ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Teresa Njoroge - Criminal and social justice reform advocate
At Clean Start Kenya, Teresa Njoroge builds bridges connecting the formerly imprisoned to the outside world and vice versa.

Why you should listen

Teresa Njoroge is the cofounder and CEO of Clean Start Kenya. She was pursuing her childhood dream, a career in banking, when she was falsely accused of a fraudulent transaction. Sentenced to imprisonment in the High Security Langata Women’s Maximum Prison, Njoroge was forced to bring her three-month-old baby with her.

What began as a loss of career and social standing led to her purpose in life, advocating for Kenyan women, youth and men trapped in a cycle of poverty, survival, petty crimes and life behind bars and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, jobs and formal education. Later cleared of any wrongdoing, Njoroge is now a beacon of hope and second chances to thousands, with her mission to build up the bottom-of-the-pyramid economy and an inclusive Africa. As she writes: "I am an optimistic, self-driven social entrepreneur with over a decade of progressive experience in economic and social justice work, in my journey from 'I can do it' to 'I did it'!"

More profile about the speaker
Teresa Njoroge | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2017

Teresa Njoroge: What I learned serving time for a crime I didn't commit

特雷莎 · 恩乔罗格: 我从冤狱中学到了什么

Filmed:
1,361,792 views

2011年,特雷莎 · 恩乔罗格被判犯有一项她没有犯下的金融罪行——这是一系列虚假指控的结果,她在肯尼亚的家乡多次被要求行贿,这是一个腐败的司法系统。当她被监禁之后,发现大多数与她关在一起的妇女和女孩们,都是同一个破碎的系统的受害者,由于缺乏教育和就业机会,她们被困在了监狱的旋转门里。现在,恩乔罗格自由了,通过上诉法院,她分享了自己如何在监狱里给妇女们提供技能、工具和支持,帮助她们打破贫穷和犯罪的恶性循环,建立更好的生活。
- Criminal and social justice reform advocate
At Clean Start Kenya, Teresa Njoroge builds bridges connecting the formerly imprisoned to the outside world and vice versa. Full bio

