ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zak Ebrahim - Peace activist
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence.

Why you should listen

When Zak Ebrahim was seven, his family went on the run. His father, El Sayyid Nosair, had hoped Zak would follow in his footsteps -- and become a jihadist. Instead, Zak was at the beginning of a long journey to comprehend his past.

Zak Ebrahim kept his family history a secret as they moved through a long succession of towns. In 2010, he realized his experience as a terrorist’s son not only gave him a unique perspective, but also a unique chance to show that if he could escape a violent heritage, anyone could. As he told Truthdig.com, “We must embrace tolerance and nonviolence. Who knows this better than the son of a terrorist?”

In 2014 Ebrahim published the TED Book The Terrorist's Son, a memoir written with Jeff Giles about the path he took to turn away from hate. In early 2015 the book won an American Library Association Alex award.

More profile about the speaker
Zak Ebrahim | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Zak Ebrahim: I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace.

扎克.伊博黑姆: 我的父親是恐怖份子,但我選擇了和平

Filmed:
5,839,825 views

倘若你在仇恨與極端主義教條中長大,你會選擇不同的道路嗎?扎克.伊博黑姆七歲的時候,父親協助謀劃了 1993 年世界貿易中心爆炸案。他的故事強大、令人震驚,並且最終,鼓舞人心。
- Peace activist
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence. Full bio

