I survived a terrorist attack. Here's what I learned | Gill Hicks | TEDxSydney
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0:17 - 0:19I could never have imagined
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0:19 - 0:23that a 19-year-old suicide bomber
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0:23 - 0:27would actually teach me a valuable lesson.
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0:28 - 0:30But he did.
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0:30 - 0:35He taught me to never presume anything
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0:35 - 0:38about anyone you don't know.
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0:40 - 0:44On a Thursday morning in July 2005,
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0:44 - 0:47the bomber and I, unknowingly,
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0:47 - 0:52boarded the same train carriage
at the same time, -
0:52 - 0:56standing, apparently, just feet apart.
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0:58 - 0:59I didn't see him.
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1:00 - 1:02Actually, I didn't see anyone.
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1:02 - 1:04You know not to look
at anyone on the Tube, -
1:04 - 1:08but I guess he saw me.
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1:09 - 1:12I guess he looked at all of us,
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1:12 - 1:17as his hand hovered
over the detonation switch. -
1:18 - 1:23I've often wondered: What was he thinking?
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1:23 - 1:26Especially in those final seconds.
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1:28 - 1:30I know it wasn't personal.
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1:31 - 1:35He didn't set out to kill
or maim me, Gill Hicks. -
1:35 - 1:36I mean -- he didn't know me.
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1:37 - 1:39No.
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1:39 - 1:42Instead, he gave me
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1:42 - 1:47an unwarranted and an unwanted label.
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1:48 - 1:51I had become the enemy.
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1:53 - 1:57To him, I was the "other,"
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1:57 - 1:59the "them," as opposed to "us."
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2:01 - 2:07The label "enemy" allowed him
to dehumanize us. -
2:07 - 2:10It allowed him to push that button.
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2:11 - 2:13And he wasn't selective.
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2:14 - 2:20Twenty-six precious lives were taken
in my carriage alone, -
2:21 - 2:23and I was almost one of them.
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2:24 - 2:27In the time it takes to draw a breath,
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2:27 - 2:31we were plunged into a darkness so immense
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2:31 - 2:33that it was almost tangible;
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2:33 - 2:38what I imagine wading
through tar might be like. -
2:39 - 2:41We didn't know we were the enemy.
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2:42 - 2:46We were just a bunch of commuters
who, minutes earlier, -
2:46 - 2:48had followed the Tube etiquette:
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2:49 - 2:51no direct eye contact,
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2:51 - 2:52no talking
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2:52 - 2:55and absolutely no conversation.
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2:58 - 3:01But in the lifting of the darkness,
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3:01 - 3:03we were reaching out.
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3:04 - 3:05We were helping each other.
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3:06 - 3:09We were calling out our names,
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3:09 - 3:11a little bit like a roll call,
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3:12 - 3:14waiting for responses.
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3:16 - 3:19"I'm Gill. I'm here.
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3:21 - 3:22I'm alive.
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3:24 - 3:25OK."
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3:27 - 3:28"I'm Gill.
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3:29 - 3:30Here.
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3:32 - 3:33Alive.
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3:35 - 3:36OK."
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3:39 - 3:41I didn't know Alison.
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3:42 - 3:46But I listened for her check-ins
every few minutes. -
3:47 - 3:49I didn't know Richard.
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3:49 - 3:52But it mattered to me that he survived.
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3:54 - 3:56All I shared with them
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3:56 - 3:58was my first name.
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3:59 - 4:00They didn't know
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4:00 - 4:03that I was a head of a department
at the Design Council. -
4:05 - 4:08And here is my beloved briefcase,
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4:08 - 4:11also rescued from that morning.
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4:12 - 4:16They didn't know that I published
architecture and design journals, -
4:16 - 4:19that I was a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Arts, -
4:19 - 4:21that I wore black --
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4:22 - 4:23still do --
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4:24 - 4:27that I smoked cigarillos.
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4:27 - 4:30I don't smoke cigarillos anymore.
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4:30 - 4:34I drank gin and I watched TED Talks,
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4:34 - 4:40of course, never dreaming
that one day I would be standing, -
4:41 - 4:44balancing on prosthetic legs,
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4:44 - 4:45giving a talk.
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4:46 - 4:52I was a young Australian woman
doing extraordinary things in London. -
4:52 - 4:55And I wasn't ready for that all to end.
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4:56 - 5:00I was so determined to survive
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5:00 - 5:05that I used my scarf to tie tourniquets
around the tops of my legs, -
5:05 - 5:10and I just shut everything
and everyone out, -
5:11 - 5:14to focus, to listen to myself,
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5:14 - 5:17to be guided by instinct alone.