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

00:12
When I heard听说 those bars酒吧
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当我听到那些铁栅栏
00:16
slam猛撞 hard,
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重重地关上的时候,
00:20
I knew知道 it was for real真实.
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我知道这不是做梦。
00:23
I feel confused困惑.
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我感到迷茫。
00:26
I feel betrayed背叛.
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我感到被背叛了。
00:29
I feel overwhelmed不堪重负.
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我感到喘不过气。
00:33
I feel silenced沉默.
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我感觉被禁言了。
00:37
What just happened发生?
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刚才发生了什么?
00:40
How could they send发送 me here?
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他们怎么会把我送到这里?
00:44
I don't belong属于 here.
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我根本不属于这里啊。
00:47
How could they make such这样 a huge巨大 mistake错误
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他们怎么能犯下如此大的错误,
00:51
without any repercussions反响
whatsoever任何 to their actions行动?
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却不用为自己的
行为付出任何代价?
00:57
I see large groups of women妇女
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我看到许多女性,
01:00
in tattered破烂 uniforms制服
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她们身着破烂的制服,
01:02
surrounded包围 by huge巨大 walls墙壁 and gates,
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被关在高墙大门之内,
01:07
enclosed封闭 by iron barbed带刺 wires电线,
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受困在铁刺围栏之中,
01:10
and I get hit击中 by an awful可怕 stench恶臭,
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然后我被一阵恶臭惊醒,
01:14
and I ask myself,
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我问自己,
01:17
how did I move移动
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我究竟是如何
01:20
from working加工 in the respected尊敬
financial金融 banking银行业 sector扇形,
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从从事着一份体面的
金融银行业工作,
01:26
having worked工作 so hard in school学校,
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曾经在学校中用功读书,
01:30
to now being存在 locked锁定 up
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转变到如今身陷囹圄,
01:32
in the largest最大 correctional惩教 facility设施
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不得不呆在这个肯尼亚最大的
01:35
for women妇女 in Kenya肯尼亚?
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女子监狱的?
01:39
My first night
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我在兰加塔
01:41
at LangataLangata Women妇女 Maximum最大 Security安全 Prison监狱
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女子最高安全级别监狱
度过的第一个夜晚
是最难熬的。
01:45
was the toughest最艰难的.
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01:48
In January一月 of 2009,
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2009年的1月,
我被告知我在银行
工作的时候无意中经手了
01:51
I was informed通知 that I had handled处理
a fraudulent骗人的 transaction交易 unknowingly不知
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01:56
at the bank银行 where I worked工作.
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一笔诈骗交易。
01:58
I was shocked吃惊, scared害怕 and terrified.
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我当时感到十分震惊、
害怕并且恐惧。
02:03
I would lose失去 a career事业
that I loved喜爱 passionately热情.
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我会因此而失去十分热爱的事业。
02:09
But that was not the worst最差.
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但那还不是最糟糕的。
02:12
It got even worse更差
than I could have ever imagined想象.
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事情远比我想象的更糟。
02:17
I got arrested被捕,
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我被逮捕了,
02:20
maliciously恶意 charged带电
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受到了恶意的指控
02:22
and prosecuted起诉.
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和起诉。
02:26
The absurdity荒谬 of it all
was the arresting逮捕 officer
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最荒唐的是那个逮捕我的警官,
02:31
asking me to pay工资 him 10,000 US dollars美元
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居然要求我支付给他一万美金,
02:36
and the case案件 would disappear消失.
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他们就可以撤诉。
02:39
I refused拒绝.
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我拒绝了。
02:42
Two and a half years年份 on,
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于是在接下来的两年半时间,
02:45
in and out of courts法院,
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我不停地进出法庭,
02:47
fighting战斗 to prove证明 my innocence无辜.
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竭尽全力想要证明我的清白。
02:50
It was all over the media媒体,
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这件事在媒体上被广泛报道,
02:53
in the newspapers报纸, TV电视, radio无线电.
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报纸、电视、广播。
他们再一次找到了我。
02:57
They came来了 to me again.
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03:00
This time around, said to me,
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这次他们说的是,
03:03
"If you give us 50,000 US dollars美元,
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“如果你给我们5万美金,
03:09
the judgement判断 will be in your favor偏爱,"
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最终的审判将会站在你这边。”
03:13
irrespective不管 of the fact事实
that there was no evidence证据 whatsoever任何
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他们完全不顾这样一个事实,
那就是他们根本没有证据
03:18
that I had any wrongdoing坏事
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证明我做错了什么,
03:20
on the charges收费 that I was up against反对.
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针对我的指控根本不成立。
03:25
I remember记得 the events事件
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我记得
03:27
of my conviction定罪
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六年前,
03:29
six years年份 ago
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我的审判结果
03:32
