ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Boniface Mwangi -
Boniface Mwangi is an award-winning Kenyan photographer, artist and activist. He is a TED Fellow.

Why you should listen
For four years Boniface Mwangi held a staff photography position at The Standard, the second largest Kenyan newspaper, taking on various assignments of increasing responsibility in a number of countries. Mwangi became the eye of Kenyans during the 2007 post-election violence and showed courage and compassion to capture thousands of images, some so gory that they could not be published.

Following the political resolution to the election crisis, Boniface started to see himself as a visual artist, using photography as the vehicle for social change in Kenya. His focus was the fight against the impunity of politicians in the face of over 1000 dead and half a million people displaced as a result of the violence they caused.

"Boniface’s images are crucial for the healing of our nation; his ability to stay focused and inject a sense of artistry into his work is a testimony to the spirit of professional journalism," wrote Jackson Biko after Boniface was voted Kenya Photojournalist of the Year in 2008 by readers of Adam, a men’s magazine in the country.

Since then, Boniface has continued to work as a freelance photographer for Bloomberg, the AFP, Reuters, the Boston Globe, and other media outlets while building a movement for social change in Kenya through “Picha Mtaani” (Swahili for street exhibition). The photo exhibit aims to heal the scars of Kenyans and draw their attention to the dynamics of the violence to prevent a repeat during the upcoming elections of 2013.

Boniface founded Pawa254 as a collaborative hub where journalists, artists and activists could meet to find innovative ways of achieving social change. The hub has already had many functions, but two campaigns stand out. “Heal the Nation” is a very successful initiative to show a half-hour documentary about post-election violence to as many Kenyans as possible and facilitate discussions around the film. The campaign is accompanied by a more shadowy graffiti campaign that has evoked strong reactions and fired up the youth of Kenya and the world, as images of the clever graffiti grace the pages of the world’s newspapers.

In 2009 United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote a letter commending Boniface for his work during the post-election violence. She stated, "Your photography is absolutely stunning and tells an important and powerful story for the world to hear."
More profile about the speaker
Boniface Mwangi | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2014

