TED | 我的朝鲜逃亡记

演讲简介：2013 | 作为从小在朝鲜长大的孩子，Hyeonseo Lee（李炫秀/音译 ）认为她的国家是“世界上最好的”。她一直这样认为。直到90年代的大饥荒，她开始怀疑。14岁时，她逃出朝鲜并开始了在中国隐姓埋名的难民生活。 这是一个关于生存和希望，令人痛心的私人故事。同时也是对那些远在他乡，却仍然时刻生活在恐惧中的朝鲜人一个鲜明有力的提醒。

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演讲精彩片段（节选）欣赏：

 

When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet. And I grew up singing a song called "Nothing To Envy." And I was very proud. In school, we spent a lot of time studying the history of Kim Il-Sung, but we never learned much about the outside world, except that America, South Korea, Japan are the enemies. Although I often wondered about the outside world, I thought I would spend my entire life in North Korea, until everything suddenly changed.

 

当我还是个孩子的时候，我认为我的国家是世界上最好的。我大一点后学会了一首叫做"无可羡慕"的歌，我觉得十分自豪。在学校，我们用很多时间来学习金日成的历史，但是我们从来没有对外面的世界有过太多了解，除了知道美国、韩国和日本是敌人外。虽然我也时常憧憬外面的世界，我以为我会在朝鲜度过我的一生，直到所有事情都忽然改变。

 

When I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution. But I thought my life in North Korea was normal.My family was not poor, and myself, I had never experienced hunger.

 

当我七岁的时候，我第一次见证了公开处决，但是我认为我在朝鲜的生活很正常。我的家庭并不贫穷。而且对我自己来说，我从来没有体验过饥饿的感觉。

 

But one day, in 1995, my mom brought home a letter from a coworker's sister. It read, "When you read this,our five family members will not exist in this world, because we haven't eaten for the past three weeks. We are lying on the floor together, and our bodies are so weak, we are waiting to die."

 

但是1995年的一天，我妈妈带了一封信回家，信是从她同事的姐妹那里寄来的。上面写道，”当你读到这封信时,我家的所有五个人都将离开人世。 因为我们已经连续两周没有吃东西了。 我们现在一起躺在地板上， 我们的身体都太虚弱，准备等死。

 

I was so shocked. This was the first time I heard that people in my country were suffering. Soon after, when I was walking past a train station, I saw something terrible that to this day I can't erase from my memory. A lifeless woman was lying on the ground, while an emaciated child in her arms just stared helplessly at his mother's face. But nobody helped them, because they were so focused on taking care of themselves and their families.

 

我当时非常震惊，那是我第一次听到活在我的国家的人们所在承受的一切。在这之后不久，当我走过一个火车站时，我看到一件非常痛心的事情让我难以忘怀。 一个奄奄一息的女人正躺在地上， 怀里抱着一个虚弱的孩子， 那个孩子只能绝望地望着他母亲的脸。 但是没有人帮助他们， 因为大家连自己和自己的家人都无法顾全。

 

A huge famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s. Ultimately, more than a million North Koreans died during the famine, and many only survived by eating grass, bugs and tree bark. Power outages also became more and more frequent, so everything around me was completely dark at night, except for the sea of lights in China, just across the river from my home. I always wondered why they had lights, but we didn't. This is a satellite picture showing North Korea at night, compared to neighbors.

 

90年代中期朝鲜发生了一次严重的饥荒。 很不幸地，超过一百万朝鲜人 饿死在饥荒里。并且很多幸存者 是依靠吃草、虫子和树根活下来的。 停电也变得越来越频繁， 到了晚上我周围的一切都变得漆黑一片，除了中国的灯火通明，只要穿过我家旁的河就是。我经常思考为什么他们有灯火而我们没有。 这是一张卫星图，拍摄了夜晚的朝鲜和周边国家的比较。

 

This is the Amnok River, which serves as a part of the border between North Korea and China. As you can see, the river can be very narrow at certain points, allowing North Koreans to secretly cross. But many die.Sometimes, I saw dead bodies floating down the river. I can't reveal many details about how I left North Korea, but I only can say that during the ugly years of the famine, I was sent to China to live with distant relatives. But I only thought that I would be separated from my family for a short time. I could have never imagined that it would take 14 years to live together.

