Ziyah Gafić: Everyday objects, tragic histories

翻译人员: Vickie Huang 校对人员: Vivian Tsai

These are simple objects:

这些都是普通的物品：

clocks, keys, combs, glasses.

钟，钥匙，梳子，眼镜。

They are the things the victims of genocide in Bosnia

这些是波斯尼亚大屠杀受害者

carried with them on their final journey.

在他们最后旅程携带的东西。

We are all familiar with these mundane,

我们都非常熟悉这些平凡的

everyday objects.

日常用品。

The fact that some of the victims carried

一些受害者携带

personal items such as toothpaste and a toothbrush

个人用品像是牙膏和牙刷的事实

is a clear sign they had no idea

是一个清晰的标志，他们完全不知道

what was about to happen to them.

将要发生在他们身上的事情。

Usually, they were told that they were going to be

通常，他们会被告知他们将会

exchanged for prisoners of war.

被当作战俘交换。

These items have been recovered

这些物品是从我的祖国

from numerous mass graves across my homeland,

为数众多的万人塚中寻回的，

and as we speak, forensics are exhuming bodies

就如我们所说，法医专家们正在

from newly discovered mass graves,

从新发现的万人塚中掘出遗体

20 years after the war.

这已是战后二十年。

And it is quite possibly the largest ever discovered.

而且这极有可能是有史以来发现的最大的一个。

During the four years of conflict

在四年的冲突，

that devastated the Bosnian nation in the early '90s,

在90年代的中期，毁灭了波斯尼亚国

approximately 30,000 citizens, mainly civilians,

大约30,000名公民，主要是平民

went missing, presumed killed,

失踪，被认定死亡

and another 100,000 were killed

另外的100,000人

during combat operations.

在战斗行动中被杀害。

Most of them were killed

他们中的很多人被杀

either in the early days of the war

要么是在战争早期，

or towards the end of the hostilities,

或者在敌对行动的尾声，

when U.N. safe zones like Srebrenica

当像斯雷布雷尼察这样的联合国安全区

fell into the hands of the Serb army.

落入塞族军队之手的时候。

The international criminal tribunal

国际刑事法庭

delivered a number of sentences

判决了若干

for crimes against humanity and genocide.

针对人道主义和种族屠杀的罪名。

Genocide is a systematic and deliberate

种族大屠杀是一种系统地并且蓄意地

destruction of a racial, political, religious

对一个种族，党派，信仰

or ethnic group.

或者人种的毁灭。

As much as genocide is about killing.

种族大屠杀不单止是关于杀戮，

It is also about destroying their property,

它还是关于摧毁他们的财产，

their cultural heritage,

他们的文化遗产，

and ultimately the very notion that they ever existed.

以及最终抹杀他们曾经存在过的观念。

Genocide is not only about the killing;

种族大屠杀不只是关于杀戮；

it is about the denied identity.

它是关于否认身份。

There are always traces —

永远都有踪迹可循——

no such thing as a perfect crime.

世上没有完美的犯罪。

There are always remnants of the perished ones

总是有一些遇难者的遗物

that are more durable than their fragile bodies

远比主人脆弱的身体坚固，

and our selective and fading memory of them.

以及我们对他们选择及褪色的记忆。

These items are recovered

这些物品，

from numerous mass graves,

从众多的万人塚里被挖掘出来，

and the main goal of this collection of the items

收集这些物品的主要目的

is a unique process

是一个独特的过程，

of identifying those who disappeared in the killings,

来验明那些在大屠杀中消失者的身份，

the first act of genocide on European soil

这是欧洲大陆之上的第一起种族灭绝事件，

since the Holocaust.

自犹太人大屠杀之后。

Not a single body should remain undiscovered

没有一具遗体应该不被发现

or unidentified.

或者被辨明身份。

Once recovered,

一旦被挖掘出来，

these items that the victims carried with them

这些受害者带着

on their way to execution

陪他们走上刑场的物品，

are carefully cleaned, analyzed,

被仔细地清洗，分析，

catalogued and stored.

分类以及储存。

Thousands of artifacts are packed in white plastic bags

成千上万的出土物被包在白色的塑料袋中，

just like the ones you see on CSI.

就像你在CSI犯罪现场里看到的那样。

These objects are used as a forensic tool

这些物品被用作

in visual identification of the victims,

视觉识别受害者的法医鉴定工具，

but they are also used as very valuable forensic evidence

但是它们也被当作非常有价值的法医证据，

in the ongoing war crimes trials.

在持续进行的战犯审判呈堂。

Survivors are occasionally called

幸存者偶尔会被传召

to try to identify these items physically,

去试图亲自辨认这些物品，

but physical browsing is extremely difficult,

但是亲自浏览极其困难，

an ineffective and painful process.

一个既无效又痛苦的过程。

Once the forensics and doctors and lawyers

一旦法医人员，医生，以及律师

are done with these objects,

不再需要这些物品，

they become orphans of the narrative.

它们变成了这些故事的孤儿。

Many of them get destroyed, believe it or not,

它们很多都被销毁，信不信由你，

or they get simply shelved,

或者束之高阁，

out of sight and out of mind.

眼不见为净。

I decided a few years ago

我数年前决定了

to photograph every single exhumed item

去拍摄每一件被挖掘出来的物品，

in order to create a visual archive

为了创造一个视像档案馆

that survivors could easily browse.

让幸存者很容易地浏览。

As a storyteller, I like to give back to the community.

作为一个讲故事的人，我喜欢回馈社区。

I like to move beyond raising awareness.

我喜欢做超越唤醒意识的事情。

And in this case, someone may

假若这样，有人或许能够

recognize these items

辨认出这些物品

or at least their photographs will remain

或者至少它们的照片将会保存

as a permanent, unbiased and accurate reminder

成为一个永久的，不偏不倚的，以及准确的纪念

of what happened.

去提醒我们发生了什么事情。

Photography is about empathy,

摄影是有关于同理心，

and the familiarity of these items guarantee empathy.

而这些熟悉的物品保证了同理心的产生。

In this case, I am merely a tool,

在这种情况下，我仅仅只是一个工具，

a forensic, if you like,

一个法医鉴定人员，如果你愿意这样称呼我，

and the result is a photography that is as close

而结果是拍摄出尽可能

as possible of being a document.

写实的文物照片。

Once all the missing persons are identified,

一旦所有的失踪人员被识别，

only decaying bodies in their graves

只有在他们的坟墓里腐化的尸体

and these everyday items will remain.

以及他们的日常物品会留下。

In all their simplicity,

就是因为它们很普通，

these items are the last testament

这些物品是最后的遗嘱，

to the identity of the victims,

证明着受害者的身份，

the last permanent reminder

是最后的永恒的提醒，

that these people ever existed.

这些人们曾经存在过。

Thank you very much.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）