Boniface Mwangi: The day I stood up alone

Boniface Mwangi: 我独自一人挺身而出的那一天

Filmed:
1,464,126 views

摄影师 Boniface Mwangi 抗议他的祖国肯尼亚的腐败作风,为此,他和他的朋友们计划在一个大型公开的会议中挺身而出,并诘问总统。但在那一刻来临时,只有他一个人站了起来。他表示,后来发生的事情让他明白了活着的意义,「人的生命中有两天是尤为可贵的:你出生的那一天,你想明白的那一天。」
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Boniface Mwangi is an award-winning Kenyan photographer, artist and activist. He is a TED Fellow. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
People back home call me a heckler黑克勒,
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家乡的人们称为我诘问者,
00:16
a troublemaker麻烦制造者, an irritant刺激性,
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麻烦制造者,激进者,
00:19
a rebel反叛, an activist活动家,
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反抗者,行动主义者,
00:21
the voice语音 of the people.
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人民的声音。
00:23
But that wasn't always me.
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但我并不是从小就这样。
00:26
Growing生长 up, I had a nickname昵称.
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小的时候我有一个绰号,
00:28
They used to call me Softy多愁善感,
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他们叫我「软蛋」,
00:30
meaning含义 the soft柔软的, harmless无害 boy男孩.
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这个词意味着软弱,不惹麻烦,
00:33
Like every一切 other human人的 being存在,
I avoided避免 trouble麻烦.
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像其他人一样,避免麻烦。
00:36
In my childhood童年, they taught me silence安静.
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小的时候,他们教我要保持安静。
00:38
Don't argue争论, do as you're told.
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不去争辩,让你做什么你就听话。
00:40
In Sunday星期日 school学校, they taught me
don't confront面对, don't argue争论,
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在主日学校,他们教我不要反对,
不要争辩,
00:44
even if you're right,
turn the other cheek脸颊.
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即便你有理,也要容忍。
00:47
This was reinforced加强
by the political政治 climate气候 of the time.
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当时的政治风气加重了「软蛋」之风。
00:52
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:55
Kenya肯尼亚 is a country国家
where you are guilty有罪
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在肯尼亚,唯有腰包鼓
00:57
until直到 proven证明 rich丰富.
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才可以是良民。
(笑声)
01:00
(Laughter笑声)
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01:02
Kenya's肯尼亚 poor较差的 are five times more likely容易
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相比于被罪犯杀害,
01:05
to be shot射击 dead by the police警察
who are meant意味着 to protect保护 them
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肯尼亚的穷人有六倍高的可能性
被那些应该保护他们的
01:08
than by criminals罪犯.
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警察射杀。
01:10
This was reinforced加强
by the political政治 climate气候 of the day.
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当时的政治环境恶化了这种气焰。
01:12
We had a president主席,
Moi莫伊, who was a dictator独裁者.
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我的总统Moi是一个独裁者。
01:15
He ruled统治 the country国家 with an iron fist拳头,
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他用铁拳统治着国家,
01:18
and anyone任何人 who dared
question his authority权威
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任何人若敢质疑他的权威,
01:20
was arrested被捕, tortured折磨,
jailed获刑 or even killed杀害.
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会被逮捕,施加酷刑,
锒铛入狱,甚至会被杀害。
01:25
That meant意味着 that people were taught
to be smart聪明 cowards懦夫, stay out of trouble麻烦.
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这意味着人民要学聪明,
而不是惹麻烦。
01:29
Being存在 a coward懦夫 was not an insult侮辱.
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变成「软蛋」不再是一种耻辱,
01:31
Being存在 a coward懦夫 was a compliment赞扬.
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而是一种荣耀。
01:33
We used to be told that a coward懦夫
goes home to his mother母亲.
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俗话说「懦夫才能找到回家的路。」
01:36
What that meant意味着: that if you stayed
out of trouble麻烦 you're going to stay alive.
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其含义是:不惹麻烦,才能活着回家。
01:40
I used to question this advice忠告,
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我质疑过这种说法,
01:42
and eight years年份 ago
we had an election选举 in Kenya肯尼亚,
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8年前,肯尼亚的选举过后,
01:45
and the results结果 were violently猛烈 disputed争议.
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爆发了激烈的政治斗争。
01:47
What followed其次 that election选举
was terrible可怕 violence暴力, rape强奸,
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随之而来的是恐怖的暴力和强奸事件,
01:52
and the killing谋杀 of over 1,000 people.
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超过一千人丧失了性命。
01:56
My work was to document文件 the violence暴力.
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我的工作是记录这场动乱。
01:59
As a photographer摄影师,
I took thousands数千 of images图片,
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作为一个摄影师,我拍了上千幅照片。
02:02
and after two months个月,
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两个月之后,
02:04
the two politicians政治家 came来了 together一起,
had a cup杯子 of tea,
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双方坐在谈判桌前,泡上一杯茶,
02:09
signed a peace和平 agreement协议,
and the country国家 moved移动 on.
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签订了和平协议,这事就这么过去了。
02:12
I was a very disturbed不安 man
because I saw the violence暴力 firsthand第一手.
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我内心十分不安,
因为我目睹了暴力事件。
02:16
I saw the killings杀人.
I saw the displacement移位.
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我目睹了残杀。我目睹了政权更迭。
02:19
I met会见 women妇女 who had been raped强奸,
and it disturbed不安 me,
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我目睹了强奸惨案。这让我很不安,
02:22
but the country国家 never spoke about it.
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但国家却保持缄默,
02:24
We pretended假装的. We all became成为 smart聪明 cowards懦夫.
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我们假装,我们聪明地畏缩起来。
02:27
We decided决定 to stay out of trouble麻烦
and not talk about it.
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我们不想惹麻烦,不去谈论这一切。
