, da će one zapravo utjecati na situaciju, a ne samo dokumentirati je.
So, I was so disturbed by what I saw and I was so unhappy with the article that ran afterwards, that I decided I would take six months off. I was 28 years old. I decided I would find six children in different countries, and actually go spend some time with the kids, and try to tell their story a little bit better than I thought I had done for Time magazine. In the course of doing the story, I was looking for children who hadn't been photographed before, and the Pearl Buck Foundation told me that they worked with a lot of Americans who were donating money to help some of these kids. And a man told me, who ran the Pearl Buck Foundation in Korea, that there was a young girl, who was 11 years old, being raised by her grandmother. And the grandmother had never let any Westerners see her. Every time any Westerners came to the village, she hid the girl. Of course, I was immediately intrigued. I saw photographs of her and I thought I wanted to go. And the guy just told me, "This grandmother -- there's no way she's ever going to let you meet this girl that's she's raising."
Jako me je pogodilo što sam vidio i bio sam jako nezadovoljan objavljenim člankom pa sam uzeo šest mjeseci slobodno. Imao sam 28 godina. Odlučio sam pronaći šestero djece u različitim zemljama i provesti neko vrijeme s tom djecom te pokušati ispričati njihovu priču bolje nego što sam to učinio za časopis Time. Dok sam radio na priči, tražio sam djecu koja ranije nisu bila fotografirana i u zakladi Pearl Buck Foundation rekli su mi da su surađivali s puno Amerikanaca koji su donirali novac za tu djecu. Čovjek koji je vodio zakladu u Koreji ispričao mi je o jedanaestogodišnjoj djevojčici koju je odgajala baka. Baka nikad nije dopustila zapadnjacima da je vide. Kadgod bi zapadnjaci došli u selo, skrila bi djevojčicu. Naravno, to me odmah zaintrigiralo. Vidio sam njezine fotografije i htio sam otići onamo. Tip mi je samo rekao: "Nema šanse. Ova baka nikad neće -- dopustiti da upoznaš djevojčicu. Poveo sam prevoditelja i otišao u to selo,
I took a translator with me and went to this village, found the grandmother, sat down with her. And to my astonishment, she agreed to let me photograph her granddaughter. And I was paying for this myself, so I asked the translator if it would be OK if I stayed for the week. I had a sleeping bag. The family had a small shed on the side of the house, so I said, "Could I sleep in my sleeping bag in the evenings?" And I just told the little girl, whose name was Eun-Sook Lee, that if I ever did anything to embarrass her -- she didn't speak a word of English, although she looked very American -- she could put up her hand and say, "Stop," and I would stop taking pictures. Then my translator left. I couldn't speak a word of Korean. This is the first night I met Eun-Sook. Her mother was still alive. She was not raising her, her grandmother was raising her. And what struck me immediately was how in love the two of these people were. The grandmother was incredibly fond, deeply in love with this little girl. They slept on the floor at night. The way they heat their homes in Korea is to put bricks under the floors, so the heat radiates from underneath the floor. Eun-Sook was 11 years old.
pronašao baku, porazgovarao s njom. Na moje iznenađenje, dopustila mi je da fotografiram njezinu unuku. Sam sam to financirao pa sam zamolio prevoditelja da provjeri mogu li ostati jedan tjedan. Imao sam vreću za spavanje. Obitelj je uz kuću imala malu daščaru pa sam pitao "Mogu li spavati noću u svojoj vreći za spavanje?" Djevojčici koja se zvala Hyun-Sook Lee rekao sam ako joj ikada bude neugodno zbog mene -- unatoč izgledu nije znala engleski -- neka samo podigne ruku i kaže: "Stop" i ja neću više fotografirati. Prevoditelj je otišao. Nisam znao ni riječi korejskog, te sam noći upoznao Hyun-Sook. Njezina je majka još bila živa. Odgajala ju je baka, ne majka. Odmah sam primijetio koliko jedna drugu vole. Baka je bila jako nježna, istinski zaljubljena u djevojčicu. Noću su spavale na podu. U Koreji griju kuće postavljanjem cigli ispod poda, pa toplina isijava odozdo. Hyun-Sook imala je 11 godina.
I had photographed, as I said, a lot of these kids. Eun-Sook was the fifth child that I found to photograph. And almost universally, amongst all the kids, they were really psychologically damaged by having been made fun of, ridiculed, picked on and been rejected. And Korea was probably the place I found to be the worst for these kids. And what struck me immediately in meeting Eun-Sook was how confident she appeared to be, how happy she seemed to be in her own skin. And remember this picture, because I'm going to show you another picture later. She looks much like her grandmother, although she looks so Western.
Fotografirao sam puno takve djece, rekoh. Hyun-Sook zapravo je bila peto dijete koje sam fotografirao. I gotovo sva su djeca imala psihičkih problema jer su ih ismijavali, rugali im se i odbacili ih. Mislim da je Koreja od svih zemalja bila najgore mjesto za tu djecu. Kod Hyun-Sook odmah sam primijetio kako je samouvjereno izgledala, kako se sretnom doimala u svojoj koži. Zapamtite tu sliku jer ću vam kasnije pokazati drugu sliku, no možete vidjeti koliko je nalik baki iako ima takav zapadnjački izgled.
I decided to follow her to school. This is the first morning I stayed with her. This is on the way to school. This is the morning assembly outside her school. And I noticed that she was clowning around. When the teachers would ask questions, she'd be the first person to raise her hand. Again, not at all shy or withdrawn, or anything like the other children that I'd photographed. The first one to go to the blackboard to answer questions. Getting in trouble for whispering into her best friend's ears. And one of the other things I said to her through the translator -- again, this thing about saying stop -- was to not pay attention to me. So she really just completely ignored me most of the time. I noticed that at recess, she was the girl who picked the other girls to be on her team. It was very obvious, from the beginning, that she was a leader. This is on the way home. And that's North Korea up along the hill. This is up along the DMZ. They would actually cover the windows every night, so that light couldn't be seen, because the South Korean government has said for years that the North Koreans may invade at any time. So the closer you were to North Korea, the more terrifying it was.
