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图/贴心姐妹网 吴雪妍在座谈会上发言
编者按：万锦市Thornhill 中学12年级学生吴雪妍（Jessica Wu）1998年随中国专业妇女协会组织的寻根夏令营去中国，行程包括参观侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆。在日前该协会举行的“南京大屠杀75周年”座谈会上，她讲述了当时参观的经历、感受和对南京大屠杀事件的思考。以下是她的发言。
贴心姐妹网决定发表该发言的英文原版，以便于家长和子女分享。标题是编辑所加。
A Visit to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall
Jessica Wu (吴雪妍)
In the summer of 2008, when I was around thirteen years old, I went back to China on a roots-seeking summer camp program, curated by CPWC. As a group, we visited many historical sites, landmarks, and tourist destinations – many places of great significance to Chinese history and culture – one of which was the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.
Now, most of us kids in the group were unfamiliar with The Nanjing Massacre. We were a bunch aged ten to seventeen, and we had learned at school about genocide, about war, about horrors like the Holocaust. Despite our Chinese heritage, none of us knew what it was! It’s the unfortunate truth that important events in our history are often overlooked. The Nanjing Massacre, however, is one that cannot be overlooked.
The massacre happened 75 years ago, but it still resonates strongly with us today. I could only describe the experience through the museum as an emotional journey. Strolling through the corridors, looking at the exhibits –the pain, the anguish, and the hurt experienced by the people of Nanjing was overwhelming.
I closely recall one exhibit – a small, dark room where a victim's photo is illuminated as a water droplet hits the ground. This occurs once every twelve seconds, representing the frequency of deaths during the six-month massacre. The solemn atmosphere was very effectual, and extremely emotional; tears were shed, silence was the colour of black charcoal. The museum did not restrain itself. Yes, the images were disturbing and gory, but they were brutally honest. And I felt that this honesty was absolutely necessary; one cannot sugar coat a massacre, or make it palatable – in fact, there should be nothing about the Nanjing Massacre that is in any way tolerable.
It makes you really consider what went on in the past, and maybe even makes you fear for the future. And you think to yourself, why did this happen? Who believes that this is acceptable? I know that it is not. We all know that this is not. They say “forgive and forget,” and I know forgiveness is very difficult – when the fault is so tremendous. However, forgetting is not an option. To forget what has happened is ignoring the past, and ignoring what we can do to prevent these disasters from happening in the future. Ignorance cannot be tolerated, and the Nanjing Massacre must be regarded as an integral part of Chinese history that should be known amongst all of us.
Our entire group left with heavy hearts and pondering minds. We live a blessed life here in Canada, and we have the luxury to live in a place where we know we are safe and free. Unfortunately, that is not a reality for so many people, and terrible things are still being committed in plain sight around us. The importance of this event is to not only honour those 300,000+ people who died in the massacre, but to learn from it.
I visited the memorial when I was thirteen. I intend on going back when I am more mature and can understand the content to a deeper level. It was not a quick come-in-come-out sort of experience. It was one of the most memorable visits on my trip to China, and it is one that will stay with me forever. There are instances in which we cannot afford to let history repeat itself, and the Nanjing Massacre is one of them.
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