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Pat Mitchell:妳為我們帶來了一些刊登在《葉門時報》上的照片,妳將帶領我們瀏覽這些照片,並為我們介紹葉門的另一面。
Nadia Al-Sakkaf:是的,很高興來到這裡,我想跟大家分享一些照片,使你們瞭解葉門目前的現況。這張照片顯示的是一場由婦女發起的革命;這張顯示的是女性與男性共同領導的抗議行動;另一張照片顯示的是真正渴求改變的群眾。現場有許多人,可以藉此看出這場起義的激烈程度。這張照片顯示革命帶來了培訓及教育的機會,這些婦女正在學習急救知識及憲法賦予她們的權利。
我喜歡這張照片,我想說明的是,葉門有超過60%的人口在15歲以下,他們無法參與決策,但他們現在走上媒體最前線,豎起革命的旗幟。英語-你們可以看到,這是牛仔褲和緊身衣及一篇英語的表述,英語就是與全世界分享我們國家現況的能力。這些表達方式也使人們展現出各方面的才華。葉門人利用卡通、藝術、繪畫、漫畫等讓全世界及彼此瞭解這個國家的現況。
顯然,任何事物總會有其陰暗面,這只是其中一張較不可怕的照片,顯示我們在革命中必須付出的代價。全國數百萬葉門人團結起來,要求的只有一件事,最後,很多人說葉門的革命將會使國家分崩離析;革命會讓葉門分裂成許多不同的國家、會讓它成為另一個索馬利亞嗎?但我們希望讓全世界知道,不,在同一個旗幟之下,我們仍是原來的葉門人。
PM:謝謝妳為我們帶來這些照片,Nadia,它們確實在很多方面呈現出不同於一般新聞中所報導的葉門。然而,妳本身也挑戰著這所有的刻板印象,那麼,讓我們來談一下妳個人的故事。妳父親是被謀殺的,在葉門國內,《葉門時報》擁有卓著的聲譽,因為其定位為一份獨立的英語報,妳如何作出決定,並擔負起經營這份報業的責任,尤其是在這充滿衝突的時期?
NA:嗯,我先提醒大家,我並非傳統的葉門女性,我猜你們現在已經注意到這一點了。(笑聲)在葉門,大多數女性都戴著面紗,坐在門後,很少參與公眾生活,但女性擁有相當大的潛力。我希望我能讓你們看到我心目中的葉門,我希望你們能透過我的眼睛來看葉門,然後你們會知道它許多不為人知一面。我得天獨厚的出生在一個父親對男孩和女孩都同樣給予鼓勵的家庭,他說我們是平等的,他是個相當不平凡的人,甚至我的母親-我確實該為我的家庭寫個故事。我在印度唸書,到了大三的時候,我開始感到困惑,因為我是葉門人,但我在大學裡也和很多印度朋友混在一起。當我返家時,我說,「爸爸,我不知道我是什麼人;我不是葉門人,也不是印度人。」他說,「妳是兩者間的橋樑。」這成了我永遠銘記在心的話。從那時起,我就扮演著橋樑的角色,很多人從我身上走過。
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以下為系統擷取之英文原文
Pat Mitchell: You have brought us images from the Yemen Times. And take us through those, and introduce us to another Yemen.
Nadia Al-Sakkaf: Well, I'm glad to be here. And I would like to share with you all some of the pictures that are happening today in Yemen. This picture shows a revolution started by women. And it shows women and men leading a mixed protest. The other picture is the popularity of the real need for change. So many people are there. The intensity of the of the upspring. This picture shows that the revolution has allowed opportunities for training, for education. These women are learning about first aid and their rights according to the constitution.
I love this picture. I just wanted to show that over 60 percent of the Yemeni population are 15 years and below. And they were excluded from decision-making, and now they are in the forefront of the news, raising the flag. English -- you will see, this is jeans and tights, and an English expression -- the ability to share with the world what is going on in our own country. And expression also, it has brought talents. Yemenis are using cartoons and art, paintings, comics, to tell the world and each other about what's going on.
Obviously, there's always the dark side of it. And this is just one of the less-gruesome pictures of the revolution and the cost that we have to pay. The solidarity of millions of Yemenis across the country just demanding the one thing. And finally, lots of people are saying that Yemen's revolution is going to break the country. Is it going to be so many different countries? Is it going to be another Somalia? But we want to tell the world that, no, under the one flag, we'll still remain as Yemeni people.