Pratio sam je u školu. Ovo je snimljeno prvog jutra kod njih. Ovdje smo na putu u školu. Ovo je jutarnje okupljanje pred školom. Primijetio sam da se ludirala. Kada su učitelji postavljali pitanja, prva bi podigla ruku. Nije bila sramežljiva ili povučena niti nalik drugoj djeci koju sam fotografirao. Prva je išla pred ploču. Došaptavala se s najboljom prijateljicom za vrijeme nastave. Još sam joj preko prevoditelja rekao i -- opet o govorenju stop -- da ne obraća pažnju na mene. I zapravo me uglavnom ignorirala. Tijekom odmora, primijetio sam, ona je birala koje će cure biti u njenom timu. Bilo je očito, od samog početka, da je vođa. Ovo je na putu kući. Ono gore na brdu je Sjeverna Koreja. Ovo je duž demilitarizirane zone. Navečer su pokrivali prozore kako se ne bi vidjelo svjetlo jer je vlada Južne Koreje godinama prijetila da će Sjevernokorejci kadtad napasti Što si bliže Sj. Koreji, to je veći strah. Često sam fotografirao u školi,
Very often at school, I'd be taking pictures, and she would whisper into her girlfriends' ears, and then look at me and say, "Stop." And I would stand at attention, and all the girls would crack up, and it was sort of a little joke.
a ona bi šaptala prijateljici u uho, pogledala me i rekla, "Stop." I stao bih, a one su umirale od smijeha. Bila je to mala šala.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
The end of the week came and my translator came back, because I'd asked her to come back, so I could formally thank the grandmother and Eun-Sook. And in the course of the grandmother talking to the translator, the grandmother started crying. And I said to my translator, "What's going on, why is she crying?" And she spoke to the grandmother for a moment, and then she started getting tears in her eyes. And I said, "What did I do? Why is everyone crying?" And the translator said, "The grandmother says that she thinks she's dying, and she wants to know if you would take Eun-Sook to America with you." And I said, "I'm 28 years old and I live in hotels, and I'm not married." I mean, I had fallen in love with this girl, but you know, emotionally I was about 12 years old. If you know of photographers, the joke is it's the finest form of delayed adolescence ever invented. "Sorry, I have to go on an assignment, I'll be back" -- and then you never come back.
Na kraju tjedna, vratila se prevoditeljica jer sam je zamolio kako bih mogao zahvaliti baki i Hyun-Sook. I dok je baka razgovarala s prevoditeljicom, počela je plakati. Pitao sam prevoditeljicu: "Zašto plače?" Kratko je govorila s bakom te su i njoj navrle suze na oči. Pitao sam: "Što sam učinio? Što se događa? Zašto svi plaču?" Prevoditeljica je rekla: "Baka misli da umire i pita biste li poveli Hyun-Sook u Ameriku." Rekao sam: "Imam 28 godina, živim u hotelima i nisam oženjen." Zaljubio sam se u tu djevojčicu, no emocionalno, imao sam 12 godina. Vic kaže da su fotografi najistančajniji oblik kasne adolescencije ikad izmišljen. "Moram na zadatak, vratit ću se." I nikad se ne vratiš.
So I asked the translator why she thought she was dying. Can I get her to a hospital? Could I pay to get her a doctor? And she refused any help at all. So when I got outside, I gave the translator some money and said, "Go back and see if you can do something." And I gave the grandmother my business card. And I said, "If you're serious, I will try to find a family for her." And I immediately wrote a letter to my best friends in Atlanta, Georgia, who had an 11-year-old son. And my best friend had mistakenly one day said something about wishing he had another child. So my friends Gene and Gayle had not heard from me in about a year, and suddenly I was calling, saying "I'm in Korea and I've met this extraordinary girl." And I said, "The grandmother thinks she's sick, but I think maybe we would have to bring the grandmother over also." And I said, "I'll pay for the ... " I mean, I had this whole sort of picture. So anyway, I left. And my friends actually said they were very interested in adopting her. And I said, "Look, I think I'll scare the grandmother to death, if I tell her that you're willing to adopt her. I want to go back and talk to her." But I was off on assignment. I figured I'd come back in a couple of weeks and talk to the grandmother.
