Tema teških pregovora podsjeća me na jednu od mojih omiljenih priča sa Bliskog Istoka, o čovjeku koji je trojici svojih sinova ostavio u nasljedstvo 17 kamila. Prvom sinu je ostavio pola kamila; drugom trećinu; i najmlađem sinu jednu devetinu. I tako su sinovi počeli pregovarati. 17 nije djeljivo sa 2. Nije djeljivo sa 3. I nije djeljivo sa 9. Napetost među braćom je počela da raste. Najzad, u očaju, odlučiše da traže savjet od stare mudre žene. Ona je dugo razmišljala o njihovom problemu, i kad se vratila reče: "Ne znam da li vam mogu pomoći, ali bar, ako hoćete, možete uzeti moju kamilu." Tako da su sad imali 18 kamila. Prvi sin je uzeo svoju polovinu - pola od 18 je 9. Drugi sin svoju trećinu - trećina od 18 je 6. Najmlađi sin uze svoju devetinu - devetina od 18 je 2. Dobijemo 17. Jedna kamila ostade viška. Vrate je nazad mudroj ženi.
Well, the subject of difficult negotiation reminds me of one of my favorite stories from the Middle East, of a man who left to his three sons, 17 camels. To the first son, he left half the camels; to the second son, he left a third of the camels; and to the youngest son, he left a ninth of the camels. The three sons got into a negotiation -- 17 doesn't divide by two. It doesn't divide by three. It doesn't divide by nine. Brotherly tempers started to get strained. Finally, in desperation, they went and they consulted a wise old woman. The wise old woman thought about their problem for a long time, and finally she came back and said, "Well, I don't know if I can help you, but at least, if you want, you can have my camel." So then, they had 18 camels. The first son took his half -- half of 18 is nine. The second son took his third -- a third of 18 is six. The youngest son took his ninth -- a ninth of 18 is two. You get 17. They had one camel left over. They gave it back to the wise old woman.
(Smijeh)
(Laughter)
Ako razmislite o ovoj priči na trenutak, Ja mislim da podsjeća na dosta teških pregovora u kojim učestvujemo. Počinju sa 17 kamila - nema šanse da to riješe. Ono šta trebamo uraditi je na neki način odstupanje od tih situacija, kao ta mudra žena, i sa svježim pogledom doći do osamnaeste kamile. Pronalazak te osamnaeste kamile u svijetskim konfliktima je bila i jeste strast mog života. Ja u suštini vidim čovječanstvo pomalo kao ona 3 brata; svi smo jedna porodica. Mi to naučno znamo, zahvaljujući revoluciji u komunikacijama, sva plemena na planeti, svih 15 hiljada, su u kontaktu jedno s drugim. I to je jedno veliko porodično okupljanje. Ali opet, kao dosta porodičnih okupljanja, nije sve veselo. Nađe se dosta sukoba. I pitanje je, kako se nositi sa našim različitostima? Kako se nositi prema onom u čemu se duboko razlikujemo, znajući ljudsku sklonost ka sukobu i ljudskog genija za osmišljavanje oružja ogromnog uništavanja? To je pitanje.
Now, if you think about that story for a moment, I think it resembles a lot of the difficult negotiations we get involved in. They start off like 17 camels, no way to resolve it. Somehow, what we need to do is step back from those situations, like that wise old woman, look at the situation through fresh eyes and come up with an 18th camel. Finding that 18th camel in the world's conflicts has been my life passion. I basically see humanity a bit like those three brothers. We're all one family. We know that scientifically, thanks to the communications revolution, all the tribes on the planet -- all 15,000 tribes -- are in touch with each other. And it's a big family reunion. And yet, like many family reunions, it's not all peace and light. There's a lot of conflict, and the question is: How do we deal with our differences? How do we deal with our deepest differences, given the human propensity for conflict and the human genius at devising weapons of enormous destruction? That's the question.
