we often think of those that took place during and between the two World Wars.

當歷史學家談論 二十世紀的歷史暴行

Along with the Armenian genocide in modern-day Turkey,

我們經常想起發生在 兩次世界大戰前後和期間的那些事件

the Rape of Nanking in China,

除了現今土耳其內的 亞美尼亞種族大屠殺

and Kristallnacht in Germany,

中國的南京大屠殺

another horrific ethnic cleansing campaign

德國的「水晶之夜」

occurred on an island between the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

有另一場極其可怕的種族清洗

The roots of this conflict go back to 1492,

發生在大西洋和加勒比海間的島嶼

when Christopher Columbus stumbled onto the Caribbean island

衝突的根源可追溯至 1492 年

that would come to be named Hispaniola, launching a wave of European colonization.

當克里斯多福·哥倫布 踏足這加勒比海島

The island's Taíno natives were decimated by violence and disease

後會被命名為伊斯帕尼奥拉島， 展開一波歐洲殖民統治

and the Europeans imported large numbers of enslaved Africans

島上旳原住民泰諾族 因為暴力和疾病而滅絕

to toil in profitable sugar plantations.

歐洲人輸入大量非洲奴隸

By 1777, the island had become divided

來種植利潤豐厚的甘蔗

between a French-controlled West and a Spanish-controlled East.

時至 1777，島上分裂為

A mass slave revolt won Haiti its independence from France in 1804

法國控制的西部和西班牙控制的東部

and it became the world's first black republic.

大眾奴隸革命成功， 於 1804 年海地脫離法國獨立

But the new nation paid dearly,

而它成為世界上首個黑人共和國

shut out of the world economy and saddled with debt by its former masters.

但這新國家付出沉重代價

Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic would declare independence

被世界經濟拒諸門外， 並欠了前宗主國債項。

by first overthrowing Haitian rule of eastern Hispaniola

同時，多米尼加共和國將宣告獨立

and later Spanish and American colonialism.

推翻海地在 伊斯帕尼奥拉島東部的統治

Despite the long and collaborative history shared by these two countries,

和其後西班牙和美國的殖民統治

many Dominican elites saw Haiti as a racial threat

雖然兩國合作已久

that imperiled political and commercial relations with white western nations.

許多多米尼加精英視海地為種族威脅

In the years following World War I,

危害他們與西方白人國家的 政治和商貿關係

the United States occupied both parts of the island.

第一次世界大戰後

It did so to secure its power in the Western hemisphere

美國同時佔據島上的兩地

by destroying local opposition and installing US-friendly governments.

那是為了鞏固它在西半球的勢力

The brutal and racist nature of the US occupation,

破壞當地反對者和安插親美政府

particularly along the remote Dominican-Haitian border,

美國佔據時，殘暴並歧視種族

laid the foundation for bigger atrocities after its withdrawal.

特別是沿著遙遠的多米尼加–海地邊界

In 1930, liberal Dominican president Horacio Vásquez

為它撒出後更大型的 殘暴行為埋下種子

was overthrown by the chief of his army, Rafael Trujillo.

1930 年，自由派的多米尼加總統 霍拉西奥·巴斯克斯

Despite being a quarter Haitian himself,

被軍方首長拉斐爾·特魯希略推翻

Trujillo saw the presence of a bicultural Haitian and Dominican borderland

雖然有四分一海地血統

as both a threat to his power

但他認為海地和 多米尼加邊境的雙文化

and an escape route for political revolutionaries.

是對他權力的威脅

In a chilling speech on October 2, 1937,

也是政治革命者的逃生路線

he left no doubt about his intentions for the region.

在 1937 年 10 月 2 日 使人寒心的演講裡

Claiming to be protecting Dominican farmers from theft and incursion,

他不留餘地地顯示出 他對於那地區的意圖

Trujillo announced the killing of 300 Haitians along the border

宣稱為了保護多米尼加農夫 免於盜竊和侵犯

and promised that this so-called "remedy" would continue.

