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.
Tema komplikovanih pregovora me podseća na jednu moju omiljenu priču sa Bliskog Istoka, o čoveku koji je trojici svojih sinova ostavio 17 kamila. Prvom sinu ostavio je polovinu kamila; drugom je ostavio trećinu kamila; a najmlađem sinu je ostavio deveti deo kamila. Tako su tri sina počela da pregovaraju. 17 nije deljivo sa dva. Nije deljivo sa tri. Nije deljivo ni sa devet. Napetost među braćom je počela da raste. Napokon, u očajanju, otišli su da se konsultuju sa mudrom staricom. Mudra starica je razmišljala o njihovom problemu dugo vremena, i najzad je rekla, "Ne znam da li vam mogu pomoći, ali barem, ako želite, daću vam jednu moju kamilu." Tako su onda oni imali 18 kamila. Prvi sin je uzeo svoju polovinu - polovina od 18 je devet. Drugi sin je uzeo svoju trećinu - trećina od 18 je šest. Najmlađi sin je uzeo svoju devetinu - devetina od 18 je dva. Dobije se 17. Imali su jednu kamilu viška. Vratili su je mudroj starici.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Ako razmislite o priči za trenutak, mislim da ona predstavlja mnogo komplikovanih pregovora u koje smo uključeni. Počinju baš kao 17 kamila - nema načina da se reši. Nekako, ono šta treba da uradimo je da izađemo iz tih situacija, kao ta mudra starica, da pogledamo situaciju svežim očima i pronađemo 18. kamilu. Nalaženje 18. kamile u svetu konflikata je moja životna strast.
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.
Ja zapravo vidim čovečanstvo kao ona tri brata: mi smo svi jedna porodica. Naučno je dokazano da su, zahvaljujući revoluciji komunikacija sva plemena na svetu, svih 15000, međusobno u kontaktu. To je velika porodično okupljanje. Pa ipak, kao i mnoga porodična okupljanja, ni u njima ne vlada mir sve vreme. Postoji mnogo sukoba. A pitanje je, kako se borimo sa razlikama? Kako izlazimo na kraj sa našim najdubljim razlikama, s' obzirom na ljudsku sklonost sukobima i ljudsku genijalnost u osmišljavanju oružja za masovne destrukcije? To je pitanje.
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.
Kako sam dobar deo poslednje tri decenije - skoro četiri - proveo putujući po svetu, pokušavajući da radim, uključujući se u konflikte od Jugoslavije do Bliskog Istoka od Čečenije do Venecuele, neke od najkonfliktnijih regiona u svetu, postavljao sam sebi to pitanje. I mislim da sam otkrio, u neku ruku, šta je tajna miru. To je zapravo iznenađujuće jednostavno. Nije lako, ali je jednostavno. Nije čak ni novo. To je možda jedno od najstarijih nasleđa čovečanstva. Tajna miru smo mi. Mi smo ti koji deluju kao zajednica koja okružuje oko svakog sukoba
Let me give you just a story, an example.
i koji igraju konstruktivnu ulogu.
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.
Da vam dam jedan primer. Pre jedno 20 godina bio sam u Južnoj Africi, radeći sa stranama u konfliktu i imao sam jedan mesec viška, tako da sam proveo neko vreme živeći sa nekoliko grupa San Bušmana. Zanimalo me je kako oni žive i kako rešavaju konflikte. Jer u okvirima poznate istorije, oni su bili lovci i sakupljači hrane, koji žive život u priličnoj meri kao što su i naši preci živeli u možda 99 procenata ljudske priče. I svi muškarci imaju te otrovne strele koje koriste za lov - smrtonosne. Pa kako se oni bore sa svojim razlikama? Ono što sam ja naučio jeste to da kad god tenzija poraste u tim zajednicama, neko sakrije otrovne strele u žbunje i potom svi sednu u krug ovako, sednu i pričaju i pričaju. To može trajati dva dana, tri dana, četri dana, ali oni se ne odmaraju dok ne pronađu rešenje, ili još bolje, dok se ne pomire. A ukoliko je tenzija i dalje visoka, oni onda pošalju jednu od zavađenih strana u posetu nekoj rodbini dok se ne "ohladi".
