ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ameera Harouda - Fixer
Ameera Harouda leads journalists to the harrowing (and often hidden) stories of the Gaza Strip that they couldn’t find on their own.

Why you should listen

In the Gaza Strip, foreign correspondents rely on state-approved "fixers" to direct and guide them on the ground. Although Hamas requires journalists to use fixers as local "sponsors," the fixers also provide ease of movement, translation and an eye for where the real stories are -- making them an invaluable asset in frequently chaotic scenarios.

Ameera Harouda has been a fixer for over a decade. Although many fixers are male, journalists increasingly seek women like Harouda for their access to areas where men are forbidden, and for a new lens on stories of human suffering often overlooked in the headlines.

More profile about the speaker
Ameera Harouda | Speaker | TED.com
TED2016

Ameera Harouda: Why I put myself in danger to tell the stories of Gaza

Filmed:
1,102,156 views

When Ameera Harouda hears the sounds of bombs or shells, she heads straight towards them. "I want to be there first because these stories should be told," says Gaza's first female "fixer," a role that allows her to guide journalists into chaotic, war zone scenarios in her home country, which she still loves despite its terrible situation. Find out what motivates Harouda to give a voice to Gaza's human suffering in this unforgettable talk.
- Fixer
Ameera Harouda leads journalists to the harrowing (and often hidden) stories of the Gaza Strip that they couldn’t find on their own. Full bio

