親愛的媽媽、爸爸、叔叔、伯伯、阿姨、嬸嬸以及長輩們 (Canadian Version — Traditional Chinese Translation)

這是一封由 《黑人性命書》(Letters for Black Lives) 團體所寫的繁體中文信。這封信讓在加拿大及美國的人表示對「黑人的命也是命」(Black Lives Matter) 及其它黑人解放運動，站在同一戰線的資源項目。《黑人性命書》 是個持續進行的作業。參與的人目的是替自己的社區創作及翻譯反歧視黑人的資源。這封信是由好幾百人一起書寫和翻譯出來，為著是在重要的議題上，對家人及自己的社區展開誠懇的對話。

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親愛的媽媽、爸爸、叔叔、伯伯、阿姨、嬸嬸以及長輩們:

我有件事想跟您們談。我生活中有很多重要的黑人朋友、同學、愛人、親人。我現在很擔心他們的安全。

2016年7月，警察殺死一名在商店前販賣光碟叫做Alton Sterling的黑人。一天之後，一位叫 Philando Castile的黑人，因為車尾燈壞掉被警察攔下後，也被警察殺死。當時他的女友和四歲的女兒也在車上。

在2016年，美國警察已經奪走了五百多條命，而其中有25%是黑人 — 儘管黑人只佔總人口的13%。在加拿大，黑人常被定為負面的角色，被警察特意針對及暴力對待；同時，黑人入獄的比例，遠超過他們佔總人口的比例。加拿大警方最近已奪走多位黑人的性命，其中包括 Andrew Loku, Jermaine Carby, Abdi Hirsi, and Jean-Pierree Bony。絕大多數情況下，警察對於奪走了這些性命，卻無需負任何責任。

以上都是我身邊很多黑人朋友天天需要面對的現實；這實在是太可怕了。

雖然我們常聽到黑人日常所面臨的危險，但我們的反應往往是指出我們與他們之間是不同的，或是對他們的困境視而不見。您或許會因為經常在媒體上，甚至自己家裡，聽聞有關黑人的負面新聞，而認為黑人被警察槍殺是咎由自取。

我想跟您分享我的看法。我想您可能會跟我有同樣的體會。

身為亞州人，我們在這個國家也經常遭受歧視。有時他人會批評我們的口音，或者以亞洲人不是做「領導的材料」為由，阻礙我們升職機會。我也知道很多在家鄉受教育的長輩們，因為他們的學歷不被加拿大認同，而無法在這裡發揮他們的專業。我們當中有些人也遭受貧困。我們有些人還會被說是「恐怖份子」且遭到排擠。

但是整體來說，警察不會像對黑人跟原住民一樣，無緣無故向我們的孩子和父母開槍。老闆、房東、以及各種社會機構，對我們往往比對黑人跟原住民好。

我們的黑人朋友會受到不平等待遇是有原因的。這裡曾經是歐洲人的殖民地，當時歐洲人不僅搶奪了原住民的土地跟資源，他們也綁架了許多非洲黑人，且逼他們成為奴隸。幾百年來，黑人的後代，社區、家庭和人身權益都被他人剝削取利。即使奴隸制度廢除後，黑人仍然不被當人看，而且在重建生活的過程也得不到什麼幫助。黑人在爭取投票權和置業權的過程中，飽受暴力威脅 。這種逼迫直到今天仍然存在。

黑人所主導的維權運動，不僅為黑人爭取平等權利，同時亦為我們爭取平等的待遇。黑人維權運動參與者們被毆打、監禁、甚至失去生命，才換來了我們亞裔人在加拿大今天享有的權利。我們欠他們太多了。很多黑人跟您一樣以移民或難民的身分到加拿大，是為了替自己及家人找尋更好更安全的生活。我們大家的處境雖不完全相同，但仍是相關相連的。在這個不平等的制度裡，我們大家都該攜手合作，而非矛頭相向。

因為以上這些原因，我支持「黑人的命也是命」(Black Lives Matter) 及其他黑人的解放運動。當我看到我身邊的人，或我的家人在言論跟行動上貶低黑人，我會直言表達我對黑人的支持。我之所以跟您談到這一切，是因為我敬愛您，且不願這個議題疏遠我們。

我期望您能和我一樣去了解，在警方暴力下，許多為人父母、兄弟姐妹、情人和兒女喪失所愛之人時的憤怒和悲傷。我期望您能體會我的憤怒與悲哀，並支持我為他們去發聲及抗議。我懇請您跟您的朋友分享這封信，並鼓勵他們去瞭解，體會，並一起為黑人的處境發聲。我知道要大聲講出來的時候，您可能會害怕，但是，當他人的生命在一個理應保護我們的系統裡天天受到威脅，選擇沉默實在是有愧我們的良心。

