I have never, ever forgotten the words of my grandmother who died in her exile: "Son, resist Gaddafi. Fight him. But don't you ever turn into a Gaddafi-like revolutionary."
Nikada nisam zaboravila reči svoje bake koja je umrla u izgnanstvu: „Sine, suprotstavi se Gadafiju. Bori se protiv njega, ali nemoj se nikada pretvoriti u revolucionara poput Gadafija.“
Almost two years have passed since the Libyan Revolution broke out, inspired by the waves of mass mobilization in both the Tunisian and the Egyptian revolutions. I joined forces with many other Libyans inside and outside Libya to call for a day of rage and to initiate a revolution against the tyrannical regime of Gaddafi. And there it was, a great revolution. Young Libyan women and men were at the forefront calling for the fall of the regime, raising slogans of freedom, dignity, social justice. They have shown an exemplary bravery in confronting the brutal dictatorship of Gaddafi. They have shown a great sense of solidarity from the far east to the far west to the south. Eventually, after a period of six months of brutal war and a toll rate of almost 50,000 dead, we managed to liberate our country and to topple the tyrant.
Prošlo je skoro dve godine otkada je izbila revolucija u Libiji, inspirisana talasima masovne mobilizacije u revolucijama u Tunisu i Egiptu. Udružila sam snage sa mnogim drugim Libijcima, unutar i izvan Libije, kako bismo pozvali na „Dan besa“ i kako bismo započeli revoluciju protiv tiranskog režima Gadafija. I tako je i bilo, velika revolucija. Mlade žene i muškarci iz Libije, bili su u prvom planu pozivajući na rušenje režima uz parole slobode, dostojanstva, socijalne pravde. Oni su pokazali hrabrost za primer u borbi protiv Gadafijeve brutalne diktature. Pokazali su veliki osećaj solidarnosti od dalekog istoka do dalekog zapada i juga. Konačno, nakon šest meseci brutalnog rata i skoro 50 000 mrtvih, uspeli smo da oslobodimo svoju zemlju i srušimo tiranina.
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However, Gaddafi left behind a heavy burden, a legacy of tyranny, corruption and seeds of diversions. For four decades Gaddafi's tyrannical regime destroyed the infrastructure as well as the culture and the moral fabric of Libyan society. Aware of the devastation and the challenges, I was keen among many other women to rebuild the Libyan civil society, calling for an inclusive and just transition to democracy and national reconciliation. Almost 200 organizations were established in Benghazi during and immediately after the fall of Gaddafi -- almost 300 in Tripoli.
Međutim, Gadafi je ostavio težak teret za sobom, nasleđe tiranije, korupcije i zasejanu diverziju. Tokom četiri decenije, tiranski režim Gadafija uništio je infrastrukturu, kao i kulturu i moralni sistem libijskog društva. Svesna opustošenosti i izazova, bila sam spremna da, sa mnogim drugim ženama, obnovim civilno društvo u Libiji, pozivajući na inkluzivnu i pravednu tranziciju na demokratiju i nacionalno pomirenje. U Bengaziju je osnovano skoro 200 organizacija tokom i neposredno nakon pada Gadafija - skoro 300 u Tripoliju.
After a period of 33 years in exile, I went back to Libya, and with unique enthusiasm, I started organizing workshops on capacity building, on human development of leadership skills. With an amazing group of women, I co-founded the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace, a movement of women, leaders, from different walks of life, to lobby for the sociopolitical empowerment of women and to lobby for our right for equal participation in building democracy and peace.
Nakon 33 godine u izgnanstvu, vratila sam se u Libiju, i sa jedinstvenim entuzijazmom, počela sam sa organizovanjem radionica o izgradnji kapaciteta, o razvoju liderskih veština. Sa grupom izuzetnih žena, bila sam jedan od osnivača „Platforme za mir žena Libije“, pokreta žena, vođa, iz različitih društvenih slojeva, radi zalaganja za društveno-političko osnaživanje žena i zalaganja za naše pravo na ravnopravno učešće u izgradnji demokratije i mira.
I met a very difficult environment in the pre-elections, an environment which was increasingly polarized, an environment which was shaped by the selfish politics of dominance and exclusion. I led an initiative by the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace to lobby for a more inclusive electoral law, a law that would give every citizen, no matter what your background, the right to vote and run, and most importantly to stipulate on political parties the alternation of male and female candidates vertically and horizontally in their lists, creating the zipper list. Eventually, our initiative was adopted and successful. Women won 17.5 percent of the National Congress in the first elections ever in 52 years.
Susrela sam se sa veoma teškim okruženjem u predizbornom periodu, okruženjem koje je bilo sve više polarizovano, okruženjem koje je bilo oblikovano kroz sebičnu politiku dominacije i isključenosti. Vodila sam inicijativu „Platforma za mir žena Libije“ koja se zalaže za inkluzivniji izborni zakon, zakon koji bi pružio svakom građaninu, bez obzira na pozadinu, pravo da glasa i da se kandiduje, i najvažnije, da propisuje, vezano za političke partije, smenjivanje muških i ženskih kandidata vertikalno i horizontalno na listama, stvarajući „rajsferšlus“ listu. Konačno, naša inicijativa bila je usvojena i uspešna. Žene su osvojile 17,5 % u Nacionalnom Kongresu na prvim izborima u poslednje 52 godine.
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However, bit by bit, the euphoria of the elections, and of the revolution as a whole, was fading out -- for every day we were waking up to the news of violence. One day we wake up to the news of the desecration of ancient mosques and Sufi tombs. On another day we wake up to the news of the murder of the American ambassador and the attack on the consulate. On another day we wake up to the news of the assassination of army officers. And every day, every day we wake up with the rule of the militias and their continuous violations of human rights of prisoners and their disrespect of the rule of law.