Pitao sam prevoditeljicu zašto ona misli da umire. Da je odvedem u bolnicu? Platim liječnika? Odbila je bilo kakvu pomoć Kada smo izašli, dao sam prevoditeljici nešto novca i rekao: "Molim te provjeri možeš li što učiniti." Baki sam dao svoju posjetnicu. Rekao sam: "Ako je zaista tako, pokušat ću joj pronaći obitelj." Odmah sam pisao svojim prijateljima u Atlanti, Georgiji, koji imaju 11-godišnjeg sina. Moj je najbolji prijatelj jednom rekao da bi želio još jedno dijete. I tako sam prijatelje Gene i Gail, kojima se nisam javio oko godinu, iznenada nazvao i rekao: "Ja sam u Koreji, upoznao sam posebnu djevojčicu." I rekao sam: "Baka misli da je bolesna, no ja mislim da ćemo morati povesti i baku." I rekao sam: "Platit ću..." Imao sam određenu predodžbu. I tako, otišao sam. I moji su prijatelji bili jako zainteresirani za posvajanje. I rekao sam: "Prestrašit ću baku nasmrt napišem li da želite posvojiti djevojčicu, vratit ću se i razgovarati s njom." No bio sam na zadatku. Htio sam se vratiti za nekoliko tjedana i razgovarati s bakom. Na Božić
And on Christmas Day, I was in Bangkok with a group of photographers and got a telegram -- back in those days, you got telegrams -- from Time magazine saying someone in Korea had died and left their child in a will to me. Did I know anything about this? Because I hadn't told them what I was doing, because I was so upset with the story they'd run. So, I went back to Korea, and I went back to Eun-Sook's village, and she was gone. And the house that I had spent time in was empty. It was incredibly cold. No one in the village would tell me where Eun-Sook was, because the grandmother had always hidden her from Westerners. And they had no idea about this request that she'd made of me. So I finally found Myung Sung, her best friend that she used to play with after school every day. And Myung Sung, under some pressure from me and the translator, gave us an address on the outside of Seoul. And I went to that address and knocked on the door, and a man answered the door. It was not a very nice area of Seoul, there were mud streets outside of it. And I knocked on the door and Eun-Sook answered the door, and her eyes were bloodshot, and she seemed to be in shock. She didn't recognize me -- there was no recognition whatsoever. And this man came to the door and kind of barked something in Korean. And I said to the translator, "What did he say?" And she said, "He wants to know who you are." And I said, "Tell him that I am a photographer." I started explaining who I was, and he interrupted. And she said, "He says he knows who you are, what do you want?" I said, "Well, tell him that I was asked by this little girl's grandmother to find a family for her." And he said, "I'm her uncle, she's fine, you can leave now."
sam bio u Bangkoku s drugim fotografima i dobio telegram, tada su se dobivali telegrami, od časopisa Time, da je netko u Koreji preminuo i oporukom mi ostavio dijete. Znam li išta o tome? Nisam im rekao što radim, jer sam bio uzrujan zbog objavljene priče. Otišao sam u Koreju, u Hyun-Sookino selo, no nje nije bilo. Kuća u kojoj sam boravio bila je prazna. Bilo je strahovito hladno. Nisu mi htjeli reći gdje je Hyun-Sook, jer ju je baka uvijek skrivala od zapadnjaka. Nisu znali što je tražila od mene. Konačno sam pronašao Myung Sung, njenu najbolju prijateljicu, s kojom se igrala nakon škole. Myung Sung, pod pritiskom zbog mene i prevoditelja, dala nam je adresu u periferiji Seoula. Otišao sam tamo i pokucao na vrata, i otvorio ih je čovjek. Nije bio lijep dio Seoula, ulice su bile blatnjave. Pokucao sam na vrata a Hyun-Sook ih je otvorila, oči su joj bile crvene i izgledala je šokirano. Nije me prepoznala -- nimalo. Taj je čovjek prišao vratima i viknuo nešto na korejskom. Rekao sam prevoditeljici: "Što je rekao?" Ona reče: "Želi znati tko si ti." Rekoh: "Pa, reci mu da sam fotograf." Prekinuo me kad sam počeo objašnjavati tko sam. Ona reče: "Kaže da zna tko si, što želiš?" Rekoh: "Pa, reci mu da me pitala njena baka da joj pronađem obitelj." I on reče: "Ujak sam joj, dobro je, možeš ići."
So I was -- The door was being slammed in my face, it's incredibly cold, and I'm trying to think, "What would the hero do in a movie, if I was writing this as a movie script?" So I said, "It's really cold, I've come a very long way, do you mind if I come in for a minute? I'm freezing." So the guy reluctantly let us in and we sat down on the floor. And as we started talking, I saw him yell something, and Eun-Sook came and brought us some food. And I had this whole mental picture of -- sort of like Cinderella. I sort of had this picture of this incredibly wonderful, bright, happy little child, who now appeared to be very withdrawn, being enslaved by this family. And I was really appalled, and I couldn't figure out what to do. And the more I tried talking to him, the less friendly he was getting. So finally I said "Look," -- this is all through the translator, because, you know, I don't speak a word of Korean -- and I said, "Look, I'm really glad that Eun-Sook has a family to live with. I was very worried about her. I made a promise to her grandmother, your mother, that I would find a family, and I'm so happy that you're going to take care of her. But I bought an airline ticket and I'm stuck here for a week. I'm staying in a hotel downtown. Would you like to come and have lunch tomorrow? And you can practice your English." Because he told me -- I was trying to ask him questions about himself.
Znate, zatvarali su mi vrata u lice užasno je hladno, a ja si mislim: "Što bi junak u filmu napravio, da ja pišem scenarij?" Pa rekoh: "Slušaj, jako je hladno, dugo sam putovao, mogu li ući na kratko? Smrzavam se." Nevoljko nas je pustio, i sjedili smo na podu. Kad smo počeli pričati, viknuo je nešto, i Hyun-Sook uđe noseći hranu. Imao sam tu predodžbu, poput Pepeljuge, zamislio sam to divno, bistro, sretno malo dijete, sada jako povučeno, naizgled rob ovoj obitelji. Bio sam zaprepašten, nisam znao što da napravim. Što sam više pričao s njim, manje se prijateljski ponašao. Odlučio sam, pa rekoh: "Gle," -- i sve to preko prevoditelja, jer nisam znao ni riječ korejskog -- i rekao: "Gle, drago mi je da Hyun-Sook ima obitelj. Zabrinuo sam se za nju. Obećao sam njenoj baki, tvojoj majci, da ću joj naći obitelj, a sad sam sretan da ćeš brinuti o njoj." Rekoh: "Znaš, kupio sam avionsku kartu, ovdje sam cijeli tjedan." Rekao sam: "Boravim u hotelu u centru grada. Želiš li navratiti i ručati sutra? Možeš vježbati svoj engleski." Rekao mi je -- namjeravao sam da priča o sebi.