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.
Takav sistem nas je verovatno i održao u životu do danas, s obzirom na naše ljudske sklonosti. Ja taj sistem nazivam trećom stranom. Jer ako razmislite o tome, kada razmišljamo o konfliktu, kada ga opisujemo, uvek postoje dve strane. Tu su Arapi protiv Izraelaca, radnička klasa nasuprot kapitalista, muž nasuprot supruge, republikanci protiv demokrata, ali ono što vidimo često jeste to da uvek postoji i treća strana. A treća strana konflikta smo mi, okružujuća zajednica, to su prijatelji, saveznici, članovi porodica, komšije. Možemo igrati neverovatno konstruktivnu ulogu.
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.
Možda najosnovniji način na koji treća strana može pomoći jeste da podseti strane šta je zaista ulog. Za dobrobit dece, porodice, za dobrobit zajednice, budućnosti, prestanimo da se bijemo za trenutak i počnimo da razgovaramo. Jer, stvar je u tome što, kada se jednom nađemo u konfliktu, veoma je lako izgubiti perspektivu. Vrlo je lako reagovati. Ljudska bića: mi smo mašine koje reaguju. I kako priča ide, kada ste ljuti, imaćete najbolji govor zbog koga ćete najviše zažaliti.
(Laughter)
I tako nas treća strana podseća na to.
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.
Treća strana nam pomaže da odemo na balkon, što je metafora za perspektivu, odakle možemo videti nagradu.
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.
Da vam ispričam jednu kratku priču iz mog pregovaračkog iskustva. Pre nekoliko godina, bio sam uključen kao moderator u neke veoma teške pregovore između lidera iz Rusije i lidera Čečenije. Tamo je bio rat u toku, kao što znate. Sreli smo se u Hagu, u Palati Mira, u istoj prostoriji gde su se odvijala sudjenja za ratne zločine počinjene u Jugoslaviji. I pregovori su počeli jako čupavo kada je potpredsednik Čečenije započeo uperivši prstom u Ruse i rekavši, "Trebalo bi da ostanete na tim mestima, jer ćete biti optuženi za ratne zločine." A zatim se okrenuo prema meni i rekao, "Ti si Amerikanac. Pogledaj šta vi, Amerikanci, radite u Porto Riku." A moj mozak je počeo da brzo radi: "Porto Riko? Šta ja znam o Porto Riku?" Počeo sam da reagujem,
(Laughter)
ali onda sam se setio da treba da odem na balkon.
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."
I onda kada je zastao, i kada su svi pogledali u mene očekujući odgovor, sa perspektive sa balkona, uspeo sam da mu se zahvalim na primedbi i kažem, "Cenim vašu kritiku moje zemlje, i prihvatam to kao znak da smo među prijateljima i da možemo pričati iskreno jedni sa drugima.
(Laughter)
A ono zbog čega smo ovde nema veze sa Porto Rikom niti sa prošlošću.
"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.
Ono što treba da uradimo ovde jeste da otkrijemo način da zaustavimo patnju i krvoproliće u Čečeniji." Razgovor se vratio na pravi put. To je uloga treće strane, da pomogne stranama da odu na balkon.
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.
