Ugly History: The Armenian Genocide - Ümit Kurt

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Ruan Xiu Ze 阮修泽

In the 19th century,

在十九世紀，

Christian Armenians in the Ottoman Empire lived as second-class citizens.

生活在鄂圖曼帝國的亞美尼亞基督徒

身分只是二等公民。

They were taxed disproportionately,

他們要負擔的稅不成比例，

forbidden from giving testimony in Ottoman courts,

在鄂圖曼法庭上也被禁止作證，

and frequently attacked by local Kurdish tribes.

還常被當地的庫德族部落攻擊。

In 1878, Armenian activists negotiated a treaty to enact reforms,

1878 年，亞美尼亞活動家 透過協商簽訂推動改革的條約，

but Sultan Abdul Hamid II refused to make good on these promises.

但蘇丹阿卜杜勒‧哈米德二世 拒絕兌現這些承諾。

And when an Armenian resistance movement began to form,

當亞美尼亞人開始發起抵抗運動，

the sultan took decisive action.

蘇丹便採取了果斷的行動。

From 1894 to 1896, he led the Hamidian Massacres—

他主導了1894年到1896年的

哈米德大屠殺——

a relentless campaign of violence that took the lives of over 150,000 Armenians.

那是一場無情的暴力行動，

造成超過十五萬名亞美尼亞人死亡。

These massacres were the culmination of centuries of Armenian oppression.

這些大屠殺是數世紀來 亞美尼亞人被壓迫的結果。

Yet they were only the beginning of an even greater tragedy—

但它們只是個開端， 後續還有更大的悲劇——

a genocide hidden under the guise of World War I

一場以一次大戰名義 掩蓋的種族滅絕屠殺，

that would include the deportation, forced Islamization,

包括驅逐、強迫改信回教，

and mass murder of nearly 1 million Armenians.

以及殺害近一百萬 亞美尼亞人的大規模謀殺。

As some of the most ancient inhabitants of this region,

身為這個地區最古老的居民，

the Armenian people were originally a collective of tribes

亞美尼亞民族最初 是多個部落的集體，

living in the mountains of Western Asia.

他們生活在西亞的山區。

By the 6th century BCE, these tribes were living in one nation

到了西元前六年，

這些部落在「亞美尼亞」 這個國家共同生活，

called Armenia,

which, over the following 2,000 years,

在接下來的兩千年間，

was controlled by various local and invading leaders.

亞美尼亞被不同的當地領導者 及入侵領導者給掌控。

But whoever ruled their homeland,

但不論誰統治他們的家鄉，

a devotion to Christianity became a vital part of their ethnic identity,

對基督教的虔誠變成了他們 民族認同很重要的一部分，

even as their neighbors increasingly adopted Islam.

即使他們有越來越多鄰國採納回教。

In what’s currently eastern Turkey,

在現在的東土耳其，

Christian Armenians shared the area with Muslim Kurds for centuries,

信基督教的亞美尼亞人

和庫德族穆斯林在同一地區 共存了數世紀，

until Turkic-speaking peoples invaded the region.

直到說突厥語的人入侵該地區。

Four centuries later, Ottoman Turks claimed these communities

四世紀後，

鄂圖曼土耳其人宣稱這些社區

as part of the vast Ottoman Empire.

都隸屬浩大的鄂圖曼帝國。

While the empire’s systematic preference towards Muslims

該帝國在體制上偏袒穆斯林，

made life difficult for Armenians, Greeks, and Jews,

讓亞美尼亞人、希臘人， 及猶太人的生活都很難過，

by the late 19th century,

那時是十九世紀末，

well-educated Armenian elites were able to attain prominent positions

不過受到良好教育的亞美尼亞 菁英仍能取得卓越的職位，

in banking, commerce, and government.

在銀行業、商業， 及政府部門都能看到這些人。

However, this rise in influence became a source of resentment,

然而，影響力的提升 反而成了仇恨的源頭，

and many Muslim Ottomans believed Armenians

許多鄂圖曼穆斯林相信亞美尼亞人

would eventually betray the empire to form their own independent state.

最終會背叛帝國，成立 他們自己的獨立國家。

This belief is partly what led Abdul Hamid to begin the Hamidian Massacres.

這種想法也是促成 阿卜杜勒‧哈米德展開

哈米德大屠殺的因素之一。

Thankfully, the Ottoman Armenians fighting the sultan’s forces weren’t alone.

謝天謝地，對抗蘇丹勢力的 亞美尼亞人並不孤單。

Armenians from neighboring Russia

來自旁邊俄國的亞美尼亞人

had recently founded two resistance organizations

在近期成立了兩個反抗組織，

which offered a haven for refugees and supplied arms to villages under siege.

提供庇護所給難民， 並供應軍火給被圍攻的村落。

Finally, in April 1909,

終於，在 1909 年四月，

the sultan was deposed following the Young Turk Revolution.

在青年土耳其人革命後， 蘇丹被廢黜下台。

But despite initial promises,

但儘管一開始有做出承諾，

this new government also failed to pass meaningful reforms.