And so I went to the hotel, and I found two older Amerasians. A girl whose mother had been a prostitute, and she was a prostitute, and a boy who'd been in and out of jail. And I said to them, "Look, there's a little girl who has a tiny chance of getting out of here and going to America. I don't know if it's the right decision or not, but I would like you to come to lunch tomorrow and tell the uncle what it's like to walk down the street, what people say to you, what you do for a living. I want him to understand what happens if she stays here. And I could be wrong, I don't know, but I wish you would come tomorrow."
Otišao sam u hotel i našao dva starija Amerazijata. Curu čija je majka bila prostitutka, i ona je prostitutka, i dečka koji je više puta bio u zatvoru. Rekao sam im: "Gle, ta curica ima malenu šansu da se makne odavde i ode u Ameriku. Ne znam je li to ispravna odluka, no dođite sutra na ručak i recite ujaku kako je hodati ulicom, što vam ljudi kažu, što radite. Samo -- želim da razumije što će se dogoditi ostane li tu. Možda sam u krivu, ne znam, ali želim da sutra dođete."
So, these two came to lunch and we got thrown out of the restaurant. They were yelling at him, it got to be really ugly. We went outside, and he was just furious. And I knew I had totally blown this thing. Here I was again, trying to figure out what to do. And he started yelling at me, and I said to the translator, "Tell him to calm down, what is he saying?" And she said, "He's saying, 'Who the hell are you to walk into my house, some rich American with your cameras around your neck, accusing me of enslaving my niece? This is my niece, I love her, she's my sister's daughter. Who the hell are you to accuse me of something like this?'" And I said, you know, "Look, you're absolutely right. I don't pretend to understand what's going on here. All I know is, I've been photographing a lot of these children. I'm in love with your niece, I think she's an incredibly special child." And I said, "Look, I will fly my friends over here from the United States if you want to meet them, to see if you approve of them. I just think that -- what little I know about the situation, she has very little chance here of having the kind of life that you probably would like her to have."
Oboje su došli, i izbačeni smo iz restorana. Vikali su na njega, postalo je jako ružno. Bio je jako ljut kad smo izašli. Znao sam da sam uništio svoju priliku. I evo me opet, tražim rješenje. Vikao je na mene, pa rekoh prevoditeljici: "OK, reci mu da se smiri, što govori?" Ona je rekla: "Pa, kaže, 'Tko si k vragu ti, kad ulaziš u moju kuću, bogati Amerikanac s kamerom oko vrata, i optužuješ me da zarobljavam svoju nećakinju? Moja je nećakinja, volim ju, kćer je moje sestre. Tko si, dovraga, ti optužujući me ovako'" Rekoh, znate: "Gledaj, u pravu si. Ne pravim se da znam što se tu događa. Ono što znam, fotografirao sam tu djecu." Rekoh: "Zaljubio sam se u vašu nećakinju, ona je iznimno posebno dijete. Moji će prijatelji doletjeti ovdje iz SAD-a ako ih želiš upoznati, vidi odobravaš li ih. Mislim -- ovo malo što znam o situaciji, da ovdje ima malenu šansu imati život kakav bi joj želio."
So, everyone told me afterwards that inviting the prospective parents over was, again, the stupidest thing I could have possibly done, because who's ever good enough for your relative? But he invited me to come to a ceremony they were having that day for her grandmother. And they actually take items of clothing and photographs, and they burn them as part of the ritual. And you can see how different she looks just in three months. This was now, I think, early February. And the pictures before were taken in September. Well, there was an American Maryknoll priest that I had met in the course of doing the story, who had 75 children living in his house. He had three women helping him take care of these kids. And so I suggested to the uncle that we go down and meet Father Keane to find out how the adoption process worked. Because I wanted him to feel like this was all being done very much above board.
Svi su mi kasnije rekli da je pozivanje mogućih roditelja bila najgluplja stvar koju sam mogao napraviti, jer nitko nije dovoljno dobar za tvog rođaka. Pozvao me na ceremoniju koji su taj dan imali za njenu baku. Uzmu stvari i fotografije, i spale ih kao dio rituala. Vidite kako drukčije izgleda u tri mjeseca. Tada je bila veljača, rana veljača, a prijašnje slike su iz rujna. Upoznao sam svećenika am. mornarice dok sam pisao priču, u čijoj je kući živjelo 75 djece. Tri žene pomagale su o brizi te djece. Predložio sam ujaku da upoznamo oca Keenea, i saznamo o procesu posvajanja. Htio sam da vidi kako je sve iskreno i legalno.
So, this is on the way down to the orphanage. This is Father Keane. He's just a wonderful guy. He had kids from all over Korea living there, and he would find families for these kids. This is a social worker interviewing Eun-Sook. Now, I had always thought she was completely untouched by all of this, because the grandmother, to me, appeared to be sort of the village wise woman -- throughout the day, I noticed people kept coming to visit her grandmother. And I always had this mental picture that even though they may have been one of the poorer families in the village, they were one of the most respected. And I always felt that the grandmother had kind of demanded, and insisted, that the villagers treat Eun-Sook with the same respect they treated her. Eun-Sook stayed at Father Keane's, and her uncle agreed to let her stay there until the adoption went through. He actually agreed to the adoption.
Ovo je na putu do sirotišta. Ovo je otac Keen, divan čovjek. Tu su živjela djeca iz cijele Koreje, a on bi im nalazio obitelji. Ovo je socijalna radnica, intervjuira Hyun-Sook. Mislio sam da ju ovo ništa ne dira, jer joj je baka izgledala kao seoska mudra žena -- primijetih da su cijeli dan ljudi dolazili posjetiti njenu baku. Uvijek sam smatrao da su, iako su bili među siromašnijim obiteljima, bili jedna od najviše poštovanih obitelji. Vjerovao sam da je baka zahtijevala, inzistirala, da seljani Hyun-Sook poštuju kao i nju. Hyun-Sook ostala je kod oca Keenea, ujak je dopustio da ostane do posvajanja. Stvarno je pristao na posvajanje.