Sada mi dozvolite da vas odvedem na trenutak u ono što se smatra najkomplikovanijim svetskim konfliktom, ili bar najneverovatnijim konfliktom, a to je Bliski Istok. Pitanje je: gde je tamo treća strana? Kako je moguće da tamo odemo na balkon? Ne pretvaram se da imam odgovor na konflikt Bliskog Istoka, ali mislim da znam prvi korak, bukvalno prvi korak, nešto što bi bilo ko od nas mogao da učini kao treća strana. Da vam pre toga postavim jedno pitanje. Koliko vas je u prošloj godini bilo zabrinuto zbog krize na Bliskom istoku i zapitalo se šta bi iko mogao da uradi? Čisto iz radoznalosti, koliko vas? OK, velika većina nas. A ipak, to je jako daleko odavde. Zašto polažemo toliko pažnje na taj konflikt? Da li je to zbog broja mrtvih? Hiljadu puta je veći broj ljudi koji su umrli zbog konflikta u Africi nego na Bliskom Istoku. Ne, to je zbog priče, jer se osećamo lično uključeni u tu priču. Bez obzira da li smo hrišćani, muslimani ili jevreji, religiozni ili ne, osećamo da imamo lični udeo u tome.
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?
Priče su važne. Kao antropolog, ja to znam. Priče nam služe da prenesemo znanje. One daju smisao našim životima. To je ono što radimo ovde na TED-u, pričamo priče. Priče su ključ. I moje pitanje je, da, hajde da probamo da razrešimo politiku tamo na Bliskom Istoku, ali hajde takođe i da pogledamo priču. Hajde da pokušamo da dođemo do samog izvora o čemu se tamo radi. Da vidimo da li tamo možemo da primenimo treću stranu. Šta bi to značilo? Koja je njihova priča?
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.
Kao antropolozi, mi znamo da svaka kultura ima svoju priču o poreklu. Koja je priča o poreklu na Bliskom Istoku? Ukratko, ona glasi: pre 4000 godina, čovek i njegova porodica su prošli kroz Bliski Istok, i od tada svet više nikada nije bio isti. Taj čovek je, naravno, bio Avram. I ono za šta se on zalagao, bilo je jedinstvo svoje porodice. On je otac svih nas. Ali nije stvar samo u tome za šta se on zalagao, već i koja je bila njegova poruka. Njegova osnovna poruka je bila takođe ujedinjenje, povezanost svega i jedinstvo svih. A njegova osnovna vrednost je bila poštovanje, prijatnost prema strancima. To je ono po čemu je on poznat, njegova ljubaznost. I u tom smislu, on je simbolička treća strana Bliskog Istoka. On je taj koji nas podseća da smo svi mi deo veće celine. Sada kako biste vi - razmislite malo na trenutak.
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.
Danas se suočavamo sa terorizmom. Šta je terorizam? Terorizam je u suštini kada uzmete nevinog stranca i tretirate ga kao neprijatelja koga ubijete kako biste stvorili strah. Šta je suprotnost terorizmu? To je kada uzmete nevinog stranca, tretirate ga kao prijatelja, i primite ga u svoj dom u nameri da stvorite razumevanje, ili poštovanje, ili ljubav.
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.
Šta ako onda uzmete priču o Avramu, koji je treća strana, šta ako bi to moglo biti - jer Avram znači gostoprimstvo - šta ako bi to moglo biti protivotrov terorizmu? Šta ako bi to moglo biti vakcina protiv religijske netolerancije? Kako biste oživeli tu priču? Nije dovoljno samo ispričati priču - i to je moćno - ali ljudi treba da iskuse priču. Treba da budu u stanju da žive priču. Kako biste to uradili? I to je bilo moje razmišljanje o tome kako biste to izveli. I to je prvi korak onoga do čega smo došli ovde. Jer jednostavan način da se to uradi jeste da odete u šetnju. Krenite u šetnju Avramovim stopama. Krenete Avramovim koracima. Jer šetanje ima pravu moć. Znate, kao antropolog, smatram da je hodanje ono što nas je učinilo ljudima. Zanimljivo, kada hodate, hodate jedan kraj drugog, u istom pravcu. A ukoliko bih vam prišao licem u lice sasvim blizu, osetili biste se ugroženim. Ali ukoliko hodamo rame uz rame, čak i ako se dodirujemo ramenima, to nije problem. Ko se još svađa dok hoda? Iz tog razloga, tokom pregovora, kada stvari postanu teške, ljudi idu da se prošetaju po šumi.