Provodeći veći dio zadnje 3 decenije - i skoro 4 - putujući svijetom, pokušavajući raditi na konfliktima od Jugoslavije do Bliskog Istoka od Čečenije do Venecuele, na nekim od najtežih sukoba na planeti Zemlji, pitao sam se to isto pitanje. I mislim da sam otkrion, na neki način, šta je tajna Mira. U stvari je jako jednostavno. Nije lako, ali je jednostavno. Nije čak ni nešto novo. Može biti da čak dolazi od naše drevne ljudske baštine. Tajna Mira smo Mi. To smo Mi, kao predstavnici zajednice koja okružuje bilo koji konflikt, koji možemo da imamo konstruktivnu ulogu.
As I've spent the last better part of three decades, almost four, traveling the world, trying to work, getting involved in conflicts ranging from Yugoslavia to the Middle East to Chechnya to Venezuela -- some of the most difficult conflicts on the face of the planet -- I've been asking myself that question. And I think I've found, in some ways, what is the secret to peace. It's actually surprisingly simple. It's not easy, but it's simple. It's not even new. It may be one of our most ancient human heritages. The secret to peace is us. It's us who act as a surrounding community around any conflict, who can play a constructive role. Let me give you just a story, an example.
Evo jedne priče, kao primjer ovoga. Otprilike prije 20 godina bio sam u Južnoj Africi radeći sa stranama u tom sukobu, i imao sam slobodnih mjesec dana, tako da sam ih proveo živjeći sa nekoliko grupa San Bušmana. Bio sam zainteresiran o njima i načinu na koji oni rješavaju sukobe. Jer ipak, od kad znaju za sebe, bili su lovci i skupljači, živjeći manje ili više kao naši preci za skoro 99 posto ljudskog postojanja. I svi muškarci imaju te otrovne strele koje koriste za lov - potpuno smrtonosne. I kako se oni nose sa svojim razlikama? Saznao sam da svaki put kad napetost počne rasti u tim zajednicama, neko ode i sakrije otrovne strele vani u grmlje, i onda svi sjednu u krugu kao što je ovaj, i tu sjede, i pričaju, i pričaju. Može trajati dva dana, tri, četiri, ali oni ne odmaraju dok ne dođu do rješenja, ili bolje rečeno, pomirenja. A ako je situacija još uvijek napeta, tada nekog pošalju da ode posjetiti rođake da se malo ohladi.
About 20 years ago, I was in South Africa, working with the parties in that conflict, and I had an extra month, so I spent some time living with several groups of San Bushmen. I was curious about them, about the way in which they resolve conflict. Because, after all, within living memory, they were hunters and gatherers, living pretty much like our ancestors lived for maybe 99 percent of the human story. And all the men have these poison arrows that they use for hunting -- absolutely fatal. So how do they deal with their differences? Well, what I learned is, whenever tempers rise in those communities, someone goes and hides the poison arrows out in the bush, and then everyone sits around in a circle like this, and they sit and they talk and they talk. It may take two days, three days, four days, but they don't rest until they find a resolution or better yet -- a reconciliation. And if tempers are still too high, then they send someone off to visit some relatives, as a cooling-off period.
Ovaj njihov sistem je, mislim, sistem koji nas je održao u životu do sada, ako uzmemo u obzir naše ljudske tendencije. Taj sistem ja zovem Treća Strana. Jer ako razmislite, obično kad mislimo o konfliktu, kad ga opisujemo, tu su uvijek dvije strane. Tu su Arapi protiv Izraelaca, radnici protiv rukovodstva, muž protiv žene, Republikanci protiv Demokrata, ali šta mi obično ne vidimo je to da je uvijek tu treća strana. I ta treća strana konflikta smo mi, ta okružujuća zajednica, to su prijatelji, saveznici, članovi familije, komšije. I, mi možemo imati nevjerojatno konstruktivnu ulogu. Možda najosnovniji način na koji treća strana može pomoći je da podsjeti strane šta je ovdje stvarno u pitanju. Radi djece, radi familije, radi društva, radi budućnosti, prestanimo se boriti za trenutak i počnimo razgovarati. Stvar je u tome, da kada smo u konfliktu, jako je lako izgubiti perspektivu. Jako je lako reagirati. Ljudska bića: mi smo mašine za reakciju. I kako ona poslovica ide, kad si ljut, daćeš najbolji govor koji ćeš ikad zažaliti. Tako da nas treća strana podsjeća na to. Treća strana nam pomaže da izađemo na balkon, što je metafora perspektivnoga mjesta, gdje možemo zadržati oči na meti.
