[翻轉視界 8]逃離禁錮之地:離開北韓我學會自由與憐憫
“If you don't know the words, that means you don't understand the concept, and therefore, you don't even realize that concept is even a possibility.” —— human rights activist Yeonmi Park。
「如果你不知道某些詞彙,那就意味著你並不了解某些概念,因此你也不會意識到,那些概念可以是一種可能。」——人權鬥士朴延美
對出逃前的她而言,自由與溫飽是很奢侈的理念,更無法了解「愛」的全貌。當我們無法得知世界發生了什麼,無法想像那超越自身認知的世界,我們便無法真正地同理他人。今天我想邀請大家,以不同的角度,重新感受自由、溫飽與愛的可貴。
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I was born in 1993 in the northern part of North Korea, in a town called Hyesan, which is on the border with China. I had loving parents and one older sister. Before I was even 10 years old, my father was sent to a labor camp for engaging in illegal trading. Now, by "illegal trading" -- he was selling clogs, sugar, rice and later copper to feed us. In 2007, my sister and I decided to escape. She was 16 years old, and I was 13 years old.
1. on the border with 鄰近邊界
2. labor camp 勞改營
3. illegal trading 非法的交易
1993年我出生在北韓的北部,一個名叫惠山的小鎮,鄰近中國邊界。我有愛我的父母與一位姐姐。在我10歲大的時候,父親就被送去勞改營,因為他非法買賣一些東西。所謂的非法買賣,其實他是賣一些木鞋、糖、米,之後還賣了銅,只為了餵飽我們。2007年,姐姐和我決定逃跑。她當時16歲,而我13歲。
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I need you to understand what the word "escape" means in the context of North Korea. We were all starving, and hunger means death in North Korea. So it was the only option for us. I didn't even understand the concept of escape, but I could see the lights from China at night, and I wondered if I go where the light is, I might be able to find a bowl of rice. It's not like we had a grand plan or maps. We did not know anything about what was going to happen. Imagine your apartment building caught fire. I mean, what would you do? Would you stay there to be burned, or would you jump off out of the window and see what happens? That's what we did. We jumped out of the house instead of the fire.
4. in the context of 在⋯⋯的情境中
5. concept 概念;觀念;思想
6. a grand plan 一個遠大的計畫
7. catch fire 著火
你們要知道,「逃跑」這兩字在北韓意味著什麼。我們天天挨餓,而飢餓在北韓意味著死亡。所以逃跑是我們唯一的選擇。我當時還不了解逃跑是什麼意思,但晚上我能看見中國那邊的燈光,我想著如果我能到有光的地方,也許就能找到一碗飯。我們沒有什麼遠大的計畫或地圖。我們完全不知道,接下來會發生什麼事。想像一下,你的公寓失火了,你會怎麼辦?你會坐以待斃,還是跳窗然後再看著辦?我們就是那樣。我們從大樓上跳了下來, 而不是等火燒上來。
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North Korea is unimaginable. It's very hard for me when people ask me what it feels like to live there. To be honest, I tell you: you can't even imagine it. The words in any language can't describe, because it's a totally different planet, as you cannot imagine your life on Mars right now. For example, the word "love" has only one meaning: love for the Dear Leader. There's no concept of romantic love in North Korea. And if you don't know the words, that means you don't understand the concept, and therefore, you don't even realize that concept is even a possibility.
8. unimaginable 無法想像
9. no concept of... 沒有⋯的概念
10. romantic love 浪漫愛
北韓是難以想像的。對我來說,要回答住在北韓是什麼感覺,非常困難。老實說,我可以告訴各位——你無從想像。沒有任何語言可以描述,因為那是個截然不同的星球,就像你現在無法想像自己在火星上的生活一樣。比如說,「愛」只有一個意思:愛偉大的領袖。在北韓沒有那種浪漫之愛的概念。如果你不知道某些詞彙,那就意味著你並不了解某些概念,因此你也不會意識到,那些概念可以是一種可能。
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Let me give you another example. Growing up in North Korea, we truly believed that our Dear Leader is an almighty god who can even read my thoughts. I was even afraid to think in North Korea. We are told that he's starving for us, and he's working tirelessly for us, and my heart just broke for him. When I escaped to South Korea, people told me that he was actually a dictator, he had cars, many, many resorts, and he had an ultraluxurious life. And then I remember looking at a picture of him, realizing for the first time that he is the largest guy in the picture. And it hit me. Finally, I realized he wasn't starving. But I was never able to see that before, until someone told me that he was fat.
