My name is Ryan Lobo, and I've been involved in the documentary filmmaking business all over the world for the last 10 years. During the process of making these films I found myself taking photographs, often much to the annoyance of the video cameramen.
Zovem se Rajan Lobo i bavim se snimanjem dokumentaraca širom sveta poslednjih 10 godina. U toku rada na ovim filmovima počeo sam da se bavim fotografijom, što često ume da smeta snimateljima.
I found this photography of mine almost compulsive. And at the end of a shoot, I would sometimes feel that I had photographs that told a better story than a sometimes-sensational documentary. I felt, when I had my photographs, that I was holding on to something true, regardless of agendas or politics. In 2007, I traveled to three war zones. I traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and Liberia. And over there I experienced other people's suffering, up close and personal, immersed myself in some rather intense and emotional stories, and at times I experienced great fear for my own life.
Shvatio sam da me fotografisanje gotovo obuzima. A na kraju snimanja, poknekad bih osetio da neke moje fotografije bolje pričaju priču nego ponekad i izvrstan dokumentarac. Osetio sam da fotografijama uspevam da uhvatim nešto istinito nezavisno od ciljeva i politika. 2007. sam posetio tri ratne zone. Putovao sam u Irak, Avganistan i Liberiju. Tamo sam doživeo ljudsku patnju lično i izbliza, zaronio sam u neke prilično snažne i emotivne priče i ponekad se bojao za sopstveni život.
As always, I would return to Bangalore, and often to animated discussions at friend's homes, where we would discuss various issues while they complained bitterly about the new pub timings, where a drink often cost more than what they'd paid their 14-year-old maid. I would feel very isolated during these discussions. But at the same time, I questioned myself and my own integrity and purpose in storytelling. And I decided that I had compromised, just like my friends in those discussions, where we told stories in contexts we made excuses for, rather than taking responsibility for.
Kao i uvek, vratio bih se u Bangalor u, često žestoke rasprave kod prijatelja gde smo raspravljali o različitim problemima dok su se oni ogorčeno žalili na novo radno vreme pabova gde bi za jedno piće platili više nego što plaćajau svoju četrnaestogodišnju služavku. Osećao bih se vrlo izolovanim u ovim raspravama. Ali u isto vreme sam preispitivao sebe, sopstveni integritet i ulogu u pričanju priča. Shvatio sam da sam se pomirio sa tim, baš kao i moji prijatelji u tim raspravama gde smo pričali priče za koje smo nalazili izgovore umesto da za njih preuzmemo odgovornost.
I won't go into details about what led to a decision I made, but let's just say it involved alcohol, cigarettes, other substances and a woman. (Laughter) I basically decided that it was I, not the camera or the network, or anything that lay outside myself, that was the only instrument in storytelling truly worth tuning. In my life, when I tried to achieve things like success or recognition, they eluded me. Paradoxically, when I let go of these objectives, and worked from a place of compassion and purpose, looking for excellence, rather than the results of it, everything arrived on its own, including fulfillment.
Ne želim da pričam u detalje šta je dovelo do te diskusije, ali recimo da je bilo alkohola, cigareta, drugih supstanci i žena. (Smeh) Odlučio sam da sam ja, ne kamera ili televizija, niti bilo šta izvan mene samog, jedini instrument u pričanju priča kojega stvarno treba naštimovati. Šta god sam pokušao da dostignem u životu, uspeh ili priznanje, izmaklo mi je. Paradoksalno, kada sam odustao od ovih ciljeva, i radio iz saosećanja ili svrhe, težio savršenstvu više nego rezultatu rada, sve bi došlo na svoje, pa i ispunjenost.
Photography transcended culture, including my own. And it is, for me, a language which expressed the intangible, and gives voice to people and stories without. I invite you into three recent stories of mine, which are about this way of looking, if you will, which I believe exemplify the tenets of what I like to call compassion in storytelling.
Fotografija prevazilazi kulture, računajući i moju. Za mene je jezik ono što izražava nedodirljivo, što daje glas ljudima i pričama koje ga nemaju. Pozivam vas u moje tri najskorije priče koje govore o jednom pogledu na svet koji može da objasni suštinu onoga što ja nazivam pripovedanjem iz saosećanja.
In 2007 I went to Liberia, where a group of my friends and I did an independent, self-funded film, still in progress, on a very legendary and brutal war-lord named General Butt Naked. His real name is Joshua, and he's pictured here in a cell where he once used to torture and murder people, including children. Joshua claims to have personally killed more than 10,000 people during Liberia's civil war. He got his name from fighting stark naked. And he is probably the most prolific mass murderer alive on Earth today.