這個新政府同樣也未能 推行有意義的改革。

A second wave of massacres ravaged the Armenian population,

第二波大屠殺重創了亞美尼亞人口，

and the era of international warfare to come would only make things worse.

隨後到來的國際戰爭時代 只讓情況變得更糟。

During the First Balkan War,

在第一次巴爾幹戰爭時，

thousands of Muslim refugees were sent to the Armenian stronghold of Anatolia,

數千名穆斯林難民被送到 亞美尼亞的安納托利亞堡壘，

further increasing tensions between Christian and Muslim Ottomans.

讓信基督教和信回教的 鄂圖曼人之間變得更緊張。

And in the first winter of World War I,

在一次大戰的第一個冬天，

Ottoman general Enver Pasha attempted to flank opposing Russian forces

恩維爾‧帕夏試圖 從側翼攻擊敵對的俄軍，

by sending his troops through the frigid Sarıkamış mountains.

派遺他的士兵穿越 寒冷的薩里卡米什山脈。

When their unit froze to death.

他們的部隊凍死了，

Enver Pasha blamed the disaster on “Armenian treachery,”

而恩維爾‧帕夏把這場災難 怪罪於「亞美尼亞人背叛」，

and ordered the immediate disarming of all non-Muslims—

並下令將所有非穆斯林 都解除武裝——

a decision which moved many Armenians from the front lines of an external war

這個決策讓許多亞美尼亞人 從對外戰爭前線參戰轉投身

to the trenches of an internal one.

到內部戰爭的戰壕裡。

By 1915, the Ottomans were enacting more violence

1915 年時，

鄂圖曼人對於他們自己的 亞美尼亞公民所施加的暴力

on their own Armenian citizens than any foreign enemy.

比對任何外國敵人都還要多。

At this time, Turkish nationalist Talaat Pasha

此時，土耳其民族主義者 塔拉阿特‧帕夏

had become the de facto leader of the Ottoman Empire,

成了鄂圖曼帝國的真實領導者，

and he ordered the deportation of all Armenians in eastern Anatolia

他下令驅逐東安納托利亞的 所有亞美尼亞人，

on the grounds of national security.

理由是國家安全。

Talaat’s new legislation

塔拉阿特的新立法

allowed Armenian property and businesses to be seized as wartime necessities,

允許在戰時有必要的情況下 沒收亞美尼亞人的財產和企業，

and able-bodied Armenian men were routinely killed

還會例行殺害好手好腳的 亞美尼亞男性，

to lower the likelihood of resistance.

以降低反抗的可能性。

Most Armenians were marched to concentration camps in the Syrian desert,

大部分亞美尼亞人被迫跋涉 前往敘利亞沙漠的集中營，

where they regularly suffered robbery, abduction, and rape.

在那裡，被搶、被綁架、 被強暴都是家常便飯。

The few women and children who escaped deportation

少數逃脫被驅逐命運的婦女和孩童

were forcibly converted to Islam.

被強迫改信回教。

The ruling Turks saw Muslim identity

在位的土耳其人將穆斯林身分視為

as the cornerstone of their vision for the empire,

其帝國遠景的基石，

so escaped Armenian youths were placed in orphanages

因此，逃走的亞美尼亞青年 會被安置在孤兒院中，

to indoctrinate them with Muslim culture and traditions.

灌輸他們穆斯林文化及傳統。

Children who resisted were subjected to violence and torture.

抵抗的孩童就會受到 暴力對待和折磨。

When the majority of these killings ended in 1916,

這些殺戮行為大部分 在 1916 年都畫上了句點。

it was estimated that the population of Ottoman Armenians

據估計，此時鄂圖曼亞美尼亞人口數

had dropped from 1.5 million to roughly 500,000.

已從一百五十萬人跌至約五十萬人。

In the decades that followed,

在接下來數十年，

many of the remaining Armenians dispersed across the globe.

許多剩下的亞美尼亞人 分散到世界各地。

Families who immigrated to eastern Russia

移民到東俄的家庭

may have eventually been incorporated into the modern nation of Armenia,

最終可能是被納入到 現代的亞美尼亞國家，

which received its independence in 1991.

該國在 1991 年獨立。

But to this day the Turkish government denies this genocide occurred.

但至今，土耳其政府都否認 有發生過這場種族大屠殺。

Official government language acknowledges the violence

政府官方說詞承認有這樣的暴力，

but defines the Ottoman’s actions as “necessary measures,”

但把鄂圖曼的行為 定義為「必要手段」，

and Armenian deaths as unfortunate consequences of war.

把亞美尼亞人的死亡 定義為戰爭的不幸後果。

In recent years, some Turkish historians have refuted this stance

近年，有些土耳其歷史學家 駁斥了這種立場，

and begun writing about this period with less fear of retribution.

開始本著比較不懼怕報復的心態 撰寫這個時期的歷史。

In the pursuit of justice,

為了追求正義，

many Armenians and Armenian-led non-profit organizations

許多亞美尼亞人及亞美尼亞人 領導的非營利組織

work tirelessly to advocate for the recognition of this genocide,

努力不懈倡導承認這場種族大屠殺，

and accountability for those responsible.

並要求該負責的人扛起責任。