PM: Thank you for those images, Nadia. And they do, in many ways, tell a different story than the story of Yemen, the one that is often in the news. And yet, you yourself defy all those characterizations. So let's talk about the personal story for a moment. Your father is murdered. The Yemen Times already has a strong reputation in Yemen as an independent English language newspaper. How did you then make the decision and assume the responsibilities of running a newspaper, especially in such times of conflict?
NA: Well, let me first warn you that I'm not the traditional Yemeni girl. I've guessed you've already noticed this by now. (Laughter) In Yemen, most women are veiled and they are sitting behind doors and not very much part of the public life. But there's so much potential, I wish I could show you my Yemen. I wish you could see Yemen through my eyes. Then you would know that there's so much to it. And I was privileged because I was born into a family, my father would always encourage the boys and the girls. He would say we are equal. And he was such an extraordinary man. And even my mother -- I owe it to my family -- a story. I studied in India. And in my third year, I started becoming confused because I was Yemeni, but I was also mixing up with a lot of my friends in college. And I went back home and I said, "Daddy, I don't know who I am. I'm not a Yemeni, I'm not an Indian." And he said, "You are the bridge." And that is something I will keep in my heart forever. So since then I've been the bridge, and a lot of people have walked over me.
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PM:我不這麼認為。
NA:我只是想讓大家知道,有些人是社會變革的推動者。我在我兄弟去世後成為主編,我父親於1999年去世,然後是我兄弟,他於2005年去世,每個人都打賭說我無法擔負起這個重責大任。「這位年輕姑娘能這麼插手弄權,只因為這是她的家族企業。」人們這麼批評著。一開始,我的處境確實很艱難,我不想與他人發生衝突。恕我直言,男性們,特別是年長的男性,不希望我插手這一切。你們能想像,我要執行管轄權有多困難。但身為女性就得做女性非做不可的事。
(掌聲)
在第一年當中,我不得不解僱一半的男性。(笑聲)(掌聲)雇用更多女性及年輕男性,所以目前我們編輯部成員的性別較為平衡了一些。另一點是,這與專業精神有關,與證明你的定位及能力有關,我不知道這麼說是否有誇耀的意味,但僅在2006年,我們就贏得了三個國際獎項,其中一個是國際新聞協會頒發的自由媒體先鋒獎,這就是給所有葉門人民的答案。我想在這裡讚美一下,因為我丈夫也在現場,如果方便的話,請你站起來。他對我一直相當支持。
(掌聲)
PM:我們應該提一下,他也跟妳一起在報社任職,但以妳所擔負的責任及著手進行的事業來說,妳已成為舊時傳統社會,及目前在報社中所建立的新社會之間的橋樑。而隨著報社員工觀念上的改變,妳必定會遭遇到另一種避免不了的狀況,特別是跟女性外在形象、裝扮有關的部份;就是女性蒙面的問題。那麼,以個人層面及妳所雇用的女性來說,妳如何處理這個問題?
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PM: I don't think so.
NA: But it just helps tell that some people are change agents in the society. And when I became editor-in-chief after my brother actually -- my father passed away in 1999, and then my brother until 2005 -- and everybody was betting that I will not be able to do it. "What's this young girl coming in and showing off because it's her family business," or something. It was very hard at first. I didn't want to clash with people. But with all due respect to all the men, and the older men especially, they did not want me around. It was very hard, you know, to impose my authority. But a woman's got to do what a woman's got to do.
(Applause)
And in the first year, I had to fire half of the men. (Laughter) (Applause) Brought in more women. Brought in younger men. And we have a more gender-balanced newsroom today. The other thing is that it's about professionalism. It's about proving who you are and what you can do. And I don't know if I'm going to be boasting now, but in 2006 alone, we won three international awards. One of them is the IPI Free Media Pioneer Award. So that was the answer to all the Yemeni people. And I want to score a point here, because my husband is in the room over there. If you could please stand up, [unclear]. He has been very supportive of me.
(Applause)
PM: And we should point out that he works with you as well at the paper. But in assuming this responsibility and going about it as you have, you have become a bridge between an older and traditional society and the one that you are now creating at the paper. And so along with changing who worked there, you must have come up against another positioning that we always run into, in particular with women, and it has to do with outside image, dress, the veiled woman. So how have you dealt with this on a personal level as well as the women who worked for you?
