Ugly history: The 1937 Haitian Massacre - Edward Paulino

譯者: Crystal Yip 審譯者: Helen Chang

When historians talk about the atrocities of the 20th century,

當歷史學家談論 二十世紀的歷史暴行

we often think of those that took place during and between the two World Wars.

我們經常想起發生在 兩次世界大戰前後和期間的那些事件

Along with the Armenian genocide in modern-day Turkey,

除了現今土耳其內的 亞美尼亞種族大屠殺

the Rape of Nanking in China,

中國的南京大屠殺

and Kristallnacht in Germany,

德國的「水晶之夜」

another horrific ethnic cleansing campaign

有另一場極其可怕的種族清洗

occurred on an island between the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

發生在大西洋和加勒比海間的島嶼

The roots of this conflict go back to 1492,

衝突的根源可追溯至 1492 年

when Christopher Columbus stumbled onto the Caribbean island

當克里斯多福·哥倫布 踏足這加勒比海島

that would come to be named Hispaniola, launching a wave of European colonization.

後會被命名為伊斯帕尼奥拉島， 展開一波歐洲殖民統治

The island’s Taíno natives were decimated by violence and disease

島上旳原住民泰諾族 因為暴力和疾病而滅絕

and the Europeans imported large numbers of enslaved Africans

歐洲人輸入大量非洲奴隸

to toil in profitable sugar plantations.

來種植利潤豐厚的甘蔗

By 1777, the island had become divided

時至 1777，島上分裂為

between a French-controlled West and a Spanish-controlled East.

法國控制的西部和西班牙控制的東部

A mass slave revolt won Haiti its independence from France in 1804

大眾奴隸革命成功， 於 1804 年海地脫離法國獨立

and it became the world’s first black republic.

而它成為世界上首個黑人共和國

But the new nation paid dearly,

但這新國家付出沉重代價

shut out of the world economy and saddled with debt by its former masters.

被世界經濟拒諸門外， 並欠了前宗主國債項。

Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic would declare independence

同時，多米尼加共和國將宣告獨立

by first overthrowing Haitian rule of eastern Hispaniola

推翻海地在 伊斯帕尼奥拉島東部的統治

and later Spanish and American colonialism.

和其後西班牙和美國的殖民統治

Despite the long and collaborative history shared by these two countries,

雖然兩國合作已久

many Dominican elites saw Haiti as a racial threat

許多多米尼加精英視海地為種族威脅

that imperiled political and commercial relations with white western nations.

危害他們與西方白人國家的 政治和商貿關係

In the years following World War I,

第一次世界大戰後

the United States occupied both parts of the island.

美國同時佔據島上的兩地

It did so to secure its power in the Western hemisphere

那是為了鞏固它在西半球的勢力

by destroying local opposition and installing US-friendly governments.

破壞當地反對者和安插親美政府

The brutal and racist nature of the US occupation,

美國佔據時，殘暴並歧視種族

particularly along the remote Dominican-Haitian border,

特別是沿著遙遠的多米尼加–海地邊界

laid the foundation for bigger atrocities after its withdrawal.

為它撒出後更大型的 殘暴行為埋下種子

In 1930, liberal Dominican president Horacio Vásquez

1930 年，自由派的多米尼加總統 霍拉西奥·巴斯克斯

was overthrown by the chief of his army, Rafael Trujillo.

被軍方首長拉斐爾·特魯希略推翻

Despite being a quarter Haitian himself,

雖然有四分一海地血統

Trujillo saw the presence of a bicultural Haitian and Dominican borderland

但他認為海地和 多米尼加邊境的雙文化

as both a threat to his power

是對他權力的威脅

and an escape route for political revolutionaries.

也是政治革命者的逃生路線

In a chilling speech on October 2, 1937,

在 1937 年 10 月 2 日 使人寒心的演講裡

he left no doubt about his intentions for the region.

他不留餘地地顯示出 他對於那地區的意圖

Claiming to be protecting Dominican farmers from theft and incursion,

宣稱為了保護多米尼加農夫 免於盜竊和侵犯

Trujillo announced the killing of 300 Haitians along the border

特魯希略宣佈在邊境 殺害 300 名海地人

and promised that this so-called "remedy" would continue.

