Last year ... was hell.
Prošla godina... je bila pakao.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
It was my first time eating Nigerian "jollof."
Prvi put sam jeo Nigerijski "jollof."
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
Actually, in all seriousness, I was going through a lot of personal turmoil. Faced with enormous stress, I suffered an anxiety attack. On some days, I could do no work. On other days, I just wanted to lay in my bed and cry.
Zapravo, najozbiljnije, Prolazio sam kroz puno unutarnjih nemira. Suočen sa izuzetnim stresom, Doživio sam napad tjeskobe. Nekim danima, ne bih mogao raditi. Drugim danima, Htio sam samo ležati u krevetu i plakati.
My doctor asked if I'd like to speak with a mental health professional about my stress and anxiety. Mental health? I clammed up and violently shook my head in protest. I felt a profound sense of a shame. I felt the weight of stigma. I have a loving, supportive family and incredibly loyal friends, yet I could not entertain the idea of speaking to anyone about my feeling of pain. I felt suffocated by the rigid architecture of our African masculinity. "People have real problems, Sangu. Get over yourself!"
Moj doktor pitao me bi li htio razgovarati sa stručnjakom za psihičko zdravlje o mom stresu i tjeskobi. Psihičko zdravlje? Povukao sam se u sebe i silovito odmahivao glavom u znak protesta Osjećao sam dubok osjećaj srama. Osjetio sam težinu stigme. Imam obitelj koja me voli i podržava, i nevjerovatno odane prijatelje, a opet, nisam mogao pojmiti da ikome govorim o mojoj boli. Osjećao sam da me guši rigidna arhitektura naše Afričke muževnosti. "Ljudi imaju stvarne probleme, Sangu. Saberi se!"
The first time I heard "mental health," I was a boarding school student fresh off the boat from Ghana, at the Peddie School in New Jersey. I had just gone through the brutal experience of losing seven loved ones in the same month. The school nurse, concerned about what I'd gone through -- God bless her soul -- she inquired about my mental health. "Is she mental?" I thought. Does she not know I'm an African man?
Kad sam prvi put čuo izraz "psihičko zdravlje," Bio sam student na razmjeni, došao sa broda iz Gane u Školu Peddie u New Jersey-u Baš sam bio prošao kroz brutalno iskustvo u kojem sam izgubio sedam bliskih osoba u istom mjesecu. Školska medicinska sestra, zabrinuta zbog toga kroz što sam prošao -- Bog je blagoslovio -- raspitivala se za moje psihičko zdravlje. "Je li ona luda?" pomislio sam Ne zna li ona da sam Afrikanac?
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
Like Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart," we African men neither process nor express our emotions. We deal with our problems.
Kao Okonkwo u "Things Fall Apart," mi Afrički muškarci ne doživljavamo niti izražavamo naše osjećaje. Mi se suočavamo s našim problemima.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
We deal with our problems. I called my brother and laughed about "Oyibo" people -- white people -- and their strange diseases -- depression, ADD and those "weird things." Growing up in West Africa, when people used the term "mental," what came to mind was a madman with dirty, dread-locked hair, bumbling around half-naked on the streets. We all know this man. Our parents warned us about him. "Mommy, mommy, why is he mad?" "Drugs! If you even look at drugs, you end up like him."
Mi se suočavamo s našim problemima. Nazvao sam brata i smijao se "Oyibo" ljudima --bijelcima-- i njihovim čudnim bolestima -- depresija, poremećaj pažnje i takve "čudne stvari." Odrastajući u Zapadnoj Africi, kad bi ljudi koristili termin "psihičko," na pamet bi padao luđak sa prljavom kosom u dredloksima, koji bi teturao polugol po ulicama. Svi znamo tog čovjeka. Naši su nas roditelji upozorili na njega. "Mama, mama, zašto je on lud?" "Droga! Ako samo pogledaš drogu, završit ćeš kao on."
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
Come down with pneumonia, and your mother will rush you to the nearest hospital for medical treatment. But dare to declare depression, and your local pastor will be driving out demons and blaming witches in your village.
Dobiješ li upalu pluća, majka će te odvesti u najbližu bolnicu na liječenje. Ali usudi se reći da imaš depresiju i tvoj lokalni svećenik će istjerivati demone i kriviti vještice u tvom selu.
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is about being able to cope with the normal stressors of life; to work productively and fruitfully; and to be able to make a contribution to your community. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. Globally, 75 percent of all mental illness cases can be found in low-income countries. Yet most African governments invest less than one percent of their health care budget in mental health.
Prema Svjetskoj Zdravstvenoj Organizaciji, psihičko zdravlje je sposobnost da se nosite sa normalnim stresom u životu; raditi produktivno i plodonosno; i da možeš pridonijeti svojoj zajednici. Psihičko zdravlje podrazumjeva emocionalnu psihološku i društvenu dobrobit. Na globalnoj razini, 75 posto svih slučajeva psihičke bolesti se može naći u zemljama sa niskim prihodima. A opet, većina Afričkih vlada ulaže manje od jedan posto njihova proračuna za zdravstvo u psihičko zdravlje.
Even worse, we have a severe shortage of psychiatrists in Africa. Nigeria, for example, is estimated to have 200 -- in a country of almost 200 million. In all of Africa, 90 percent of our people lack access to treatment. As a result, we suffer in solitude, silenced by stigma.
Čak i gore, imamo manjak psihijatara u Africi. Npr. Nigerija, ih po procjeni ima 200 -- u zemlji sa više od 200 milijuna ljudi. U cijeloj Africi, 90 posto naših ljudi nema pristupa liječenju Kao rezultat, Patimo u samoći, utišani stigmom.