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

00:14
On November十一月 5th, 1990,
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1990 年 11 月 5 日,
00:16
a man named命名 El-Sayyid埃爾 - 賽義德 NosairNosair walked
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一位名叫埃爾.塞伊德.諾塞爾的男子
00:19
into a hotel旅館 in Manhattan曼哈頓
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走入曼哈頓的一間旅館
00:21
and assassinated暗殺 Rabbi拉比 Meir梅厄 KahaneKahane,
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刺殺了拉比梅厄.卡赫納,
00:24
the leader領導 of the Jewish猶太 Defense防禦 League聯盟.
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猶太防衛聯盟的首領。
00:28
NosairNosair was initially原來 found發現 not guilty有罪 of the murder謀殺,
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諾塞爾一開始並未被指認參與謀殺,
00:31
but while serving服務 time on lesser較小 charges收費,
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但當他因小事入獄服刑期間,
00:34
he and other men男人 began開始 planning規劃 attacks攻擊
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他和一些人開始計劃襲擊
00:37
on a dozen New York紐約 City landmarks地標,
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紐約市的一些地標,
00:39
including包含 tunnels隧道, synagogues猶太教堂
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包括隧道、猶太教會堂
00:41
and the United聯合的 Nations國家 headquarters司令部.
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和聯合國總部。
00:44
Thankfully感激地, those plans計劃 were foiled挫敗
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謝天謝地,這些計劃被
00:46
by an FBI聯邦調查局 informant線人.
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美國聯邦調查局的線人挫敗了。
00:49
Sadly可悲的是, the 1993 bombing轟炸
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不幸的是,1993 年
00:51
of the World世界 Trade貿易 Center中央 was not.
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世貿中心的那場爆炸襲擊卻發生了。
00:54
NosairNosair would eventually終於 be convicted被定罪
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諾塞爾最終被指控
00:56
for his involvement參與 in the plot情節.
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參與這場犯罪謀劃。
00:59
El-Sayyid埃爾 - 賽義德 NosairNosair is my father父親.
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埃爾.塞伊德.諾塞爾是我的父親。
01:04
I was born天生 in Pittsburgh匹茲堡, Pennsylvania賓夕法尼亞
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我 1983 年出生在
賓夕法尼亞州的匹茲堡,
01:06
in 1983 to him, an Egyptian埃及人 engineer工程師,
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我的父親是一位
埃及裔工程師,
01:09
and a loving愛心 American美國 mother母親
and grade年級 school學校 teacher老師,
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我有個愛我的美國母親,
她是一名小學老師,
01:13
who together一起 tried試著 their best最好
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他們盡最大努力
01:14
to create創建 a happy快樂 childhood童年 for me.
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為給我創造了一個歡樂的童年。
01:17
It wasn't until直到 I was seven years年份 old
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直到我 7 歲的時候
01:18
that our family家庭 dynamic動態 started開始 to change更改.
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家庭氣氛開始出現了變化。
01:22
My father父親 exposed裸露 me to a side of Islam伊斯蘭教
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我的父親讓我接觸伊斯蘭的一支
01:25
that few少數 people, including包含 the majority多數 of Muslims穆斯林,
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很少人見過,包括大部分的穆斯林,
01:28
get to see.
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都沒見過的一個派別。
01:31
It's been my experience經驗 that when people
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我的人生經驗告訴我
01:32
take the time to interact相互作用 with one another另一個,
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人們與彼此相處,
01:35
it doesn't take long to realize實現 that for the most part部分,
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很快就意識到,很大程度上
01:38
we all want the same相同 things out of life.
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人們對生活有著相同的追求。
01:40
However然而, in every一切 religion宗教, in every一切 population人口,
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然而,所有宗教,所有群體,
01:43
you'll你會 find a small percentage百分比 of people
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你總能看到一小部分人
01:46
who hold保持 so fervently熱情地 to their beliefs信仰
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對他們的信仰太過狂熱,
01:49
that they feel they must必須 use any means手段 necessary必要
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以至於認為他們應該用各種方法
01:52
to make others其他 live生活 as they do.
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讓其他人和他們過同樣的生活。
01:55
A few少數 months個月 prior to his arrest逮捕,
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在他被捕前幾個月,
01:57
he satSAT me down and explained解釋 that
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他和我坐著聊天解釋到
01:59
for the past過去 few少數 weekends週末, he and some friends朋友
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在過去的幾個週末,
他和他的一些朋友
02:02
had been going to a shooting射擊 range範圍 on Long Island
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在長島(美國紐約州東南部島嶼)
02:04
for target目標 practice實踐.
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進行目標射擊訓練。
02:07
He told me I'd be going with him the next下一個 morning早上.
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他讓我第二天一早和他一起去。
02:10
We arrived到達 at Calverton卡爾弗頓 Shooting射擊 Range範圍,
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我們來到凱佛頓射擊場,
02:12
which哪一個 unbeknownst不知情 to our group was being存在 watched看著
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我們並不知道自己已經
02:15
by the FBI聯邦調查局.
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被聯邦調查局監視了。
02:18
When it was my turn to shoot射擊,
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輪到我射擊的時候,
02:19
my father父親 helped幫助 me hold保持 the rifle步槍 to my shoulder
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我的父親幫我扶住
肩膀上的來福槍,
02:21
and explained解釋 how to aim目標 at the target目標
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並教導我如何瞄準
02:23
about 30 yards off.
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30 碼處的目標。
02:26
That day, the last bullet子彈 I shot射擊
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那天,我射出的最後一顆子彈
02:28
