What really happened during the Attica Prison Rebellion - Orisanmi Burton

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

“We are men.

「我們是人。

We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten or driven as such...

我們不是野獸，

我們不想被當成野獸 來毒打或驅趕……

What has happened here is but the sound before the fury

這裡所發生的事，

只不過是所有被壓迫者 群起暴怒的前奏。」

of those who are oppressed.”

These words were spoken during the 1971 Attica Prison Rebellion

這段話是 1971 年阿提卡監獄暴動時，

by one of its leaders, Elliott Barkley.

其中一名領袖艾略特巴克力所說的話。

At the time, Attica prison was severely overcrowded.

當時，阿提卡監獄嚴重爆滿。

Its majority Black and Latino population faced constant physical and verbal abuse.

監中大部分黑人及拉丁裔囚犯

經常會受到身體上和言語上的虐待。

All prison guards were white.

所有的獄警都是白人。

Some were members of white supremacist hate groups.

當中有些還是白人至上 仇恨團體的成員。

Guards threw away letters that weren’t written in English

獄警會把不是用英文 撰寫的信件扔掉，

and prohibited Muslim religious services.

並禁止穆斯林的宗教儀式。

They punished white prisoners for fraternizing with non-white men.

白人囚犯如果對非白人 展現友好，就會受到懲罰。

Prisoners were allowed one shower a week and one roll of toilet paper a month.

囚犯每週只能洗一次澡，

每月只配發一捲衛生紙。

Among those imprisoned at Attica were Elliott Barkley, Frank Smith,

阿提卡的囚犯包括艾略特巴克力、

法蘭克史密斯，和賀伯 X. 布萊登。

and Herbert X. Blyden.

“I’m dying here little by little every day...” Barkley wrote his mother.

「我在這裡每天一點一點地死去……」

這是巴克力給母親信中的話。

She contacted authorities, but nothing changed.

她聯絡當局，但沒有任何改變。

He began writing a book about life at Attica.

他開始寫書，描述 在阿提卡監獄中的生活。

Meanwhile, Smith worked a position called the “warden’s laundry boy”

至於史密斯，他的工作 是「典獄長的洗衣工」，

for 30 cents day.

一天 30 分錢美金。

His grandmother had been enslaved.

他的祖母曾經是奴隸。

Because Smith and others were treated as less-than-human

因為守衞都不把史密斯 和其他人當人對待，

at the will of their keepers, they viewed prison as an extension of slavery.

囚犯都把監獄視為奴隸制的延伸。

And Blyden had participated in prison strikes and rebellions.

布萊登曾經參與過監獄罷工和反抗。

He and others saw the violence of prison as symptomatic of a societal problem

他和其他人把監獄裡的暴力 視為社會問題的徵兆，

where individuals are denied justice based on their class and race.

這個問題就是：某些階級 和種族的人無法得到正義。

They felt people shouldn’t be stripped of their rights to health and dignity

他們認為，即使是被判刑的人

也應該保有健康和尊嚴的權利。

upon being sentenced.

Instead, resources should go towards meeting people’s basic needs

資源應該用來滿足人的基本需求，

to prevent crime in the first place.

以預防犯罪發生。

In the summer of 1971, Blyden co-founded the Attica Liberation Faction.

1971 年夏天，

布萊登等人共同 成立了阿提卡解放陣營。

The group compiled a manifesto

這個團體編寫了一份宣言，

and petitioned Corrections Commissioner Russell Oswald

並呈交請願書給懲教署 署長羅素奧斯沃德

and Governor Nelson Rockefeller for better treatment.

及尼爾森洛克斐勒州長， 盼能得到較好的對待。

Though largely ignored, they continued organizing.

雖然多半不受到理會， 他們仍然持續組織運作。

After activist George Jackson was killed at a California prison,

激進人士喬治傑克森 在加州的一所監獄中被殺後，

700 men at Attica participated in a silent fast.

在阿提卡有七百人進行了 一場無聲的禁食抗議。

Just weeks later, on September 9th, a spontaneous uprising began.

才過了幾週後的九月九日，

發生了一場自發性的起義。

A group of prisoners overpowered guards, sparking the Attica Rebellion.

一群囚犯制服了獄警，

點燃了阿提卡暴動。

Prisoners broke windows, started fires, and captured supplies.

囚犯打破窗戶、縱火、奪取補給品。

They beat many guards.

他們打了許多獄警。

One of them, William Quinn, would die from his injuries.