2007. otišao sam u Liberiju, gde sam sa grupom prijatelja radio na nezavisnom filmu u sopstvenoj proukciji, koji je još uvek nedovršen, o legendarnom i okrutnom vojskovođi pod imenom general Gologuzi. Njegovo pravo ime je Džošua, a ovde je prikazan u ćeliji gde je nekada mučio i ubijao ljude, uključujući i decu. Džošua tvrdi da je on lično ubio više od 10.000 ljudi u toku građanskog rata u Liberiji. Dobio je nadimak jer se borio potpuno go. On je verovatno najveći živi masovni ubica na svetu.
This woman witnessed the General murdering her brother. Joshua commanded his child-soldiers to commit unspeakable crimes, and enforced his command with great brutality. Today many of these children are addicted to drugs like heroin, and they are destitute, like these young men in the image. How do you live with yourself if you know you've committed horrific crimes? Today the General is a baptized Christian evangelist. And he's on a mission.
Jedna žena je gledala kako general ubija njenog brata. Džošua je naredio svojoj vojsci načinjenoj od dece da čine strašne zločine, a svoje naredbe sprovodio je vrlo oktruno. Danas je većina ove dece zavisna od droga kao što je heroin i žive u bedi, kao ovi mladi ljudi sa slike. Kako da živite sa samim sobom kada znate da ste počinili užasne zločine? General je danas kršteni hrišćanski jevanđelista. I ima misiju.
We accompanied Joshua, as he walked the Earth, visiting villages where he had once killed and raped. He seeked forgiveness, and he claims to endeavor to improve the lives of his child-soldiers. During this expedition I expected him to be killed outright, and us as well. But what I saw opened my eyes to an idea of forgiveness which I never thought possible. In the midst of incredible poverty and loss, people who had nothing absolved a man who had taken everything from them. He begs for forgiveness, and receives it from the same woman whose brother he murdered. Senegalese, the young man seated on the wheelchair here, was once a child soldier, under the General's command, until he disobeyed orders, and the General shot off both his legs. He forgives the General in this image. He risked his life as he walked up to people whose families he'd murdered.
Pratili smo Džošuu dok je hodao zemljom, posećivao sela gde je nekada ubijao i silovao. Tražio je oproštaj i tvrdio da će pokušati da poboljša živote svojih mladih vojnika. U toku ovog putovanja, očekivao sam da će ga odmah ubiti, a sa njim i sve nas. Ali ono što sam video mi je otvorilo oči, prikazalo mi je vid oproštaja za koji sam mislio da je nemoguć. Usred neverovatnog siromaštva i propadanja, ljudi koji nemaju ništa oprostili su čoveku koji im je oduzeo sve. On moli za oproštaj, i dobija ga od iste one žene čijeg brata je ubio. Senegalac, mladić koji ovde sedi na stolici je bio vojnik kao dete, pod generalovom komandom, dok nije odbio da posluša naređenje i general mu je pucao u obe noge. Na ovoj slici on oprašta generalu. Ugrozio je svoj život dok je prilazio ljudima čije porodice je ubio.
In this photograph a hostile crowd in a slum surrounds him. And Joshua remains silent as they vented their rage against him. This image, to me, is almost like from a Shakespearean play, with a man, surrounded by various influences, desperate to hold on to something true within himself, in a context of great suffering that he has created himself.
Na ovoj fotografiji je okružen ruljom u jednom siromašnom kraju. Džošua nije progovorio kada su iskalili svoj bes na njemu. Meni ova slika izgleda kao da je iz Šekspirove drame, čovek, okružen raznim uticajima koji se očajnički drži za neku istinu u sebi, okružen velikom patnjom koju je sam stvorio.
I was intensely moved during all this. But the question is, does forgiveness and redemption replace justice? Joshua, in his own words, says that he does not mind standing trial for his crimes, and speaks about them from soapboxes across Monrovia, to an audience that often includes his victims. A very unlikely spokesperson for the idea of separation of church and state.
Sve me je to jako dirnulo. Ali pitanje je, da li oproštaj i pokajanje mogu da zamene pravdu? Kako sam Džošua kaže, on nema ništa protiv da mu se sudi za zločine i govori o njima širom Monrovije, sa improvizovane govornice publici u kojoj gotovo uvek ima njegovih žrtava. Vrlo neverovatan zagovornik ideje o razdvajanju države i crkve.