hit擊中 the small orange橙子 light that satSAT on top最佳 of the target目標
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打中了目標頂上的橙色亮光,
02:31
and to everyone's大家的 surprise, especially特別 mine,
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所有人都驚呆了,尤其是我,
02:35
the entire整個 target目標 burst爆裂 into flames火焰.
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整個目標版燃燒了。
02:39
My uncle叔叔 turned轉身 to the other men男人,
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我的叔叔轉向旁邊的人,
02:40
and in Arabic阿拉伯 said, "Ibn伊本 abuhabuh."
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用阿拉伯語說到:「Ibn abuh」——
02:44
Like father父親, like son兒子.
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虎父無犬子。
02:47
They all seemed似乎 to get a really
big laugh out of that comment評論,
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他們當場開懷大笑起來,
02:50
but it wasn't until直到 a few少數 years年份 later後來
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幾年後
02:52
that I fully充分 understood了解 what
they thought was so funny滑稽.
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我才理解他們大笑的原因。
02:56
They thought they saw in me the same相同 destruction毀壞
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他們以為我和我的父親有著
02:58
my father父親 was capable of.
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同樣的摧毀能力。
03:01
Those men男人 would eventually終於 be convicted被定罪
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這群男人最終被指控
03:04
of placing配售 a van麵包車 filled填充 with
1,500 pounds英鎊 of explosives炸藥
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將滿載 1500 磅重的
炸彈的廂式貨車
03:08
into the sub-level子平 parking停車處 lot of the
World世界 Trade貿易 Center's中心 North Tower,
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停在世界貿易中心北塔的
地下停車場,
03:12
causing造成 an explosion爆炸 that killed殺害 six people
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爆炸造成 6 人死亡,
03:15
and injured受傷 over 1,000 others其他.
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同時致使超過 1000 人受傷。
03:18
These were the men男人 I looked看著 up to.
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這些是我曾經敬仰的人。
03:20
These were the men男人 I called
ammuammu, which哪一個 means手段 uncle叔叔.
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這些是我曾經稱呼其為 ammu,
意為叔叔的人。
03:25
By the time I turned轉身 19,
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當我 19 歲的時候,
03:26
I had already已經 moved移動 20 times in my life,
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我已經搬超過 20 次家了,
03:30
and that instability不穩定 during my childhood童年
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童年所經歷的不穩定
03:32
didn't really provide提供 an opportunity機會
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並未給我
03:33
to make many許多 friends朋友.
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交朋友的機會。
03:35
Each time I would begin開始 to feel
comfortable自在 around someone有人,
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每當我感到和附近人熟識時,
03:38
it was time to pack up and move移動 to the next下一個 town.
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就是我要收拾行囊
去下一個地方的時候。
03:41
Being存在 the perpetual永動的 new face面對 in class,
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作為永遠的班級新生,
03:44
I was frequently經常 the target目標 of bullies惡霸.
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我常是同學們欺負的對象。
03:46
I kept不停 my identity身分 a secret秘密 from my classmates同學
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為了不被同班同學欺負,
03:48
to avoid避免 being存在 targeted針對,
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我將自己的身份保密,
03:50
but as it turns out, being存在 the
quiet安靜, chubby豐滿的 new kid孩子 in class
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但結果是,作為
安靜又胖胖的新同學
03:53
was more than enough足夠 ammunition彈藥.
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很輕易就成為被欺負的對象。
03:56
So for the most part部分, I spent花費 my time at home
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所以更多的時候,
我待在家裡
03:58
reading books圖書 and watching觀看 TV電視
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看書看電視
04:00
or playing播放 video視頻 games遊戲.
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或者是打電動。
04:01
For those reasons原因, my social社會 skills技能 were lacking不足,
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正因為這樣,我的社交能力有所缺失,
04:04
to say the least最小,
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說簡單點是這樣,
04:06
and growing生長 up in a bigoted拘泥 household家庭,
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成長在固執的家庭,
04:08
I wasn't prepared準備 for the real真實 world世界.
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我沒有準備好應對現實世界。
04:10
I'd been raised上調 to judge法官 people
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我被教育成用武斷的方式,
04:12
based基於 on arbitrary隨意 measurements測量,
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依據人們的臉或宗教,
04:14
like a person's人的 race種族 or religion宗教.
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來評斷他人。
04:18
So what opened打開 my eyes眼睛?
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那麼,是什麼讓我開了眼界呢?
04:21
One of my first experiences經驗
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某次經歷
04:23
that challenged挑戰 this way of thinking思維
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挑戰了我思考的方式
04:25
was during the 2000 presidential總統 elections選舉.
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發生於 2000 年美國總統競選期間。
04:28
Through通過 a college學院 prep預備 program程序,
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在預科期間,
04:30
I was able能夠 to take part部分
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我參與了
04:31
in the National國民 Youth青年 Convention慣例 in Philadelphia費城.
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在費城舉辦的全國青年大會。
04:34
My particular特定 group's集團 focus焦點 was on youth青年 violence暴力,
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我這組的話題是關於青少年暴力,
04:37
and having been the victim受害者
of bullying欺凌 for most of my life,
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作為倍受欺負的受害者,
04:40
this was a subject學科 in which哪一個
I felt particularly尤其 passionate多情.
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這個話題我很感興趣。
04:44
The members會員 of our group came來了