特魯希略宣佈在邊境 殺害 300 名海地人

Over the next few weeks, the Dominican military,

並承諾會繼續這所謂的「糾正」

acting on Trujillo's orders,

在接下來數星期，多米尼加軍隊

murdered thousands of Haitian men and women,

執行特魯希略的命令

and even their Dominican-born children.

殺害數千海地人，有男有女

The military targeted black Haitians,

甚至有多米尼加出生的兒童

even though many Dominicans themselves were also dark-skinned.

軍隊瞄準黑海地人

Some accounts say that to distinguish the residents

即使很多多米尼加人 自己也是黑皮膚的

of one country from the other,

有些說法指為了分辨

the killers forced their victims to say the Spanish word for parsley.

兩國居民

Dominicans pronounce it perejil, with a trilled Spanish "r."

殺手強逼受害者說出 「香芹」的西班牙語

The primary Haitian language, however, is Kreyol, which doesn't use a trilled r.

多米尼加人讀作「perejil」， 帶有「r」顫音

So if people struggled to say perejil,

但在原初的海地語是克里奧爾語 沒有「r」顫音

they were judged to be Haitian and immediately killed.

所以如果有人難以說出「perejil」

Yet recent scholarship suggests that tests like this

他們就會被判斷為海地人 並立即被殺

weren't the sole factor used to determine who would be murdered,

但最近學者指出如此測試

especially because many of the border residents were bilingual.

不是唯一因素來決定誰會被殺害

The Dominican government censored any news of the massacre,

特別是因為很多邊境居民懂得雙語

while bodies were thrown in ravines,

多米尼加政府封鎖 任何關於那屠殺的報導

dumped in rivers,

而屍體被丢進深谷裡

or burned to dispose of the evidence.

扔下河裡

This is why no one knows exactly how many people were murdered,

或燒掉來毀滅證據

though contemporary estimates range from about 4,000 to 15,000.

這是無人知道確實被殺人數的原因

Yet the extent of the carnage was clear to many observers.

而現今估計大約是四千至一萬五千

As the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic at the time noted,

但很多目擊者清楚知道 那場屠殺的規模

“The entire northwest of the frontier on the Dajabón side

據駐多米尼加共和國的 美國大使當時所記

is absolutely devoid of Haitians.

「達哈翁內的整個西北邊境

Those not slain either fled across the frontier or are still hiding in the bush.”

海地人完全絕跡

The government tried to disclaim responsibility

那些沒被殺害的逃到了邊境另一方， 或仍然匿藏在叢林中

and blame the killings on vigilante civilians,

政府嘗試拒絕承認責任

but Trujillo was condemned internationally.

並歸咎於維持治安的平民

Eventually, the Dominican government

但特魯希略受國際譴責

was forced to pay only $525,000 in reparations to Haiti,

最後，多米尼加政府

but due to corrupt bureaucracy,

被逼賠償，但只是 $525,000（美元）給海地

barely any of these funds reached survivors or their families.

但因為腐敗的官僚

Neither Trujillo nor anyone in his government

幾乎沒有任何金錢 到了倖存者或他們的家人手中

was ever punished for this crime against humanity.

特魯希略或他政府的人

The legacy of the massacre remains a source of tension

都未曾以危害人類罪被懲罰

between the two countries.

那場屠殺仍然是 緊張關係的根源

Activists on both sides of the border have tried to heal the wounds of the past.

在兩國之間

But the Dominican state has done little, if anything,

邊境兩面的積極分子 都曾嘗試修補過去的傷口

to officially commemorate the massacre or its victims.

但多米尼加政府做得很少，如有的話

Meanwhile, the memory of the Haitian massacre remains a chilling reminder

來正式悼念那場屠殺或那些受害者

of how power-hungry leaders can manipulate people

與此同時，海地大屠殺的回憶 仍是使人不寒而慄的提醒

into turning against their lifelong neighbors.

貪戀權力的領袖能操控人