Thank you to Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon,
Your excellencies,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Fellow activists, one and all.
感謝潘基文秘書長(zhǎng)
各位閣下,
尊敬的女士們、先生們,
各位到場(chǎng)嘉賓,在座的每一個(gè)人,
Thank you, Madame President for the wonderful introduction. I am honored to join you all here for the 2014 High Level Forum on The Culture of Peace at the United Nations. I would especially like to thank Ambassador Chowdhury and his team for making my presence here possible. To my sisters and comrades, thank you for your commitment to ensure our leaders “promote and strengthen a culture of peace in the new millennium.”
We are all here today to reaffirm the commitment of building a culture of peace. Since 1997, we’ve gathered to reassert that oft-repeated wish whispered every New Year the world over: Peace on Earth. The Declaration and Programme of Action on Culture of Peace is our collective effort to transform that wish into an achievable goal.
感謝主席的精彩介紹。我非常榮幸同你們一起在聯(lián)合國(guó)參與2014和平文化高級(jí)別論壇。我要特別感謝喬德哈瑞大使和他的團(tuán)隊(duì)讓我能夠來(lái)到這里。我的姐妹們及同志們,感謝你們,是你們的決心讓領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人們?cè)谛虑耆ゴ龠M(jìn)及加強(qiáng)和平文化建設(shè)。
我們今天都在這里來(lái)重申建設(shè)和平文化的承諾。從1997年起,我們就一直在主張全世界每一年都會(huì)重復(fù)的新年愿望:地球的和平。聯(lián)合國(guó)和平文化宣言及行動(dòng)綱領(lǐng)是我們?nèi)翰呷毫Φ慕Y(jié)果,它將讓這一愿望變成可以實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)。
I grew up in a community in Liberia’s capital Monrovia that was filled with a mixture of individuals from almost all of Liberia’s ethnic groups. There were individuals who practiced Christianity, Islam and the traditional African religions. People in the community were so close that the kids were mixed up psychologically! My parents were Christians and we celebrated Christian holidays; however, when the Muslims were having their feast, I expected my parents to buy me new clothes. The situation in that community at the time was the ideal world; everyone was every one’s keeper. However, the civil war came and destroyed the harmony of that community, destroyed the sense of community and replaced the culture of oneness with the culture of division. As a young girl, it was very hard for me to understand how a seemingly peaceful and united community could be destroyed in a few months.
How did we get from a place where everyone trusted each other to a place of extreme mistrust? How did we also get to a place where children who were protected from everything including seeing a loved one who had passed away to a place where they were creating dead bodies?
Those questions along with a strong sense of anger I would carry for a long time as the Liberian civil war progressed.
I did not know that as I carried that seed of anger and confusion, there was a seed that had been planted in my life was looking for the right opportunity to present itself. The seed of peace and togetherness that had grown during the period of my socialization as a young child now looked for a way to bloom.
I am one of thousands of women in Liberia who worked for years to end the Liberian civil war. Groups of women all over Liberia worked at the local level in different ways to end the civil war; however, the processes were disconnected and perpetuated a lot of the divisions that separated the country.
我在利比里亞首都蒙羅維亞的一個(gè)社區(qū)長(zhǎng)大,那里幾乎是來(lái)自我們國(guó)家所有少數(shù)民族的大融合區(qū)。居民中既有信仰基督教者,也有信仰伊斯蘭教及傳統(tǒng)非洲宗教者。社區(qū)里的人們都非常親密,以至于孩子們?cè)谛睦砩隙汲霈F(xiàn)了混淆。我的父母是基督教徒,所以我們慶?;浇痰墓?jié)日;但是,當(dāng)穆斯林們慶祝他們的節(jié)日時(shí),我也期待父母會(huì)給我買新衣服。那個(gè)時(shí)候的社區(qū)是個(gè)理想世界,大家是彼此的守護(hù)者。然而,內(nèi)戰(zhàn)的發(fā)生打破了社區(qū)的和諧,破壞了社區(qū)的觀念并用文化的分裂取代了文化的統(tǒng)一。作為一個(gè)小女孩的我,很難理解為什么看似和平團(tuán)結(jié)的社區(qū)會(huì)在短短幾個(gè)月里分崩離析。
我們是如何從互相信任淪落到極端不信任彼此的境地中來(lái)的呢?我們又是如何淪落到從保護(hù)孩子的方方面面包括不忍心讓他們目睹親人離去,到如今讓他們的家園尸橫遍野?