And I went off on assignment and came back a week later, and Father Keane said, "I've got to talk to you about Eun-Sook." I said, "Oh God, now what?" And he takes me into this room, closes the door and says, "I have 75 children here in the orphanage, and it's total bedlam." There's clothes, there's kids. Three adults and 75 kids -- you can imagine. And he said, "The second day she was here she made up a list of all of the names of the older kids and the younger kids. And she assigned one of the older kids to each of the younger kids. And then she set up a work detail list of who cleaned the orphanage on what day." And he said, "She's telling me that I'm messy and I have to clean up my room." And he said, "I don't know who raised her, but she's running the orphanage, and she's been here three days."
Otišao sam na zadatak, i vratio se za tjedan dana i otac Keene reče: "Moramo pričati o njoj." I rekoh: "O Bože, što sad?" Odvede me u sobu i zatvori vrata, kaže: "Imam 75 djece u sirotištu, to je luda kuća." Ima odjeće, ima djece i, znaš, troje odraslih i 75 djece -- možeš zamisliti. I reče: "Svojeg drugog dana tu, smislila je listu imena sve starije i mlađe djece. Svakom je starijem dodijelila mlađe dijete. Napravila je detaljnu listu poslova i odlučila tko će kada čistiti sirotište." Reče: "Kaže mi da sam neuredan, da moram pospremiti svoju sobu. "Ne znam tko ju je odgojio, ali," reče, "upravlja sirotištem a tu je tek tri dana."
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
This was movie day that she organized where all the kids went to the movies. A lot of the kids who had been adopted wrote back to the other kids, telling them what their life was like with their new families. So it was a really big deal when the letters showed up. This is a woman who is now working at the orphanage, whose son had been adopted. Gene and Gayle started studying Korean the moment they had gotten my first letter. They really wanted to be able to welcome Eun-Sook into their family. And one of the things Father Keane told me when I came back from one of these trips -- Eun-Sook had chosen the name Natasha, which I understood was from her watching a "Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoon on the American Air Force station. This may be one of those myth-buster things that we'll have to clear up here, in a minute.
Ovo je filmski dan - organizirala ona -- kada su sva djeca išla u kino. Puno je posvojene djece pisalo drugoj djeci, govoreći im o životu s novim obiteljima. Pa je bila velika stvar kad bi pisma dolazila. Ovo je žena koja sad radi u sirotištu, čiji je sin posvojen. Gene i Gail počeli su učiti korejski čim su dobili moje prvo pismo. Željeli su lijepo primiti Hyun-Sook u svoju obitelj. Otac Keene mi je rekao, kad sam se vratio s jednog od tih putovanja -- Hyun-Sook je odabrala ime Natasha, shvatio sam i zbog čega, gledala je crtić "Rocky i Bullwinkle" na "American Air Force" stanici. To je možda razbijač mita koji ćemo morati razjasniti za par minuta. Moj prijatelj Gene doletio je sa svojim sinom, Timom.
So, my friend Gene flew over with his son, Tim. Gayle couldn't come. And they spent a lot of time huddled over a dictionary. And this was Gene showing the uncle where Atlanta was on the map, where he lived. This is the uncle signing the adoption papers. Now, we went out to dinner that night to celebrate. The uncle went back to his family and Natasha and Tim and Gene and I went out to dinner. And Gene was showing Natasha how to use a knife and fork, and then Natasha was returning the utensil lessons. We went back to our hotel room, and Gene was showing Natasha also where Atlanta was. This is the third night we were in Korea. The first night we'd gotten a room for the kids right next to us.
Gail nije mogla doći. Proveli su puno vremena proučavajući rječnik. Ovdje Gene pokazuje ujaku gdje je Atlanta, gdje on živi. Ovdje ujak potpisuje papire za posvajanje. Otišli smo na večeru te noći da proslavimo. Ujak se vratio svojoj obitelji, a Natasha, Tim, Gene i ja otišli smo na večeru. Gene je pokazivao Natashi kako koristiti nož i vilicu, a ona je uzvratila lekciju o priboru. Vratili smo se u hotelsku sobu, Gene je Natashi pokazivao gdje je Atlanta. To nam je bila treća noć u Koreji. Prve smo noći djeci našli sobu odmah pokraj naše.
I'd been staying in this room for about three months -- it was a little 15-story Korean hotel. The second night, we didn't keep the kids' room, because we slept on the floor with all the kids at the orphanage. And the third night, we came back -- we'd just gone out to dinner, where you saw the pictures -- and we got to the front desk, and the guy said, "There's no other free rooms on your floor tonight, you can put the kids five floors below you." And Gene and I looked at each other and said, "We don't want two 11-year-olds five floors away." So his son said, "I have a sleeping bag, I'll sleep on the floor." And I said, "I have one too." So Tim and I slept on the floor, Natasha got one bed, Gene got the other -- kids pass out, it's been very exciting for three days.
U toj sam sobi bio već tri mjeseca -- mali korejski hotel s 15 katova. Druge noći nismo zadržali sobu za djecu jer smo spavali na podu sirotišta s ostalom djecom. Treće smo se noći vratili poslije večere, vidjeli ste slike, i stigli na recepciju. Recepcionar je rekao: "Nema slobodne sobe na vašem katu, ali djeca mogu biti u sobi pet katova ispod vas." Gene i ja smo se pogledali i rekli: "Ne želimo dvoje 11-godišnjaka pet katova niže." Njegov sin reče: "Imam vreću za spavanje, spavat ću na podu." Rekoh: "I ja imam svoju" Pa smo Tim i ja spavali na podu, Natasha na jednom krevetu, Gene na drugom -- djeca spavaju, bila su to tri zanimljiva dana.