其中一名獄警， 威廉昆恩，傷重致死。

Soon, over 1,200 prisoners had assembled in the yard with 42 hostages,

沒多久後，1200 餘名囚犯 在放風場集結，

抓了 42 名人質，

preparing to demand change.

準備要求改變。

They established a medical bay, delegated men to prepare and ration food,

他們設立了醫務室，

派人準備和分配食物，

protected and sheltered guards, and elected a negotiating committee.

保護、安頓獄警，

並選出談判委員會。

They appointed Blyden chief negotiator, Smith as security chief,

他們任命布萊登為談判代表，

史密斯掌管保安，

and Barkely as a speaker.

巴克利為發言人。

Later that day, Barkley presented their demands to the press.

同一天晚些時候， 巴克利向媒體公佈他們的要求。

When his mother saw him on TV, she was terrified.

他的母親在電視上看到他時嚇壞了。

He was just days from being released.

他只差幾天就可以出獄。

But she believed authorities would want retribution.

但她相信當局會想懲處他。

Over the next four days, prisoners held negotiations with officials.

在接下來的四天，

囚犯和官員談判。

They called for a minimum wage, rehabilitation programs,

他們要求最低工資、更生方案、

better education, and more.

更好的教育等等。

They promised all remaining hostages would be safe

他們保證剩餘的人質 都不會受到傷害，

if they were given amnesty for crimes committed during the uprising.

條件是赦免他們 在起義期間犯下的罪行。

Meanwhile, Governor Rockefeller began crisis talks with President Nixon.

同時，洛克斐勒州長 和尼克森總統展開危機商談。

The president told his chief of staff that the rebellion should be quelled

總統告訴他的參謀長， 應該要鎮壓叛亂，

to set an example for other Black activists.

殺雞儆猴給其他黑人激進分子看。

Commissioner Oswald announced he’d meet a number of the demands,

奧斯沃德署長宣佈 他會做到其中多項要求，

but refused to guarantee amnesty.

但拒絕保證赦免。

Prisoners refused to surrender.

囚犯拒絕投降。

As warnings of an imminent siege mounted,

在即將受到圍攻之際， 為了發出警告，

they threatened to kill 8 hostages if attacked.

他們威脅若受到攻擊 就會殺掉八個人質。

Nevertheless, Rockefeller ordered troops to retake the prison.

但洛克斐勒仍下令部隊奪回監獄。

Helicopters tear-gassed the yard.

直升機朝放風場投擲催淚彈。

Troopers shot over 2,000 rounds of ammunition,

部隊擊發了至少 2000 發彈藥，

killing 29 prisoners and 10 guards, and wounding many others.

殺了 29 名囚犯、10 名獄警，

還有許多人受傷。

Witnesses say troopers found Barkley and shot him in the back.

證人說，部隊找到了巴克利， 從他背後開槍射殺他。

Officers stripped surviving men naked, tortured them,

生還者被脫光衣服，受到折磨，

and deprived them of medical attention.

醫療照護也被剝奮。

Blyden was starved for days.

布萊登好幾天都沒有食物。

Smith was sexually violated, burned with cigarettes,

史密斯受到性侵，

被香菸燙傷、拖到禁閉室，

dragged into isolation, and beaten.

還遭毒打。

Directly after the attack, Governor Rockefeller thought prisoners

攻擊行動結束後，

洛克斐勒州長認為囚犯 要為 10 名獄警的死負責。

were responsible for the deaths of the 10 guards.

He called it “a beautiful operation.”

他還稱此暴力鎮壓為「漂亮的行動」。

President Nixon congratulated Rockefeller and told his chief of staff

尼克森總統恭賀洛克斐勒， 並告訴他的參謀長，

that the way to stop “radicals” was to “kill a few.”

阻止激進分子的方式就是殺掉幾個。

But autopsies soon confirmed that prisoners

但驗屍後確認，在攻擊行動中，

hadn’t killed any guards during the attack, as threatened.

囚犯威脅要殺害的獄警

Government forces had.

都是政府軍殺的。

Nixon told Rockefeller to stand his ground.

尼克森叫洛克斐勒堅持立場。

Those who survived the massacre continued fighting for revolutionary change.

那些大屠殺的倖存者 持續為了改革而奮鬥。

Long after being released,

出獄很久以後，史密斯和布萊登

Smith and Blyden campaigned for social justice and prison abolition.

都還在發起運動， 為社會正義及廢除監獄努力。

The demands men made at Attica in 1971

1971 年阿提卡的人所提出的要求，

remain at the core of ongoing protests— within and beyond prison walls.

不論是監獄內或監獄外的抗議，

仍是後續抗議的核心。