星期三去聽了一場美國國會參議院外交委員會的聽證會，主題是剛果和蘇丹地區的性別暴力(gender-based violence)。
Hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Confronting Rape And Other Forms of Violence against Women in Conflict
Zones
Spotlight: DRC and Sudan
Date: 13 May 2009
Place: Dirksen Senate Building
這場聽證會是由威斯康辛參議員 Russell Feingold 和加州參議員 Barbara Boxer 所主持，主辦單位是參院外交委員會的國際行動、國際組織、人權、民主及世界女性議題次委員會 (Subcommittee on Int'l Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues) 和非洲事務次委員會 (Subcommittee on African Affairs)。Sen. Boxer (D-CA) 最近計畫寫信給Obama and Clinton，建議美國政府對於非洲女性面對的強暴及其他暴行採取行動。聽證會前半場的證人都是國務院官員，後半場都是NGO代表，包括Enough、International Rescue Committee, Save Darfur Coalition, V-Day, 。
第一次認真看了剛果和蘇丹的性暴力相關報導是去年在做剛果報告的時候，看了CBS的短片和IRC的專題，真的讓人覺得很不舒服很黑暗，不能理解為什麼這種極端泯滅人性的行為會發生在這個世界上，不知道是什麼程度的混亂可以讓最基本的人性消失殆盡，長期以來社會契約的崩壞就足以造成這種道德和人性蕩然無存的社會？我真的很難理解，但血淋淋的事實證明剛果和蘇丹真的長期以來就這麼黑暗。
每次面對這個議題總是很沉重很不舒服，朋友說他曾經在課堂討論看到同班同學當場哭，昨天的聽證會也有一位剛果女記者講到當場哭起來。當場大哭很讓人傻眼，但配上她的這段證詞就一點也不意外。
"I met a women who had 5 children. They took her into the forest with her 5 children, and kept them there for several days. As each day passed the rebels killed one of her children and forced her to eat her child's flesh. She begged to be killed but they refused and said "No, we can't give you a good death."
我遇到一位有五個小孩的女人，他們(叛軍)把她和她的五個小孩森林裡留了好幾天，當日子一天天過去，叛軍殺了她的其中一個孩子並且強迫她吃自己小孩的肉，她求叛軍殺了她，但叛軍拒絕了，並說：「不，我們不能讓妳好死。」
Last month, after the joint operation between the Congolese army and the Rwandese army to break down the FDLR, in their running away the FDLR raped more women. Our journalists were told that afer they raped the women, they put fuel in their vaginas and set them on fire, and then extinguished the fire. This was done not to kill them, but to let them suffer. There were many other horrible artrocities.
上個月，剛果軍隊和盧安達軍隊追捕FDLR的聯合行動之後，FDLR在逃亡途中強暴了更多女人。我們的記者聽說，在他們強暴女人之後，他們將燃料倒進女人的陰道裡，然後點火，再滅火。這不是為了殺了她們，是為了讓她們受苦，剛果還有很多其他恐怖的暴行。
The women ask WHY? Why such atrocities? Why do they fight their war on women's bodies? It is because there is a plan to put fear into the community through the woman, because she is the heart of the community. When she is pushed down, the whole community follows. We also ask, why the silence of the developed countries? When a gorilla is killed in the mountains, there is an outcry, and people mobilize great resources to protect the animals. Yet more than five hundred thousand women have been raped, and there is silence. After all of this you will make memorials and say "Never again." But we don't need commenmorations; we want you to act now."
女人們問為什麼？為什麼有這種暴行？為什麼他們要女人的身體當戰場？這是因為他們有計畫要透過女人來在社會散佈恐懼、因為女人是社會之心，當她被擊潰，整個社群也就接著被擊潰。我們也問，為什麼已開發國家如此沉默？當一隻大猩猩在山裡被殺，會有強烈的抗議，人們會動員龐大的資源來保護動物；然而，超過五十萬人被強暴，卻只有沉默。當這些都過去之後，你們會建紀念館然後說「再也不能發生了」，但我們不需要紀念，我們要你們現在就行動。
----Testmony of Chouchou Namegabe, Founder of the South Kivu Women's Media Association. DRC
the Hearing onConfronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence against Women in Conflict Zones, May 13 2009
在這些戰亂地區，即便是戰爭結束，性暴力一直都存在，只是剛果和達佛的情況比其他地方都來得嚴重。在這些地方，強暴不只是社會脫序造成的附加現象，強暴是一種武器，是一種摧毀整個社群的工具，是一種種族屠殺的方式。這些性暴力常常都在整個家庭、甚至整個社區面前發生，常常在輪暴之後，這些民兵還會用木棒、酒瓶、刀子等異物插進女性生殖器，或直接對著陰道開槍，受害者的年齡層非常廣泛，甚至有強暴嬰兒的案例。聽證會上，參議員Boxer說：「如果強暴嬰兒不算是違反人道罪的話，我不知道什麼才算。」
每天，在剛果和達佛有幾百人受到性暴力的迫害，在剛果的一省South Kivu，這個一千五百萬人的地區，過去一年有一萬四千個強暴案例，當然實際數目比這多很多。
這塊黑暗大陸離我們太遙遠，先是剛果，再來是達佛，大家都像九四年一樣關掉電視就算了。建立一個衝突礦物的交易管制機制、支持國際刑事法院在剛果和蘇丹的行動、對蘇丹、剛果、盧安達、烏干達這些國家施壓，這些都不像是天方夜譚一樣難以實現，非政府組織很努力地要製造輿論壓力，可是到底要多大的輿論壓力才能讓西方國家有效地採取行動，決定真的 Never again。
每次面對這個議題總是很沉重很不舒服，朋友說他曾經在課堂討論看到同班同學當場哭，昨天的聽證會也有一位剛果女記者講到當場哭起來。當場大哭很讓人傻眼，但配上她的這段證詞就一點也不意外。
"I met a women who had 5 children. They took her into the forest with her 5 children, and kept them there for several days. As each day passed the rebels killed one of her children and forced her to eat her child's flesh. She begged to be killed but they refused and said "No, we can't give you a good death."