並承諾會繼續這所謂的「糾正」

Over the next few weeks, the Dominican military,

在接下來數星期，多米尼加軍隊

acting on Trujillo’s orders,

執行特魯希略的命令

murdered thousands of Haitian men and women,

殺害數千海地人，有男有女

and even their Dominican-born children.

甚至有多米尼加出生的兒童

The military targeted black Haitians,

軍隊瞄準黑海地人

even though many Dominicans themselves were also dark-skinned.

即使很多多米尼加人 自己也是黑皮膚的

Some accounts say that to distinguish the residents

有些說法指為了分辨

of one country from the other,

兩國居民

the killers forced their victims to say the Spanish word for parsley.

殺手強逼受害者說出 「香芹」的西班牙語

Dominicans pronounce it perejil, with a trilled Spanish "r."

多米尼加人讀作「perejil」， 帶有「r」顫音

The primary Haitian language, however, is Kreyol, which doesn’t use a trilled r.

但在原初的海地語是克里奧爾語 沒有「r」顫音

So if people struggled to say perejil,

所以如果有人難以說出「perejil」

they were judged to be Haitian and immediately killed.

他們就會被判斷為海地人 並立即被殺

Yet recent scholarship suggests that tests like this

但最近學者指出如此測試

weren’t the sole factor used to determine who would be murdered,

不是唯一因素來決定誰會被殺害

especially because many of the border residents were bilingual.

特別是因為很多邊境居民懂得雙語

The Dominican government censored any news of the massacre,

多米尼加政府封鎖 任何關於那屠殺的報導

while bodies were thrown in ravines,

而屍體被丢進深谷裡

dumped in rivers,

扔下河裡

or burned to dispose of the evidence.

或燒掉來毀滅證據

This is why no one knows exactly how many people were murdered,

這是無人知道確實被殺人數的原因

though contemporary estimates range from about 4,000 to 15,000.

而現今估計大約是四千至一萬五千

Yet the extent of the carnage was clear to many observers.

但很多目擊者清楚知道 那場屠殺的規模

As the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic at the time noted,

據駐多米尼加共和國的 美國大使當時所記

“The entire northwest of the frontier on the Dajabón side

「達哈翁內的整個西北邊境

is absolutely devoid of Haitians.

海地人完全絕跡

Those not slain either fled across the frontier or are still hiding in the bush.”

那些沒被殺害的逃到了邊境另一方， 或仍然匿藏在叢林中

The government tried to disclaim responsibility

政府嘗試拒絕承認責任

and blame the killings on vigilante civilians,

並歸咎於維持治安的平民

but Trujillo was condemned internationally.

但特魯希略受國際譴責

Eventually, the Dominican government

最後，多米尼加政府

was forced to pay only $525,000 in reparations to Haiti,

被逼賠償，但只是 $525,000（美元）給海地

but due to corrupt bureaucracy,

但因為腐敗的官僚

barely any of these funds reached survivors or their families.

幾乎沒有任何金錢 到了倖存者或他們的家人手中

Neither Trujillo nor anyone in his government

特魯希略或他政府的人

was ever punished for this crime against humanity.

都未曾以危害人類罪被懲罰

The legacy of the massacre remains a source of tension

那場屠殺仍然是 緊張關係的根源

between the two countries.

在兩國之間

Activists on both sides of the border have tried to heal the wounds of the past.

邊境兩面的積極分子 都曾嘗試修補過去的傷口

But the Dominican state has done little, if anything,

但多米尼加政府做得很少，如有的話

to officially commemorate the massacre or its victims.

來正式悼念那場屠殺或那些受害者

Meanwhile, the memory of the Haitian massacre remains a chilling reminder

與此同時，海地大屠殺的回憶 仍是使人不寒而慄的提醒

of how power-hungry leaders can manipulate people

貪戀權力的領袖能操控人

into turning against their lifelong neighbors.

逼害他們終生的鄰居