膚色歧視之痛

by Daisy Phillipson

瑪雅文明是美洲古代印第安文明的杰出代表，約形成于公元前2500年，主要分布在現今的墨西哥東南部、危地馬拉、洪都拉斯、薩爾瓦多和伯利茲共五個中美洲國家。

依中美洲編年，瑪雅歷史分成前古典期、古典期、后古典期。前古典期（公元前2000年至公元250年）也稱形成期，歷法及文字的發明、紀念碑的設立及建筑的興建均在此時期；古典期（公元250年至900年）是全盛期，文字的使用、紀念碑的設立、建筑的興建及藝術的發揮均在此時期達于極盛；后古典期（約10世紀至16世紀），瑪雅文化逐漸式微。

英國少女克洛伊在學校受到嚴重的種族歧視——她每天被同學欺負，甚至要用逃學來躲避他們，而這一切僅僅是因為她的膚色。最初她不敢告訴父母和老師，只是一個人默默地忍受。到了最后，她明白到種族歧視的行為是不可容忍的。作為過來人，她敦促有同樣遭遇的人一定要站出來，維護自己的權益。

Once again I found myself locked in the girls toilet, crying and struggling to catch my breath. School had become my own private hell. My 1)self-esteem had hit an all-time low; I hated myself. 2)Dabbing the milk off my hair that one of my classmates had thrown at me, I knew I was a 3)victim of 4)racist 5)bullying. But I couldnt help but blame myself.

我發現自己又被鎖在女生廁所里了。我淚流滿面，艱難地呼吸著。學校成了我的地獄。我的自尊降到了歷史新低；我討厭自己。我拍掉頭發上的牛奶——剛才一個同學把牛奶扔到我身上。我知道自己成了種族偏見的受害者，但我只能怪自己。

Early School life

My earliest memories of school were happy ones. When I was ten, my parents sent me to boarding school in Kenya, where theyre 6)originally from. They thought it would be valuable for me to experience my own culture, and they were right. I had the time of my life and an 7)enriching education. Being in an international school gave me a great understanding of different countries and cultural attitudes. All of my classmates were so open-minded and understanding. And we all took advantage of the beautiful landscape and wildlife.

Back to the Homeland

Although I enjoyed Kenya, I was excited to come home when I was 13 and start a local private school. The first few days posed no problems and I spoke to a few girls in my class. But on the third day, however, I noticed some girls pointing and laughing at me. I tried to 8)ignore it, but later one 9)approached m e w i t h a n e v i l 10)grin. She asked me about living in Kenya and I thought she was just interested to hear about my culture. But instead she called me that 11)disgusting word that has been used by 12)ignorant and evil people for years: nigger. She said people like me didnt belong in the school. I felt sick to my stomach. Never before had I experienced racism on such an 13)explicit level.

Going Down

Things only got worse from that point. Because my 14)tormentors were popular, most of my classmates either went along with the racism, or just ignored me. People would whisper and laugh as I walked past. When the teachers werent around, they would call me names, such as “jungle girl” and “shadow.”Although I knew these were stupid and disgusting 15)comments, I still took them to heart. I went from feeling proud and special, to ugly and 16)alienated.

Then it became even worse. They started throwing milk at me at lunchtime and 17)taunting me for how my hair was different to theirs. Every day, I was 18)sworn at, told to go home, and that my family should die. The “n-word” was also thrown about regularly. The bullying made me feel so ashamed of myself that I didnt tell my parents or teachers. I suffered alone, running to the toilets repeatedly to cry.

My marks at school became very low and I hardly went out. I started 19)bunking school, using faked sick notes and making phone calls pretending to be my mum. But my school worked out what I was doing and one day I came home to my parents, 20)stony-faced, saying we needed a talk.

Letting it All Out

My parents were so angry. They thought I was just being a 21)rebellious teenager and grounded me. But when I finally told them I was ashamed of my race, they were shocked. It took weeks of meetings with teachers for me to finally admit what had been said and whod been saying it. I was so low in myself; I thought I 22)deserved the bullying. But, when I did open up, I was assured that racist 23)slurs are beyond wrong and ignorant.

I was pulled out of school as the teachers took action. New classes to talk about different cultures were started; the bullies were 24)suspended and their parents were called in for meetings. They were told that the police would get 25)involved if the behavior continued.

New School, New Start

However, my parents didnt want me to go back, so they put me in a new school and my first week couldnt have been more different. At first, I was 26)wary of the popular groups. But after making friends with a lovely mix of people, I was made to feel special and normal again. As I was called up in front of the class as the “new girl,” people seemed truly interested in my Kenyan background. I wasnt different to these people, but a part of them. I felt at home again.

Stand Up For Yourself

Racist bullying in schools is totally unacceptable and will not be 27)tolerated. But it can still go on when the teachers arent around. It can be very damaging to fight against, especially when youre only a teenager. This is why its so important to tell some if you witness any kind of racism. Different 28)ethnicities should be 29)celebrated and 30)embraced, not punished.

肯尼亞的學校生活

學校給我的最初印象是美好的。十歲那年，父母把我送到他們的故鄉——肯尼亞的寄宿學校讀書。他們認為體驗自己的文化對我很有意義，他們是正確的。我在那里度過了美好的時光，接受了充實的教育。置身國際學校讓我很好地了解不同的國家，也培養了我的文化態度。……