利比里亞內(nèi)戰(zhàn)一日不停歇,我便將長(zhǎng)時(shí)間地滿腔怒火地懷揣著這些問(wèn)題。
我并不知道,在自己懷揣著憤怒及困惑的種子的時(shí)候,另一顆種子也悄悄地在我的生活里被種下,等待著時(shí)機(jī)破土而出。這顆和平與團(tuán)結(jié)的種子在我的孩提時(shí)代成長(zhǎng)起來(lái),并在找尋讓自己枝繁葉茂的途徑。
我是利比里亞為結(jié)束內(nèi)戰(zhàn)而工作多年的成千上萬(wàn)女性中的一員。這里的婦女團(tuán)體在基層通過(guò)不同的方式為結(jié)束內(nèi)戰(zhàn)做著努力;然而,這些行動(dòng)沒(méi)有聯(lián)系在一起,從而使得分離國(guó)家的多種分歧仍在延續(xù)。
Many of us recognized the futility of working separately. How could we extinguish the fire of war with drops of water? We formed the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, a consortium of Christian and Muslim women’s groups. The marriage was by no means easy. There was no honeymoon. Our consortium now had women of different income levels, rural, urban, ethnicities and faiths. We spent many days negotiating with each to resolve our own conflicts. Contrary to popular belief that grassroots-led women peace efforts lack plans and coordination, we were strategic. We planned every day for hours. We deliberately sought out actors that would further our cause and built strategic alliances in the course of our work.
In that struggle, we had inadvertently conspired to carry out the first mandate of Article I in the Declaration on a Culture of Peace. Through “education, dialogue and cooperation,” we fostered an “environment conducive to peace.” It was, to put it mildly, not easy. But in doing so, we expanded beyond our initial goal to end the civil war. We committed to building a culture of peace. Our commitment to each other became the commitment of every Liberian. Where negotiations failed in 1996 and 1999, the women of Liberia succeeded in 2003.
I can emphatically say, ten years without the resurgence of violence in Liberia is partly due to the communities’ -- specifically the women’s -- active involvement in the quest for peace. It was never handed to us on a silver platter. We labored, persevered and recreated a culture of respect and constructive engagement.
我們當(dāng)中的很多人意識(shí)到了各自單干的徒勞無(wú)功。滴水如何澆滅戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)之火?我們成立了利比里亞婦女大規(guī)模和平行動(dòng),它是基督教與穆斯林婦女團(tuán)體的一個(gè)聯(lián)合。組織的成立并不容易,發(fā)展過(guò)程也很艱辛。組織的成員擁有不同的收入水平,來(lái)自農(nóng)村或者城市,有著不一樣的民族和信仰。我們花很多天的時(shí)間來(lái)談判以解決自身的沖突問(wèn)題。人們通常認(rèn)為草根婦女和平運(yùn)動(dòng)缺乏計(jì)劃及協(xié)調(diào)性,而正相反的是,我們具有戰(zhàn)略性。我們每天都會(huì)花幾個(gè)小時(shí)去計(jì)劃。我們謹(jǐn)慎地尋找可以推動(dòng)事業(yè)發(fā)展的參與者,并為工作的開(kāi)展建立戰(zhàn)略聯(lián)盟。
斗爭(zhēng)過(guò)程中,我們不自覺(jué)地按照《和平文化宣言》第一章的首條要求開(kāi)展工作。通過(guò)“教育、對(duì)話及合作”,我們創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)“有利于和平的環(huán)境”。婉轉(zhuǎn)點(diǎn)說(shuō),這并不容易。但是這樣一來(lái),我們擴(kuò)展了最初的目標(biāo),不僅僅限于結(jié)束內(nèi)戰(zhàn)。我們致力于建設(shè)和平文化。我們彼此的承諾成為每個(gè)利比里亞人的承諾。1996年和1999年的談判失敗了,但是利比里亞的婦女在2003年取得了成功。
我要強(qiáng)調(diào)的是,利比里亞的暴力十年間沒(méi)有死灰復(fù)燃,部分原因是社團(tuán)的努力——特別是婦女的努力——她們?cè)谧非蠛推街械姆e極參與。這從來(lái)都不是輕而易舉的事情。我們通過(guò)努力與堅(jiān)持,重新建立了一種對(duì)于文化的尊重和人們建設(shè)性的參與。
This year marks a resurrection of old conflicts like Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine; a resurgence of continuing violence in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and a relapse in development in West Africa due to the health crisis. Our international leaders again face new challenges with old tools -- debating how to use military might and which parties to invite to the negotiation table.
We must today ask ourselves -- as global leaders in this room -- where are we missing it? Conflict, though a part of human life, continues to come back at us in a more vicious and difficult form or fashion. What are we doing that makes it difficult for us to achieve the culture of peace that we are all striving for? Is it the strategy? Is it the language? Is it that our ways of doing peace negotiations have shifted from people-centered to political interest and natural resource-centered?
Since I am at the UN, I dare to ask this question, as I may never have the opportunity to do so. How did we get from a Saddam Hussein to an ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]? How did we get from ridding the dictatorships of Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak to a state of anarchy in Libya and Egypt? How did we get from fighting for the independence of South Sudan to a nation divided and now embroiled in an ethnic conflict? If I may also add: I am 42 years old, and from the moment as a young child my ears could understand news on the radio, there was an Israel and Palestine crisis. Will the children in these countries ever experience the culture of peace that has been so nicely put together in this declaration?