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

00:13
Hello你好.
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大家好,
00:16
This is my first trip,
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这是我的第一次旅行
00:18
first time in life I'm outside
of the walls墙壁 of Gaza加沙.
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人生中第一次离开加沙地带
00:22
I'm so happy快乐 to be here.
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能来到这里我非常高兴
00:25
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
00:31
My ambition志向 always was
to be a pilot飞行员, to fly a plane平面,
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一直以来,我的志向是成为一名飞行员,去开飞机,
00:36
to feel free自由 to fly the sky天空,
to touch触摸 the sky天空.
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从而去感受空中飞翔的自由,与天空为伍。
00:42
But that didn't happen发生.
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但,这从未发生过。
00:44
Simply只是, I live生活 in Gaza加沙,
there is no airport飞机场.
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简单的说,我生活在加沙,那里没有机场
00:49
All borders国界 are closed关闭 on every一切 side.
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所有的边境都是关闭的
00:52
We live生活 in one of the biggest最大
prisons监狱 in the world世界.
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我们生活在这世界上最大的监狱里。
00:57
The only thing I can do
is just to look up to the sky天空.
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对我来说,唯一能做的事情就是仰望天空
01:02
On some days, we are lucky幸运
if we have electricity电力
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在某些天,会有四、五个小时的电力供应
01:05
for four or five hours小时.
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对我们来说非常幸运。
01:09
When it's cold, we make a fire
on the front面前 or on the roof屋顶 of our homes家园.
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在寒冷的天气里,我们在房子前面或者屋顶生火取暖。
01:15
Sometimes有时 we make food餐饮, too.
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有时候,我们会用同样的方式煮饭。
01:18
My job工作 in Gaza加沙 is to arrange安排 everything
for journalists记者 who come to my homeland家园
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在加沙,我的工作是为来到加沙的记者们准备各种各样的东西
01:23
to tell the stories故事
about what's going on in Gaza加沙.
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告诉他们在加沙正发生着什么。
01:28
Many许多 mornings早晨,
I had to go to the border边境 area
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很多个早晨,我不得不去边境地区
01:31
to collect搜集 a journalist记者.
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接一名记者。
01:32
If anything should happen发生
to the journalist记者,
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假如这名记者发生了任何事情,
01:36
or if the journalist记者 decides决定
to cover a story故事
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或者这名记者决定去报道一个
01:39
the government政府 doesn't want us to cover,
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政府不允许我们揭露的故事(新闻),
01:43
bad things could happen发生.
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可能就会发生糟糕的事情。
01:46
Navigating导航 through通过 my country国家
helping帮助 journalists记者,
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在我的国家为记者
01:50
filmmakers电影制片人, news新闻 crews船员,
is my working加工 life.
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电影制作者、新同伴做导航,是我的工作
01:55
I believe my success成功 comes
from building建造 a relationship关系
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我相信我的成功是因为建立了关系
02:00
not only with journalists记者
and the news新闻 crews船员,
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不仅仅是和记者、新同伴们,
02:03
but also with the communities社区
in the Gaza加沙 Strip跳闸.
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更是和加沙地带的社区群体。
02:06
These communities社区 who don't want
their stories故事 to be told,
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这些社区群体不希望他们的故事被报道,
02:11
I never looked看着 to them
as stories故事 or numbers数字.
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我从来没有把他们作为故事或者数字。
02:15
But like me, they are human人的 beings众生.
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他们和我一样,他们是人
02:21
I have built内置 up
many许多 relationships关系 over 10 years年份.
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在过去的十年,我已经建立起很多关系
02:26
And guess猜测 what?
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你猜怎么样?
02:28
This gives me the chance机会
to get access访问 to people,
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这给我机会去加入人群
02:31
to stories故事 that others其他 can't.
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去诉述那些别人不能诉说的事。
02:34
In some certain某些 situations情况,
I feel, as a woman女人, I have more power功率.
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在一些真实的场景,我感受到,作为一个女人,我有更大的能量。
02:41
Many许多 male journalists记者 in my society社会,
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在我的群体中,很多男性记者
02:44
they want to cover a story故事
about drug药物 addiction in my country国家.
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他们想去报道发生在我的国家的一个毒品泛滥事件。
02:48
That problem问题 started开始
when the Gaza加沙 tunnel隧道 was being存在 built内置.
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在建设加沙隧道时,这个问题已经开始了。
02:54
With the siege围城 on Gaza加沙,
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在加沙的围城之中
02:56
tunnels隧道 brought people all the basic基本 needs需求
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隧道给人们带来所有基本的需求
02:59
like food餐饮, building建造 material材料,
other stuff东东 we needed需要.
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比如,食物、建材等其他我们需要的物品。
03:02
But not anymore, because the Egyptian埃及人 side
flooded them up with water