我遇到一位有五個小孩的女人，他們(叛軍)把她和她的五個小孩森林裡留了好幾天，當日子一天天過去，叛軍殺了她的其中一個孩子並且強迫她吃自己小孩的肉，她求叛軍殺了她，但叛軍拒絕了，並說：「不，我們不能讓妳好死。」
Last month, after the joint operation between the Congolese army and the Rwandese army to break down the FDLR, in their running away the FDLR raped more women. Our journalists were told that afer they raped the women, they put fuel in their vaginas and set them on fire, and then extinguished the fire. This was done not to kill them, but to let them suffer. There were many other horrible artrocities.
上個月，剛果軍隊和盧安達軍隊追捕FDLR的聯合行動之後，FDLR在逃亡途中強暴了更多女人。我們的記者聽說，在他們強暴女人之後，他們將燃料倒進女人的陰道裡，然後點火，再滅火。這不是為了殺了她們，是為了讓她們受苦，剛果還有很多其他恐怖的暴行。
The women ask WHY? Why such atrocities? Why do they fight their war on women's bodies? It is because there is a plan to put fear into the community through the woman, because she is the heart of the community. When she is pushed down, the whole community follows. We also ask, why the silence of the developed countries? When a gorilla is killed in the mountains, there is an outcry, and people mobilize great resources to protect the animals. Yet more than five hundred thousand women have been raped, and there is silence. After all of this you will make memorials and say "Never again." But we don't need commenmorations; we want you to act now."
女人們問為什麼？為什麼有這種暴行？為什麼他們要女人的身體當戰場？這是因為他們有計畫要透過女人來在社會散佈恐懼、因為女人是社會之心，當她被擊潰，整個社群也就接著被擊潰。我們也問，為什麼已開發國家如此沉默？當一隻大猩猩在山裡被殺，會有強烈的抗議，人們會動員龐大的資源來保護動物；然而，超過五十萬人被強暴，卻只有沉默。當這些都過去之後，你們會建紀念館然後說「再也不能發生了」，但我們不需要紀念，我們要你們現在就行動。
----Testmony of Chouchou Namegabe, Founder of the South Kivu Women's Media Association. DRC
the Hearing onConfronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence against Women in Conflict Zones, May 13 2009
在這些戰亂地區，即便是戰爭結束，性暴力一直都存在，只是剛果和達佛的情況比其他地方都來得嚴重。在這些地方，強暴不只是社會脫序造成的附加現象，強暴是一種武器，是一種摧毀整個社群的工具，是一種種族屠殺的方式。這些性暴力常常都在整個家庭、甚至整個社區面前發生，常常在輪暴之後，這些民兵還會用木棒、酒瓶、刀子等異物插進女性生殖器，或直接對著陰道開槍，受害者的年齡層非常廣泛，甚至有強暴嬰兒的案例。聽證會上，參議員Boxer說：「如果強暴嬰兒不算是違反人道罪的話，我不知道什麼才算。」
每天，在剛果和達佛有幾百人受到性暴力的迫害，在剛果的一省South Kivu，這個一千五百萬人的地區，過去一年有一萬四千個強暴案例，當然實際數目比這多很多。
這塊黑暗大陸離我們太遙遠，先是剛果，再來是達佛，大家都像九四年一樣關掉電視就算了。建立一個衝突礦物的交易管制機制、支持國際刑事法院在剛果和蘇丹的行動、對蘇丹、剛果、盧安達、烏干達這些國家施壓，這些都不像是天方夜譚一樣難以實現，非政府組織很努力地要製造輿論壓力，可是到底要多大的輿論壓力才能讓西方國家有效地採取行動，決定真的 Never again。
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