Well, that system is, I think, probably the system that kept us alive to this point, given our human tendencies. That system, I call "the third side." Because if you think about it, normally when we think of conflict, when we describe it, there's always two sides -- it's Arabs versus Israelis, labor versus management, husband versus wife, Republicans versus Democrats. But what we don't often see is that there's always a third side, and the third side of the conflict is us, it's the surrounding community, it's the friends, the allies, the family members, the neighbors. And we can play an incredibly constructive role. Perhaps the most fundamental way in which the third side can help is to remind the parties of what's really at stake. For the sake of the kids, for the sake of the family, for the sake of the community, for the sake of the future, let's stop fighting for a moment and start talking. Because, the thing is, when we're involved in conflict, it's very easy to lose perspective. It's very easy to react. Human beings -- we're reaction machines. And as the saying goes, when angry, you will make the best speech you will ever regret. (Laughter) And so the third side reminds us of that. The third side helps us go to the balcony, which is a metaphor for a place of perspective, where we can keep our eyes on the prize.
Ispričaću vam malu priču iz mog pregovaračkog iskustva. Prije nekoliko godina, bio sam uključen kao posrednik u jako teške pregovore između lidera iz Rusije i lidera iz Čečenije. Rat se dešavao, kao što znate. I susreli smo se u Hagu, u Palači Mira, u istoj sobi gdje se Jugoslovenski sud za ratne zločine također održavao. Pregovori su loše počeli kad je potpredsjednik Čečenije počeo upirati prstom na Ruse i rekao, "Vi možete slobodno ostati sjediti tu u vašim stolicama, jer će te ionako biti na sudu za ratne zločine." I onda je nastavio, okrenuo se prema meni i rekao, "Ti si Amerikanac. Pogledajte šta vi Amerikanci radite u Porto Riku." I počeo sam brzo da razmišljam, "Porto Riko? Šta ja znam o Porto Riku?" I počeo sam reagirati, ali tada sam se pokušao sjetiti da odem na "Balkon". Kad je on zastao, i kad su se svi okrenuli prema meni očekujući moj odgovor, sa perspektive "Balkona", bio sam u stanju da mu zahvalim za njegove komentare i kažem, "Cjenim vaše kritikovanje moje države, i uzeću to kao znak da smo među prijateljima i da možemo otvoreno razgovarati. Razlog zbog kojeg smo mi ovdje nije da pričamo o Porto Riku ili o prošlosti. Mi smo ovdje da vidimo da li možemo naći način da zaustavimo muku i krvoproliće u Čečeniji." Stim smo se vratili na temu razgovora. To je uloga treće strane, da pomogne stranama da odu na "Balkon".
Let me tell you a little story from my own negotiating experience. Some years ago, I was involved as a facilitator in some very tough talks between the leaders of Russia and the leaders of Chechnya. There was a war going on, as you know. And we met in the Hague, in the Peace Palace, in the same room where the Yugoslav war-crimes tribunal was taking place. And the talks got off to a rather rocky start when the vice president of Chechnya began by pointing at the Russians and said, "You should stay right here in your seats, because you're going to be on trial for war crimes." And then he turned to me and said, "You're an American. Look at what you Americans are doing in Puerto Rico." And my mind started racing, "Puerto Rico? What do I know about Puerto Rico?" I started reacting. (Laughter) But then, I tried to remember to go to the balcony. And then when he paused and everyone looked at me for a response, from a balcony perspective, I was able to thank him for his remarks and say, "I appreciate your criticism of my country and I take it as a sign that we're among friends and can speak candidly to one another." (Laughter) "And what we're here to do is not to talk about Puerto Rico or the past. We're here to see if we can figure out a way to stop the suffering and the bloodshed in Chechnya." The conversation got back on track. That's the role of the third side, to help the parties go to the balcony.