We as Africans often respond to mental health with distance, ignorance, guilt, fear and anger. In a study conducted by Arboleda-Flórez, directly asking, "What is the cause of mental illness?" 34 percent of Nigerian respondents cited drug misuse; 19 percent said divine wrath and the will of God --
Mi kao Afrikanci često odgovaramo na psihičko zdravlje sa distancom, neznanjem, krivnjom, strahom i bijesom. U istraživanju koju je napravila Arboleda-Florez, na direktno pitanje, "Što je uzrok psihičke bolesti?" 34 posto Nigerijskih ispitanika je navelo zlouporabu droga; 19 posto je reklo pravednički gnjev i volja Božja --
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
12 percent, witchcraft and spiritual possession. But few cited other known causes of mental illness, like genetics, socioeconomic status, war, conflict or the loss of a loved one. The stigmatization against mental illness often results in the ostracizing and demonizing of sufferers. Photojournalist Robin Hammond has documented some of these abuses ... in Uganda, in Somalia, and here in Nigeria.
12 posto, vradžbine i opsjednuća. Ali nekolicina je navela druge poznate uzroke psihičke bolesti, poput genetike, društveno ekonomskog statusa, rata, sukoba ili gubitka voljene osobe. Stigmatizacija protiv psihičke bolesti često rezultira proganjanjem i demoniziranjem bolesnika. Fotoreporter Robin Hammond je zabilježio neka od ovih zlostavljanja ... u Ugandi, u Somaliji, i ovdje, u Nigeriji.
For me, the stigma is personal. In 2009, I received a frantic call in the middle of the night. My best friend in the world -- a brilliant, philosophical, charming, hip young man -- was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I witnessed some of the friends we'd grown up with recoil. I heard the snickers. I heard the whispers. "Did you hear he has gone mad?" (Kru English) "He has gone crazy!" Derogatory, demeaning commentary about his condition -- words we would never say about someone with cancer or someone with malaria. Somehow, when it comes to mental illness, our ignorance eviscerates all empathy. I stood by his side as his community isolated him, but our love never wavered.
Za mene, stigma je osobna stvar. 2009., Dobio sam mahnit telefonski poziv usred noći. Moj najbolji prijatelj na svijetu --- briljantan, filozof, šarmantan, moderan mladi čovjek -- je dobio dijagnozu shizofrenije. Posvjedočio sam da su se neki prijatelji s kojima smo odrasli užasavali. Čuo sam podsmijeh. Čuo sam šaputanje. "Jesi li čuo da je poludio?" "Pošizio je!" Uvredljivi, ponižavajući komentari o njegovoj bolesti -- riječi koje nikad ne bismo rekli o nekom tko ima rak ili oboljelome od malarije. Nekako, kad se pojavi psihička bolest, naše neznanje izbriše svu empatiju. Bio sam uz njega dok ga je njegova zajednica izolirala, ali naša ljubav se nikad nije pokolebala.
Tacitly, I became passionate about mental health. Inspired by his plight, I helped found the mental health special interest alumni group at my college. And during my tenure as a resident tutor in graduate school, I supported many undergraduates with their mental health challenges. I saw African students struggle and unable to speak to anyone. Even with this knowledge and with their stories in tow, I, in turn, struggled, and could not speak to anyone when I faced my own anxiety, so deep is our fear of being the madman.
Prešutno, strastveno sam se zainteresirao za psihičko zdravlje. Inspiriran njegovim stanjem, Pomogao sam osnovati interesnu grupu bivših psihičkih bolesnika na mom fakultetu. I kad sam predavao kao stalni predavač na postdiplomskim studijima, podržavao sam mnoge studente u njihovim izazovima psihičkog zdravlja. Vidio sam da se afrički studenti muče i ne mogu govoriti bilo kome. Čak i sa ovim znanjem i sa njihovim pričama na umu, ja sam se, također, kolebao, i nisam mogao nikome reći kad bih se suočio sa svojom tjeskobom, toliko je dubok naš strah od toga da budemo ludi.
All of us -- but we Africans especially -- need to realize that our mental struggles do not detract from our virility, nor does our trauma taint our strength. We need to see mental health as important as physical health. We need to stop suffering in silence. We must stop stigmatizing disease and traumatizing the afflicted.
Svi mi -- ali mi Afrikanci posebno -- trebamo shvatiti da naše psihičke borbe ne umanjuju našu muževnost, niti da naša trauma kalja našu snagu. Trebamo shvatiti da je psihičko zdravlje jednako bitno kao fizičko zdravlje. Trebamo prestati patiti u tišini. Moramo prestati stigmatizirati bolesti i traumatizirati unesrećene.
Talk to your friends. Talk to your loved ones. Talk to health professionals. Be vulnerable. Do so with the confidence that you are not alone. Speak up if you're struggling. Being honest about how we feel does not make us weak; it makes us human.
Razgovarajte s prijateljima. Razgovarajte s voljenima. Razgovarajte sa liječnicima. Budite ranjivi. Napravite tako sa pouzdanjem da niste sami. Progovorite ako se mučite. Govoriti otvoreno o tome kako se osjećamo ne čini nas slabima; čini nas ljudima.
It is time to end the stigma associated with mental illness. So the next time your hear "mental," do not just think of the madman. Think of me.
Vrijeme je da ukinemo stigmu povezanu sa psihičkom bolesti. Zato idući put kad čuješ "psihički," ne misli samo o luđaku. Misli o meni.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)