We're lying in bed, and Gene and I are talking about how cool we are. We said, "That was so great, we saved this little girl's life." We were just like, you know, just full of ourselves. And we fall asleep -- and I've been in this room for a couple of months now. And they always overheat the hotels in Korea terribly, so during the day I always left the window open. And then about midnight, they turn the heat off in the hotel. So at 1am, the whole room would be like 20 below zero, and I'd get up. I'd been doing this every night I'd been there. So, sure enough, it's one o'clock, room's freezing, I go to close the window and I hear people shouting outside, and I thought, "Oh, the bars must have just gotten out." I don't speak Korean, but I'm hearing these voices, and I'm not hearing anger, I'm hearing terror. So I open the window and I look out, and there's flames coming up the side of our hotel, and the hotel's on fire. So I run over to Gene and I wake him up, and I say, "Don't freak out, I think the hotel's on fire." And now there's smoke and flames coming by our windows -- we're on the 11th floor. So the two of us were just like, "Oh my God, oh my God."
Gene i ja ležimo u krevetu i pričamo kako smo cool. Rekli smo: "Bilo je divno, spasili smo život toj curi." Bili smo, znate, puni sebe. Zaspemo -- u ovoj sobi sam, znate, već nekoliko mjeseci. Uvijek jako pregriju hotele u Koreji, pa je prozor tijekom dana otvoren. Noću, oko ponoći, isključe grijanje u hotelu. U 1 ujutro u sobi je užasno hladno, pa bih ustajao. Radio sam to svake noći. U 1 ujutro u sobi je zaista jako hladno, odem zatvoriti prozor i čujem ljude vani kako viču. Pomislih: "Vjerojatno su se barovi zatvorili." Ne znam korejski, ali čujem te glasove, ne čujem ljutnju, nego strah. Otvorim prozor i pogledam van, a plamenovi se uzdižu na našoj strani hotela. Hotel gori. Dotrčim do Genea i probudim ga, kažem: "Gene, nemoj paničariti, mislim da hotel gori." Dim i plamenovi prolaze kraj naših prozora -- na jedanaestom smo katu. "O moj Bože, o moj Bože", govorili smo. Budili smo Natashu, a ne možemo pričati s njom.
So we're trying to get Natasha up, and we can't talk to her. You know what kids are like when they've been asleep for like an hour, it's like they took five Valiums -- they're all over the place. And we can't talk to her. His son had the L.L.Bean bootlaces, and we're trying to do up his laces. So we try to get to the door, we run to the door, we open the door, and it's like walking into a blast furnace. There's people screaming, the sound of glass breaking, weird thumps. And the whole room filled with smoke in about two seconds. And Gene turns around and says, "We're not going to make it." And he closes the door, and the whole room is now filled with smoke. We're all choking, and there's smoke pouring through the vents, under the doors. There's people screaming. I just remember this unbelievable -- just utter chaos.
I znate kakva su djeca nakon sata sna, kao da su uzeli pet Valiuma -- zbunjeni i razbarušeni. I ne možemo pričati s njom. Njegov sin, sjećam se, imao je L.L. Bean vezice, i pokušavali smo ih vezati. Pokušavamo doći do vrata, i dotrčimo do njih, a kad ih otvorimo, kao da ulazimo u visoku peć. Ljudi vrište, zvuk slomljena stakla, i neki čudni udarci. Cijela se soba ispuni dimom za dvije sekunde. Gene kaže: "Nećemo uspjeti." Zatvori vrata, a cijela je soba sad ispunjena dimom. Gušimo se, a dim prolazi kroz ventile, ispod vrata. Ljudi vrište. Sjećam se tog nevjerojatnog, apsolutnog kaosa.
I remember sitting near the bed, and I had two overwhelming feelings. One was absolute terror. "Oh, please God, I just want to wake up. This has got to be a nightmare, this can't be happening. Please, I just want to wake up." And the other is unbelievable guilt. Here I've been playing God with my friends' lives, my friends' son, with Natasha's life, and this what you get when you try playing God, is you hurt people. I remember just being so frightened and terrified. And Gene, who's lying on the floor, says, "We've got to soak towels." I said, "What?" "We've got to soak towels. We're going to die from the smoke." So got towels and put them over our faces and the kids' faces. Then he said, "Do you have gaffer's tape?" "What?" "Do you have gaffer's tape?" I said, "Somewhere in my Halliburton." He says, "We've got to stop the smoke. That's all we can do." I mean, Gene -- thank God for Gene. So we put the room service menus over the vents in the wall, we put blankets at the bottom of the door, we put the kids on the windowsill to try to get some air. And there was a new building, going up, that was being built right across the street from our hotel. And there, in the building, were photographers, waiting for people to jump. Eleven people ended up dying in the fire. Five people jumped and died, other people were killed by the smoke. And there's this loud thumping on the door after about 45 minutes in all this, and people were shouting in Korean. And I remember -- Natasha didn't want us opening the door -- sorry, I was trying not to open the door, because we'd spent so much time barricading the room. I didn't know who it was, I didn't know what they wanted, and Natasha could tell they were firemen trying to get us out. I remember a sort of a tussle at the door, trying to get the door open.