 

这是鸭绿江，作为着中国和朝鲜边界的一部分。如同你们所见，这条河在某些地方非常窄，窄到朝鲜人能借此偷渡到中国。但是很多尝试偷渡的人死了。有时候我看见尸体浮在水面上。我不能披露太多我离开朝鲜时的细节，但是我只能说那是在饥荒中最艰难的几年，我被送到中国和远亲一起住。当时我以为，我只是和我的家人分开很短一段时间。但是我从没想到，经历了14年我们才得以重聚。

In China, it was hard living as a young girl without my family. I had no idea what life was going to be like as a North Korean refugee. But I soon learned it's not only extremely difficult, it's also very dangerous, since North Korean refugees are considered in China as illegal migrants. So I was living in constant fear that my identity could be revealed, and I would be repatriated to a horrible fate, back in North Korea.

 

在中国，我作为一个没家的小女孩过得很辛苦。我根本不知道，身为一个朝鲜的难民我未来的生活会怎样。但是我很快意识到那生活不但充满了艰辛，甚至无比危险。 因为朝鲜难民在中国被视为非法移民，所以我总是生活在恐惧中，我害怕我的身份会被人发现。 我会被遣送回朝鲜， 去接受悲惨的命运。

 

One day, my worst nightmare came true, when I was caught by the Chinese police, and brought to the police station for interrogation. Someone had accused me of being North Korean, so they tested my Chinese language abilities, and asked me tons of questions.

 

有一天，我最糟糕的恶梦成真了，我被中国警察抓住并带去警察局接受审问。有人指控我是朝鲜人，所以警察测试了我的汉语能力，并且问了我很多问题。

 

I was so scared. I thought my heart was going to explode. If anything seemed unnatural, I could be imprisoned and repatriated. I thought my life was over. But I managed to control all the emotions inside me, and answer the questions. After they finished questioning me, one official said to another, "This was a false report. She's not North Korean." And they let me go. It was a miracle.

 

我当时非常害怕，感觉我的心都快因恐惧而爆炸了。如果有任何异样，我就会入狱并被遣送回去， 我以为我这辈子完了。 尽管如此，我还是努力隐藏了自己的恐惧和担忧， 并回答了他们的问题。 这之后，一个警察对另一个人说，“ 报告是错误的，她不是朝鲜人。” 然后他们放我走了。真是个奇迹。

 

Some North Koreans in China seek asylum in foreign embassies. But many can be caught by the Chinese police, and repatriated. These girls were so lucky. Even though they were caught, they were eventually released, after heavy international pressure. These North Koreans were not so lucky. Every year, countless North Koreans are caught in China and repatriated to North Korea, where they can be tortured, imprisoned, or publicly executed.

 

一些朝鲜人在中国到外国大使馆去寻求庇护，但是很多人被中国警察抓住，并被送回朝鲜。这些女孩是幸运的，尽管她们被抓住了，但是迫于巨大的国际舆论压力她们最终被释放了。但还有一些朝鲜人就没那么幸运了。每年，无数的朝鲜人在中国被捕 并被遣送， 回到朝鲜后，他们被折磨、关押或者被公开处决。

 

Even though I was really fortunate to get out, many other North Koreans have not been so lucky. It's tragic that North Koreans have to hide their identities and struggle so hard just to survive. Even after learning a new language and getting a job, their whole world can be turned upside down in an instant. That's why, after 10 years of hiding my identity, I decided to risk going to South Korea. And I started a new life yet again.

 

尽管我足够幸运能离开朝鲜，我的好多同胞却没有这样的好运气。这是个很悲惨的事实，那就是朝鲜人必须要隐姓埋名，如此努力仅仅为了能生存下去。即使他们学会了中文，找到了工作，他们的整个世界也会在顷刻间颠覆。这就是为什么，在隐姓埋名10年后，我决定冒险去韩国。就这样，我又一次开始了新的生活。