11. an almighty god 一個全能的神
12. tirelessly 不屈不撓地;堅忍地
13. a dictator 獨裁者
14. it hit me 突然想到、意識到 
15. resort 度假地(此處係指北韓獨裁者有很多度假別墅)
16. ultraluxurious 極其奢華的
17. have a…life 過著⋯⋯的生活
讓我再舉一個例子。在北韓長大,我們真心相信我們偉大的領袖是全能的神,他甚至能看穿我在想什麼。我在北韓甚至不敢思考。我們聽說他為我們挨餓、不眠不休地為我們工作,而我為此感到心痛。我逃到南韓後,有人跟我說他其實是獨裁者,他有很多車、很多很多渡假別墅,他的生活極為奢華。我記得自己看著一張有他的照片,第一次意識到他是照片裡體型最大的那個。這件事讓我大受打擊。那時我才終於了解,他沒有挨餓。但我以前總無法看清這些,直到有人跟我說他很胖,我才恍然大悟。
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Really, someone had to teach me that he was fat. If you have never practiced critical thinking, then you simply see what you're told to see. The biggest question also people ask me is: "Why is there no revolution inside North Korea? Are we dumb? Why is there no revolution for 70 years of this oppression?" And I say: If you don't know you're a slave, if you don't know you're isolated or oppressed, how do you fight to be free? I mean, if you know you're isolated, that means you are not isolated. Not knowing is the true definition of isolation, and that's why I never knew I was isolated when I was in North Korea. I literally thought I was in the center of the universe.
18. critical thinking 批判性思考
19. revolution 革命
20. dumb 愚蠢的*
21. oppression 壓迫;壓制;欺壓
22. isolated and oppressed 與世隔絕的與被壓迫的
真的,要有人教我,他這樣叫做胖。如果你沒學過批判性思考,你看到的就只會是別人跟你說的。其他人對我提出的大哉問還有:「為何北韓沒有革命?我們傻嗎?為何歷經70年的壓迫,卻沒人發動革命?」我回答:「如果你不知道自己是奴隸,不知道自己被與世隔絕、壓迫,你要如何為自由而戰?我的意思是,如果你知道自己被與世隔絕,那就表示你並非真的與世隔絕。與世隔絕的真正定義是無知,所以我從不知道,在北韓的我與世隔絕。我真的以為我們是宇宙的中心。
*dumb: https://bit.ly/3fG5XOk
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So here is my idea worth spreading: a lot of people think humans inherently know what is right and wrong, the difference between justice and injustice, what we deserve and we don't deserve. I tell them: BS. Everything, everything must be taught, including compassion. If I see someone dying on the street right now, I will do anything to save that person. But when I was in North Korea, I saw people dying and dead on the streets. I felt nothing. Not because I'm a psychopath, but because I never learned the concept of compassion. Only, I felt compassion, empathy and sympathy in my heart after I learned the word "compassion" and the concept, and I feel them now.