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NA:如你們所知,大部份葉門女性的形象都是一身黑、蒙著面紗的女性,確實如此。主要原因是,女性不能、也沒有展示她們臉孔的自由,這是傳統上來自於男性、祖父母等權威人物所施予的強制力量。當女性擁有經濟上的權力及能力時,她就能說,「我對這個家庭的貢獻就跟男性一樣多,或許比男性還多。」當女性變得更有權力時,她們就越可能脫掉面紗,或駕駛自己的汽車,或擁有一份工作,或能夠四處旅行。
因此,葉門人的另一面其實隱藏在面紗之下。因為擁有經濟上的權力,讓女性得以拿掉面紗。我在整個工作過程中都是不戴面紗的,我試著鼓勵年輕女孩這麼做,我們以在辦公室裡脫掉面紗開始。接下來,女性可以在出任務時脫掉面紗,因為我不認為身為一位記者可以戴著-如果妳蒙著臉,要如何跟人們談話?這只是一項改革。
我在葉門算是一個榜樣,很多人追隨我,很多年輕女孩仰慕我,我必須向他們證明,沒錯,妳們還是可以結婚,還是可以當個母親,而依然在社會上得到尊重。但同時,這並不意味著妳應該只是人群中的一個微不足道的角色,妳可以做自己並展現自我。
PM:但妳在這些方面親身力行-除了投射出不同的葉門女性形象之外,也為任職於報社的女性帶來眾多的可能性,這會讓妳身處於險境嗎?
NA:是的,《葉門時報》在這20年當中經歷了太多艱難的事。我們曾被起訴;報社被迫關閉超過三次。這是一份獨立的報紙,但這句話應該對掌權者說才是。他們認為,如果報導中有任何反對他們的意見,這就是一份反對派的報紙。我們經歷過非常非常艱難的時期,我們有一些記者被逮捕,我們也有一些訴訟案件,我父親被暗殺。目前我們的處境好多了,我們已建立起聲譽,在現今這個革命或變動的時代,獨立媒體擁有發言權是非常重要的。人們能拜訪YemenTimes.com網站是非常重要的,傾聽我們的聲音也是非常重要的。
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NA: As you know, the image of a lot of Yemeni women is a lot of black and covered, veiled women. And this is true. And a lot of it is because women are not able, are not free, to show their face to their self. It's a lot of traditional imposing coming by authority figures such as the men, the grandparents and so on. And it's economic empowerment and the ability for a woman to say, "I am as much contributing to this family, or more, than you are." And the more empowered the women become, the more they are able to remove the veil, for example, or to drive their own car or to have a job or to be able to travel.
So the other face of Yemen is actually one that lies behind the veils. And it's economic empowerment mostly that allows the woman to just uncover it. And I have done this throughout my work. I've tried to encourage young girls. We started with, you can take it off in the office. And then after that, you can take it off on assignments. Because I didn't believe a journalist can be a journalist with -- how can you talk to people if you have your face covered? -- and so on; it's just a movement.
And I am a role model in Yemen. A lot of people look up to me. A lot of young girls look up to me. And I need to prove to them that, yes, you can still be married, you can still be a mother, and you can still be respected within the society, but at the same time, that doesn't mean you [should] just be one of the crowd. You can be yourself and have your face.
PM: But by putting yourself personally out there -- both projecting a different image of Yemeni women, but also what you have made possible for the women who work at the paper -- has this put you in personal danger?
NA: Well the Yemen Times, across 20 years, has been through so much. We've suffered prosecution; the paper was closed down more than three times. It's an independent newspaper, but tell that to the people in charge. They think that if there's anything against them, then we are being an opposition newspaper. And very, very difficult times. Some of my reporters were arrested. We had some court cases. My father was assassinated. Today, we are in a much better situation. We've created the credibility. And in times of revolution or change like today, it is very important for independent media to have a voice. It's very important for you to go to YemenTimes.com, and it's very important to listen to our voice.
