◎ Jody Williams 其人及其事蹟 1997年的諾貝爾和平獎得主Jody Williams生於1950年，她有一位長期爲身心障礙所苦的哥哥，其兄長自童年起便不斷遭受同儕的欺負以及社會歧視的眼光，也因爲這樣的經歷，讓Williams感同身受，在她相當年幼的階段即開始孕育了對於不公不義事物的憎惡。在美國唸完文學碩士學位之後，她到墨西哥去當了兩年的語文老師。在墨西哥的這兩年，她首度看到了美國富裕社會之外，屬於赤貧世界的悲慘景象。當她回到美國，便遷移到華盛頓，進入約翰霍普金斯大學主修國際關係碩士。在這段歲月當中，她爲美國的不當介入薩爾瓦多內戰而感到憤怒，逐漸地，她將自己對於社會正義的熱情和關懷轉變成爲一種 “志業”（work）。在1984到1986年間，Williams參與中南美洲的教育計畫方案，而自1986到1992年間，她帶領並推動國際對薩爾瓦多的人道救援計劃，同時擔任該計畫的副主席。1991年底，美國越戰退伍軍人協會的主席Bobby Muller邀請Williams參與發起一個世界性禁雷運動的議題，熟悉美國對中美洲政策的Williams也就因此而有機會能夠將自己的熱情和理念，面向廣大國際社會的政府和非正式部門。作爲反地雷組織首席策略士的Williams，她密集地以寫作和演說來讓世人更瞭解地雷的問題和禁雷之必要。她遊說的主要對象包括聯合國、歐盟議會以及非洲統一聯盟等大型國際組織。爲了能夠讓ICBL的禁雷理念能夠更具說服力、更能引起世人的共鳴，Williams花了兩年的時間，對四個遭受地雷影響的國家作綿密的田野調查，並和Shawn Roberts合着了一本書“在槍聲沉寂之後”（After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines），這本書論述了地雷所帶來的社會經濟影響，除了控訴地雷受害者負擔過高的醫療費用之外，同時分析地雷對於一個社羣的長期影響，包括工作機會的減少，以及土地可使用性的劇減，因爲這些遭受地雷污染的土地無法拿來供農業或是放牧使用，更不用說拿來買賣了．．．． 節目簡介： NPR爲美國國家公共電臺簡稱(National Public Radio)，是一家以美國本土民衆爲廣播對象的綜合電臺，這無疑使它成爲基礎較好的英語學習者提高聽力水平的良好素材。事實上，它的不少材料入選我國英語本科專業必修課《Listen to This》之中。在這裏，你可以聽到活生生的美語發音和表達方式，瞭解到地道的美國曆史文化和最新的時事動態，從而真正使你的聽力水平再上一個臺階。 NPR 的聽寫素材選自最受歡迎的欄目Morning Edition、Day to Day、All Things Considered，內容包括時評、隨感、專訪、影評、書評和經濟報道，播音員聲音悅耳動聽，內容豐富多彩。 I believe in the power of love. . . I believe that a generation of ...I believe in the impossible I believe that everyone wants to love and be loved. I believe in people. This I believe. For our Monday series, This I Believe we have an essay from Jody Williams. She shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work as founding coordinator of the International campaign to ban landmines. Here is our series curator , independent producer, Jay Alision. In the early 1980s, Jody Williams was not on track to a Nobel Peace Prize. In fact she was working for a temperary employment agency. Leaving a subway station one day, she was handed a leaflet about global activism which provoked her to change the direction of her life. That descion , that affirmation of the potential of individual action still guides her. Here is Jody Williams with her essay for this I believe. Official Transcript:I believe it is possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. For me, the difference between an "ordinary" and an "extraordinary" person is not the title that person might have, but what they do to make the world a better place for us all. I have no idea why people choose to do what they do. When I was a kid I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I did know what I didn't want to do. I didn't want to Grow up, have 2.2 kids, get married, the whole white picket fence thing. And I certainly didn't think about being an activist. I didn't even really know what one was. My older brother was born deaf. Growing up, I ended up defending him and I often think that is what started me on my path to whatever it is I am today. When I was approached with the idea of trying to create a landmine campaign, we were just three people in a small office in Washington, DC in late 1991. I certainly had more than a few ideas about how to begin a campaign, but what if nobody cared? What if nobody responded? But I knew the only way to answer those questions was to accept the challenge. If I have any power as an individual, it's because I work with other individuals in countries all over the world. We are ordinary people: My friend Jemma from Armenia; Paul from Canada; Kosal, a landmine survivor from Cambodia; Haboubba from Lebanon; Christian from Norway; Diana from Colombia; Margaret, another landmine survivor from Uganda; and thousands more. We've all worked together to bring about extraordinary change. The landmine campaign is not just about landmines -- it's about the power of individuals to work with governments in a different way. I believe in both my right and my responsibility to work to create a world that doesn't glorify violence and war, but where we seek different solutions to our common problems. I believe that these days, daring to voice your opinion, daring to find out information from a variety of sources, can be an act of courage. I know that holding such beliefs and speaking them publicly is not always easy or comfortable or popular, particularly in the post-9/11 world. But I believe that life isn't a popularity contest. I really don’t care what people say about me -- and believe me, they’ve said plenty. For me, it’s about trying to do the right thing even when nobody else is looking. I believe that worrying about the problems plaguing our planet without taking steps to confront them is absolutely irrelevant. The only thing that changes this world is taking action. I believe that words are easy. I believe the truth is told in the actions we take. And I believe that if enough ordinary people back up our desire for a better world with action, I believe we can, in fact, accomplish absolutely extraordinary things.Jody Williams, with her essay for This I Believe. Williams almost always speaks extemporaneously but she obliged this by writing down her beliefs for our series. We hope you might do the same. To find out about submitting in an essay, please visit our website npr. org, or call 202-408-0300. Incidentally this weekend you can find an essay from Maria Hosey Perez as for Lauderdale Florida in USA Weekend Magzine, our print partner. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Alison. And next Monday on Morning Edition an essay from position pious come out of a rural Colorado. This I Believe is made possible by a grant from Farmers Insurance. This is NPR. National Public Radio.