The second story I'm going to tell you about is about a group of very special fighting women with rather unique peace-keeping skills. Liberia has been devastated by one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars, which has left more than 200,000 people dead, thousands of women scarred by rape and crime on a spectacular scale. Liberia is now home to an all-woman United Nations contingent of Indian peacekeepers.
Druga priča koju ću vam ispričati tiče se grupe vrlo posebnih žena boraca sa prilično jedinstvenim sposobnostima za oržavanje mira. Liberia je opustošena u jednom od afričkih najkrvavijih građanskih ratova u kome je poginulo više od 200.000 ljudi, hiljade žena je obeleženo silovanjem i zločinima velikih razmera. Liberija je sada dom isključivo ženske grupe mirotvoraca UN-a iz Indije.
These women, many from small towns in India, help keep the peace, far away from home and family. They use negotiation and tolerance more often than an armed response. The commander told me that a woman could gauge a potentially violent situation much better than men. And that they were definitely capable of diffusing it non-aggressively. This man was very drunk, and he was very interested in my camera, until he noticed the women, who handled him with smiles, and AK-47s at the ready, of course. (Laughter)
Ove žene, od kojih je većina iz malih gradova u Indiji, pomažu održavanje mira daleko od porodica i prijatelja. Služe se pregovorima i tolerancijom mnogo češće nego oružjem. Komandant mi je rekao da žena ume da oceni potencijalno opasnu situaciju mnogo bolje nego muškarac. I da su one definitivno sposobne da je reše mirnim putem. Ovaj čovek je veoma pijan i zanimao ga je moj fotoaparat dok nije primetio žene koje su mu se obratile sa osmehom i kalašnjikovima u pripripravnosti, naravno. (Smeh)
This contingent seems to be quite lucky, and it has not sustained any casualties, even though dozens of peacekeepers have been killed in Liberia. And yes, all of those people killed were male. Many of the women are married with children, and they say the hardest part of their deployment was being kept away from their children.
Izgleda da ova grupa ima puno sreće i nije pretrpela nikakve žrtve iako je do sada desetine mirotvoraca ubijeno u Liberiji. I da, svi ti ubijeni ljudi bili su muškarci. Mnoge od ovih žena su udate i imaju decu, i kažu da im je najteži deo službe što nisu sa svojom decom.
I accompanied these women on their patrols, and watched as they walked past men, many who passed very lewd comments incessantly. And when I asked one of the women about the shock and awe response, she said, "Don't worry, same thing back home. We know how to deal with these fellows," and ignored them.
Išao sam sa ovim ženama u patrolu i gledao kako prolaze pored muškaraca od kojih su mnogi dobacivali nepristojne komentare. A kada sam upitao jednu od njih o strahopoštovanju koje izazivaju, rekla je: "Ne brini, tako je i kod kuće. Znamo mi sa ovim momcima", i ignorisala ih je.
In a country ravaged by violence against women, Indian peacekeepers have inspired many local women to join the police force. Sometimes, when the war is over and all the film crews have left, the most inspiring stories are the ones that float just beneath the radar. I came back to India and nobody was interested in buying the story. And one editor told me that she wasn't interested in doing what she called "manual labor stories."
U zemlji pogođenoj nasiljem prema ženama indijske mirotvorkinje su inspirisale mnoge žene iz okoline da se pridruže policiji. Ponekad, kada se rat završi i filmska ekipa ode najinspirativnije priče su one koje su ispod površine. Vratio sam se u Indiju i niko nije hteo da kupi priču. Jenda urednica mi je rekla da nije zainteresovana da radi "priče o fizičkom radu", kako ih je nazvala.
In 2007 and 2009 I did stories on the Delhi Fire Service, the DFS, which, during the summer, is probably the world's most active fire department. They answer more than 5,000 calls in just two months. And all this against incredible logistical odds, like heat and traffic jams. Something amazing happened during this shoot. Due to a traffic jam, we were late in getting to a slum, a large slum, which had caught fire. As we neared, angry crowds attacked our trucks and stoned them, by hundreds of people all over the place. These men were terrified, as the mob attacked our vehicle.
2007. i 2009. radio sam na pričama o vatrogasnoj stanici u Delhiju koja je, leti, verovatno najaktivnija vatrogasna stanica na svetu. Odazivaju se na više od 5000 poziva u samo dva meseca. Uvek uprkos neverovatnim logističkim uslovima kao što su vrućine i gužve u saobraćaju. Dogodilo se nešto izvanredno tokom ovog snimanja. Zbog gužve kasnili smo u jedan veliki siromašni deo grada koji se zapalio. Kako smo se približavali besna gomila je napala naša vozila, stotine ljudi sa svih strana gađale su ih kamenjem. Ljudi su bili prestravljeni kada je rulja napala naše vozilo.