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我打算和大家分享一些關於西方媒體的事,或是大眾怎麼會對葉門有如此多的刻板印象,將葉門的形象侷限在一個固定的框架中,認為這就是葉門的全部。這是不公平的,對我來說是不公平的,對我的國家來說也是不公平的。很多記者前來葉門,希望寫一個關於基地組織或恐怖主義的報導,我想跟大家分享這個故事:有一位記者前來葉門,他想製作一部編輯想要的紀錄片,最後他寫出一個讓我驚訝不已的故事-嘻哈文化,就是葉門年輕男孩表達自己的方式,藉由舞蹈和「噗茲噗茲」的口技。(笑聲)像那樣的東西。(PM:RAP,霹靂舞。)沒錯,霹靂舞,我還沒那麼老,只是沒接觸那些罷了。
(笑聲)
(掌聲)
PM:是的,妳並不老,事實上,這部記錄片在網路上就能看到;這是網路上的影片。
NA:在ShaketheDust.org網站。
PM:「Shake the Dust」(NA:「Shake the Dust」)
PM:ShaketheDust.org,它確實給了葉門一個不同的形象。妳談到關於媒體的責任,確實,當我們觀察我們將自己與它人區隔開來的方式,以及我們創造出的恐懼和危險,往往是因為認知不足,缺乏真正的理解。妳對西方媒體的做法有何看法,特別是包括這個及所有其他地區的故事,特別是,以妳的國家來說?
NA:好的,有句諺語說,「你害怕未知的事,痛恨恐懼的事。」因此,這基本上是因為缺乏研究。大概可以這麼說,你得「做功課」,並參與其中,你不能做「跳傘」式的報導,只不過跳進一個國家兩天時間,就認為已完成了功課,足以寫出一個故事。因此,我希望這個世界能瞭解我的葉門,我的國家,我的國人。我是一個例子,還有其他像我這樣的人,或許像我們這樣的人不是很多,但如果我們能被宣傳成一個好的、正面的例子,會有其他人-不論是男性或女性,最終都能消弭這道鴻溝。同樣的,成為一座葉門和這個世界之間的橋樑,先讓大眾有正確認知,然後建立溝通之道及同理心。
我認為葉門在未來兩、三年內的局勢將會非常糟,這是自然的,但兩年後,這是我們願意付出的代價,我們將會重新站起來,但這將是一個擁有更多新血和更多有能力人民的新葉門-民主的葉門。
(掌聲)
PM:Nadia,我想妳讓我們看到一個非常不同的葉門,當然,妳本身和妳所做的一切,帶來一個我們將欣然擁抱並心懷感激的未來美景,祝你鴻圖大展,YemenTimes.com。
NA:還有Twitter。
PM:所以妳也趕上時髦了。
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And this is probably something I'm going to share with you in Western media probably -- and how there's a lot of stereotypes -- thinking of Yemen in one single frame: this is what Yemen is all about. And that's not fair. It's not fair for me, it's not fair for my country. A lot of reporters come to Yemen and they want to write a story on Al-Qaeda or terrorism. And I just wanted to share with you: there's one reporter that came. He wanted to do a documentary on what his editors wanted. And he ended up writing about a story that even surprised me -- hip hop -- that there are young Yemeni men who express themselves through dancing and puchu puchu. (Laughter) That thing. (PM: Rap. Break dancing.) Yeah, break dancing. I'm not so old. I'm just not in touch.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
PM: Yes, you are. Actually, that's a documentary that's available online; the video's online.
NA: ShaketheDust.org.
PM: "Shake the Dust." (NA: "Shake the Dust.")
PM: ShaketheDust.org. And it definitely does give a different image of Yemen. You spoke about the responsibility of the press. And certainly, when we look at the ways in which we have separated ourselves from others and we've created fear and danger, often from lack of knowledge, lack of real understanding, how do you see the way that the Western press in particular is covering this and all other stories out of the region, but in particular, in your country?
NA: Well there is a saying that says, "You fear what you don't know, and you hate what you fear." So it's about the lack of research, basically. It's almost, "Do your homework," -- some involvement. And you cannot do parachute reporting -- just jump into a country for two days and think that you've done your homework and a story. So I wish that the world would know my Yemen, my country, my people. I am an example, and there are others like me. We may not be that many, but if we are promoted as a good, positive example, there will be others -- men and women -- who can eventually bridge the gap -- again, coming to the bridge -- between Yemen and the world and telling first about recognition and then about communication and compassion.
I think Yemen is going to be in a very bad situation in the next two or three years. It's natural. But after the two years, which is a price we are willing to pay, we are going to stand up again on our feet, but in the new Yemen with a younger and more empowered people -- democratic.
(Applause)
PM: Nadia, I think you've just given us a very different view of Yemen. And certainly you yourself and what you do have given us a view of the future that we will embrace and be grateful for. And the very best of luck to you. YemenTimes.com.
NA: On Twitter also.
PM: So you are plugged in.