Ghana felt safe to me as a child.  加纳对儿时的我是安全的家。

I was free, I was happy.  我很自由快乐。

The early 70s marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana.  70年代早期是加纳的音乐和艺术的辉煌时期。

But then by the end of the decade,  但是70年代末，

the country had fallen back into political instability and mismanagement.  加纳陷入政治动荡和政策混乱。

In 1979,I witnessed my first military coup.  1979年我目睹了军事政变。

We the children had gathered at a friend's house.  我们一群孩子聚集在一个朋友家里。

It was a dimly lit shack.  是个破烂昏暗的棚子。

There was a beaten up black and white television flickering in the background,  有台破旧的黑白电视机在背景处一直闪动着，

and a former head of state and general was being blindfolded and tied to the pole. 放的是前总统和将军被蒙住眼睛绑在柱子上，

The firing squad aimed, fired the general was dead.  行刑的队伍来了，枪决了他们，将军死了。

Now this was being broadcast live.  这个场景在电视上直播。

And shortly after, we left the country,  不久后，我们离开了加纳，

and we returned to Switzerland.  回到了瑞士。

Now Europe came as a shock to me,  然后欧洲对我来说是个冲击，

and I think I started feeling the need to shed my skin in order to fit in.  我开始觉得有必要掩盖自己的肤色以融入这个社会。

I wanted to blend in like a chameleon.  我想如变色龙一样。

I think it was a tactic of survival.  我觉得这是生存的技巧。

And it worked, or so I believed.  这个方法成功了，至少我觉得是这样的。

So here I was in 2008 wondering where I was in my life. 2008年的时候我开始思考我的人生定位。

And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.  我觉得我被定型为一个演员。

I was always playing the exotic African.  总是演异国风情的非洲人。

I was playing the violent African,  或是暴力的非洲人，

the African terrorist.  非洲恐怖分子。

And I was thinking,  我琢磨，

how many terrorists could I possibly play before turning into one myself? 在做回我自己之前我得演多少恐怖分子？

And I had become ashamed of the other,  我开始以我的一部分，

the African in me.  以我的非洲血统为耻。