I survived a terrorist attack. Here's what I learned | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney
-
0:18 - 0:21I could never have imagined
-
0:21 - 0:24that a 19-year-old suicide bomber
-
0:25 - 0:28would actually teach me a valuable lesson.
-
0:30 - 0:31But he did.
-
0:32 - 0:36He taught me to never presume anything
-
0:36 - 0:39about anyone you don't know.
-
0:41 - 0:46On a Thursday morning in July 2005,
-
0:46 - 0:49the bomber and I, unknowingly,
-
0:49 - 0:53boarded the same train carriage
at the same time, -
0:53 - 0:58standing, apparently, just feet apart.
-
0:59 - 1:00I didn't see him.
-
1:01 - 1:03Actually, I didn't see anyone.
-
1:03 - 1:06You know not to look
at anyone on the Tube, -
1:06 - 1:09but I guess he saw me.
-
1:10 - 1:13I guess he looked at all of us,
-
1:14 - 1:18as his hand hovered
over the detonation switch. -
1:19 - 1:24I've often wondered: What was he thinking?
-
1:24 - 1:27Especially in those final seconds.
-
1:30 - 1:31I know it wasn't personal.
-
1:32 - 1:36He didn't set out to kill
or maim me, Gill Hicks. -
1:36 - 1:38I mean -- he didn't know me.
-
1:39 - 1:40No.
-
1:41 - 1:44Instead, he gave me
-
1:44 - 1:48an unwarranted and an unwanted label.
-
1:49 - 1:53I had become the enemy.
-
1:54 - 1:58To him, I was the "other,"
-
1:58 - 2:01the "them," as opposed to "us."
-
2:03 - 2:08The label "enemy" allowed him
to dehumanize us. -
2:09 - 2:11It allowed him to push that button.
-
2:12 - 2:15And he wasn't selective.
-
2:16 - 2:21Twenty-six precious lives were taken
in my carriage alone, -
2:22 - 2:24and I was almost one of them.
-
2:26 - 2:29In the time it takes to draw a breath,
-
2:29 - 2:32we were plunged into a darkness so immense
-
2:32 - 2:35that it was almost tangible;
-
2:35 - 2:39what I imagine wading
through tar might be like. -
2:40 - 2:42We didn't know we were the enemy.
-
2:43 - 2:47We were just a bunch of commuters
who, minutes earlier, -
2:47 - 2:50had followed the Tube etiquette:
-
2:50 - 2:52no direct eye contact,
-
2:52 - 2:53no talking
-
2:54 - 2:57and absolutely no conversation.
-
2:59 - 3:02But in the lifting of the darkness,
-
3:03 - 3:04we were reaching out.
-
3:05 - 3:07We were helping each other.
-
3:08 - 3:10We were calling out our names,
-
3:10 - 3:12a little bit like a roll call,
-
3:13 - 3:16waiting for responses.
-
3:18 - 3:20"I'm Gill. I'm here.
-
3:22 - 3:23I'm alive.
-
3:25 - 3:26OK."
-
3:29 - 3:30"I'm Gill.
-
3:31 - 3:32Here.
-
3:33 - 3:35Alive.
-
3:36 - 3:38OK."
-
3:40 - 3:43I didn't know Alison.
-
3:43 - 3:48But I listened for her check-ins
every few minutes. -
3:48 - 3:50I didn't know Richard.
-
3:51 - 3:54But it mattered to me that he survived.
-
3:56 - 3:58All I shared with them
-
3:58 - 3:59was my first name.
-
4:00 - 4:01They didn't know
-
4:01 - 4:05that I was a head of a department
at the Design Council. -
4:06 - 4:10And here is my beloved briefcase,
-
4:10 - 4:12also rescued from that morning.
-
4:13 - 4:17They didn't know that I published
architecture and design journals, -
4:17 - 4:21that I was a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Arts, -
4:21 - 4:22that I wore black --
-
4:24 - 4:25still do --
-
4:26 - 4:28that I smoked cigarillos.
-
4:29 - 4:31I don't smoke cigarillos anymore.
-
4:31 - 4:35I drank gin and I watched TED Talks,
-
4:35 - 4:42of course, never dreaming
that one day I would be standing, -
4:43 - 4:45balancing on prosthetic legs,
-
4:46 - 4:47giving a talk.
-
4:48 - 4:53I was a young Australian woman
doing extraordinary things in London. -
4:53 - 4:56And I wasn't ready for that all to end.
-
4:58 - 5:01I was so determined to survive
-
5:01 - 5:06that I used my scarf to tie tourniquets
around the tops of my legs, -
5:06 - 5:12and I just shut everything
and everyone out, -
5:12 - 5:16to focus, to listen to myself,
-
5:16 - 5:19to be guided by instinct alone.
-
5:20 - 5:22I lowered my breathing rate.
-
5:23 - 5:25I elevated my thighs.