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5:19 - 5:21I lowered my breathing rate.
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5:21 - 5:23I elevated my thighs.
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5:23 - 5:25I held myself upright
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5:25 - 5:29and I fought the urge to close my eyes.
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5:30 - 5:34I held on for almost an hour,
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5:35 - 5:39an hour to contemplate
the whole of my life -
5:39 - 5:41up until this point.
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5:43 - 5:46Perhaps I should have done more.
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5:47 - 5:50Perhaps I could have
lived more, seen more. -
5:50 - 5:54Maybe I should have gone running,
dancing, taken up yoga. -
5:56 - 6:01But my priority and my focus
was always my work. -
6:01 - 6:03I lived to work.
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6:03 - 6:06Who I was on my business card
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6:06 - 6:07mattered to me.
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6:09 - 6:13But it didn't matter down in that tunnel.
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6:15 - 6:19By the time I felt that first touch
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6:19 - 6:21from one of my rescuers,
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6:22 - 6:24I was unable to speak,
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6:24 - 6:29unable to say even
a small word, like "Gill." -
6:31 - 6:34I surrendered my body to them.
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6:34 - 6:36I had done all I possibly could,
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6:36 - 6:40and now I was in their hands.
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6:43 - 6:44I understood
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6:45 - 6:51just who and what humanity really is,
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6:52 - 6:55when I first saw the ID tag
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6:55 - 6:58that was given to me
when I was admitted to hospital. -
6:58 - 6:59And it read:
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7:00 - 7:05"One unknown estimated female."
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7:07 - 7:11One unknown estimated female.
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7:13 - 7:16Those four words were my gift.
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7:17 - 7:19What they told me very clearly
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7:19 - 7:22was that my life was saved,
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7:22 - 7:25purely because I was a human being.
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7:26 - 7:30Difference of any kind made no difference
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7:30 - 7:35to the extraordinary lengths
that the rescuers were prepared to go -
7:36 - 7:37to save my life,
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7:38 - 7:41to save as many unknowns as they could,
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7:41 - 7:43and putting their own lives at risk.
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7:44 - 7:48To them, it didn't matter
if I was rich or poor, -
7:49 - 7:51the color of my skin,
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7:51 - 7:53whether I was male or female,
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7:53 - 7:55my sexual orientation,
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7:55 - 7:57who I voted for,
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7:57 - 7:58whether I was educated,
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7:58 - 8:02if I had a faith or no faith at all.
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8:03 - 8:05Nothing mattered
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8:05 - 8:10other than I was a precious human life.
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8:11 - 8:15I see myself as a living fact.
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8:16 - 8:18I am proof
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8:18 - 8:25that unconditional love and respect
can not only save, -
8:25 - 8:28but it can transform lives.
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8:29 - 8:33Here is a wonderful image
of one of my rescuers, Andy, and I -
8:33 - 8:35taken just last year.
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8:36 - 8:38Ten years after the event,
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8:38 - 8:41and here we are, arm in arm.
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8:43 - 8:45Throughout all the chaos,
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8:45 - 8:48my hand was held tightly.
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8:49 - 8:52My face was stroked gently.
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8:53 - 8:54What did I feel?
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8:55 - 8:56I felt loved.
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8:57 - 9:02What's shielded me from hatred
and wanting retribution, -
9:02 - 9:05what's given me the courage to say:
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9:05 - 9:08this ends with me
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9:10 - 9:11is love.
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9:12 - 9:14I was loved.
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9:17 - 9:23I believe the potential
for widespread positive change -
9:23 - 9:25is absolutely enormous
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9:25 - 9:28because I know what we're capable of.
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9:28 - 9:31I know the brilliance of humanity.
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9:32 - 9:35So this leaves me with some
pretty big things to ponder -
9:35 - 9:39and some questions for us all to consider:
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9:40 - 9:46Is what unites us not far greater
than what can ever divide? -
9:47 - 9:51Does it have to take
a tragedy or a disaster -
9:51 - 9:56for us to feel deeply
connected as one species, -
9:57 - 9:58as human beings?
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9:59 - 10:05And when will we embrace
the wisdom of our era -
10:05 - 10:09to rise above mere tolerance
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10:10 - 10:12and move to an acceptance
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10:12 - 10:18for all who are only a label
until we know them? -
10:19 - 10:20Thank you.
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10:20 - 10:27(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 |