as if it were yesterday昨天.
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就如发生在昨日一般。
03:35
The cold, hard face面对 of the judge法官
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在一个寒冷的星期四上午,
03:38
as she pronounced宣判 my sentence句子
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当法官针对我从未犯过的罪名
03:41
on a cold Thursday星期四 morning早上
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宣布我被判有罪的时候,
03:45
for a crime犯罪 that I hadn't有没有 committed提交.
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我看到了她冰冷残酷的脸庞。
03:49
I remember记得 holding保持
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我记得当我抱着
03:51
my three-month-old三个月大的 beautiful美丽 daughter女儿
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我三个月大的漂亮的女儿,
03:55
whom I had just named命名 OmaOma,
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我刚给她起名Oma,
03:58
which哪一个 in my dialect方言
means手段 "truth真相 and justice正义,"
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这个名字在我们方言中的
意思是“真相和正义”,
04:02
as that was what I had longed渴望 so much for
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因为那是我长久以来一直渴望的
04:07
all this time.
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东西啊。
04:09
I dressed连衣裙的 her in her
favorite喜爱 purple紫色 dress连衣裙,
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我给她穿上她最爱的紫色裙子,
04:13
and here she was, about to accompany me
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她将陪伴我在监狱里
04:17
to serve服务 this one-year一年 sentence句子
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在监狱里忍受这一年的
冤刑。
04:20
behind背后 bars酒吧.
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04:24
The guards卫士 did not seem似乎
sensitive敏感 to the trauma外伤
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那些狱警对我所遭受的
痛苦丝毫不在意,
04:28
that this experience经验 was causing造成 me.
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他们不知道这段经历
使我失去了什么。
04:32
My dignity尊严 and humanity人性 disappeared消失
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我的尊严和人性随着
04:37
with the admission入场 process处理.
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入狱的程序一并消失了。
04:41
It involved参与 me being存在
searched搜索 for contrabands违禁品,
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我被搜身检查有没有携带违禁品,
04:46
changed from my ordinary普通 clothes衣服
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脱下了我平常的服装,
换上了囚服,
04:50
to the prison监狱 uniform制服,
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还被要求蹲在地上,
04:51
forced被迫 to squat on the ground地面,
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04:55
a posture姿势 that I soon不久 came来了 to learn学习
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后来我意识到
04:59
would form形成 the routine常规
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这个动作
05:01
of the thousands数千 of searches搜索,
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将是日后我将面对的数千次搜身,
05:05
number counts计数,
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报数时候的
05:06
that lay铺设 ahead of me.
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常规动作。
05:11
The women妇女 told me,
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有位女士对我说,
05:13
"You'll你会 adjust调整 to this place地点.
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“你会适应这个地方的,
05:16
You'll你会 fit适合 right in."
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你会融入进去的。”
05:19
I was no longer referred简称 to
as Teresa邓丽君 Njoroge恩乔罗格.
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没有人再叫我特雷莎 · 恩乔罗格,
05:23
The number 415/11 was my new identity身分,
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编号415/11 成为了我新的身份,
我很快意识到这里的其他女性
05:28
and I soon不久 learned学到了 that was
the case案件 with the other women妇女
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05:31
who we were sharing分享 this space空间 with.
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都面临着同样的境遇。
05:36
And adjust调整 I did to life on the inside:
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我确实适应了里面的生活:
05:40
the prison监狱 food餐饮,
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监狱里的食物,
05:43
the prison监狱 language语言,
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监狱里的语言,
05:45
the prison监狱 life.
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监狱里的生活。
监狱当然不是童话世界。
05:47
Prison监狱 is certainly当然 no fairytale童话 world世界.
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05:54
What I didn't see come my way
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然而我没有意识到的是,
05:57
was the women妇女 and children孩子
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与我们一同服刑的
06:01
whom we served提供服务 time and shared共享 space空间 with,
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妇女和小孩,
06:07
women妇女 who had been imprisoned囚禁
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那些为了这个体系的罪恶
06:11
for crimes犯罪 of the system系统,
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在服刑的女人们,
06:14
the corruption腐败 that requires要求 a fall秋季 guy,
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成了那些腐败行为的
06:20
a scapegoat替罪羊,
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替罪羊,
这样才能让那些真正的罪犯
06:22
so that the person who is responsible主管
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06:25
could go free自由,
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逍遥法外,
06:27
a broken破碎 system系统 that routinely常规
vilifies诋毁 the vulnerable弱势,
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这个腐败的体系时常
污蔑我们当中
06:34
the poorest最穷 amongst其中包括 us,
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弱势的、贫穷的人们,
06:36
people who cannot不能 afford给予 to pay工资 bail保释
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因为他们没有能力支付保释金
06:39
or bribes行贿.
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或者是贿赂金。
06:43
And so we moved移动 on.
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所以我们只能接受现实。
06:46
As I listened听了 to story故事 after story故事
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在监狱服刑的一年中,
在听了差不多
06:49
