268 倍受拷打折磨幸存者的新希望

268 倍受拷打折磨幸存者的新希望

 

Hope for Torture Survivors¹

Carolyn Weaver3

0 Jul 2001 12:39 UTC

 

The people are from different countries and cultures, and they speak different languages, but they have one bond that 1)transcends all their differences. All but two are survivors of torture. And they belong to a group, the Torture Abolition² and Survivors Support Coalition³, or TASSC, that may be the only one of its kind. "We come together to give each other strength," said Orlando Tizon, a former 2)priest 3)tortured in the Philippines, who is the 4)coordinator.

Sister Dianna Ortiz, a Roman Catholic nun⁴ from the United States who worked in Guatemala in the 1980s, founded TASSC in 1997. That was eight years after she was 5)abducted and tortured by Guatemalan security agents whom she says raped⁵ and burned her, apparently⁶ mistaking her for a rebel supporter. When Sister Dianna began speaking about her experiences, and met other torture survivors from around the world, she realized that she and they needed a group of their own. "What became 6)evident was that many survivors were living in a world of isolation⁷, not feeling they could talk with other people about their experiences, because oftentimes, when that did occur, people misunderstood," said Sister Diana. "People often told survivors forget what happened, forgive, move on with your lives. But what we have found is that torture has not left any part of our lives untouched." Orlando Tizon adds, "One important point to prove in TASSC is that survivors are not 7)victims, we are not helpless people."

A recent meeting of TASCC included torture survivors from Congo, Cameroon, Togo, Guatemala and Pakistan. Munawar Laghari is a Sindhi, an ethnic⁸ minority in Pakistan. He was beaten and tortured in prison, but it is his family's experience that makes him 8)weep. "Then they raided the house, and took my father," he told the group, "but I can't forget my mother, when they took my mother, and I was living near them, in my friend's home, and I was unable to do anything."

Judy Okawa, a 9)psychotherapist who directs a Washington, D.C. area treatment program for survivors, explains, "The goal of the torturer is two-fold. It's to shatter the person and also to 10)terrorize the community, so if someone is disappeared in the middle of the night and they come back a week later, seeming very different, others are afraid to speak out."

Dr. Okawa continues, "Torture is 11)pervasive in the world today. You'd think that it was something of the deep dark past, of the Spanish Inquisition, but instead torture methods have become much more 12)sophisticated, they're methods that in many cases leave no scars, so people are left with no evidence beyond the emotional evidence, so that makes them feel very alone. If they do bear the physical evidence, which may be helpful for them on, say, an asylum⁹ application, then they're left with this 13)reminder¹⁰ on their body, the direct reminder of their torture. So I don't know which is worse."

Besides 14)ongoing pain, both physical and emotional, survivors say that 15)severe sleep and memory problems are common, as are problems in close relationships. Some even feel, like Orlando Tizon, a sense of guilt¹¹. "I feel guilty that one, I may have given names, I may have caused harm to other people. I feel guilty that some people died and I am still surviving," he said, "and that is quite a common reaction I hear from survivors. And yes, shame, that you could have done better. So you lose even trust in yourself and your own 16)capacity as a result."

In a recent lobbying day on Capitol Hill, small groups of survivors visited U.S. Congressional offices. They want Congress to increase funding for treatment centers for torture victims, and they want the United States to 17)cut off military support to countries which practice torture and to release records showing past covert¹² support. "A number of those who died have been unidentified, their families don't know where they are," said one speaker. The survivors also held a 18)vigil outside the White House, hoping to draw attention from the Bush administration. "Unidentified, unidentified, unidentified," they chanted.

It was a day 19)replete with talking and with prayer. The survivors say that one never really heals from torture, mentally or physically¹³ that perhaps healing is possible only spiritually. "At one point during my torture," said Sister Dianna, "one of my torturers whispered in my ear, 'Your god is dead.' And he was right, my God had died in that 20)clandestine prison. I didn't have faith for a long time," she said. "And what I've realized is that many torture survivors have a faith 21)crisis. It's not just a crisis in their faith, but also the issue of trust in 22)humanity. You know, to believe in people, and also to realize that people have the capacity to do so much 23)evil to another person."

 

 

(1)      transcend[trAn5send, trB:-]vt.超越, 胜过

(2)      priest[pri:st]n.牧师

(3)      torture[5tC:tFE(r)]n.折磨, 痛苦vt.拷问, 曲解, 折磨

(4)      coordinator[kEJ`R:dIneItE(r)]n.协调者, 同等的人或物

(5)      abduct[ Ab5dQkt]vt.诱拐, 绑架

(6)      evident[5evIdEnt]adj.明显的, 显然的

(7)      victim[5vIktIm]n.受害人, 牺牲者, 牺牲品

(8)      weep[wi:p]n.哭, 哭泣, 滴下vi.哭泣, 流泪, 哀悼vt.哭着使...,悲叹

(9)      psychotherapist n.精神治疗医师

(10)      terrorize[5terEraIz]vt.使恐怖, 恐吓, 恐怖统治

(11)      pervasive[pE5veIsIv]adj.普遍深入的

(12)      sophisticated[sE5fIstIkeItId]adj.诡辩的, 久经世故的

(13)      reminder[rI5maIndE(r)]n.提醒的人, 暗示

(14)      ongoing[5Rn^EJIN^]adj.正在进行的

(15)      severe[sI5vIE(r)]adj.剧烈的, 严重的, 严峻的

(16)      capacity[kE5pAsItI]n.智能, 才能, 能力, 接受力, 地位

(17)      cut off v.切断, 断绝, 剥夺继承权

(18)      vigil[5vIdVIl]n.守夜

(19)      replete[rI5pli:t]adj.充满的

(20)      clandestine[klAn5destIn]adj.秘密的

(21)      crisis[5kraIsIs]n.疾病的转折点(或转好或恶化), 决定性时刻, 危机

(22)      humanity[hju:5mAnItI]n.人性, 人类, 博爱, 仁慈

(23)      evil[5i:v(E)l]adj.邪恶的, 不幸的, 有害的 n.邪恶, 不幸, 罪恶

 

 

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

5 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

12 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

13 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。