Sjedio sam kraj kreveta -- osjećao sam samo dvije stvari. Prvo je bio apsolutni užas -- govorio sam: "Bože, želim se probuditi. Ovo mora biti košmar, ne događa se stvarno. Želim se probuditi, mora biti noćna mora." Drugo je nevjerojatna krivnja. Glumio sam Boga igrajući se sa životima svojih prijatelja, s Natashinim životom, ovo dobiješ kad se igraš Boga, povrijediš ljude. Bio sam prestravljen. Gene, koji leži na podu, kaže: "Moramo namočiti ručnike." Rekoh: "Što?" On reče: "Moramo ih namočiti. Umrijet ćemo od dima." Otrčali smo u kupaonu i uzeli ručnike, stavili ih preko svojih lica, lica djece. On reče: "Imaš li zaštitne trake?" Rekoh "Što?" On reče: "Imaš li zaštitne trake?" Rekoh: "Da, u svojoj torbi." Reče: "Moramo zaustaviti dim. Samo to i možemo, moramo zaustaviti dim." Gene -- hvala Bogu na Geneu. Stavili smo jelovnike preko ventila, deke ispod vrata, djecu smo smjestili kraj prozora da pokušaju doći do zraka. Nasuprot našem hotelu gradila se nova zgrada. Tamo su bili fotografi čekali da ljudi skoče. Jedanaestero ljudi umrlo je u vatri. Petero ljudi skočilo je i umrlo, druge je ljude ubio dim. Nakon 45 minuta, čuli smo kucanje na vratima, ljudi su vikali na korejskom. Sjećam se, Natasha nije htjela da otvorimo vrata -- pardon, ja nisam htio da otvaramo vrata, jer smo dugo stvarali svoje barikade. Nisam znao tko je, što žele, ali Natasha je shvatila da su vatrogasci i da nam žele pomoći. Sjećam se gužve oko vrata, pokušavajući ih otvoriti. Bilo kako bilo, 12 sati kasnije -- bili smo u predvorju.
In any case, 12 hours later -- I mean, they put us in the lobby. Gene ended up using his coat, and his fist in the coat, to break open a liquor cabinet. People were lying on the floor. It was one of just the most horrifying nights. And then 12 hours later, we rented a car, as we had planned to, and drove back to Natasha's village. And we kept saying, "Do you realize we were dying in a hotel fire, like eight hours ago?" It's so weird how life just goes on. Natasha wanted to introduce her brother and father to all the villagers, and the day we showed up turned out to be a 60-year-old man's birthday. This guy's 60 years old. So it turned into a dual celebration, because Natasha was the first person from this village ever to go to the United States. So, these are the greenhouse tents. This is the elders teaching Gene their dances. We drank a lot of rice wine. We were both so drunk, I couldn't believe it.
Gene je omotao svoj kaput oko šake kako bi razbio staklo na ormariću za piće. Ljudi su ležali na podu. Bila je to jedna od najstrašnijih noći. Onda, 12 sati kasnije, unajmili smo auto, kao što smo namjeravali, i odvezli se do Natashina sela. Stalno smo ponavljali: "Shvaćaš li da smo umirali u požaru prije osam sati?" Čudno je kako život ide dalje. Natasha je htjela oca i brata upoznati sa seljanima, a tog je dana bio rođendan 60-godišnjem čovjeku. Ima 60 godina. Postalo je dvostruko slavlje, jer je Natasha bila prva osoba iz ovog sela koja ide u SAD. Ovo su staklenički šatori. Starješine uče Genea svoje plesove. Pili smo puno rižina vina. Bili smo tako pijani, nisam mogao vjerovati.
This is the last picture before Gene and Tim headed back. The adoption people told us it was going to take a year for the adoption to go through. Like, what could you do for a year? So I found out the name of every official on both the Korean and American side, and I photographed them, and told them how famous they were going to be when this book was done. And four months later, the adoption papers came through. This is saying goodbye to everybody at the orphanage. This is Father Keane with Natasha at the bus stop. Her great aunt at the airport. I had a wonderful deal with Cathay Pacific airlines for many years, where they gave me free passes on all their airlines in return for photography. It was like the ultimate perk. And the pilot, I actually knew -- because they used to let me sit in the jump seat, to tell you how long ago this was. This is a TriStar, and so they let Natasha actually sit in the jump seat. And the pilot, Jeff Cowley, actually went back and adopted one of the other kids at the orphanage after meeting Natasha.
Ovo je zadnja slika prije odlaska Genea i Tima. Rekli su nam da će za posvajanje trebati godinu dana. Što da radiš godinu dana? Pa sam našao ime svakog američkog i korejskog službenika, fotografirao ih i rekao im koliko će slavni biti kada ova knjiga bude gotova. Četiri mjeseca kasnije, stigli su papiri za posvajanje. Ovdje se pozdravlja sa svima u sirotištu. Otac Keene i Natasha na autobusnoj stanici. Njena prateta na aerodromu. Imao sam dogovor s Cathay Pacific aviokompanijom već godinama, davali su mi besplatne karte za fotografije. Bilo je iznimno korisno. Pilot, kojeg sam znao -- dali su mi da sjedim u pomoćnom sjedištu, sada znate kad je to bilo. Bio je Tri-Star avion, pa su Natashi dali da sjedi u pomoćnom sjedištu. Pilot, Jeff Cowley, vratio se i posvojio dijete iz sirotišta kad je upoznao Natashu.
This is 28 hours later in Atlanta. It's a very long flight. Just to make things even crazier, Gayle, Natasha's new mom, was three days away from giving birth to her own daughter. You know, if you were writing this, you'd say, "No, we've got to write the script differently." This is the first night showing Natasha her new cousins and uncles and aunts. Gene and Gayle know everyone in Atlanta -- they're the most social couple imaginable. So, at this point, Natasha doesn't speak a word of English, other than what little Father Keane taught her. This is Kylie, her sister, who's now a doctor, on the right. This is a deal I had with Natasha, which is that when we got to Atlanta she could cut off my beard. She never liked it very much.