02:30
Ten months个月 later后来, I quit放弃 my job工作.
I said I could not stand it anymore.
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十个月之后,我辞去了工作。
我再也不能忍气吞声。
02:34
After quitting戒烟 my job工作,
I decided决定 to organize组织 my friends朋友
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辞去工作以后,我决定召集朋友们
02:36
to speak说话 about
the violence暴力 in the country国家,
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一起发出一些声音,
02:38
to speak说话 about the state of the nation国家,
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不让那场惨案和整个国家沉寂于无形。
02:40
and June六月 1, 2009 was the day
that we were meant意味着 to go to the stadium体育场
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我们打算在2009年6月1日
那一天去会堂做些什么,
02:44
and try and get the president's总统 attention注意.
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引起总统的注意。
那一天是国定假日,
02:46
It's a national国民 holiday假日,
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全国直播,
02:48
it's broadcast广播 across横过 the country国家,
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02:49
and I showed显示 up at the stadium体育场.
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我到了会堂,
02:53
My friends朋友 did not show显示 up.
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我的朋友们却没有来。
02:56
I found发现 myself alone单独,
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孤立无援的我
02:59
and I didn't know what to do.
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不知所措,
03:02
I was scared害怕,
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虽然惊慌,
03:03
but I knew知道 very well
that that particular特定 day,
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但我内心很明确,在这特殊的一天,
03:05
I had to make a decision决定.
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我必须做出决定。
03:07
Was I able能够 to live生活 as a coward懦夫,
like everyone大家 else其他,
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我是继续像所有人一样做一个懦夫,
03:09
or was I going to make a stand?
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还是挺身而出?
03:11
And when the president主席 stood站在 up to speak说话,
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当总统起身演讲时,
03:13
I found发现 myself on my feet
shouting叫喊 at the president主席,
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我站了起来,对总统呐喊,
03:17
telling告诉 him to remember记得
the post-election选后 violence暴力 victims受害者,
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告诉他要记住选举后的动乱受害者,
03:21
to stop the corruption腐败.
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要遏制腐败。
03:23
And suddenly突然, out of nowhere无处,
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突然,不知从哪窜出来的警察
03:25
the police警察 pounced扑上 on me
like hungry饥饿 lions狮子.
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像饿虎扑食一样想我扑来。
03:28
They held保持 my mouth
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他们钳住了我的嘴,
03:30
and dragged me out of the stadium体育场,
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把我拖出了会场,
随后痛打一番,铐起来关到监狱里。
03:32
where they thoroughly beat击败 me up
and locked锁定 me up in jail监狱.
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03:37
I spent花费 that night in
a cold cement水泥 floor地板 in the jail监狱,
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那一晚我在监狱冰冷的水泥地上度过,
03:43
and that got me thinking思维.
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这不禁让我思考。
03:46
What was making制造 me feel this way?
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是什么让我从懦夫变成勇夫的?
03:48
My friends朋友 and family家庭 thought
I was crazy because of what I did,
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我的朋友们和家人看到
我的所作所为都觉得我疯了,
03:51
and the images图片 that I took
were disturbing烦扰的 my life.
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还拍了那么多照片。
03:56
The images图片 that I took
were just a number to many许多 Kenyans肯尼亚人.
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这些令我不安的照片
对很多肯尼亚人而言只是一个数字。
03:59
Most Kenyans肯尼亚人 did not see the violence暴力.
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大多肯尼亚人没有目睹那场暴力,
04:01
It was a story故事 to them.
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对于他们而言不过是个故事。
04:03
And so I decided决定 to actually其实
start开始 a street exhibition展览
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因此我决定举办一场展览,
04:05
to show显示 the images图片 of the violence暴力
across横过 the country国家
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在全国各地的街道上展出暴力事件的照片,
04:08
and get people talking about it.
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让民众谈论它们。
04:10
We traveled旅行 the country国家
and showed显示 the images图片,
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我们的足迹遍布全国,展示照片,
04:13
and this was a journey旅程 that has started开始 me
to the activist活动家 path路径,
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由此我踏上了行动主义者之路。
04:16
where I decided决定 to become成为 silent无声 no more,
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我下定决心,不再保持沉默,
04:19
to talk about those things.
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要高声谈论那些事情。
04:21
We traveled旅行, and our general一般 site现场
from our street exhibit展示
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随着我们的脚步,我们从展出照片
04:25
became成为 for political政治 graffiti涂鸦
about the situation情况 in the country国家,
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转变为反映现实的政治涂鸦,
04:30
talking about corruption腐败, bad leadership领导.
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披露腐败作风和领导者的失职。
04:33
We have even doneDONE symbolic象征 burials墓葬.
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我们甚至还办了象征性葬礼。
04:36
We have delivered交付 live生活 pigs
to Kenya's肯尼亚 parliament议会
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我们把一头活猪送到了肯尼亚议会,
04:40
as a symbol符号 of our politicians'政治家 greed贪心.
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用以讽刺政客的贪婪。
04:42
It has been doneDONE in Uganda乌干达
and other countries国家,
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在乌干达和其他国家也有人做这样的事,
04:45
and what is most powerful强大 is that
the images图片 have been picked采摘的 by the media媒体
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最激动人心的是媒体捕捉到了这些画面,
04:48
and amplified放大 across横过 the country国家,
