Phyllis Rodriguez: We are here today because of the fact that we have what most people consider an unusual friendship. And it is. And yet, it feels natural to us now.
菲莉斯·罗德里格斯:我们今天站在这里 是因为 我们拥有大多数认为的 不寻常的一份友情。 而且它的确是这样。 现在,我们已经感觉很自然了。
I first learned that my son had been in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th, 2001. We didn't know if he had perished yet until 36 hours later. At the time, we knew that it was political. We were afraid of what our country was going to do in the name of our son -- my husband, Orlando, and I and our family. And when I saw it -- and yet, through the shock, the terrible shock, and the terrible explosion in our lives, literally, we were not vengeful. And a couple of weeks later when Zacarias Moussaoui was indicted on six counts of conspiracy to commit terrorism, and the U.S. government called for a death penalty for him, if convicted, my husband and I spoke out in opposition to that, publicly. Through that and through human rights groups, we were brought together with several other victims' families.
我起初知道 我的儿子在2001年9月11日早晨 进入了世贸大厦。 我们不知道 是否他还活着 直到事发36小时之后。 那时, 我知道这是政治原因。 我们担心国家会以我们孩子的名义 要做的那些事-- 我丈夫,奥兰多,和我以及我们一家。 当我看到的时候-- 可是,经历了这种震惊, 可怕的震惊, 真正意义上的生活中可怕的震惊, 我们并没有心存报复。 几周之后 当撒迦利亚·穆萨维被指控为 六个密谋制造恐怖袭击的份子之一, 同时美国政府对他将判决 死刑,如果定罪的话, 我丈夫和我 也用完全不同的角度,群众的角度讨论过这些。 通过这些 也通过人权组织, 我们走到了一起 还有一些其他受害者家属。
When I saw Aicha in the media, coming over when her son was indicted, and I thought, "What a brave woman. Someday I want to meet that woman when I'm stronger." I was still in deep grief; I knew I didn't have the strength. I knew I would find her someday, or we would find each other. Because, when people heard that my son was a victim, I got immediate sympathy. But when people learned what her son was accused of, she didn't get that sympathy. But her suffering is equal to mine.
当我在媒体上看到艾莎, 同时她的儿子被指控的时候, 我就想,“多么勇敢的女人。 当我更坚强的时候,我想见见这个女人。” 我仍旧沉浸在悲伤中, 我知道我不够坚强。 我知道有一天我能找到她, 也许我们会找到彼此。 因为,当人们听说我儿子是受害者的时候, 我立即得到了同情。 但是当人们听说 她的儿子是被指控的时候, 她却没有得到同情。 但是她和我一样的痛苦。
So we met in November 2002, and Aicha will now tell you how that came about.
于是我们在2002年11月相遇了。 接下来艾莎会告诉你们 事情是怎么发生的。
(Translator) Aicha el-Wafi: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am the mother of Zacarias Moussaoui. And I asked the Organization of Human Rights to put me in touch with the parents of the victims. So they introduced me to five families. And I saw Phyllis, and I watched her. She was the only mother in the group. The others were brothers, sisters. And I saw in her eyes that she was a mother, just like me. I suffered a lot as a mother. I was married when I was 14. I lost a child when I was 15, a second child when I was 16. So the story with Zacarias was too much really. And I still suffer, because my son is like he's buried alive. I know she really cried for her son. But she knows where he is. My son, I don't know where he is. I don't know if he's alive. I don't know if he's tortured. I don't know what happened to him.
(翻译员)艾莎·瓦非:下午好,女士们先生们。 我是撒迦利亚·穆萨维的母亲。 我请求 人权组织 让我和那些受害者的父母取得联系。 于是他们就把我介绍给 5个家庭。 当我遇见菲莉斯的时候,我注意到她。 她是这个团体中唯一的母亲。 其他都是兄弟,姐妹。 当我从她的目光中看出 她是个母亲,和我一样的母亲。 作为一个母亲我也遭受了很多悲痛。 我14岁结的婚。 15岁失去了第一个孩子, 16岁失去了第二个孩子。 所以撒迦利亚的事对我真的意味太多。 我仍旧还在悲痛中, 因为我的儿子 就像被活埋了一样。 我了解她的确为她儿子痛哭不已。 但是她起码知道他在哪里。 我儿子,我甚至不知道他在何方。 我不知道他是否还活着。我不知道他是否被虐待过。 我不知道在他身上发生了什么。
So that's why I decided to tell my story, so that my suffering is something positive for other women. For all the women, all the mothers that give life, you can give back, you can change. It's up to us women, because we are women, because we love our children. We must be hand-in-hand and do something together. It's not against women, it's for us, for us women, for our children. I talk against violence, against terrorism. I go to schools to talk to young, Muslim girls so they don't accept to be married against their will very young. So if I can save one of the young girls, and avoid that they get married and suffer as much as I did, well this is something good. This is why I'm here in front of you.