Međutim, malo po malo, euforija oko izbora i revolucije u celini, počela je da bledi jer smo se svaki dan budili uz vesti o nasilju. Jednoga dana, probudili smo se uz vest o skrnavljenju drevnih džamija i Sufi grobnica. Sledećeg dana budi nas vest o ubistvu američkog ambasadora i napadu na konzulat. Sledeceg dana budi nas vest o ubistvu oficira. I svakoga dana, svakoga dana, budimo se sa vladavinom milicija i njihovim neprestanim kršenjem ljudskih prava zatvorenika i njihovim nepoštovanjem vladavine prava.
Our society, shaped by a revolutionary mindset, became more polarized and has driven away from the ideals and the principles -- freedom, dignity, social justice -- that we first held. Intolerance, exclusion and revenge became the icons of the [aftermath] of the revolution. I am here today not at all to inspire you with our success story of the zipper list and the elections. I'm rather here today to confess that we as a nation took the wrong choice, made the wrong decision. We did not prioritize right. For elections did not bring peace and stability and security in Libya. Did the zipper list and the alternation between female and male candidates bring peace and national reconciliation? No, it didn't. What is it, then? Why does our society continue to be polarized and dominated with selfish politics of dominance and exclusion, by both men and women?
Naše društvo, oblikovano revolucionarnim mentalnim sklopom, postalo je još više polarizovano i odmaklo se od ideala i principa slobode, dostojanstva, socijalne pravde kojih smo se najpre pridržavali. Netolerancija, isključivanje i osveta postale su ikone postrevolucije. Nisam ovde danas kako bih vas inspirisala našom pričom o uspehu „rajsferšlus“ liste i izbora. Danas sam ovde da priznam da smo kao nacija načinili pogrešan izbor, doneli pogrešnu odluku. Nismo pravilno odredili prioritete. Zato što izbori nisu doneli mir, stabilnost i bezbednost u Libiji. Da li su „rajsferšlus“ lista i smenjivanje ženskih i muških kandidata doneli mir i nacionalno pomirenje? Ne, nisu. O čemu se radi, onda? Zašto naše društvo i dalje polarizuje i kontroliše sebična politika dominacije i isključenosti, i muškaraca i žena?
Maybe what was missing was not the women only, but the feminine values of compassion, mercy and inclusion. Our society needs national dialogue and consensus-building more than it needed the elections, which only reinforced polarization and division. Our society needs the qualitative representation of the feminine more than it needs the numerical, quantitative representation of the feminine.
Možda ono što je nedostajalo nisu bile samo žene, već ženske vrednosti saosećanja, milosti i uključivanja. Našem društvu je potreban nacionalni dijalog i izgradnja konsenzusa više nego što su mu bili potrebni izbori, koji su samo pojačali polarizaciju i podelu. Našem društvu je potrebna kvalitativna zastupljenost ženstvenosti više nego brojčana, kvantitativna zastupljenost žena.
We need to stop acting as agents of rage and calling for days of rage. We need to start acting as agents of compassion and mercy. We need to develop a feminine discourse that not only honors but also implements mercy instead of revenge, collaboration instead of competition, inclusion instead of exclusion. These are the ideals that a war-torn Libya needs desperately in order to achieve peace.
Moramo prestati da delujemo kao zastupnici besa i pozivamo na „dane besa“. Moramo početi da se ponašamo kao zastupnici saosećanja i milosti. Moramo da razvijamo ženski diskurs koji ne samo da poštuje, već i primenjuje milost umesto besa, saradnju umesto nadmetanja, inkluziju umesto isključivanja. Ovo su ideali koji su ratom razorenoj Libiji očajnički potrebni kako bi se postigao mir.
For peace has an alchemy, and this alchemy is about the intertwining, the alternation between the feminine and masculine perspectives. That's the real zipper. And we need to establish that existentially before we do so sociopolitically.
Zato što mir ima alhemiju, i ova alhemija podrazumeva prožimanje, smenjivanje ženskih i muških perspektiva. To je pravi rajsferšlus. I to moramo uspostaviti egzistencijalno pre nego što to uradimo društveno-politički.
According to a Quranic verse "Salam" -- peace -- "is the word of the all-merciful God, raheem." In turn, the word "raheem," which is known in all Abrahamic traditions, has the same root in Arabic as the word "rahem" -- womb -- symbolizing the maternal feminine encompassing all humanity from which the male and the female, from which all tribes, all peoples, have emanated from. And so just as the womb entirely envelopes the embryo, which grows within it, the divine matrix of compassion nourishes the entire existence. Thus we are told that "My mercy encompasses all things." Thus we are told that "My mercy takes precedence over my anger."
Prema stihu iz Kurana: „Salam“ - mir - „je reč milosrdnog Boga, rahim.“ Sa druge strane, reč „rahim“, poznata u svim avramskim tradicijama, ima isti koren kao arapska reč „rahem“ - materica - koja simbolizuje materinstvo, ženstvenost, koja obuhvata celo čovečanstvo, odakle su svi muškarci i žene, odakle su sva plemena, svi narodi, proizašli. I tako, kao što materica potpuno obavija embrion koji raste unutar nje, božanska matrica saosećanja neguje čitavo postojanje. Tako nam je rečeno: „Moja milost obuhvata sve stvari.“ I tako nam je rečeno: „Moja milost ima prednost nad mojim gnevom.“
May we all be granted a grace of mercy. (Applause)
Neka nam svima bude podaren tračak milosti. (Aplauz)
Thank you.
Hvala.
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