across横过 the continent大陆.
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并大肆宣传,传遍祖国大地,
横越整个大陆。
04:51
Where I used to stand up alone单独
seven years年份 ago,
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七年前独自挺身而出的我,
04:54
now I belong属于 to a community社区
of many许多 people who stand up with me.
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如今找到了组织,
很多人会跟我一起挺身而出。
04:57
I am no longer alone单独 when I stand up
to speak说话 about these things.
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我为这些事情呐喊时不再是孤身一人。
05:02
I belong属于 to a group of young年轻 people
who are passionate多情 about the country国家,
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我们这个年轻人团体对祖国充满了热爱,
05:06
who want to bring带来 about change更改,
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力图革新,
05:08
and they're no longer afraid害怕,
and they're no longer smart聪明 cowards懦夫.
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不再畏惧,摒弃了懦夫形象。
05:13
So that was my story故事.
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这就是我的故事,
05:18
That day in the stadium体育场,
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那天在会场里,
05:20
I stood站在 up as a smart聪明 coward懦夫.
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站起来之前我还是一个懦夫,
05:23
By that one action行动, I said goodbye再见
to the 24 years年份 living活的 as a coward懦夫.
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但那一站,
让我告别了24年懦弱的生命。
05:28
There are two most powerful强大
days in your life:
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人的生命中有两天是尤为可贵的:
05:31
the day you're born天生,
and the day you discover发现 why.
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你出生的那一天,你想明白的那一天。
05:36
That day standing常设 up in that stadium体育场
shouting叫喊 at the President主席,
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在会场里站起来对总统呐喊的那一天,
05:40
I discovered发现 why I was truly born天生,
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我明白了我为什么要存活在
这个世界上:
05:43
that I would no longer be silent无声
in the face面对 of injustice不公正.
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不公正面前不再沉默。
05:47
Do you know why you were born天生?
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你发现你活着的意义了吗?
05:51
Thank you.
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谢谢。
(掌声)
05:53
(Applause掌声)
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06:00
Tom汤姆 Rielly里利: It's an amazing惊人 story故事.
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Tom Rielly: 这个故事太不可思议了。
06:03
I just want to ask you
a couple一对 quick questions问题.
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有些问题我非常想问你。
06:05
So PAWA帕瓦254:
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那么 PAWA254:
06:07
you've created创建 a studio工作室, a place地点
where young年轻 people can go
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你创立过一个录音室,
年轻人可以到你那,
06:12
and harness马具 the power功率 of digital数字 media媒体
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利用强大的数字媒体
06:14
to do some of this action行动.
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去做一些事。
06:16
What's happening事件 now with PAWA帕瓦?
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PAWA现在怎么样了?
06:18
Boniface博尼 Mwangi姆旺吉: So we have
this community社区 of filmmakers电影制片人,
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Boniface Mwangi:
我们这个团体里有制片人,
06:21
graffiti涂鸦 artists艺术家, musicians音乐家,
and when there's an issue问题 in the country国家,
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涂鸦艺术家,音乐家,
当我们国家发生了些什么,
06:24
we come together一起, we brainstorm头脑风暴,
and take up on that issue问题.
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我们会聚在一起,
头脑风暴,解决这些事。
06:27
So our most powerful强大 tool工具 is art艺术,
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我们最强大的工具是艺术,
06:29
because we live生活 in a very busy world世界
where people are so busy in their life,
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因为在今天这个繁忙的世界里,
人们都忙着自己的事情,
06:33
and they don't have time to read.
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没有时间阅读。
06:35
So we package our activism行动
and we package our message信息 in art艺术.
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因此我们提炼出精华,
以艺术的形式展现出来,
06:39
So from the music音乐, the graffiti涂鸦,
the art艺术, that's what we do.
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如音乐、涂鸦,艺术,
这就是我们所做的。
06:45
Can I say one more thing?
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我还能补充一些吗?
TR: 当然 (掌声)
06:47
TRTR: Yeah, of course课程. (Applause掌声)
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BM: 尽管被逮捕,被殴打,被威胁,
06:49
BMBM: In spite尽管 of being存在 arrested被捕,
beaten殴打 up, threatened受威胁,
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06:52
the moment时刻 I discovered发现 my voice语音,
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但当我听到自己的声音的时候,
06:53
that I could actually其实 stand up
for what I really believed相信 in,
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我可以为自己的信仰挺身而出,
我不再害怕。
06:56
I'm no longer afraid害怕.
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我过去被人叫做「软蛋」,
但我不再软弱,
06:57
I used to be called softy多愁善感,
but I'm no longer softy多愁善感,
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因为我真正地发现了自己是怎样的人,
我真正地发现了我想做的事情,
07:00
because I discovered发现 who I really am,
as in, that's what I want to do,
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行动的过程又如此美妙。
07:03
and there's such这样 beauty美女 in doing that.
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07:06
There's nothing as powerful强大 as that,
knowing会心 that I'm meant意味着 to do this,
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生当如此,是再伟大的事情不过,
07:10
because you don't get scared害怕,
you just continue继续 living活的 your life.
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因为你会挺起胸膛生活,不再畏缩。
谢谢。
07:13
Thank you.
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(掌声)
07:15
(Applause掌声)
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Translated by Yumeng Guo
Reviewed by zac bleu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Boniface Mwangi -
Boniface Mwangi is an award-winning Kenyan photographer, artist and activist. He is a TED Fellow.