这也是为什么我决定讲述我的故事的原因, 以便我的痛苦能对其他妇女有些正面的帮助。 为了所有的妇女,所有赐予生命的母亲, 你们可以恢复, 你们可以改变。 这取决于我们妇女, 因为我们是女人, 因为我们爱我们的孩子。 我们一定要联手起来 一起做一些事。 这事不是为了反对妇女, 这是为了我们,为了我们妇女, 为了我们的孩子们。 我反对暴力,反对恐怖主义。 我去学校 和那些年轻的穆斯林女孩交谈 所以在她们年少时不会接受违背她们意志的婚姻。 如果我能拯救一个年轻的女孩, 从而避免她们过早结婚而像我一样遭受这么多, 起码这就是好的事情。 这就是为什么我在这里站在你们面前。
PR: I would like to say that I have learned so much from Aicha, starting with that day we had our very first meeting with other family members -- which was a very private meeting with security, because it was November 2002, and, frankly, we were afraid of the super-patriotism of that time in the country -- those of us family members. But we were all so nervous. "Why does she want to meet us?" And then she was nervous. "Why did we want to meet her?" What did we want from each other? Before we knew each others' names, or anything, we had embraced and wept. Then we sat in a circle with support, with help, from people experienced in this kind of reconciliation. And Aicha started, and she said, "I don't know if my son is guilty or innocent, but I want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened to your families. I know what it is to suffer, and I feel that if there is a crime, a person should be tried fairly and punished." But she reached out to us in that way, and it was, I'd like to say, it was an ice-breaker. And what happened then is we all told our stories, and we all connected as human beings. By the end of the afternoon -- it was about three hours after lunch -- we'd felt as if we'd known each other forever.
菲莉斯·罗德里格斯:我想说的是 我从艾莎这里学到了很多, 回首我们初次见面的那天 还有其他家庭的成员-- 这是个受保护的很私下的聚会, 因为当时是2002年11月, 老实说,我们担心国内的那些极端(左翼)爱国主义者-- 那些我们家族成员。 但是我们都很紧张。 “为什么她想见我们?” 同时她也很紧张。 “为什么我们想见她?” 我们彼此间想得到些什么? 在我们了解其他人的姓名和其他一些事情之前, 我们已经哭着相互抱在一起。 接着我们坐成一个圈 在和解的环境下和那些经历过此事的人 互相扶持,互相帮助。 艾莎起的头 她讲述道, “我不知道我的儿子 是有罪还是无辜的, 但是我想告诉你们我有多么抱歉 对于那些发生在你们家庭里的事。 我知道这是很痛苦, 同时我以为,如果有人犯罪的话, 那人应该被公平的对待和定罪。” 但她是用这种方式与我们感同身受。 这是,我想说,这是一种冰释前嫌的方式。 接下去发生的是,我们全都讲述了自己的故事, 我们作为平等人互相交流着。 在下午结束的时候-- 大概是午餐之后3个小时-- 我们感觉就好像我们永远了解彼此一样。
Now what I learned from her, is a woman, not only who could be so generous under these present circumstances and what it was then, and what was being done to her son, but the life she's had. I never had met someone with such a hard life, from such a totally different culture and environment from my own. And I feel that we have a special connection, which I value very much. And I think it's all about being afraid of the other, but making that step and then realizing, "Hey, this wasn't so hard. Who else can I meet that I don't know, or that I'm so different from?"
我从她身上学到的, 是作为一个女人,可以变的如此宽容 不但在当时的情况下 那时所发生的, 和她孩子所经历过的遭遇, 而且是她所经历的人生。 从我经历过的不同文化和环境, 我从来没有见到过, 有如此艰苦命运的人。 我觉得 我们有着 一种特别的联系, 一种我很珍惜的联系。 我想这都是因为 互相之间的关心, 但是当做到这地步 就会意识到,“啊,这不是那么难。 我还能遇见一些我所不了解的人, 或是和我与众不同的人吗?
So, Aicha, do you have a couple of words for conclusion? Because our time is up.
所以,艾莎, 你有要总结的 话吗? 因为我们的时间快到了。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
(Translator) AW: I wanted to say that we have to try to know other people, the other. You have to be generous, and your hearts must be generous, your mind must be generous. You must be tolerant. You have to fight against violence. And I hope that someday we'll all live together in peace and respecting each other. This is what I wanted to say.
(翻译员)艾莎·瓦非:我想说 我们要尝试着了解其他人,其他事, 你要变得大度, 同时你的心境也必须变得宽容, 你的想法必须变得大度。 你要学会宽恕。 你不得不与暴力作斗争。 我希望有一天我们会生活在一起 和平尊重其他人。 这就是我想说的。
(Applause)
(掌声)