But nonetheless, despite the hostility, firefighters left the vehicle and successfully fought the fire. Running the gauntlet through hostile crowds, and some wearing motorbike helmets to prevent injury. Some of the local people forcibly took away the hoses from the firemen to put out the fire in their homes. Now, hundreds of homes were destroyed. But the question that lingered in my mind was, what causes people to destroy fire trucks headed to their own homes? Where does such rage come from? And how are we responsible for this? 45 percent of the 14 million people who live in Delhi live in unauthorized slums, which are chronically overcrowded. They lack even the most basic amenities. And this is something that is common to all our big cities.
Ali ipak, uprkos neprijateljskim prilikama vatrogasci su izašli iz vozila i uspešno se borili sa vatrom. Trčali su kroz neprijateljske gomile dok su neki nosili kacige za motor da spreče povrede. Neki ljudi iz okoline su na silu oteli šmrkove od vatrogasaca da bi gasili vatru u svojim domovima. Stotine domova je uništeno. Ali pitanje koje mi se motalo po glavi je šta je nateralo ljude da unište vatrogasna vozila koja idu da spasu njihove kuće? Otkud toliki bes? I kako smo mi odgovorni za ovo? 45 posto od 14 miliona ljudi u Delhiju živi u bespravno sagrađenim krajevima koji su hronično prenaseljeni. Nemaju čak ni najosnovnije uslove za život. Ovo je zajedničko svim našim velikim gradovima.
Back to the DFS. A huge chemical depot caught fire, thousands of drums filled with petrochemicals were blazing away and exploding all around us. The heat was so intense, that hoses were used to cool down firefighters fighting extremely close to the fire, and with no protective clothing. In India we often love to complain about our government bodies. But over here, the heads of the DFS, Mr. R.C. Sharman, Mr. A.K. Sharman, led the firefight with their men. Something wonderful in a country where manual labor is often looked down upon. (Applause)
Vraćam se na vatrogasce. Ogromno hemijsko skladište se zapalilo, na hiljade buradi petrohemikalija zapalilo se i eksplodiralo je oko nas. Bilo je toliko vrelo da su crevima rashlađivali vatrogasce koji su bili jako blizu vatre bez zaštitne opreme. Mi u Indiji volimo da se žalimo na vlast. Ali ovde su načelnici vatrogasne stanice R.C. Šarman i A.K.Šarman gasili vatru sa svojim ljudima. Nešto prelepo u zemlji gde se često ne ceni fizički rad. (Aplauz)
Over the years, my faith in the power of storytelling has been tested. And I've had very serious doubt about its efficacy, and my own faith in humanity. However, a film we shot still airs on the National Geographic channel. And when it airs I get calls from all the guys I was with and they tell me that they receive hundreds of calls congratulating them. Some of the firemen told me that they were also inspired to do better because they were so pleased to get thank-yous rather than brick bats.
Tokom godina, preisptivao sam svoju veru u moć pripovedanja. Ozbiljno sam sumnjao u njenu delotvornost i sopstvenu veru u ljudskost. Ipak, film koji smo snimili se i dalje pušta na kanalu Nacionalne Geografije. A kada ga puste, zovu me svi momci sa kojima sam bio tamo da mi kažu da dobijaju stotine poziva sa čestitkama. Neki vatrogasci su mi rekli da su i oni bili inspirisani da rade bolje jer im je prijalo da dobiju zahvalnost umesto bačenih cigli.
It seems that this story helped change perceptions about the DFS, at least in the minds of an audience in part on televisions, read magazines and whose huts aren't on fire. Sometimes, focusing on what's heroic, beautiful and dignified, regardless of the context, can help magnify these intangibles three ways, in the protagonist of the story, in the audience, and also in the storyteller. And that's the power of storytelling. Focus on what's dignified, courageous and beautiful, and it grows. Thank you. (Applause)
Izgleda da je ova priča pomogla da se promeni slika o vatrogascima, bar u mislima gledalaca, onih koji čitaju novine i onih čije kuće nisu u plamenu. Nekad, fokusiranje na herojstvo, lepotu i dostojanstvo bez obzira na kontekst, ističe ove nedodirljive vrednosti na tri načina: kroz glavnog lika u priči, kroz publiku i kroz pripovedača takođe. To je moć pripovedanja. Usredsredite se na dostojanstveno, hrabro i lepo, i ono će da raste. Hvala. (Aplauz)