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. It was an amazing journey.
Tako sam dobio ideju šta ako bismo inspirisali stazu, put - na primer put svile ili staze Apalačija - koji bi pratio korake Avrama. Ljudi su govorili, "To je ludost. To je nemoguće. Ne možeš rekonstruisati Avramove korake. Previše je nesigurno. Morao bi preći preko toliko granica. Put prolazi kroz 10 različitih zemalja Bliskog istoka, jer ujedinjuje sve njih." Tako smo proučavali tu ideju na Harvardu. Marljivo smo odradili našu obavezu. I tako je pre par godina, grupa nas, nas 25 iz deset različitih zemalja, odlučilo da ispita da li je moguće ponoviti Avramove korake, krenuvši od njegovog mesta rođenja u gradu Urfa u južnoj Turskoj, severnoj Mesopotamiji. Krenuli smo autobusom, a jedan deo smo hodali i stigli u Haran, gde je, prema Bibliji, on započeo svoj put. Onda smo prešli granicu u Siriju, otišli u Alepo, koji je, ispostavilo se dobio naziv po Avramu. Zatim smo otišli u Damask, čija je duga istorija blisko povezana sa Avramom. Potom smo stigli do severnog Jordana, u Jerusalim, koji je sav u znaku Avrama, onda do Vitlejema i najzad do Hebrona, mesta gde je sahranjen. Tako smo prevalili put od materice do groba. Pokazali smo da je to moguće izvesti. Bio je to neverovatan put.
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.
Dozvolite da vam postavim pitanje. Koliko vas je imalo iskustva da bude u nepoznatoj sredini, ili nepoznatoj zemlji, i potpuni stranac, savršen stranac, priđe vam i pokaže malo ljubaznosti, možda vas pozove u svoj dom, ponudi vas pićem, skuva vam kafu, da vam da jedete? Koliko vas je imalo takvo iskustvo? To je suština Avramove staze. Ali to je ono što otkrijete kada se nađete u tim selima na Bliskom Istoku gde očekujete neprijateljstvo, dobijete najneverovatnije gostoprimstvo, povezano sa Avramom. "U ime oca Avrama, dozvoli mi da ti ponudim nešto hrane." Ono što smo mi otkrili jeste to da Avram za te ljude nije samo lik iz knjige, on je živ, on živi u sadašnjosti.
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.
I da skratim priču, u poslednjih par godina, hiljade ljudi je započelo šetnju delovima Avramovog puta na Bliskom Istoku, uživajući u gostoprimstvu tamošnjih ljudi. Počeli su da hodaju u Izraelu i Palestini, u Jordanu, Turskoj, Siriji. To je jedno neverovatno iskustvo. Muškarci, žene, mladi i stari - više žena nego muškaraca, što je interesantno.
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.
Za one koji ne mogu da hodaju, koji nisu u stanju da tamo stignu, ljudi su počeli da organizuju šetnje u gradovima, u sopstvenim zajednicama. U Sinsinatiju je, na primer, organizovana šetnja od crkve do džamije do sinagoge i svi su imali zajednički Avramov obrok. To je bio dan Avramove staze. U Sao Paulu, u Brazilu, to je postao godišnji događaj za hiljade ljudi koji trče na zamišljenoj Avramovoj putanji, ujedinjujući različite zajednice. Mediji su oduševljeni tim događajem. Obožavaju pažnju koja se tome posvećuje jer je uočljivo, i širi ideju, tu ideju o Avramovom gostoprimstvu o ljubaznosti prema strancima. I pre samo par nedelja, bila je priča na državnoj televiziji o tome. Prošlog meseca, bio je članak u mančesterskim novinama "Gardijan" o tome - čitave dve strane. Citirali su jednog seljaka koji je rekao: "Ova šetnja nas povezuje sa svetom." Rekao je da je kao svetlo koje je ušlo u naše živote. Donelo nam je nadu. I eto, o tome se radi.
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.