Why you should listen
For four years Boniface Mwangi held a staff photography position at The Standard, the second largest Kenyan newspaper, taking on various assignments of increasing responsibility in a number of countries. Mwangi became the eye of Kenyans during the 2007 post-election violence and showed courage and compassion to capture thousands of images, some so gory that they could not be published.

Following the political resolution to the election crisis, Boniface started to see himself as a visual artist, using photography as the vehicle for social change in Kenya. His focus was the fight against the impunity of politicians in the face of over 1000 dead and half a million people displaced as a result of the violence they caused.

"Boniface’s images are crucial for the healing of our nation; his ability to stay focused and inject a sense of artistry into his work is a testimony to the spirit of professional journalism," wrote Jackson Biko after Boniface was voted Kenya Photojournalist of the Year in 2008 by readers of Adam, a men’s magazine in the country.

Since then, Boniface has continued to work as a freelance photographer for Bloomberg, the AFP, Reuters, the Boston Globe, and other media outlets while building a movement for social change in Kenya through “Picha Mtaani” (Swahili for street exhibition). The photo exhibit aims to heal the scars of Kenyans and draw their attention to the dynamics of the violence to prevent a repeat during the upcoming elections of 2013.

Boniface founded Pawa254 as a collaborative hub where journalists, artists and activists could meet to find innovative ways of achieving social change. The hub has already had many functions, but two campaigns stand out. “Heal the Nation” is a very successful initiative to show a half-hour documentary about post-election violence to as many Kenyans as possible and facilitate discussions around the film. The campaign is accompanied by a more shadowy graffiti campaign that has evoked strong reactions and fired up the youth of Kenya and the world, as images of the clever graffiti grace the pages of the world’s newspapers.

In 2009 United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote a letter commending Boniface for his work during the post-election violence. She stated, "Your photography is absolutely stunning and tells an important and powerful story for the world to hear."
More profile about the speaker
Boniface Mwangi | Speaker | TED.com