VOA慢速英語：中國經濟持續(xù)下滑柬埔寨裔美國作家揭示父親死亡之謎

Sometimes writing a fictional work can help the writer deal with painful trauma. That was Variny Yim's experience when she wrote her first novel, The Immigrant Princess.
有時候撰寫一部虛構的著作有助于作家應付痛苦的經歷。這是Variny Yim撰寫第一部小說《移民公主》時的經驗。
Yim is Cambodian-American. Her book tells about three generations of women from Cambodia's ruling family who try to rebuild their lives in the United States.
Yim是柬埔寨裔美國人。她的作品講述了柬埔寨統(tǒng)治家族的三代女性試圖在美國重建她們的人生的故事。
However, it was Yim's father who became central to her while writing the novel.
然而，在撰寫這部小說時，Yim的父親成為了她的焦點。
"I only have a few memories of my father and one of the most heartbreaking memories for me is the day that we left Cambodia. He had taken us to the airport," she said. "I was too young to understand what was happening, and I remember walking up the stairs to the airplane and looking back on the tarmac and my father waived at us. What I didn't realize was that would be the last time that I would ever see my father's face."
她說，“我對父親只殘留了很少的記憶，其中最心痛的記憶之一就是我們離開柬埔寨那天。他帶我們到機場。我那時太小不明白發(fā)生了什么。我記得從舷梯走上飛機回首望停機坪，我的父親拋棄了我們。我并不知道那將是我最后一次看到父親的面龐。”
Moving to the United States
移居美國
Variny Yim, her sister and her grandparents escaped before the Cambodian genocide. Her father, who stayed in Cambodia to care for aging parents, was a victim of it.
Variny Yim和她的姐姐、祖父母在柬埔寨大屠殺前逃了出來。她的父親留在柬埔寨照顧年老的父母，成為了大屠殺的受害者之一。
Over four years, supporters of the Khmer Rouge killed about two million people.
在四年期間，紅色高棉的支持者殺害了大約兩百萬人。
Yim and her family joined her mother, who was studying in the United States. Yim said they owe their lives to her grandfather, who made sure they left Cambodia.
Yim和她的家庭同在美國留學的母親會合。Yim表示，她們都欠確保他們離開柬埔寨的祖父一命。
They were all members of Cambodia's royal family. Yim's mother was a princess in Cambodia, but in the United States she was just another refugee.
他們都是柬埔寨王室的成員。Yim的母親是柬埔寨的一位公主。但是在美國，她只是一位難民。
Her family had to change their expectations about life. They had no money, and their position meant almost nothing in the United States, Yim explained.
她的家庭不得不改變自己對人生的期望。Yim解釋說，她們沒有錢，而且她們的地位在美國幾乎分文不值。
She added that her family tried to keep their royal identity close to themselves. They did not tell many people about who they were.
她補充說，她的家庭試圖隱藏她們的皇家身份，她們沒有告訴很多人她們是誰。
Yim discovers what happened to her father
Yim發(fā)現(xiàn)了父親的遭遇
As a young girl in the U.S., Yim said, the Cambodian genocide seemed very far away. She did not think about what it meant that her father might have been killed with many other Cambodians.
Yim表示，作為身在美國的一位年輕女孩，柬埔寨大屠殺似乎非常遙遠。她沒想到這意味著她的父親可能已經跟許多柬埔寨人一起被殺害。
This changed when she started researching Cambodian history while writing her book. The details of her father's death had always been a mystery -- a mystery she solved while doing research for the book.
當她寫書期間開始研究柬埔寨歷史時這些都變了。她父親遇難的細節(jié)一直是一個謎，這個謎在她為寫這本書進行研究時被她解決了。
Her research led her to Cornell University in New York. The university has records of the statements given by the Khmer Rouge's victims at Tuol Sleng prison. Those held there were questioned, tortured, and killed.
她的研究引領她來到紐約州康奈爾大學。該大學擁有吐斯廉監(jiān)獄紅色高棉受害者供述的記錄。關在監(jiān)獄的這些人被審問、折磨和殘殺。
According to some estimates, 14,000 people entered the prison. Only a small number of these people survived.
據估計有14000人被關進了這所監(jiān)獄，其中只有少數人幸存下來。
In Cornell's archive of confessions was proof of what happened to Yim's father during the genocide.
在康納爾大學的供詞檔案中存有大屠殺期間Yim的父親的遭遇的證據。
"One of the hardest days of my life was when I got an email from Cornell confirming that they had found my father's name and confession," said Yim. "It was finally wonderful to know the truth. The truth really sets you free, even if it was painful."
Yim說，“當我得到康奈爾大學郵件確認他們找到了我父親的名字和供詞時，這是我人生中最艱難的日子之一。獲得真相始終是美好的，真相會給你自由，即使它是痛苦的。”
The book's themes
這本書的主題
Guided by the memory of the family she had lost, Yim said she needed to write The Immigrant Princess to face the past. She also wanted to remember the beauty in Cambodian culture.
Yim表示，在她已經失去的這個家庭的記憶的指導下，她必須撰寫這本《移民公主》以面對過去。她還想要記住柬埔寨文化之美。
Yim explained that her novel shows universal themes about identity and reinvention. She said the book is about how a person survives a traumatic loss.
Yim解釋說，她的小說展示了關于身份和再造的普世主題。她說這本書是關于一個人如何扛住一場痛苦的損失。
"You can be brutal and you can bring terror and you can become a dictator but that's not going to kill the human spirit and that's what I want my book to show," Yim said.
Yim說，“你可以野蠻，可以帶來恐怖，可以成為獨裁者，但是這些都不能消滅人類精神，這是我的作品想要展示的。”
Yim added that she wrote the book for her children so they will know what happened. She also wrote the book for Cambodians, so that they will know that the genocide may have left a scar but does define them as a people.
Yim補充說，她為她的孩子寫了這本書，這樣他們就會明白發(fā)生了什么。她同樣為柬埔寨人寫了這本書，這樣他們就能知道大屠殺可能留下了創(chuàng)傷，但是也確定了他們作為一個民族。
I'm John Russell.
約翰·羅素報道。