A sada vas dovodim do, što je šire poznato, najtežeg svjetskog konflikta, ili nemogućeg za riješiti, a to je Bliski Istok. Pitanje je: gdje je tu treća strana? Da li je moguće tu doći do "Balkona"? Ja se ne pretvaram da imam rješenje za konflikt na Bliskom Istoku, ali mislim da sam došao do prvog koraka, bukvalno prvog koraka, nešto što bilo ko od nas može da uradi kao pripadnk treće strane. Ali da vas prvo upitam jedno pitanje. Koliko vas je u poslednjih par godina uhvatilo sebe da se brine za Bliski Istok i da se pitate šta tu bilo ko može da uradi? Samo iz znatiželje, koliko vas? U redu, znači većina nas. Iako je tako daleko. Zašto dajemo toliko pažnje ovom konfliktu? Da li je zbog broja mrtvih? Stotinu puta više ljudi pogine u konfliktima u Africi nego na Bliskom Istoku. Znači ne, razlog je u priči, zato što osjećamo da lično učestvujemo u toj priči. Bili mi Kršćani, Muslimani ili Jevreji, religiozni ili ne, osjećamo da tu imamo ličnog udjela.
Now let me take you, for a moment, to what's widely regarded as the world's most difficult conflict, or the most impossible conflict, the Middle East. Question is: where's the third side there? How could we possibly go to the balcony? Now, I don't pretend to have an answer to the Middle East conflict, but I think I've got a first step -- literally, a first step -- something that any one of us could do as third-siders. Let me just ask you one question first. How many of you in the last years have ever found yourself worrying about the Middle East and wondering what anyone could do? Just out of curiosity, how many of you? OK, so the great majority of us. And here, it's so far away. Why do we pay so much attention to this conflict? Is it the number of deaths? There are a hundred times more people who die in a conflict in Africa than in the Middle East. No, it's because of the story, because we feel personally involved in that story. Whether we're Christians, Muslims or Jews, religious or non-religious, we feel we have a personal stake in it.
Priče su važne. Kao antropolog, ja to znam. Sa pričama mi prenosimo znanje. One daju značenje našim životima. To je ono što mi radimo ovdje na TED-u, pričamo priče. Priče su ključne. I moje pitanje je, da, hajde da probamo riješiti politička pitanja na Bliskom Istoku, ali isto tako pogledajmo priču. Pokušajmo da dođemo do korijena čitave situacije. Da vidimo možemo li tu primijeniti treću stranu. Šta bi to značilo? O čemu se ovdje radi?
Stories matter; as an anthropologist, I know that. Stories are what we use to transmit knowledge. They give meaning to our lives. That's what we tell here at TED, we tell stories. Stories are the key. And so my question is -- yes, let's try and resolve the politics there in the Middle East, but let's also take a look at the story. Let's try to get at the root of what it's all about. Let's see if we can apply the third side to it. What would that mean? What is the story there?
Kao antropolozi znamo da svaka kultura ima svoje porijeklo. Šta je porijeklo Bliskog Istoka? Ide nešto kao: Prije 4 hiljade godina, čovjek i njegova familija je hodajući prešla preko Bliskog Istoka, i od tad svijet više nije bio isti. Taj čovjek, naravno, je bio Ibrahim (Abraham). I on je bio za jedinstvo, familijarno jedinstvo. On je otac od nas sviju. Ali ne samo da je bio za jedinstvo, njegova poruka je važna. Njegova osnovna poruka je također bila ujedinjenje, međusobna povezanost i ujedinjenje svega. I njegova osnovna vrijednost je bila poštovanje, dobrota prema strancima. Po tom je poznat, po svom gostoprimstvu. U tom smislu, on je simbolična treća strana Bliskog Istoka. On je taj koji nas podsjeća da smo svi mi dio veće cijeline. Sad, kako bi vi - razmislite o tome na trenutak.
Now, as anthropologists, we know that every culture has an origin story. What's the origin story of the Middle East? In a phrase, it's: Four thousand years ago, a man and his family walked across the Middle East, and the world has never been the same since. That man, of course, was Abraham. And what he stood for was unity, the unity of the family; he's the father of us all. But it's not just what he stood for, it's what his message was. His basic message was unity too, the interconnectedness of it all, the unity of it all. And his basic value was respect, was kindness toward strangers. That's what he's known for, his hospitality. So in that sense, he's the symbolic third side of the Middle East. He's the one who reminds us that we're all part of a greater whole. Now, think about that for a moment.