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但现在不是了,因为与埃及的边界被洪水淹没
03:07
and they are not working加工 anymore.
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隧道不再起作用
03:10
Drugs毒品 were being存在 smuggled走私,
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毒品被走私进来
03:12
and many许多 young年轻 people got addicted上瘾, too.
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很多年轻人对毒品上瘾
03:17
In the tradition传统
of the Palestinian巴勒斯坦的 society社会,
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在传统的巴勒斯坦社会,
03:20
it's forbidden被禁止 for men男人
to enter输入 the household家庭.
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禁止男人进入家门
03:24
So, no male journalists记者 get the story故事.
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因此,没有男性记者能进行采访。
03:27
But I did.
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但是,我可以。
03:30
I have a wonderful精彩 husband丈夫,
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我的丈夫非常棒,
03:33
a wonderful精彩 husband丈夫 who supports支持 me
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他支持我
03:36
despite尽管 all the criticism批评
he gets得到 from the society社会.
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尽管他承受着来自社会的所有批评。
03:40
He's at home now with my two kids孩子,
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他现在和我的两个海子待在家里,
03:43
and I have another另一个 one
that's growing生长 in here.
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我带着另外一个孩子,在这里生活成长。
03:46
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
03:52
When I'm working加工,
I call him every一切 two hours小时,
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当我工作时,我每隔两个小时给他打电话
03:55
and he knows知道 if he doesn't hear from me,
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同时,他知道如果他没有接到我的电话
03:59
he should call my contact联系,
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他应该打电话联系我
04:01
the one who gives me access访问 to the story故事,
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带我进入这个故事的人
04:04
which哪一个 is the one who I trust相信.
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是我最相信的人。
04:09
One of the times in Gaza加沙,
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有一次在加沙,
04:11
during the kidnapping绑架
of the British英国的 journalist记者 Alan艾伦 Johnston约翰斯顿,
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英国记者约翰斯顿被绑架期间,
04:16
I was asked by an American美国 magazine杂志
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一个美国杂志要求我
04:20
to set up a meeting会议
with the kidnappers绑匪 in Gaza加沙, and I did.
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在加沙组织一个和绑匪的会面,我做到了。
04:26
The journalist记者 covering覆盖 the story故事 and I
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记者报道 了新闻,
04:29
were asked to meet遇到 outside of his hotel旅馆.
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我被要求在他的酒店外会面
04:33
They came来了, they picked采摘的 us up
in a black黑色 van面包车 with black黑色 windows视窗,
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他们来了,他们将我们架上一辆带着黑色玻璃的黑色面包车
04:38
they were wearing穿着 masks面具 on that day.
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那天他们带着面具。
04:43
And they drove开车 us away,
far away in the middle中间 of a field领域.
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他们开车载着我们,远离中心地带。
04:48
They took our cell细胞 phones手机
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他们拿走我们的手机
04:51
and we did the interview访问
with the kidnapper绑匪 outside in that field领域.
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我们在这批区域的中间和绑匪会面。
04:57
I was so scared害怕 that day,
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那天我非常害怕
04:59
a day I will never forget忘记.
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我永远不会忘记的一天。
05:03
So, why do I do what I do?
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然而,我为什么要这么做呢?
05:07
I do it because I believe if I didn't,
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我这么做,因为我相信如果我不
05:10
a huge巨大 part部分 of the story故事
about Gaza加沙 will be missing失踪.
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将失去加沙的这个新闻的一大部分。
05:15
There are some more stories故事
I could tell you about my country国家.
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我可以告诉你非常多我的国家的故事,
05:20
And not all of them are bad.
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并不是所有的都是不好的。
05:22
I love my country国家, despite尽管
the terrible可怕 situation情况 we live生活 in --
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我爱我的国家,尽管我们生活在这个糟糕的地带
05:27
siege围城, poverty贫穷, unemployment失业 --
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闭塞,贫穷,失业...
05:31
but there is life.
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但这是生命
05:33
There are people who are dreamers梦想家
and amazing惊人 people full充分 of energy能源.
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这里的人们充满梦想和惊人的活力。
05:40
We have wonderful精彩 music音乐,
and a great music音乐 school学校.
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我们有美妙的音乐和伟大的音乐学校。
05:44
We have parkour跑酷 dancers舞者
who dance舞蹈 in the rubble瓦砾 of their homes家园.
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我们有跑酷舞者,他们可以在他们家的瓦砾上跳舞。
05:49
And Gaza加沙 is the only place地点
in the Arab阿拉伯 world世界
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同时,加沙是阿拉伯世界唯一一个地方
05:52
where Muslims穆斯林 and Christians基督徒
live生活 in strong强大 brotherhood手足情谊.
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穆斯林和基督徒血脉相连。
05:58
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
06:03
During the time of war战争,
