1992年，联合国西元地球环境高峰会议，于巴西里约热内卢召开。

　　一位十二岁的加拿大女孩，在冠盖云集的世界各国领导人面前，发表了一篇仅有6分钟的演说。她的演讲，让整个联合国会场足足静默了6分钟，也让许多人大受感动，并在全球广为流传，曾几何时，已被大家称作「里约的传奇演讲」。

　　「用我们每个人的力量来改变世界」，谨将女孩这句流传全球的话献给您。

　　Severn Cullis-Suzuki，瑟玟?卡莉丝?铃木，一九七九年生，现居加拿大。她是知名的科学家与环境保护者铃木大卫(David Suzuki)的小孩。

　　一九九二年，瑟玟听说巴西里约热内卢将召开一项「决定自己的未来」的会议，她认为小孩更应该去参加!，于是自己存下旅费，参与了「地球环境高峰会」。

　　由于瑟玟在NGO摊位上的强力呼吁，使她争取到机会，在高峰会上以「儿童代表」的身份发表演讲。她年仅十二岁， 却发表了一篇让大人极度感动的演讲，「里约的传说演讲」因而在全世界广为流传。

　　瑟玟近照

　　12岁女孩联合国大会演讲（中英文版节选）

　　“I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet, because they have nowhere left to go. I am afraid to go out in the sun now, because of the holes in our ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air, because I don’t know what chemicals are in it.

　　我在此要说的内容，是为了所有活在未来的孩子，也为了世界上那些饱受饥饿之苦却无人关心的孩子们，以及无路可走而死亡殆尽的无数动物。我现在很怕站在太阳底下，因为臭氧层有破洞。就连呼吸都会感到害怕，因为空气中可能会有毒。

　　“Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age? All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you.

　　你们在我这个年纪时，是否曾经担心过这样的问题呢?这么重要的事情，并且事态如此严重，我们人类却仍然用不以为意的轻松态度来面对。我只是一个小孩，坦白说，不知道该如何挽救这个危机。可是，希望你们大人能够明白，即使是你们也无法解决!

　　“Here you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organizers, reporters or politicians. But, really, you’re mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles and all of you are someone’s child. I’m only a child, yet I know we are all part of a family, 5 billion strong, in fact 30 million species strong. And borders and governments will never change that. I’m only a child, yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.”

　　在座当中除了政府、企业和团体人士的代表，也许还有媒体人士和政治家吧?你们是别人的母亲、父亲、姐妹、兄弟、叔叔伯伯、阿姨婶婶，而你们每个人同样也都是为人子女吧!我还是个孩子，但我知道在场的每个人，都是同一个大家庭的一员。我们是个拥有五十亿以上人口的大家庭。不，其实，是由三千万种生物所构成的家庭。无论国境与各国政府如何将我们区隔，这一点仍然不会改变。虽然我是个孩子，但是我明白，大家身为这个大家庭的一员，就必须为单一的目标团结行动。

　　“In my anger, I am not blind and in my fear I am not afraid of telling the world how I feel. In my country we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and throw away, buy and throw away and yet Northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough we are afraid to share, we are afraid to let go of some of our wealth.

　　我很愤怒，却没有迷失自己。我很害怕，可是，要把自己的感受传达给全世界，我却不害怕。在我的国家，我们浪费了许多东西。买了就丢，然后再买过?再丢。这样浪费物资的北方国家，根本无法将资源分享给贫困的国家。即使物资充裕，我们却害怕施舍、害怕失去自己手中的资产。

　　In Canada , we live the privileged life. We’ve plenty of food, water and shelter. We have watches, bicycles, computers and television sets. The list could go on for 2 days. Two days ago here in Brazil , we were shocked when we spent time with some children living on the streets. This is what one child told us, ‘I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the street children food, clothes, medicines, shelter and love and affection’. If a child on the street who has nothing is willing to share, why are we who have everything still so greedy?

　　在加拿大的我们，享有充分的饮食与居家生活。时钟、脚踏车、电脑、电视……要数遍我们所拥有的东西，大概要花上好几天吧!两天前，我在巴西这里遇到一群无家可归的流浪儿。我们很惊讶，因为其中有个孩子跟我们说：「我真想变有钱。如果我有钱的话，我要给所有无家可归的孩子们，食物、衣 服、药品、房子，以及爱与温暖。」一个失去一切的流浪儿，都会想到互相分享，那么拥有一切的我们，又为什么要这么贪婪?

　　I can’t stop thinking that these are children my own age, that it makes a tremendous difference where you are born. And that I could be one of those children living in the favelas of Rio . I could be a child starving in Somalia , or a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar in India . I am only a child, yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on finding environmental answers ending poverty and in finding treaties, what a wonderful place this earth would be.”

　　这些不幸的孩子们，年纪都和我相仿，令我无法忘怀。我们出生在不同的地方，却过着如此天差地别的人生。我可能也会是住在里约贫民窟的孩子之一，或是索马利亚的饥饿儿童、中东战争的牺牲者，又或许是在印度当乞丐。我虽然还是孩子，却很清楚，如果把花在战争上的钱，全部用来解决贫穷与环境问题，地球将会变成一颗美丽的星球吧!

　　“At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us to not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others and to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then, why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? Do not forget why you are attending these conferences, who you are doing this for. We are your own children.

　　在学校……不，即使是在幼稚园，你们都在告诉我们，该如何在这世界上遵守规范。比如说：不要互相争执，要以沟通的方式共同解? M问题，尊重他人，弄乱的东西要自己整理，不随便伤害其他生物，相互分享，及不能贪得无厌。那么，你们又为什么做出这些不要我们去做的事呢?请不要忘记，你们为什么要来参加这场会议，还有，是为了谁而这么做的。是为了你们的孩子，也就是我们。

　　You are deciding what kind of a world we are growing up in. Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying ‘Everything is going to be all right, it’s not the end of the world, and we are doing the best we can’. But I don’t think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities? My dad always says, ‘You are what you do, not what you say’. Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us. But I challenge you, please, make your actions reflect your words. Thank you.”

　　各位正透过这样的会议，决定我们要在什么样的世界里成长。父母总是告诫孩子，「一切都会顺利的」，或是「我们已经尽力而为」、「这又不是世界末日」。但我不认为，大人们还能再用这种话来告诫小孩了。毕竟，你们有将孩子的未来排在第一顺位吗?父亲总是告诉我：「你的价值是以你所做的事，而不是以你所说的话来决定的。」可是我却为了你们大人的所作所为在夜里哭泣。你们总是说爱我们，那么，请用行动来证明。谢谢你们听我说完。