23. inherently 與生俱來地
24. justice and injustice 正義與不義
25. psychopath 精神病患者
26. compassion, empathy and sympathy 憐憫、同理與同情*
我覺得值得分享的想法是:很多人以為,人類生來就能分辨是非對錯,懂得正義與邪惡的差別,我們值得被怎樣對待。我跟他們說:放屁。所有的事,所有的事都得經過教導,包含憐憫。如果我現在看見有人在路邊奄奄一息,我會不顧一切來救他。但我在北韓的時候,會眼睜睜看著有人橫死街頭,卻沒有任何感覺。並非因為我是心理病態,而是我從未學過憐憫的概念。只有在我的內心感受到憐憫、同理與同情,我才學會「憐憫」一詞與其概念,而如今我已能感受到這些。
*compassion: a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them
empathy: the ability to share someone else's feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person's situation
sympathy: (an expression of) understanding and care for someone else's suffering
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Now I live in the United States as a free person.
現在我以自由人的身分住在美國。
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And recently, the leader of the free country, our President Trump, met with my former god. And he decided human rights is not important enough to include in his agendas, and he did not talk about it. And it scares me. We live in a world right now where a dictator can be praised for executing his uncle, for killing his half brother, killing thousands of North Koreans. And that was worthy of praise. And also it made me think: perhaps we all need to be taught something new about freedom now. Freedom is fragile. I don't want to alarm you, but it is. It only took three generations to make North Korea into George Orwell's "1984." It took only three generations. If we don't fight for human rights for the people who are oppressed right now who don't have a voice, as free people here, who will fight for us when we are not free? Machines? Animals? I don't know.
27. agenda 議程
28. be praised for 因⋯⋯獲得讚揚
29. execute (v.) 處決
30. worthy of sth 適合某物或具有某物的特徵
31. fragile 脆弱
最近,自由國度的領袖,我們的川普總統,和我以前的神會面。他認定,人權沒那麼重要,不需排進議程中,所以對此他隻字不提。這嚇壞我了。我們竟身在一個獨裁者處決伯父還能獲得讚揚的世界裡,他殺害同父異母的哥哥、殺害成千上萬的北韓人民,竟還能得到讚揚。這不禁使我開始思考,也許我們現在都要學習自由的新涵義。自由很脆弱。我不想嚇你,但事實如此。短短三個世代,就讓北韓淪為喬治.歐威爾筆下的《1984》。只花了三個世代。如果我們不為人權而戰,不為受壓迫、不為無法發聲的人而戰,當身為自由人的我們不自由時,誰還願意為我們而戰?機器嗎?動物嗎?我不知道。
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I think it's wonderful that we care about climate change, animal rights, gender equality, all of these things. The fact that we care about animals' rights, that means that's how beautiful our heart is, that we care about someone who cannot speak for themselves. And North Koreans right now cannot speak for themselves. They don't have internet in the 21st century. We don't have electricity, and it is the darkest place on earth right now. Now I want to say something to my fellow North Koreans who are living in that darkness. They might not believe this, but I want to tell them that an alternative life is possible. Be free.
32. speak for oneself 為某人發聲
33. alternative life 另一種生活
我覺得我們能關心氣候變遷、動物權益、性別平等諸如此類之事,真的很美好。因為,我們關心動物權益,就代表了我們的心地有多善良,也代表我們關心無法為自己發聲的對象。北韓人民現在無法為自己發聲。身處21世紀的他們,沒有網路可用。我們沒有電,那裡是當今地球上最暗的地方。現在我想告訴那些生活在北韓黑暗中的同胞。也許他們不會相信我,但我想告訴他們,生命仍有其他可能——意即自由的生活。
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From my experience, literally anything is possible. I was bought, I was sold as a slave. But now I'm here, and that is why I believe in miracles. The one thing that I learned from history is that nothing is forever in this world. And that is why we have every reason to be hopeful. Thank you.
34. slave 奴隸
35. miracle 奇蹟
就我的經驗,真的什麼事都有可能發生。我被人買走,賣給別人當奴隸。但我現在在這裡,這也就是為什麼我相信奇蹟。我從歷史上學到的一件事,就是世上沒有什麼是永恆的。而這也是我們無論如何都能懷有希望的原因。謝謝大家。
資訊出處:https://bit.ly/32p5HiK
圖片出處:https://bit.ly/32n2zEe
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如何增進同理心:https://bit.ly/34qSKnC
#ChangingPerspectives
#翻轉視界
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翻轉視界系列文章: https://bit.ly/3fPvKUs
「if i know what love is it is because of you出處」的推薦目錄:
if i know what love is it is because of you出處 在 Eric's English Lounge Facebook 的最佳解答
[翻轉視界 3] 媽媽是世界上最辛苦工作
To all the mothers out there, thank you for your sacrifices and happy Mother’s Day!