28 sati kasnije u Atlanti. Bio je to dug let. Da bi stvari bile luđe, Gail, Natashina nova mama, za tri će dana roditi svoju kćer. Znate, da pišete ovo rekli biste: "Ne, scenarij moramo napisati drukčije." Prve noći Natasha upoznaje svoje nove bratiće, ujake i tete. Gene i Gail znaju sve u Atlanti -- najdruštveniji su mogući par. Natasha nije znala engleski, osim par riječi koje ju je otac Keene naučio. Ovo je Kylie, njena sestra, koja je sada doktorica, na desno. Dogovorio sam se s Natashom, da kada dođemo u Atlantu smije obrijati moju bradu. Nikad joj se nije sviđala.
She learned English in three months. She entered seventh grade at her own age level. Pledge of Allegiance for the first time. This is her cooking teacher. Natasha told me a lot of the kids thought she was stuck up, because they would talk to her and she wouldn't answer, and they didn't realize she didn't speak English very well. But what I noticed, again as an observer, was she was choosing who was going to be on her team, and seemed to be very popular very, very quickly. Now, remember the picture, how much she looked like her grandmother, at the beginning? People were always telling Natasha how much she looks like her mother, Gayle.
Naučila je engleski u tri mjeseca. Sedmi je razred započela na svojoj dobnoj razini. Prvi put polaže Zakletvu zastavi. Njena učiteljica kuhanja. Djeca su mislila da je umišljena jer su mislili da ne želi pričati s njima, a nisu znali da na početku nije razumjela engleski. Primijetio sam, kao promatrač, da opet bira tko će biti u njenoj ekipi, vrlo je brzo postala jako popularna. Sjećate li se slike na kojoj liči svojoj baki, na početku? Natashi su ljudi govorili da liči na svoju majku, Gail.
(Laughter)
This is a tense moment in the first football game, I think. And Kylie -- I mean, it was almost like Kylie was her own child. She's being baptized. Now, a lot of parents, when they adopt, actually want to erase their children's history. And Gayle and Gene did the complete opposite. They were studying Korean; they bought Korean clothes. Gene even did a little tile work in the kitchen, which was that, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl that came from the hills of Korea to live happily ever after in Atlanta."
Napet trenutak na prvoj nogometnoj utakmici, mislim. Kylie -- Kylie kao da je bila njeno dijete. Ovdje je krštena. Puno roditelja, kada posvoje dijete žele izbrisati njegovu povijest. Gail i Gene učinili su upravo suprotno. Učili su korejski, kupili korejsku odjeću. Gene je čak sredio pločice u kuhinji na kojima kaže: "Jednom davno, predivna djevojčica iz brda Koreje došla je i zauvijek sretno živjela u Atlanti."
She hates this picture -- it was her first job. She bought a bright red Karmann Ghia with the money she made working at Burger King. The captain of the cheerleaders. Beauty pageant. Used to do their Christmas card every year. Gene's been restoring this car for a million years.
Mrzi ovu sliku -- njen prvi posao. Kupila je žarko crveni Karmann Ghia novcem koji je zaradila radeći u Burger Kingu. Kapetanica navijačica. Natjecanje ljepote. Svake godine sam fotografirao njihove božićne čestitke. Gene je godinama restaurirao ovaj auto
Kodak hired Natasha to be a translator for them at the Olympics in Korea. Her future husband, Jeff, was working for Canon cameras, and met Natasha at the Olympic Village. This is her first trip back to Korea. So there's her uncle. This is her half sister. She went back to the village. That's her best friend's mother. And I always thought that was a very Annie Hall kind of outfit.
Kodak je zaposlio Natashu kao prevoditelja na OIimpijskim igrama u Koreji. Jeff, njen budući muž, radio je za Canon kamere i upoznao Natashu u Olimpijskom selu. Ovdje se prvi put vratila u Koreju, to je njen ujak. Ovo je njena polusestra. Vratila se u selo. To je majka njene najbolje prijateljice. Ovdje se obukla kao Annie Hall.
(Laughter)
It's just, you know, it was just so interesting, just to watch -- this is her mother in the background there. This is Natasha's wedding day. Gene is looking a little older. This is Sydney, who's going to be three years old in a couple of days. And there's Evan.
Znate, bilo je tako zanimljivo, gledati -- ovo je njena majka u pozadini. Dan Natashina vjenčanja. Gene izgleda malo starije. Ovo je Sydney. Navršiti će tri godine za par dana. Ovo je Evan.
And Natasha, would you just come up, for a second, just maybe to say hello to everybody?
Natasha, bi li došla gore, samo na tren, da pozdraviš sve?
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Natasha's actually never heard me tell the story. You know, we've looked at the pictures together.
Natasha me nikad nije čula kako pričam priču. Mislim -- znate, gledali smo slike zajedno
Natasha: I've seen pictures millions of times, but today was the first time I'm actually seeing him give the whole presentation. I started crying.
Natasha: Vidjela sam slike bezbroj puta, no danas sam ga prvi put vidjela kako prezentira. Zaplakala sam.
Rick Smolan: There's about 40 things she's going to tell me, "That wasn't what happened." Natasha: I'll tell you that later.
Rick: Siguran sam da postoji oko 40 stvari za koje će mi reći: "Nije se tako dogodilo, nisi to rekao." Natasha: Kasnije, to ću kasnije napraviti. (Smijeh)
RS: Anyway, thank you, Mike and Richard, so much for letting us tell the story.
RS: Hvala vam, Mike i Richard, što ste nam dopustili da ispričamo svoju priču.
Thank you, all of you.
Hvala vam svima.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)