from many許多 different不同 walks散步 of life.
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組員都有著不同的生活軌跡。
04:48
One day toward the end結束 of the convention慣例,
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大會臨近結束的某天,
04:50
I found發現 out that one of the kids孩子 I had befriended結識
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我發現我的某個朋友
04:53
was Jewish猶太.
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是猶太人。
04:55
Now, it had taken採取 several一些 days
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我也是過了幾天
04:57
for this detail詳情 to come to light,
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才知曉這件事情,
04:58
and I realized實現 that there was no natural自然 animosity敵意
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我認識到,我們之間
05:02
between之間 the two of us.
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並沒有與生俱來的仇恨。
05:04
I had never had a Jewish猶太 friend朋友 before,
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我從未有過猶太朋友,
05:07
and frankly坦率地說 I felt a sense of pride自豪
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坦白地說,我為此感到驕傲,
05:10
in having been able能夠 to overcome克服 a barrier屏障
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能夠跨越
05:12
that for most of my life I had been led to believe
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我人生絕大部分時間
05:14
was insurmountable不可逾越.
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認為是不可能逾越的障礙。
05:17
Another另一個 major重大的 turning車削 point came來了 when
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另一個轉折點是,
05:19
I found發現 a summer夏季 job工作 at Busch布希 Gardens花園,
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某年暑假,我在布希花園
05:21
an amusement娛樂 park公園.
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這個主題樂園打工。
05:24
There, I was exposed裸露 to people
from all sorts排序 of faiths信仰 and cultures文化,
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我見識到有著不同信仰,
來自不同文化的人們,
05:27
and that experience經驗 proved證實 to be fundamental基本的
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這樣的經驗
05:29
to the development發展 of my character字符.
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對我的人格發展
是至關重要的。
05:33
Most of my life, I'd been taught
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因為在過去的日子,
我接收到的教育是,
05:34
that homosexuality同性戀 was a sin, and by extension延期,
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同性戀是罪惡的,
據此推斷,
05:38
that all gay同性戀者 people were a negative influence影響.
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所有的同性戀者都有著
消極的影響。
05:41
As chance機會 would have it, I had the opportunity機會
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在我打暑期工的時間裡,
05:44
to work with some of the gay同性戀者 performers表演者
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我有機會和同性戀演員
05:45
at a show顯示 there,
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一起合作,
05:47
and soon不久 found發現 that many許多 were the kindest最善良,
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我很快發現,很多同性戀者
05:49
least最小 judgmental評判 people I had ever met會見.
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是我所見過最善良,
最自由開放尊重他人的人。
05:53
Being存在 bullied欺負 as a kid孩子
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在兒童時期被霸淩的經歷
05:55
created創建 a sense of empathy同情 in me
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教給我要對他人的遭遇
05:58
toward the suffering痛苦 of others其他,
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感到同情和憐憫,
05:59
and it comes very unnaturally非自然 to me
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對我來說,
06:01
to treat對待 people who are kind
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我會善待那些
06:03
in any other way than how
I would want to be treated治療.
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對我好的人。
06:07
Because of that feeling感覺, I was able能夠
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因為這樣的感受,我能夠
06:09
to contrast對比 the stereotypes定型 I'd been taught as a child兒童
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用真實生活和經歷來
06:14
with real真實 life experience經驗 and interaction相互作用.
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抵擋從孩童時期就被灌輸的成見。
06:17
I don't know what it's like to be gay同性戀者,
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我不知道作為同性戀者的感受,
06:19
but I'm well acquainted熟悉 with being存在 judged判斷
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但我深知那種被
06:21
for something that's beyond my control控制.
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無法掌控的事物所評斷的感受。
06:25
Then there was "The Daily日常 Show顯示."
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接著是《每日秀》節目。
06:29
On a nightly每夜 basis基礎, Jon喬恩 Stewart斯圖爾特 forced被迫 me
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每一晚,約翰.斯圖爾都催促我
06:31
to be intellectually知性上 honest誠實 with
myself about my own擁有 bigotry偏執
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誠實面對自己的偏見,
06:35
and helped幫助 me to realize實現 that a person's人的 race種族,
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幫助我認識到一個人的種族、
06:37
religion宗教 or sexual有性 orientation方向
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信仰和性取向
06:40
had nothing to do with the quality質量 of one's那些 character字符.
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與這個人的人格沒有任何關係。
06:45
He was in many許多 ways方法 a father父親 figure數字 to me
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某種程度上說,
每當我迫切需要一個父親的時候,
06:48
when I was in desperate殊死 need of one.
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他就在那裡。
06:51
Inspiration靈感 can often經常 come
from an unexpected意外 place地點,
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鼓舞人心之事
往往來自無法預知之處,
06:55
and the fact事實 that a Jewish猶太 comedian喜劇演員 had doneDONE more
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事實上,一個猶太裔喜劇明星
06:58
to positively積極 influence影響 my worldview世界觀
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積極地影響我的世界觀,
07:00
than my own擁有 extremist極端主義 father父親
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比我那極端的親生父親
07:02
is not lost丟失 on me.
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多得多。
07:05
