近日,美國著名歌手蕾哈娜獲得了由哈佛大學頒發的“2017年人道主義獎”,并在哈佛大學發表演講。演講闡述了蕾哈娜從事公益事業的原因與感想,下面是演講內容與譯文。
So I made it to Harvard. Never thought I’d be able to say that in my life, but it feels good. Thank you, Dr. Counter, thank you to the Harvard Foundation, and thank you, Harvard University for this great honour. Thank you.
所以,我終于踏進了哈佛。從來沒有想過我能夠在有生之年說這句話,但是這種感覺很好。謝謝你,康特博士,謝謝哈佛基金會,謝謝哈佛大學這一殊榮。謝謝你們。
When I was five or six years old, I remember watching TV and I would see these commercials and I was watching other children suffer in other parts of the world and you know the commercials were [like], ‘you can give 25 cents, save a child’s life,’ you know? And I would think to myself like, I wonder how many 25 cents I could save up to save all the kids in Africa. And I would say to myself you know, ‘when I grow up, when I can get rich, I’mma save kids all over the world.’ I just didn’t know I would be in the position to do that by the time I was a teenager.
我在五六歲的時候,我記得看電視我會看這些公益廣告,我看到世界其它地方的其他孩子們忍受折磨,你知道公益廣告就是‘如果你獻出25分錢,那么就可以拯救一個孩子的生命,’你知道嗎?我會自己這樣想,我想我能夠存下多少25分錢來拯救非洲的所有孩子。你知道,我會對自己說,“當我長大時,我富裕了,我要拯救全世界的孩子。”我不知道我在十幾歲的時候就這樣做了。
At 17 I started my career here in America, and by the age of 18, I started my first charity organization. I went on to team up with other organizations in the following years and met, helped, and even lost some of the most beautiful souls, from six-year-old Jasmina Anema who passed away in 2010 from leukemia, her story inspired thousands to volunteer as donors through DKMS. Fast forward to 2012 and then my grandmother, the late Clara Brathwaite, she lost her battle with cancer, which is the very reason and the driving force behind the Clara Lionel Foundation. We’re all human. And we all just want a chance: a chance at life, a chance in education, a chance at a future, really. And at CLF, our mission is to impact as many lives as possible, but it starts with just one. Just one.
17歲的時候,我在美國開始了自己的事業,18歲的時候,我成立了自己的首個慈善機構。在接下來幾年里,我繼續與其它組織合作,我們遇見、幫助,甚至是失去過一些最為美麗的靈魂,于2010年因白血病去世的六歲的亞斯米娜-阿訥瑪——她的故事激發了數千人通過DKMS成為捐贈志愿者。很快到了2012年,隨后我的祖母——已故的克拉拉-布拉斯維特——在與癌癥的戰斗中敗下陣來,這是克拉拉-萊昂內爾基金會成立的理由以及動力。我們都是人。我們都想有個機會:一個生活的機會,一個接受教育的機會,一個把握未來的機會,真的。在克拉拉-萊昂內爾基金會,我們的使命就是盡可能地影響他人,但是剛開始僅僅是幫助一個人。只有一個人。
As I stare out into this beautiful room, I see optimism, I see hope, I see the future. I know that each and every one of you has the opportunity to help someone else. All you need to do is help one person, expecting nothing in return. To me, that is a humanitarian.
當我環顧這間漂亮的房間,我看到了樂觀、希望和未來。我知道你們每一個人都有機會去幫助他人。你們需要做的就是不圖回報地去幫助一個人。對我而言,這就是人道主義者。
People make it seem way too hard, man. The truth is, and what I want the little girl watching those commercials to know, is you don’t have to be rich to be a humanitarian. You don’t have to be rich to help somebody. You don’t gotta be famous. You don’t even have to be college-educated. I mean, I wish I was, I’m not saying, you know… Especially today. It’s true, I might come back, but all right.
人們把這個弄得看起來太難了。事實上,我希望看到那些公益廣告的小女孩知道的是,成為一個人道主義者,你不一定要有多富有。幫助別人不一定得腰纏萬貫。你不必聲名遠播,甚至不必接受過大學教育。我的意思是,我希望我是,我不是說,你知道……尤其是今天。是的,我說不定還會回來念書呢。
But it starts with your neighbour, the person right next to you, the person sitting next to you in class, the kid down the block in your neighbourhood, you just do whatever you can to help in any way that you can. And today I want to challenge each of you to make a commitment to help one person: one organization, one situation that touches your heart. My grandmother always used to say, ‘If you’ve got a dollar, there’s plenty to share.’ Thank you ladies and gentlemen. It was my honour.
幫助別人始于從你的身邊人做起,現在正在你旁邊的人,教室里坐在你旁邊的人,家附近鄰居的孩子,你可以盡你所能用一切方法去幫助他們。今天,我希望你們每一個人承諾幫助一個人,一個組織,一個感動你內心的場合。我的祖母過去常說,“如果你有一美元,那么你就有很多東西來分享。”女士們、先生們,謝謝你們。這是我的榮耀。