Trenutno se suočavamo sa terorizmom. Šta je terorizam? Terorizam je u stvari, uzeti nevinu osobu i tretirati je kao neprijatelja kog ubijaš da bi stvorio strah. Šta je suprotno od terorizma? Uzeti nevinu osobu i tretirati je kao prijatelja kog pozivaš u svoju kuću da bi stvorio razumjevanje, ili poštovanje, ili ljubav.
Today, we face the scourge of terrorism. What is terrorism? Terrorism is basically taking an innocent stranger and treating them as an enemy whom you kill in order to create fear. What's the opposite of terrorism? It's taking an innocent stranger and treating them as a friend whom you welcome into your home, in order to sow and create understanding or respect, or love.
I šta onda ako bi uzeo priču o Ibrahimu (Abrahamu), što je priča o "trećoj strani", šta ako bi to moglo - zato što Ibrahim zastupa gostoprimstvo - šta ako bi to mogao biti protivotrov za terorizam? Šta ako bi to mogla biti vakcina protiv religiozne netoleracije? Kako biste oživeli tu priču? E sad, nije dovoljno samo ispričati priču - mada i to je moćno - ali ljudi trebaju da je iskuse. Trebaju biti u stanju da je dožive. Kako bi to uradili? O tom sam razmišljao, kako to postići. I to je ovde prvi korak. Jer jednostavan način da se to postigne je da krenete u šetnju. Krenete u šetnju stopama Ibrahima (Abrahama). Pratite stope Ibrahima. Zato što hodanje ima stvarnu moć. Po antropologiji znamo da je hodanje bilo ključno za razvoj ljudskih bića. Zanimljivo je, kad hodamo, hodamo jedno pored drugog u istom zajedničkom pravcu. A sad, kad bih vam prišao licem u lice i došao ovako blizu, vi bi ste se osjećali ugroženim. Ali ako bi hodao s vama rame uz rame, čak i dodirujući ramena, ne bi bilo problema. Ko se svađa dok šeta? Zbog toga često u pregovorima, kad se stvari zakomplikuju, ljudi odu prošetati u u šumu.
So what if, then, you took the story of Abraham, which is a third-side story, what if that could be -- because Abraham stands for hospitality -- what if that could be an antidote to terrorism? What if that could be a vaccine against religious intolerance? How would you bring that story to life? Now, it's not enough just to tell a story. That's powerful, but people need to experience the story. They need to be able to live the story. How would you do that? And that was my thinking of how would you do that. And that's what comes to the first step here. Because the simple way to do that is: you go for a walk. You go for a walk in the footsteps of Abraham. You retrace the footsteps of Abraham. Because walking has a real power. You know, as an anthropologist, walking is what made us human. It's funny -- when you walk, you walk side-by-side, in the same common direction. Now if I were to come to you face-to-face and come this close to you, you would feel threatened. But if I walk shoulder-to-shoulder, even touching shoulders, it's no problem. Who fights while they walk? That's why in negotiations, often, when things get tough, people go for walks in the woods.
Tako da mi je došla ideja, za inspiraciju puta ili rute - nešto poput Puta Svile ili Appalachian rute - koji bi pratio stopama Ibrahima. Ljudi su rekli: "To je ludo. To ne možeš. Ne može se pratiti stopama Ibrahima. Previše je nesigurno. Morao bi prelaziti preko svih ovih granica. I ide preko 10 država na Bliskom Istoku, zato što ih sve ujedinjava". Tako da smo proučavali tu ideju na Harvard-u. Da znamo o čemu pričamo. I onda prije par godina, grupa nas od oko 25 iz različitih zemalja, smo odlučili da vidimo da li je moguće ići stopama Ibrahima, krenući iz njegovog rodnog grada Urfa u južnoj Turskoj, sjeverna Mezopotamija. Malo autobusom, malo piješice i dođemo do starog grada Harran-a, gdje, kako se navodi u Bibliji, on kreće na svoj put. Onda smo prešli granicu Sirije, i otišli do grada Aleppo-a, koji je,ispostavlja se, dobio ime po Ibrahimu. Otišli smo do Damascus-a, koji ima dugu istoriju povezanu sa Ibrahimom. Onda smo došli u sjeverni Jordan, i u Jerusalem, koji je sav o Ibrahimu, onda do Bethlehem-a, i konačno do mjesta gdje je sahranjen u Hebron-u. Tako da efektivno, išli smo od stomaka do groba. Pokazali smo da je moguće. Bilo je to nevjerovatno putovanje.