-
5:25 - 5:26I held myself upright
-
5:26 - 5:30and I fought the urge to close my eyes.
-
5:32 - 5:35I held on for almost an hour,
-
5:36 - 5:40an hour to contemplate
the whole of my life -
5:40 - 5:42up until this point.
-
5:44 - 5:47Perhaps I should have done more.
-
5:48 - 5:51Perhaps I could have
lived more, seen more. -
5:51 - 5:56Maybe I should have gone running,
dancing, taken up yoga. -
5:57 - 6:02But my priority and my focus
was always my work. -
6:02 - 6:04I lived to work.
-
6:05 - 6:08Who I was on my business card
-
6:08 - 6:09mattered to me.
-
6:11 - 6:14But it didn't matter down in that tunnel.
-
6:16 - 6:21By the time I felt that first touch
-
6:21 - 6:23from one of my rescuers,
-
6:23 - 6:26I was unable to speak,
-
6:26 - 6:31unable to say even
a small word, like "Gill." -
6:32 - 6:35I surrendered my body to them.
-
6:35 - 6:38I had done all I possibly could,
-
6:38 - 6:42and now I was in their hands.
-
6:44 - 6:45I understood
-
6:46 - 6:52just who and what humanity really is,
-
6:53 - 6:56when I first saw the ID tag
-
6:56 - 6:59that was given to me
when I was admitted to hospital. -
6:59 - 7:01And it read:
-
7:01 - 7:06"One unknown estimated female."
-
7:08 - 7:12One unknown estimated female.
-
7:14 - 7:17Those four words were my gift.
-
7:18 - 7:21What they told me very clearly
-
7:21 - 7:24was that my life was saved,
-
7:24 - 7:27purely because I was a human being.
-
7:28 - 7:32Difference of any kind made no difference
-
7:32 - 7:36to the extraordinary lengths
that the rescuers were prepared to go -
7:37 - 7:39to save my life,
-
7:39 - 7:42to save as many unknowns as they could,
-
7:42 - 7:45and putting their own lives at risk.
-
7:45 - 7:50To them, it didn't matter
if I was rich or poor, -
7:50 - 7:52the color of my skin,
-
7:52 - 7:54whether I was male or female,
-
7:54 - 7:56my sexual orientation,
-
7:57 - 7:58who I voted for,
-
7:58 - 8:00whether I was educated,
-
8:00 - 8:03if I had a faith or no faith at all.
-
8:04 - 8:06Nothing mattered
-
8:06 - 8:11other than I was a precious human life.
-
8:13 - 8:16I see myself as a living fact.
-
8:17 - 8:19I am proof
-
8:19 - 8:26that unconditional love and respect
can not only save, -
8:26 - 8:29but it can transform lives.
-
8:30 - 8:35Here is a wonderful image
of one of my rescuers, Andy, and I -
8:35 - 8:37taken just last year.
-
8:37 - 8:40Ten years after the event,
-
8:40 - 8:42and here we are, arm in arm.
-
8:45 - 8:47Throughout all the chaos,
-
8:47 - 8:50my hand was held tightly.
-
8:50 - 8:53My face was stroked gently.
-
8:54 - 8:56What did I feel?
-
8:57 - 8:58I felt loved.
-
8:59 - 9:04What's shielded me from hatred
and wanting retribution, -
9:04 - 9:07what's given me the courage to say:
-
9:07 - 9:09this ends with me
-
9:11 - 9:12is love.
-
9:14 - 9:16I was loved.
-
9:18 - 9:24I believe the potential
for widespread positive change -
9:25 - 9:26is absolutely enormous
-
9:26 - 9:29because I know what we're capable of.
-
9:29 - 9:32I know the brilliance of humanity.
-
9:33 - 9:37So this leaves me with some
pretty big things to ponder -
9:37 - 9:40and some questions for us all to consider:
-
9:42 - 9:47Is what unites us not far greater
than what can ever divide? -
9:49 - 9:52Does it have to take
a tragedy or a disaster -
9:52 - 9:57for us to feel deeply
connected as one species, -
9:58 - 10:00as human beings?
-
10:01 - 10:06And when will we embrace
the wisdom of our era -
10:07 - 10:10to rise above mere tolerance
-
10:11 - 10:14and move to an acceptance
-
10:14 - 10:19for all who are only a label
until we know them? -
10:21 - 10:22Thank you.
-
10:22 - 10:29(Applause)
- Title:
- I survived a terrorist attack. Here's what I learned | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney
- Description:
-
Gill Hicks's story is one of compassion and humanity, emerging from the ashes of chaos and hate. A survivor of the London terrorist bombings on July 7, 2005, she shares her story of the events of that day -- and the profound lessons that came as she learned how to live on.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 11:03
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Identity In The Face Of Terror | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Identity In The Face Of Terror | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Identity In The Face Of Terror | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Identity In The Face Of Terror | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Identity In The Face Of Terror | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Identity In The Face Of Terror | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney |