Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

譯者: Marie Wu 審譯者: Terry Lin

I normally teach courses on

我通常是在課堂上

how to rebuild states after war.

講解如何進行戰後重建，

But today I've got a personal story to share with you.

但是今天我要告訴各位我自己的故事。

This is a picture of my family,

這張是我的家庭照片，

my four siblings -- my mom and I -- taken in 1977.

我的四個兄弟姐妹，我母親和我，1977年拍攝的。

And we're actually Cambodians.

我們是柬埔寨人，

And this picture is taken in Vietnam.

但這張照片是在越南照的。

So how did a Cambodian family end up in Vietnam in 1977?

一個柬埔寨家庭怎麼會在1977年出現在越南呢？

Well to explain that, I've got a short video clip

要回答這個問題，我就得給你們看一段

to explain the Khmer Rouge regime

介紹1975年至1979年

during 1975 and 1979.

赤柬政權的短片。

Video: April 17th, 1975.

影片：1975年4月17日，

The communist Khmer Rouge

屬於共產黨的赤柬軍

enters Phnom Penh to liberate their people

進入金邊，

from the encroaching conflict in Vietnam,

解放了因越南入侵

and American bombing campaigns.

及美軍轟炸而受苦的人民。

Led by peasant-born Pol Pot,

赤柬軍由農人出身的波布領導，

the Khmer Rouge evacuates people to the countryside

將人民撤離至鄉間，

in order to create a rural communist utopia,

以建立共產農村烏托邦，

much like Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution in China.

就像毛澤東在中國所進行的文化大革命。

The Khmer Rouge closes the doors to the outside world.

赤柬關閉了與世界溝通的管道。

But after four years the grim truth seeps out.

但在四年之後，冷酷的事實逐漸顯露。

In a country of only seven million people,

在一個只有七百萬人口的國家裡，

one and a half million were murdered by their own leaders,

有一百五十萬人民遭到執政者殺害，

their bodies piled in the mass graves of the killing fields.

他們的屍體成堆地疊在行刑場上。

Sophal Ear: So, notwithstanding the 1970s narration,

Sophal Ear: 雖然這是1970年代的報導，

on April 17th 1975

但在1975年4月17日，

we lived in Phnom Penh.

我們確確實實住在金邊。

And my parents were told by the Khmer Rouge

赤柬軍告訴我的父母

to evacuate the city because of impending American bombing for three days.

要撤離城市居民，因為美國即將對金邊連續進行轟炸三天。

And here is a picture of the Khmer Rouge.

這是赤柬軍的照片，

They were young soldiers, typically child soldiers.

他們都是年輕的軍人，典型的娃娃兵，

And this is very normal now, of modern day conflict,

這在近代的戰爭裡很常見，

because they're easy to bring into wars.

因為他們很容易被說服參與戰爭。

The reason that they gave about American bombing wasn't all that far off.

他們之所以會說美軍即將進行轟炸，是因為這個理由很容易讓人採信。

I mean, from 1965 to 1973 there were

我是說，從1965年到1973年間，

more munitions that fell on Cambodia

落在柬埔寨的炸彈總數，

than in all of World War II Japan,

比二次大戰期間在日本所投下的炸彈還多，

including the two nuclear bombs

還包括在1945年八月

of August 1945.

所投下的二顆原子彈。

The Khmer Rouge didn't believe in money.

赤柬軍並不相信金錢，

So the equivalent of the Federal Reserve Bank

所以在柬埔寨類似聯邦準備銀行的機構，

in Cambodia was bombed.

就被他們炸毁了。

But not just that, they actually banned money.

不只這樣，他們還廢止了金錢。

I think it's the only precedent in which

我想這大概是人類歷史上

money has ever been stopped from being used.

首度有人廢止金錢的使用吧。

And we know money is the root of all evil,

我們都知道金錢是萬惡的淵藪，

but it didn't actually stop evil from happening in Cambodia, in fact.

但是柬埔寨的惡行並沒有因此而消失。

My family was moved from Phnom Penh to Pursat province.

我們全家就從金邊搬到了普薩，

This is a picture of what Pursat looks like.

這是普薩的照片，

It's actually a very pretty area of Cambodia,

那的確是柬埔寨一塊很美的地方，

where rice growing takes place.

那裡種植稻米。

And in fact they were forced to work the fields.

但我的父母被迫在農地裡從事勞動，

So my father and mother ended up in

他們就像被關進

a sort of concentration camp, labor camp.