So the idea came to me of, what about inspiring a path, a route -- think the Silk Route, think the Appalachian Trail -- that followed in the footsteps of Abraham? People said, "That's crazy. You can't. You can't retrace the footsteps of Abraham -- it's too insecure, you've got to cross all these borders, it goes across 10 different countries in the Middle East, because it unites them all." And so we studied the idea at Harvard. We did our due diligence. And then a few years ago, a group of us, about 25 of us from 10 different countries, decided to see if we could retrace the footsteps of Abraham, going from his initial birthplace in the city of Urfa in Southern Turkey, Northern Mesopotamia. And we then took a bus and took some walks and went to Harran, where, in the Bible, he sets off on his journey. Then we crossed the border into Syria, went to Aleppo, which, turns out, is named after Abraham. We went to Damascus, which has a long history associated with Abraham. We then came to Northern Jordan, to Jerusalem -- which is all about Abraham -- to Bethlehem, and finally, to the place where he's buried, in Hebron. So effectively, we went from womb to tomb. We showed it could be done.
Da vas pitam nešto.
It was an amazing journey.
Koliko vas ste imali priliku biti u nepoznatom susjedstvu, ili stranoj zemlji, i totalni stranac, nepoznanik, dođe do vas i pokaže vam ljubaznost, možda vas pozove u kuću, da vam piće, da vam kafu ili ponudi s jelom? Koliko vas je imalo takvo iskustvo? U tom je bit Ibrahimovog puta. To je ono što otkrijete, odete u ova sela na Bliskom Istoku gdje očekujete neprijateljstvo, a dobijete nevjerovatnu gostoljubivost, sve povezano sa Ibrahimom. "U ime oca Ibrahima, ponudio bi vas sa hranom." Tako smo saznali da Ibrahim nije samo lik iz knjige za ove ljude, nego da je njegova prisutnost živa.
Let me ask you a question. How many of you have had the experience of being in a strange neighborhood or strange land, and a total stranger, perfect stranger, comes up to you and shows you some kindness -- maybe invites you into their home, gives you a drink, gives you a coffee, gives you a meal? How many of you have ever had that experience? That's the essence of the Abraham Path. That's what you discover as you go into these villages in the Middle East where you expect hostility, and you get the most amazing hospitality, all associated with Abraham: "In the name of Father Ibrahim, let me offer you some food." So what we discovered is that Abraham is not just a figure out of a book for those people; he's alive, he's a living presence.
I da skratimo, već zadnjih par godina, hiljade ljudi su počeli hodati dijelovima Ibrahimovog puta na Bliskom Istoku, uživajući tamošnju gostoljubivost. Počeli su šetati u Izraelu i Palestini, u Jordanu, Turskoj, Siriji. To je nevjerovatan doživljaj. Muškarci, žene, mladi i stari ljudi - zanimljivo, više žene nego muškarci. Za one koji ne mogu doći do tamo za sada, ljudi su počeli organizirati šetnje u gradovima u njihovim zajednicama. U Cincinnati-ju na primjer, organizirana je setnja od crkve do džamije do sinagoge i svi su imali Ibrahimov ručak zajedno. Bio je to dan Ibrahimovog puta. U Sao Paulo-u, u Brazilu, ovo je postao godišnji događaj za hiljade ljudi da trče na virtualnom Ibrahimovom putu ujedinjujući različite zajednice ljudi. Mediji ovo vole, obožavaju. Privlači ih pažnja javnosti zato što je vidljivo, i širi ideju, tu ideju o Ibrahimovom gostoljubstvu od dobrote prema strancima. Prije par sedmica, NPR je imao segment o ovom. Prošlog mjeseca, izašao je članak U Guardian-u također, i u Manchester Guardian-u čitave dvije stranice su napisane. I kvotirali su jednog seljaka koji je rekao:"Ova šetnja nas konektira sa svijetom." Kaže da je bilo kao da je neko upalio svijetlo u njihovim životima. Donijelo nam je nadu. Znači o tome se radi.
