kemarin sesudah bertemu seorang dosen di sofia university, aku ikut seminar ttg human trafficking yg sedang berlangsung di sana. pembicaranya adalah wakil2 dr berbagai organ united nations yg terpaut dengan masalah trafficking spt UNODC, UNDAW/DESA, UNICEF, UNFPA dan UNHCR; juga wakil2 dr NGO dan pemerintah. regional scope-nya juga luas, mencakup kasus2 dr eropa timur sampai kolombia.
layaknya seminar PBB, ada penerjemah on the spot yg disediakan lewat alat bantu dengar. most of the time aku gak perlu alat bantu karena bahasa utamanya adalah english. ah, the hegemony of english! membuatku terbelah antara shame and comfort.
ada kejadian lucu saat sebuah pertanyaan dlm bahasa jepang dikonversi ke bahasa inggris. entah krn terbawa emosi atau utk emphasis yg tdk perlu, nada suara si penerjemah menjadi ber-api2 dan meninggi pd beberapa point. padahal bisa pula didengar pd saat bersamaan bahwa nada suara si penanya tetap datar, kalem dan teratur. aku hampir tertawa saat itu. barangkali ada yg lost in translation, tapi tampaknya lebih banyak yg "gained in translation."
isi seminar dan diskusi kemarin tipikal PBB dan birokrat. bahasanya pun sangat institutional dengan kata2 kunci seperti prevention, awareness, policy response, protection, dan reintegration. seperti biasa aku lebih tertarik pada hal2 conceptual seperti what is human? are we human? and what makes us human? aku disibukkan dengan pikiranku sendiri. tapi presentasi "orang2 lapangan" kemarin memberiku bahan refleksi ttg retorika dlm human trafficking.
seorang wakil sebuah NGO bertanya bagaimana pemerintah melindungi pekerja seks komersil dalam industri yg illegal. pertanyaannya mengantarku ke pertanyaan2 lain: how does the law protect those who live outside it? mereka yg "outside the law" sering diperlakukan secara tdk manusiawi. does it mean that the law makes us human by recognizing us as "legal subjects"?
bush : "iraq will be a strong ally in the war on terror."
frank rich : "as is often the case, the president was technically truthful. iraq will be a strong ally in the war on terror -- just not necessarily our ally."
frank rich : "as is often the case, the president was technically truthful. iraq will be a strong ally in the war on terror -- just not necessarily our ally."
some good quotes from norman mailer:
"bush, in my opinion, may be the most ignorant president that america has ever had. but he was the perfect type to lead the crusade because, having a simple mind, for him crusade is the only thing that makes sense. he keeps saying 'we're fighting terrorism, we're fighting terrorism' like a priest who depends upon repetition."
"more iraqis have been killed by the war than saddam hussein killed for a long, long time."
"[democracy] is a grace, a spiritual grace, because democracy is not naturally human. facism is natural."
"bush, in my opinion, may be the most ignorant president that america has ever had. but he was the perfect type to lead the crusade because, having a simple mind, for him crusade is the only thing that makes sense. he keeps saying 'we're fighting terrorism, we're fighting terrorism' like a priest who depends upon repetition."
"more iraqis have been killed by the war than saddam hussein killed for a long, long time."
"[democracy] is a grace, a spiritual grace, because democracy is not naturally human. facism is natural."