辛苦了, 媽媽們!
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原文及圖片授權來自於 Humans of Taipei和台灣社區實踐協會
結婚前,我在日商公司的工廠工作,當到管理幹部,本來也存了一筆錢準備婚後買房,沒想到婚後,根本來想的完全不一樣。
Before I got married, I worked in a factory ran by a Japanese company. I worked my way up to management and saved some money to purchase a house after marriage. Little did I expect how different life would be after I got married.
1. work your way up/to the top 逐步達成: https://bit.ly/2La73Eu
2. little did somebody know/realize/think 用來說某人不知道或認為某事會發生或是真的: https://bit.ly/2SJ7s4Z
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我和前夫是朋友介紹認識的。一直以來,我在感情裡面都沒什麼自信、處於弱勢,總是被拋棄的那一方。之前也有個男友曾經論及婚嫁,但他媽媽嫌我內向不會講話,沒辦法幫忙做生意,所以後來還是分手了。我跟前夫交往沒有幾個月就結婚,那時候覺得他在公司工作五、六年,應該很有定性,感覺也是個顧家、愛小孩的人。雖然不致於大富大貴,但夫妻倆應該可以過個穩定的幸福生活。
My ex-husband and I were introduced by friends. I have never had much confidence in my relationships. I was always the weaker half, the one who was always left behind. Before my ex-husband, I had a boyfriend who proposed marriage, but his mother felt that I was too much of an introvert and could not help him manage his business. We parted ways in the end. My ex-husband and I got married a few months after we began dating. He had been working in his company for five to six years at the time, so I felt he had a stable life. He also felt like a family man and one who loves children. While he was not rich, I felt we could live a stable and happy life.
3. have confidence in… 對…有信心
4. propose marriage 提出結婚、論及婚嫁
5. introvert 性格內向者
6. part ways 分開
7. see each other 交往,談戀愛
8. a family man 關心家庭的人
9. stable life 穩定的生活
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婚後,陸續生下大女兒和小兒子,兩個差三歲,但都是我在養。老公婚後都是半夜才回家,而且他除了房租以外,其餘生活開銷都不肯出。我盡量維持他在外的形象,都沒有跟別人說。因為實在沒錢,我還曾經打去他的公司,問老闆什麼時候發薪水?老闆很驚訝地跟我說,他的薪水比廠長還高,我們應該生活無虞才對。
After marriage, we had our eldest daughter and a son three years later, but I had to raise them myself. My husband would always return home after midnight, and he never paid for any living expenses other than rent. I tried to help maintain his image so I kept silent. However, I just did not have enough money, so I called his company one day and asked his boss when he would be paid. His boss was surprised. He told me that my husband’s salary was higher than that of the factory director and we should not have to worry about basic necessities.
10. raise 撫養
11. pay living expense 支付生活開銷
12. maintain one’s image 維持形象
13. factory director 廠長
14. basic necessities 基本生活必需物品與花用
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我實在不知道他半夜都去哪,把錢花到哪去。總之,我一直苦撐,我總覺得小孩要有爸爸、要有完整的家庭;撐越久,又覺得「我都已經撐這麼久了」,如果現在放棄的話,那不就前功盡棄了嗎?本來要用來買房子的存款,為了養小孩,全部花完,後來我幾乎一天只吃一餐,最慘的時候,還曾經母子三人吃一個便當。
I really didn’t know where he went in the middle of the night, and where he spent all his money. I hung on because I felt that the children must have a father and a complete family. I thought that I had already hung on for so long—if I had given up, then everything would have been for nothing. The money I had saved to purchase a house was completely spent on my children. I could only eat one meal a day, and at times the three of us would only share a single lunchbox.