And to make a long story short, in the last couple of years now, thousands of people have begun to walk parts of the path of Abraham in the Middle East, enjoying the hospitality of the people there. They've begun to walk in Israel and Palestine, in Jordan, in Turkey, in Syria. It's an amazing experience. Men, women, young people, old people -- more women than men, actually, interestingly. For those who can't walk, who are unable to get there right now, people started to organize walks in cities, in their own communities. In Cincinnati, for instance, they organized a walk from a church to a mosque to a synagogue and all had an Abrahamic meal together. It was Abraham Path Day. In São Paulo, Brazil, it's become an annual event for thousands of people to run in a virtual Abraham Path Run, uniting the different communities. The media love it; they really adore it. They lavish attention on it because it's visual and it spreads the idea, this idea of Abrahamic hospitality, of kindness towards strangers. And just a couple weeks ago, there was an NPR story on it. Last month, there was a piece in the Manchester Guardian about it, two whole pages. And they quoted a villager who said, "This walk connects us to the world." He said, "It was like a light that went on in our lives -- it brought us hope." And so that's what it's about.
Ali isto tako nije ovo samo psihološki, i u vezi ekonomije je, zato što dok ljudi šetaju troše i pare. I ova žena ovdje, Um Ahmad, živi na putu u sjevernom Jordan-u. Ona je očajno siromašna. Poluslijepa i muž joj nemože raditi, ima sedmoro dijece. Ali šta može raditi je kuhati. I tako je počela da kuha za neke grupe šetača koji prođu kroz selo i svrate na jelo u njenu kuću. Oni sjede na podu. Ona nema ni stolnjaka. Ona pravi jako ukusnu hranu koja je od sviježih biljaka iz okolice sela. Tako da sve više i više šetača dolazi. I skoro je počela da zarađuje platu da pomaže familiji. Rekla je našem timu tamo: "Vi ste me napravili vidljivom u selu gdje su se ljudi prije stidjeli da me pogledaju." To je potencijal Ibrahimovog puta. Stotine takvih zajednica postoje na Bliskom Istoku, na ovom Putu. Ovaj veliki potencijal bi mogao sve da promijeni. A za veliku promijenu je potrebno promijeniti naš pogled, način na koji vidimo stvari - a to je promijeniti naš pogled sa neprijateljstva na gostoljubivost, sa terorizma na turizam. I u tom smislu, Ibrahimov put je ključna promjena.
But it's not just about psychology; it's about economics. Because as people walk, they spend money. And this woman right here, Um Ahmad, is a woman who lives on the path in Northern Jordan. She's desperately poor. She's partially blind, her husband can't work, she's got seven kids. But what she can do is cook. And so she's begun to cook for some groups of walkers who come through the village and have a meal in her home. They sit on the floor -- she doesn't even have a tablecloth. She makes the most delicious food, that's fresh from the herbs in the surrounding countryside. And so more and more walkers have come, and lately she's begun to earn an income to support her family. And so she told our team there, she said, "You have made me visible in a village where people were once ashamed to look at me." That's the potential of the Abraham Path. There are literally hundreds of those kinds of communities across the Middle East, across the path. The potential is basically to change the game. And to change the game, you have to change the frame, the way we see things -- to change the frame from hostility to hospitality, from terrorism to tourism. And in that sense, the Abraham Path is a game-changer.