Ali nije to samo u vezi sa psihologijom, već i sa ekonomijom, jer kako se ljudi kreću tako i troše novac. I ova žena ovde, Um Ahmad, je žena koja živi na stazi u severnom Jordanu. Ona je jako siromašna. Delimično je slepa, njen muž ne može da radi, ima sedmoro dece. Ali ume da kuva. I tako je počela da kuva za neke grupe šetača koji su prolazili kroz selo i imali obrok u njenoj kući. Oni sede na podu. Ona nema čak ni stolnjak. A pravi izuzetno ukusnu hranu od svežih biljaka iz seoske okoline. I dolazilo je sve više i više šetača. I nedavno je počela da zarađuje dovoljno da izdržava svoju porodicu. I rekla je našem timu tamo, "Vi ste me učinili vidljivom u selu u kom je ljude nekad bilo sramota da me čak i pogledaju." To je potencijal Avramove staze.
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.
Postoje bukvalno stotine ovakvih zajednica na Bliskom istoku, kroz koje prolazi staza. Potencijal je u suštini u promeni igre. A da bismo promenili igru, potrebno je da se promeni model, način na koji vidimo stvari - da se promeni model od neprijateljstva do gostoprimstva, od terorizma do turizma. I u tom smislu, Avramova staza menja igru.
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?
Da vam pokažem samo jednu stvar. Imam ovde jedan žir koji sam pokupio dok sam hodao stazom ove godine. Žir je, naravno, povezan sa drvetom hrasta - poraste u hrast, koji je povezan sa Avramom. Staza je sada kao taj žir; još uvek je u ranoj fazi. Kako bi hrast izgledao? Sećam se svog detinjstva, čiji sam dobar deo proveo, nakon rođenja u Čikagu, u Evropi. Da ste bili u ruševinama, recimo, Londona 1945. ili u Berlinu i da ste rekli, "za 60 godina, ovo će biti najmiroljubiviji, najnapredniji deo planete," ljudi bi pomislili da ste sigurno ludi. Ali oni su to uradili zahvaljujući zajedničkom identitetu - evropskom - i zajedničkoj ekonomiji. Dakle, moje pitanje je, ako je to moglo biti izvedeno u Evropi, zašto ne i na Bliskom istoku? Zašto ne, zahvaljujući zajdeničkom identitetu - o čemu zapravo govori priča o Avramu - i zahvaljujući zajedničkoj ekonomiji koja bi bila bazirana dobrim delom na turizmu?
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 dozvolite mi da zaključim onda tako što ću reći da se u poslednjih 35 godina, koliko radim na nekim od najopasnijih i jako komplikovanih konflikata na planeti, još nisam susreo sa konfliktom za koji sam osetio da ne može biti prevaziđen. Nije lako, naravno, ali je moguće. Urađeno je u Južnoj Africi. Urađeno je u Severnoj Irskoj. Može biti urađeno bilo gde. Prosto zavisi od nas. Zavisi od nas, od zauzimanja treće strane. Dozvolite mi da vas pozovem da uzmete u obzir zauzimanje treće strane, pa makar i samo mali korak ka tome. Predstoji nam pauza za trenutak. Samo priđite nekom ko je iz druge kulture, iz druge zemlje, drugog etničkog porekla, nekako drugačiji, i započnite razgovor; saslušajte ga. To je ponašanje treće strane. To je hod Avramovom stazom. Nakon TED govora, zašto ne TED šetnja?
(Laughter)
Dozvolite mi da vas ostavim
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.
sa tri stvari. Jedna je, tajna miru je treća strana. Treća strana smo mi, svako od nas, jednim korakom, može dovesti svet, korak bliže miru. Postoji stara afrička poslovica koja glasi: "Ujedinjene paukove mreže, mogu zaustaviti čak i lava." Ako budemo u stanju da ujedinimo mreže mira naše treće strane moći ćemo da zaustavimo čak i lava rata.
Thank you very much.
Hvala vam mnogo.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)