15. hang on 堅持*
16. at times 有時
17. lunchbox 便當
*hang on (5): https://bit.ly/3frV9Uf
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你能想像嗎?我家沒有電視也沒有電腦,冷氣壞了沒辦法修,洗衣機壞了,我只能手洗衣服。社工問我,為什麼小孩身上臭臭的?我也不知道該怎麼說,因為他們的衣服本來就是二手的,而且我只能手洗,他們一流汗就臭了。還好,我去工作之後,偶爾可以把衣服拿去投幣式洗衣機啦。
Could you imagine what we went through? There wasn’t a TV or a computer in our house. Even when the air conditioner or the washing machine was broken, we could not fix it. I had to wash the clothes by hand! The social worker would ask me why the kids’ clothes stank, and I did not know what to tell them. Thankfully, after I began working, we could occasionally take our clothes to a coin-operated laundromat.
18. go through 遭受,經歷,經受(苦難等)
19. stink (v.) 散發異味,發出難聞的氣味
20. thankfully 通常用於句首,表示高興或感激)幸好,幸虧
21. coin-operated laundromat 投幣式洗衣店*
*launderette: https://bit.ly/2Wb8FUz
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我苦撐了十年才離婚,後來徹底心寒,是因為債務問題。我前夫不拿錢回家,我只能用信用卡去大賣場採買日常用品,前夫要買什麼,也會要我刷卡,甚至還要幫他付電話費,一個月就兩萬元。我說我不幫你繳,他說好阿,那被停話你跟小孩就找不到我了。就這樣債務累積越來越多,到最後,我只好跟銀行談妥還債計畫,跟娘家借錢還債。這也讓我決定離婚。
I hung on for a decade before filing for divorce. I found out later that my ex-husband had debt problems. He did not bring any money home, so I could only use credit cards to purchase groceries. Whatever he wanted to buy, he would ask me to use my card. I even had to pay his phone bills. Sometimes the bills amounted to 20,000 a month, so I told my husband I would not pay. "That's fine, but then you and the kids wouldn't be able to reach me anymore, " he said. The debts piled up until finally, I negotiated a debt settlement with the bank and asked my in-laws for money to pay the bank. I decided to file for divorce afterward.
22. get a divorce 離婚
23. debt problem 債務問題
24. purchase groceries 購買食品雜貨
25. pile up(使)(不好的事物)增加,(使)累積
26. debt settlement 還債計畫*
27. in-laws 姻親
28. file for divorce 在法庭提起離婚訴訟
*debt settlement https://bit.ly/3djBofy
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目前,我們還跟前夫住在一起,因為要搬出去,就得準備兩個月的押金和第一個月的租金,我得要努力存錢才有能力處理。阿山他們介紹我去超市工作,我希望超市趕快開幕,我才有辦法趕快賺錢搬出去。
At present, my children and I are still living with my ex-husband, because you need to have a two-month deposit and payment for the first month to rent a place. I have to work harder and save. Ah Shan and them (social workers) found me a job at a supermarket. I wished it would open soon so I could save and move out.
29. deposit 押金
30. social worker 社工
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其實,哪個女生不希望嫁個好老公?但是老公再有錢,沒有真心愛妳都沒用;即使老公賺不多,但只要願意顧家,那就是好老公。
All girls want a good husband. However, if your husband doesn't really love you, it doesn't matter how rich he is. Even if your husband does not make much, if he cares for his family, then he is a good husband.
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資訊與照片出處:
https://bit.ly/2WFeqsz
Visit Humans of Taipei for more stories!
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如何增進同理心: https://bit.ly/34qSKnC
Humans of Taipei: https://bit.ly/2S2Avjz
台灣社區發展協會: https://bit.ly/3cfRqHq
#ChangingPerspectives
#翻轉視界