Pokazaću vam samo jednu stvar. Imam ovdje jedan žir koji sam pokupio dok sam šetao na Putu početkom ove godine. Žir je povezan sa hrastom, naravno - izraste u hrastovo drvo, koje je povezano sa Ibrahimom. Put je trenutno kao žir; još je u ranoj fazi rasta. Kako bi to hrastovo drvo izgledalo? Pa, sjetim se svog djetinjstva, i dobrog dijela gdje sam ga proveo, poslije mog rođenja u Čikagu. Proveo sam ga u Evropi. Da ste bili u ruševinama, na primjer, Londona u 1945. godini, ili u Berlinu, i da ste tad rekli: "60 godina u budućnosti ovo će biti najmirniji,najnapredniji dio na planeti," ljudi bi pomislili da ste totalno poludjeli. Ali to je postignuto zahvaljujući zajedničkom identitetu - Evropi - i zajedničkoj ekonomiji. Tako da je moje pitanje, ako je to moguće u Evropi, zašto da ne na Bliskom Istoku? Zašto da ne, zahvaljujući zajedničkom identitetu - koji je priča o Ibrahimu - i zahvaljujući zajedničkoj ekonomiji koja bi u velikom dijelu bila zasnovana na turizmu?
Let me just show you one thing. I have a little acorn here that I picked up while I was walking on the path earlier this year. Now, the acorn is associated with the oak tree, of course -- grows into an oak tree, which is associated with Abraham. The path right now is like an acorn; it's still in its early phase. What would the oak tree look like? When I think back to my childhood, a good part of which I spent, after being born here in Chicago, I spent in Europe. If you had been in the ruins of, say, London in 1945, or Berlin, and you had said, "Sixty years from now, this is going to be the most peaceful, prosperous part of the planet," people would have thought you were certifiably insane. But they did it, thanks to a common identity, Europe, and a common economy. So my question is, if it can be done in Europe, why not in the Middle East? Why not, thanks to a common identity, which is the story of Abraham, and thanks to a common economy that would be based, in good part, on tourism?
I da onda zaključim govoreći da u zadnjih 35 godina dok sam radio na nekim od najopasnijih, najtežih i upornih konflikata širom planete, još nisam vidio jedan konflikt za koji bi osjećao da se ne bi mogao transformirati. Nije jednostavno, naravno, ali je moguće. Urađeno je u Južnoj Africi, urađeno je u Sjevernoj Irskoj. Moguće je bilo gdje. Jednostavno zavisi od nas. Zavisi od nas hoćemo li biti "treća strana". Zato vas pozivam da uzmete u obzir ulogu kao "treća strana", bar kao jako mali korak. Sad ćemo imati pauzu. Jednostavno priđite nekom ko je iz drugačije kulture, drugačije zemlje, možda drugačije etničke pripadnosti, i uvedite je u razgovor; poslušajte. To je dijelo "treće strane". To je hodati Ibrahimovim putem. Poslije TEDGovora, zašto ne TEDŠetnja?
So let me conclude, then, by saying that in the last 35 years, as I've worked in some of the most dangerous, difficult and intractable conflicts around the planet, I have yet to see one conflict that I felt could not be transformed. It's not easy, of course. But it's possible. It was done in South Africa. It was done in Northern Ireland. It could be done anywhere. It simply depends on us. It depends on us taking the third side. So let me invite you to consider taking the third side, even as a very small step. We're about to take a break in a moment. Just go up to someone who's from a different culture, a different country, a different ethnicity -- some difference -- and engage them in a conversation. Listen to them. That's a third-side act. That's walking Abraham's Path. After a TED Talk, why not a TED Walk?
I tako ostavljam vas sa tri stvari. Prva, tajna mira je "treća strana". "treća strana" smo mi, svako od nas, sa jednim korakom, može uzeti i dovesti svijet, jedan korak bliže miru. Stara Afrička poslovica kaže: "Kad se paukove mreže ujedine, mogu zaustaviti čak i lava." Ako smo u stanju da ujedinimo naše "treće strane"-mreže mira, mi čak možemo i da zaustavimo lava rata.
(Laughter) So let me just leave you with three things. One is, the secret to peace is the third side. The third side is us. Each of us, with a single step, can take the world, can bring the world a step closer to peace. There's an old African proverb that goes: "When spiderwebs unite, they can halt even the lion." If we're able to unite our third-side webs of peace, we can even halt the lion of war.
Puno vam hvala.
Thank you very much.
(Aplauz)
(Applause)