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在战争期间,
06:05
the hardest最难 part部分 for me
is leaving离开 the house early in the morning早上,
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对我来说最艰难的是早晨离开家,
06:09
leaving离开 my children孩子.
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离开我的孩子。
06:11
I take a picture图片 of them everyday每天
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我每天给他们拍照,
06:15
because I never know
if I will make it back to them.
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因为我不知道我否还能回到他们身边。
06:20
Being存在 a fixer定影液 and a journalist记者
is difficult and dangerous危险 in Gaza加沙.
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在作为一个固定点和一个记者是非常困难和危险的。
06:26
But when I hear the sound声音 of the shelling炮轰
or the sound声音 of the bombing轰炸,
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但是当我听见炮声、爆炸声时,
06:30
I just head straight直行 toward it,
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我立即迎头而上去面对它,
06:33
because I want to be there first,
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因为我想第一个到那儿
06:37
because these stories故事 should be told.
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因为这些事需要被报道。
06:43
When my children孩子 were small
and we heard听说 the sound声音 of the war战争,
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我的孩子们还很小时,每当我们听到战争的声音
06:48
I used to tell them
that they were fireworks烟花.
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我都会告诉他们,那是烟火。
06:52
Now they are older旧的, they understand理解.
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但他们现在长大了,他们懂了。
06:56
I do have terrible可怕 nightmares噩梦
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我开始做噩梦
06:59
because of all that I witnessed目击
during war战争 times,
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因为在战争期间我所见证的
07:03
especially特别 these lifeless死气沉沉 bodies身体
of young年轻 children孩子.
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尤其是那些失去生命的年轻人的尸体。
07:08
I still remember记得 a little girl女孩,
her name名称 is Hala哈拉.
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我仍记得一个小女孩,她的名字叫Hala。
07:12
She's the only survivor幸存者 from her family家庭.
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她是她家唯一的幸存者。
07:15
Her picture图片 will be with me forever永远.
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她的样子我会永远记得,
07:18
I will never forget忘记 her.
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我忘不了她。
07:24
I'm proud骄傲 that I can stand here
and be here today今天 with you.
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我很骄傲,我可以站在这里,在这里和你们在一起
07:30
I'm proud骄傲 that I can tell you
stories故事, sad伤心 and happy快乐,
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我很骄傲,我可以告诉你们这些故事,悲伤的和快乐的,
07:36
stories故事 about my small corner
of the world世界, Gaza加沙.
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关于我们那个世界小角落,加沙,那儿的故事。
07:41
I'm proud骄傲 that I am
the first female fixer定影液 working加工 in Gaza加沙.
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我很骄傲,我是在加沙工作的第一个女性fixer。
07:46
And the funny滑稽 thing is
they call me Mr先生. Rambo兰博 in Gaza加沙.
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有趣的是,在加沙,他们叫我Mr. Rombo
07:49
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
07:52
I hope希望 one day, I will get the chance机会
to tell the stories故事 of all other women妇女,
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我希望有一天,我可以有机会讲述所有其他女性的故事
07:57
all other amazing惊人 women妇女
I know in my country国家.
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所有我知道的在我国家的其他惊人的女性,
08:01
I hope希望 that one day
I can help other women妇女 in my country国家
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我希望有一天,我能帮助我的国家的其他女性,
08:05
to be fixers固定器 like me.
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成为和我一样的fixer
08:07
And of course课程 sometimes有时,
I feel I can't do this work anymore,
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当然有时候,我会觉得我再也不能做这份工作了,
08:11
it's just too much for me.
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对我来说这太多了。
08:14
But I remember记得 these words:
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但我会想起这句话:
08:16
"Don't limit限制 your challenge挑战,
but challenge挑战 your limit限制.
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不要限制你的挑战,而是挑战你的极限,
08:20
Don't allow允许 others其他 to stand
in front面前 of your dreams."
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不要让其他人凌驾于你的梦想之上。
08:25
Thank you.
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谢谢你们
08:26
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Rebecca Li
Reviewed by yufei liu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ameera Harouda - Fixer
Ameera Harouda leads journalists to the harrowing (and often hidden) stories of the Gaza Strip that they couldn’t find on their own.

Why you should listen

In the Gaza Strip, foreign correspondents rely on state-approved "fixers" to direct and guide them on the ground. Although Hamas requires journalists to use fixers as local "sponsors," the fixers also provide ease of movement, translation and an eye for where the real stories are -- making them an invaluable asset in frequently chaotic scenarios.

Ameera Harouda has been a fixer for over a decade. Although many fixers are male, journalists increasingly seek women like Harouda for their access to areas where men are forbidden, and for a new lens on stories of human suffering often overlooked in the headlines.

More profile about the speaker
Ameera Harouda | Speaker | TED.com