今年,俄羅斯與烏克蘭,以色列與巴勒斯坦的舊沖突重燃;敘利亞、伊拉克、尼日利亞、南蘇丹和剛果民主共和國(guó)的持續(xù)性暴力復(fù)蘇;西非地區(qū)因?yàn)榻】滴C(jī)而導(dǎo)致的沖突復(fù)發(fā)。各國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人們?cè)俅蚊媾R著用以往的工具面對(duì)新挑戰(zhàn)的局面——即討論如何使用軍事力量以及邀請(qǐng)哪方參與談判。
今天我們必須捫心自問(wèn)——作為世界領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的在座各位——我們是在哪個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)發(fā)生了缺失?沖突,盡管是人類生活的一部分,但卻繼續(xù)以更惡意及更難解決的方式發(fā)生在我們之間。我們做了什么使得人人所追求的和平文化難以獲得成功?是戰(zhàn)略的問(wèn)題?語(yǔ)言的問(wèn)題?我們關(guān)于和平的談判從以人為中心轉(zhuǎn)移到了以政治利益及自然資源為中心了嗎?
鑒于在聯(lián)合國(guó),我敢去問(wèn)這個(gè)問(wèn)題,因?yàn)榭赡懿粫?huì)有機(jī)會(huì)去這樣做了。我們?nèi)绾螐乃_達(dá)姆侯賽因的統(tǒng)治到建立伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國(guó)?我們?nèi)绾螐哪掳⑦~爾·卡扎菲及穆巴拉克的獨(dú)裁到利比亞和埃及的無(wú)政府狀態(tài)?我們?nèi)绾螐臓?zhēng)取南蘇丹的獨(dú)立到使其國(guó)家分裂并卷入民族沖突?我還要說(shuō)的是:我現(xiàn)在42歲,在我能聽(tīng)懂新聞廣播的時(shí)候就聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)巴以沖突。這些國(guó)家的孩子們能夠體會(huì)到宣言里描述的美好的和平文化嗎?
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I dare to ask: Why do we have five permanent members on the UN Security Council? Who decides this for the world? Where is Africa, another big continent, on this council?
The age-old strategy of leaving out half of the population in a conversation that involves them is at play once again globally. We continue to see resistance -- or willful amnesia -- that women’s participation in peacebuilding can work.
Women across the world have been tested and proven worthy of building peace at the local level and in some cases the national levels. There is no need to build a strong case on their behalf. Unlike many global peace processes, women have the track record. It is our role now as leaders to help elevate women’s peacebuilding work to reveal the difference in the way national and global peace is negotiated. Women’s peacebuilding is not centered solely on the deconstruction of war. It is about building a culture of peace.
尊敬的女士們、先生們,我冒昧地問(wèn)一句:為什么聯(lián)合國(guó)安理會(huì)設(shè)有五個(gè)常任理事國(guó)?誰(shuí)為世界決定了這一點(diǎn)?這個(gè)理事會(huì)中,非洲這另一個(gè)大陸在哪里?
將一半的人不包括事關(guān)他們切身利益的談話里的老舊策略再一次在全球被使用。我們?nèi)匀豢吹搅俗枇Α蚴怯幸獾剡z忘——即女性在和平建設(shè)中的參與能夠起到的作用。
全世界的女性在基層甚至國(guó)家水平的和平建設(shè)中的作用已經(jīng)被證明是有價(jià)值的。并不再需要一個(gè)代表她們的強(qiáng)有力的理由。不同于很多全球和平進(jìn)程,婦女的工作是有跡可循的。我們現(xiàn)在需要作為領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人來(lái)提升婦女在和平建設(shè)中的工作,并揭示國(guó)家及全球和平談判的不同之處。女性的和平建設(shè)不會(huì)局限于結(jié)束戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng),它關(guān)乎于建設(shè)和平文化。
Today’s affirmation is, more importantly, a challenge. The United Nations is only as strong as its member-states. And member-states are only as strong as its people. The strength, therefore, of individuals within member states does not lie primarily in one gender; men as well as women have critical roles to play in creating the culture of peace.
I sincerely believe that the ultimate goal of all of our activities globally is to create a culture of peace that promotes respect for the rights of others, and a world where we all live in harmony. This is a not a goal that is unachievable. It is a goal that needs a lot of work, thinking outside of the box, political will and sincerity.
I thank you for your time.
今天的主張更重要的是一種挑戰(zhàn)。聯(lián)合國(guó)的強(qiáng)大需要成員國(guó)的強(qiáng)大,而成員國(guó)的強(qiáng)大需要人民的強(qiáng)大。這種力量存在于成員國(guó)的每個(gè)人中,但不是僅在一種性別的人中。男性與女性在建設(shè)和平文化中都起到了重要的作用。
我深信全球所有活動(dòng)的終極目標(biāo)是建設(shè)一種和平文化,人們尊重他人的權(quán)利,彼此和諧相處。這個(gè)目標(biāo)不是遙不可及的。它的實(shí)現(xiàn)需要大量的工作,需要跳出框框及政治意愿真心實(shí)意地去思考。
謝謝大家的時(shí)間。