One day, I had a conversation會話 with my mother母親
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某天,我和母親談到
07:07
about how my worldview世界觀 was starting開始 to change更改,
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我的世界觀正在改變,
07:10
and she said something to me
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她對我說,
07:12
that I will hold保持 dear to my heart
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我將在生命裡
07:14
for as long as I live生活.
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一直帶著尊重的心。
07:17
She looked看著 at me with the weary厭倦 eyes眼睛
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她用疲憊的眼神看著我,
07:19
of someone有人 who had experienced有經驗的
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她看起來,的確受夠了
07:20
enough足夠 dogmatism獨斷論 to last a lifetime一生, and said,
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被教條主義侵占的人生,
07:24
"I'm tired of hating people."
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她說:「我已不願憎恨他人了。」
07:28
In that instant瞬間, I realized實現 how much negative energy能源
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瞬間,我意識到,在內心裡承受憎恨
07:31
it takes to hold保持 that hatred inside of you.
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需要多麼巨大的負能量。
07:36
Zak扎克 Ebrahim易卜拉欣 is not my real真實 name名稱.
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扎克.伊博黑姆不是我的本名。
07:39
I changed it when my family家庭 decided決定
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當我的家人決定
和我父親斷絕關係時
07:41
to end結束 our connection連接 with my father父親
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我改了這個名字
07:42
and start開始 a new life.
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以開始新的生活。
07:45
So why would I out myself
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那麼,我為什麼要
出現在公眾視線前
07:47
and potentially可能 put myself in danger危險?
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將自己置於可能的危險境地呢?
07:50
Well, that's simple簡單.
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嗯,這很容易解釋。
07:52
I do it in the hopes希望 that perhaps也許 someone有人 someday日後
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我這樣做是希望,也許某人某天
07:56
who is compelled被迫 to use violence暴力
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當他決定使用武力
反抗社會的時候,
07:58
may可能 hear my story故事 and realize實現
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可能會聽到我的故事,並意識到
08:00
that there is a better way,
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有比動武更好的方法,
08:03
that although雖然 I had been subjected
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儘管我曾被灌輸
08:04
to this violent暴力, intolerant不可忍耐 ideology思想,
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這樣的暴力思維,
偏狹的意識,
08:07
that I did not become成為 fanaticizedfanaticized.
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我並沒有為其所動。
08:10
Instead代替, I choose選擇 to use my experience經驗
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而是選擇透過自己的經驗
08:12
to fight鬥爭 back against反對 terrorism恐怖主義,
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來抵抗恐怖主義,
08:15
against反對 the bigotry偏執.
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來反對偏見。
08:19
I do it for the victims受害者 of terrorism恐怖主義
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我是為了那些遭受恐怖襲擊的受害者
08:22
and their loved喜愛 ones那些,
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以及他們的親人而做,
08:24
for the terrible可怕 pain疼痛 and loss失利
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我是為了那些被恐怖主義活動所導致的
08:26
that terrorism恐怖主義 has forced被迫 upon their lives生活.
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生命的苦痛與損失而做。
08:29
For the victims受害者 of terrorism恐怖主義, I will speak說話 out
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為了那些遭受恐怖襲擊的
受害者,我站出來
08:31
against反對 these senseless無意義 acts行為
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反對這些毫無意義的襲擊行動,
08:34
and condemn譴責 my father's父親的 actions行動.
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譴責我父親的行為。
08:38
And with that simple簡單 fact事實, I stand here as proof證明
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就是這樣簡單的原因,
我站在這裡證明
08:41
that violence暴力 isn't inherent固有 in one's那些 religion宗教 or race種族,
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暴力不是宗教或種族與生俱來的,
08:45
and the son兒子 does not have to follow跟隨
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兒子並不需要走上
08:48
the ways方法 of his father父親.
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和父親相同的道路。
08:51
I am not my father父親.
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我不是我的父親。
08:54
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
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謝謝。 (掌聲)
08:57
Thank you, everybody每個人. (Applause掌聲)
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謝謝各位。 (掌聲)
09:01
Thank you all. (Applause掌聲)
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謝謝大家。 (掌聲)
09:03
Thanks謝謝 a lot. (Applause掌聲)
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非常感謝。 (掌聲)
Translated by Geoff Chen
Reviewed by Zhiting Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zak Ebrahim - Peace activist
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence.

Why you should listen

When Zak Ebrahim was seven, his family went on the run. His father, El Sayyid Nosair, had hoped Zak would follow in his footsteps -- and become a jihadist. Instead, Zak was at the beginning of a long journey to comprehend his past.

Zak Ebrahim kept his family history a secret as they moved through a long succession of towns. In 2010, he realized his experience as a terrorist’s son not only gave him a unique perspective, but also a unique chance to show that if he could escape a violent heritage, anyone could. As he told Truthdig.com, “We must embrace tolerance and nonviolence. Who knows this better than the son of a terrorist?”

In 2014 Ebrahim published the TED Book The Terrorist's Son, a memoir written with Jeff Giles about the path he took to turn away from hate. In early 2015 the book won an American Library Association Alex award.

More profile about the speaker
Zak Ebrahim | Speaker | TED.com