集中營和勞改營裡一樣。

And it was at that time that my mother got word

就在那時候，我的母親

from the commune chief

從公社領導人那裡得知，

that the Vietnamese were actually asking

越南政府希望接回

for their citizens to go back to Vietnam.

在柬埔寨的越南僑民。

And she spoke some Vietnamese,

而她會說一些越南話，

as a child having grown up with Vietnamese friends.

因為她小時候和一些越南人住在一起。

And she decided, despite the advice of her neighbors,

所以她決定，不管鄰居怎麼勸阻，

that she would take the chance

她要利用這個機會，

and claim to be Vietnamese

假裝我們是越南人，

so that we could have a chance to survive,

好讓我們有機會活命。

because at this point they're forcing everybody to work.

那時赤柬軍強迫每一個人去工作，

And they're giving about --

但只提供很少的糧食--

in a modern-day, caloric-restriction diet, I guess --

我猜以現在的說法就是減重飲食--

they're giving porridge, with a few grains of rice.

他們只提供稀飯，只有一點點的米飯在裡面。

And at about this time actually

就在那同時，

my father got very sick.

我的父親開始病得很重，

And he didn't speak Vietnamese.

而他不會說越南話。

So he died actually, in January 1976.

他在1976年一月份過世。

And it made it possible, in fact,

這反而讓我們這項計畫

for us to take on this plan.

變得可行。

So the Khmer Rouge took us

赤柬軍把我們

from a place called Pursat to Kaoh Tiev,

從普薩帶到科帖，

which is across from the border from Vietnam.

就在越南邊境，

And there they had a detention camp

他們在那裡設了一個拘押營，

where alleged Vietnamese would be tested, language tested.

對那些自稱來自越南的人進行測試，語言上的測試。

And my mother's Vietnamese was so bad

我母親的越南話說得很差，

that to make our story more credible,

但為了讓赤柬軍信服，

she'd given all the boys and girls new Vietnamese names.

她幫我們都取了新的越南名字。

But she'd given the boys girls' names,

但她幫男孩取了女孩的名字，

and the girls boys' names.

女孩則取了男孩的名字。

And it wasn't until she met a Vietnamese lady

直到她遇到一位越南女士，

who told her this, and then tutored her for two days intensively,

才告訴她這個錯誤，然後這個越南女士幫她惡補了整整二天，

that she was able to go into her exam

她才能參加測試，

and -- you know, this was a moment of truth.

那真是緊張的一刻。

If she fails, we're all headed to the gallows;

如果她沒有通過，我們全都會被送上斷頭台，

if she passes, we can leave to Vietnam.

如果她通過測試，我們就可以去越南了。

And she actually, of course -- I'm here, she passes.

當然，因為我在這裡，所以她通過測試了。

And we end up in Hong Ngu on the Vietnamese side.

然後我們到了越南的洪努，

And then onwards to Chau Doc.

再轉輾來到橋達。

And this is a picture of Hong Ngu, Vietnam today.

這裡有一張越南洪努現在的照片，

A pretty idyllic place on the Mekong Delta.

那是在湄公河三角洲上的美麗田園，

But for us it meant freedom.

但對我們來說，那裡代表著自由，

And freedom from persecution from the Khmer Rouge.

讓我們得以逃離赤柬軍的迫害。

Last year, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal,

去年，在聯合國的協助下，

which the U.N. is helping Cambodia take on,

柬埔寨終於開始運作赤柬法庭，

started, and I decided that as a matter of record

而我決定要在歷史上留下記錄，

I should file a Civil Complaint

我打算對赤柬提出告訴，

with the Tribunal about my father's passing away.

為我死去的父親做些事情。

And I got word last month

就在上個月，我接到消息，

that the complaint was officially accepted by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

赤柬法庭已接受了我的告訴。

And it's for me a matter of justice for history, and accountability for the future,

對我來說，這雖然是為過去伸張正義，但也是為未來舖路，

because Cambodia remains a pretty lawless place, at times.

因為柬埔寨現在偶爾還是缺乏法治觀念。

Five years ago my mother and I went back to Chau Doc.

五年前，我和母親一同回到橋達，

And she was able to return to a place

回到那個曾經讓她

that for her meant freedom, but also fear,

同時感受到自由與恐懼的地方，

because we had just come out of Cambodia.

因為那是我們離開柬埔寨後居住的地方。

I'm happy, actually, today, to present her.

我很高興，今天能為各位介紹我的母親。

She's here today with us in the audience.

她今天也在聽眾席裡，

Thank you mother.

謝謝你，母親。

(Applause)

(掌聲)