of these close to 700 women妇女
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700个女人的
06:52
during that one year in prison监狱,
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相似的故事之后,
06:57
I soon不久 realized实现 that crime犯罪
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我知道那些罪行不是将
07:01
was not what had brought
these women妇女 to prison监狱,
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这些女人送进监狱的罪魁祸首,
07:06
most of them,
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事实上,她们中的大多数
07:08
far from it.
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都背着莫须有的罪名。
07:11
It had started开始 with the education教育 system系统,
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这一切要从教育系统说起,
07:16
whose谁的 supply供应 and quality质量
is not equal等于 for all;
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教育资源及质量并不是
对所有人都公平的;
07:22
lack缺乏 of economic经济 opportunities机会
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由于缺乏赚钱的机会,
07:26
that pushes these women妇女
to petty小气 survival生存 crimes犯罪;
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女性往往被迫为了生存
去做一些小偷小摸的事情;
07:31
the health健康 system系统,
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还有医疗系统,
社会司法体系,
07:33
social社会 justice正义 system系统,
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07:35
the criminal刑事 justice正义 system系统.
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刑事司法制度
(也都脱不了干系)。
07:37
If any of these women妇女,
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这些女人
07:40
who were mostly大多 from poor较差的 backgrounds背景,
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大都来自贫困的家庭,
07:43
fall秋季 through通过 the cracks裂缝
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如果她们不幸被这腐败的
系统盯上了,
07:46
in the already已经 broken破碎 system系统,
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07:49
the bottom底部 of that chasm裂口 is a prison监狱,
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迎接她们的深渊就是监狱,
07:52
period.
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这就是事实。
07:56
By the time I completed完成
my one-year一年 sentence句子
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当我在兰加塔女子
最高安全级别监狱
07:59
at LangataLangata Women妇女 Maximum最大 Prison监狱,
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服刑一年之后,
08:03
I had a burning燃烧 conviction定罪
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我的心中产生了一个坚定的信念,
08:06
to be part部分 of the transformation转型
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而这个信念也成为了后来
改变这些不公正现象的
变革中的一部分。
08:10
to resolve解决 the injustices不公正
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08:13
that I had witnessed目击
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我目睹了
08:15
of women妇女 and girls女孩
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妇女和年轻女孩们
08:16
who were caught抓住 up in a revolving旋转 door
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被关在这个旋转门后,
进出监狱就成了
她们生活中的全部,
08:19
of a life in and out of prison监狱
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08:22
due应有 to poverty贫穷.
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这一切都源于贫穷。
08:25
After my release发布,
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在我刑满释放之后,
08:27
I set up Clean清洁 Start开始.
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我成立了Clean Start。
08:30
Clean清洁 Start开始 is a social社会 enterprise企业
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Clean Start 是一家社会企业,
08:33
that seeks寻求 to give these women妇女 and girls女孩
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旨在为这些妇女和年轻女性
08:36
a second第二 chance机会.
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提供第二次机会。
08:39
What we do is we build建立 bridges桥梁 for them.
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我们所做的就是为她们提供桥梁。
08:42
We go into the prisons监狱, train培养 them,
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我们去监狱给她们提供培训,
08:45
give them skills技能, tools工具 and support支持
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教会她们技能,
为她们提供工作和支持,
08:48
to enable启用 them to be able能够
to change更改 their mindsets心态,
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希望借此改变她们的思维方式,
改变她们的行为和态度。
08:52
their behaviors行为 and their attitudes态度.
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08:55
We also build建立 bridges桥梁 into the prisons监狱
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同时,我们也为
将会成为Clean Start的
合作伙伴的
08:59
from the corporate企业 sector扇形 --
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企业、个人和组织
09:01
individuals个人, organizations组织
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提供与监狱联系的机会,
09:04
that will partner伙伴 with Clean清洁 Start开始
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09:06
to enable启用 us to provide提供 employment雇用,
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并合作提供就业机会,
居住的地方,
09:08
places地方 to call home,
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09:10
jobs工作, vocational专业 training训练,
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工作和职业培训
09:12
for these women妇女, girls女孩,
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让那些妇女、女孩,
09:15
boys男孩 and men男人,
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男孩和成年男子们
09:16
upon transition过渡 back into society社会.
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能够成功适应重回社会的过程。
09:20
I never thought
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我从未想过
09:23
that one day
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有一天,
09:25
I would be giving stories故事
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我将会为人们讲述
09:27
of the injustices不公正 that are so common共同
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那些刑事司法制度之内
09:30
within the criminal刑事 justice正义 system系统,
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如此常见的不公正的现象,
09:34
but here I am.
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但是我做到了。
09:37
Every一切 time I go back to prison监狱,
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每次回到监狱的时候,
