TED演讲:影片纪录加纳民主进程(2)
And fortunately I decided in 2008 to return to Ghana,after 28 years of absence.
幸运的是2008年的时候在阔别了28年之后，我决定回到加纳。
I wanted to document on film the 2008 presidential elections.
我打算拍一部2008年总统大选的纪录片。
And there, I started by searching for the footprints in my childhood.
在那儿，我以搜寻我儿时的印迹作为开始。
And before I even knew it,I was suddenly on a stage surrounded by thousands of cheering people during a political rally.
但是我都没有意识到，我突然身处政治示威的队伍里周围围绕着成千上万高声呼喊人。
And I realized that, when I'd left the country,free and fair elections in a democratic environment were a dream.
我意识到，当年离开这个国家的时候，在民主环境下的自由公平选举只不过是个梦想。
And now that I'd returned, that dream had become reality,though a fragile reality.
如今我回来的时候，梦想已经实现了，尽管它很脆弱。
And I was thinking,was Ghana searching for its identity like I was looking for my identity?
我想，是不是像我在寻找自身定位一样加纳也在探索它的定位？
Was what was happening in Ghana a metaphor for what was happening in me?
发生在加纳的一切就像发生在我身上一切的隐喻？
And it was as if through the standards of my Western life,I hadn't lived up to my full potential.
就好像在西方式的标准下，我并没有完全挖掘我的潜能。
I mean, nor had Ghana,even though we had been trying very hard.
加纳也是，虽然我们都很努力的尝试过。
Now in 1957,Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence.
1957年加纳是撒哈拉以南非洲国家中第一个取得独立的国家。
In the late 50s,Ghana and Singapore had the same GDP.
50年代末期加纳和新加坡的GDP一样。
I mean, today, Singapore is a First World country and Ghana is not.
现在新加坡是个发达国家而加纳不是。
But maybe it was time to prove to myself,yes, it's important to understand the past,it is important to look at it in a different light,but maybe we should look at the strengths in our own culture and build on those foundations in the present.
但这也许正是证明我们自己的时候，是的，认识历史非常重要，要从另一个角度去解读它非常重要，但是也许我们应该重视自身文化中的力量并以现在的文化作为基石。
So here I was, December 7th, 2008.
2008年12月7日，我在现场。
The polling stations opened to the voters at 7:00 AM,but voters, eager to take their own political fate into their hands,were starting to line up at 4:00 AM in the morning.
早晨7点投票站向选民开放，但选民想要掌握他们政治命运的愿望是如此急切，他们凌晨4点就开始排队。
杰瑞斯梅尔茨是一位瑞士加纳裔制片人，2008年他去加纳录制总统选举。他在那里的所见所闻让他对民主和他自身有了全新的认识。
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