身為您的孩子/ 晚輩，對於您長途跋涉來到這個國家，並在這個時不友善的地方生存了幾十年，我感到驕傲和萬分感激。我明白您不願我經歷與您同樣的苦難與掙扎。您為了讓我有比您更好的生活，承受了不公平的待遇與歧視。

在我們所有的朋友，親愛的人，跟鄰居都能安心的過日子之前，我們都該一同為有個安居樂業的社會來努力。我們追求的夢想，是擁有一個不用害怕警察暴力、種族歧視，及差別待遇的加拿大。我嚮往這樣的未來，也希望您跟我一樣。

您的孩子 / 晚輩

敬上

This is the Traditional Chinese version of the open ​letters​ created by Letters for Black Lives, an ongoing project for people in ​the US and Canada​ to create and translate resources on anti-Blackness for their communities in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter ​and other movements for Black liberation​. The letters were written and translated collaboratively by hundreds of people who want to have honest and respectful conversations with their ​families and communities​ about an issue important to them.

Mom, Dad, Uncle, Auntie, Grandfather, Grandmother:

There’s something I’ve wanted to talk with you about. Black people are a part of my life in important ways: they are my friends, my classmates, my partners, and my family. Today, I’m scared for them.

Last week in the United States, police killed a Black man named Alton Sterling while he was selling CDs in front of a store. The next day, police killed another Black man, Philando Castile, after being pulled over for a broken tail light while his girlfriend and four-year-old daughter were in the car.

This year, of the more than 500 people already killed by U.S. police, 25% were Black, even though Black people make up 13% of the population. In Canada, Black people are also negatively stereotyped, targeted and treated violently by the police, and overrepresented in prisons. Canadian police recently claimed the lives of Andrew Loku, Jermaine Carby, Abdi Hirsi and Jean-Pierre Bony, among many others — all Black people. Overwhelmingly, police do not face any consequences for ending these lives.

This is a terrifying reality that many of my Black friends live with every day.

Even as we hear about the dangers that Black people face, our instinct is sometimes to point at the ways we’re different from them, and to shield ourselves from their reality instead of empathizing. When a police officer shoots a Black person, it’s easy to think it’s the victim’s fault, because we hear so many negative stereotypes about them in the media, and at our own dinner tables.

I want to share with you how I’ve come to see things. I think you might see things similarly.

We face discrimination for being Asian in this country. Sometimes people judge us negatively because of our different accents, or deny us opportunities because they don’t think of us as “leadership material.” Many of our elders have not been able to practice their chosen professions because their education from home was seen as inadequate. Some of us struggle with poverty. Some of us are told we’re terrorists, and made to feel unwelcome.

But the police don’t regularly gun down our children and parents for simply existing to the same extent that they do with Black and Indigenous peoples. Employers, landlords and institutions also often treat us better than Black and Indigenous peoples.

There are reasons why our Black friends experience things differently. As you may already know, Europeans colonized this continent, stole land and resources from Indigenous peoples, and forcibly brought Black people from Africa as slaves. For centuries, their descendants, communities, families, and bodies were ripped apart for profit. Even after slavery, they continued to be treated as less than human and were given very little support to rebuild their lives. Black people fought for the right to vote or own homes, and faced constant threats of violence, which continue to this day.

In fighting for their own rights, Black activists have led the movement for equality not just for themselves, but for us as well. They have been beaten, jailed, and even killed, fighting for many of the rights that Asians in Canada enjoy today. We owe them so much in return. We are all fighting against the same unfair system that prefers we compete against each other. Many Black people come to Canada as immigrants or refugees looking for a better life and safety for themselves and their families, just like many of you have. Our struggles, while not all the same, are interconnected.

For all of these reasons, I support Black Lives Matter and other movements for Black liberation. Part of that means speaking up when I see people in my community — or my own family — say or do things that diminish the humanity of Black people. I am telling you out of love, because I don’t want this issue to divide us.

I hope you join me in empathizing with the anger and grief of the parents, siblings, partners and children who have lost their loved ones to police violence. I hope you empathize with my anger and grief, and support me if I choose to be vocal or protest. I ask that you share this letter with your friends, and encourage them to be empathetic and vocal too. I know that it can feel scary to speak up. However, we cannot in good conscience stay silent while fellow human lives are endangered every day, especially by the very system that supposedly protects us.

As your child, I am proud and eternally grateful for your long, hard journey and that you’ve worked hard and lived in a place that has not always been kind to you. You’ve never wished your struggles upon me. Instead, you’ve suffered through a prejudiced Canada to give me a better life than the one you had.

We are all in this together, and we cannot feel safe until ALL of our friends, loved ones, and neighbours are safe. We seek a place where everyone in Canada can live without fear of police violence, racism and discrimination. This is the future that I want — I hope you do too.

With love and hope,

Your children