09:40
I feel a little at home,
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我竟然感觉像是回家了,
09:43
but it is the daunting艰巨 work
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但这是一份令人生畏的工作,
09:48
to achieve实现 the vision视力
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想达成那个愿景的强烈希望
09:50
that keeps保持 me awake苏醒 at night,
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几乎让我每天都夜不能寐。
09:54
connecting the miles英里 to Louisiana路易斯安那州,
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想想远在千里之外的
路易斯安那州,
09:58
which哪一个 is deemed认为 as the incarceration监禁
capital首都 of the world世界,
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那个被视为世界监禁之都的地方,
10:04
carrying携带 with me stories故事
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我背负着
10:07
of hundreds数以百计 of women妇女
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我在监狱中遇见的
10:09
whom I have met会见 within the prisons监狱,
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数百位女性的过去,
10:12
some of whom are now
embracing拥抱 their second第二 chances机会,
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她们中的一些人现在正在
拥抱人生中的第二次机会,
10:17
and others其他 who are still
on that bridge of life's人生 journey旅程.
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另一些至今还处于桥梁的另一端,
经历她们人生的那一段故事。
10:24
I embody体现 a line线
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在这里我引用下
10:27
from the great Maya玛雅 Angelou安琪罗.
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著名诗人Maya Angelou的一段诗。
10:31
"I come as one,
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“我只身前来,
10:33
but I stand as 10,000."
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却有千千万万的人与我并肩。”
10:37
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
10:45
For my story故事 is singular单数,
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我的故事或许是个例,
10:49
but imagine想像 with me
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但是请跟我一起想一想
10:51
the millions百万 of people
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如今在监狱中的
10:55
in prisons监狱 today今天,
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数百万的人们,
10:58
yearning怀念 for freedom自由.
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他们渴望自由。
11:03
Three years年份 post岗位 my conviction定罪
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在我被定罪的三年后,
11:07
and two years年份 post岗位 my release发布,
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被释放的两年后,
11:10
I got cleared清除 by the courts法院 of appeal上诉
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地区法院终于还给了我清白,
11:13
of any wrongdoing坏事.
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洗去了我的罪名。
11:15
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
11:20
Around the same相同 time,
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大约在同一时间,
11:22
I got blessed幸福 with my son儿子,
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我有了一个儿子,
11:25
whom I named命名 Uhuru乌呼,
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我给他起名Uhuru,
11:27
which哪一个 in my dialect方言 means手段 "freedom自由."
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Uhuru在我们的
方言中意味着“自由”。
11:30
(Applause掌声)
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4056
(掌声)
11:34
Because I had finally最后 gotten得到 the freedom自由
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因为我最终获得了自由,
11:38
that I so longed渴望 for.
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我梦寐以求的自由,
11:40
I come as one,
200
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2136
我只身前来,
11:42
but I stand as 10,000,
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却代表着千千万万的人们,
11:45
encouraged鼓励 by the hard-edged锋芒毕露 hope希望
202
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怀着坚定的信念,
千千万万的我们能够团结起来,
11:50
that thousands数千 of us have come together一起
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一起改变这个犯罪司法系统,
11:53
to reform改革 and transform转变
the criminal刑事 justice正义 system系统,
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5240
12:00
encouraged鼓励 that we are doing our jobs工作
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坚信我们在履行自己的天职,
12:04
as we are meant意味着 to do them.
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因为我们注定要做这些事。
12:07
And let us keep doing them
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那就让我们继续做下去,
无需感到歉疚。
12:09
with no apology歉意.
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12:12
Thank you.
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谢谢。
(掌声)
12:13
(Applause掌声)
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Translated by candice lu
Reviewed by 心 郝!

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Teresa Njoroge - Criminal and social justice reform advocate
At Clean Start Kenya, Teresa Njoroge builds bridges connecting the formerly imprisoned to the outside world and vice versa.

Why you should listen

Teresa Njoroge is the cofounder and CEO of Clean Start Kenya. She was pursuing her childhood dream, a career in banking, when she was falsely accused of a fraudulent transaction. Sentenced to imprisonment in the High Security Langata Women’s Maximum Prison, Njoroge was forced to bring her three-month-old baby with her.

What began as a loss of career and social standing led to her purpose in life, advocating for Kenyan women, youth and men trapped in a cycle of poverty, survival, petty crimes and life behind bars and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, jobs and formal education. Later cleared of any wrongdoing, Njoroge is now a beacon of hope and second chances to thousands, with her mission to build up the bottom-of-the-pyramid economy and an inclusive Africa. As she writes: "I am an optimistic, self-driven social entrepreneur with over a decade of progressive experience in economic and social justice work, in my journey from 'I can do it' to 'I did it'!"

More profile about the speaker
Teresa Njoroge | Speaker | TED.com