2010年9月22日星期三

Will you go to Flanders? - World War I

戰爭是很沉重的事呢

去看了西佛蘭德第一次世界大戰的戰場。
據說戰爭結束時,整個城市夷為平地,只要騎在馬背或站在椅子上就可俯瞰整個平原。市內有許多1920年代的建築物,都是戰後重建的,倒也古色古香。除了一些紀念碑和很多整齊的墳場以外,已不大能看出有何特別。一般的墳場裏每個墓碑都不一樣,因為是不同年代不同的人建立的。可是戰爭墳場的墓碑全都一式一樣。

看華工的展覽還比較輕鬆,始終他們不是直接參與戰鬥。當歐洲人在拼個你死我活的時候,他們是去打工賺錢的。理論上他們不會是戰爭中攻擊的目標,只是炮彈沒有長眼睛。還有閒情拿炮彈殼刻畫哩,有些刻得很漂亮的,是中國風的花鳥詩詞。
"在營地經常可以聞到中國飯菜的香味。。。中國勞工贏得了善良、勤快、不知疲倦、充滿激情的好名聲。"嘻嘻,用來形容很多煎堆仔也不為過啊。

另外一個展覽描述世戰中的歐洲人卻較沈重。看着極愚蠢的人們互相殘殺,能不感到又遺憾又痛心嗎?
有個姊妹告訴我,她爺爺在荷蘭因拒絕參戰坐過牢,爺爺的妹妹因分發書刋被拉到集中營,沒能活着出來。爺爺已九十多歲了,正病重在榻,不知有否機緣拜訪一下老人家呢?

昨晚經文選講的比喻說得有趣:要是你穿着心愛球隊的藍色球衣進場觀賽,入球了!突然發現身邊坐滿了幾百個穿着對手紅衣的憤怒若狂的球迷,你敢獨個兒起立喝彩嗎?

我們也愛國,只是我們愛的國家一般人看不見。
 - Aug8

我到醫院探望92歲的爺爺,他看起來好精神啊,笑得很燦欄,骨架很大也很健壯。
姊妹說他思想已模糊,很多事情都忘記,想說話有時找不到用字,沒有時間觀念,分不清三天前還是三十年前。
那倒是幸福哩。我有時也有這種幸福。
後來才看到九月份的雜誌,要是早點看的話我就知道我應該幹什麼了。下次吧,如果他還活着,如果我還活着。
 - Aug24

When I came back to town, I found that grandpa is not there anymore.
I wanted to sing a song for him.  I'll keep it for next time, when I see him again.
Then she told me about her another grandparents.
He was 76, she is 80.
They are separated by death for 5 months now.
She is missing him terribly.
As we grow old, we can forget everything even our names, but love, never fails.
May Jehovah comforts her.  In what way?  Let her forget?  Or let her go with him?
 - Sep19

1 則留言:

RC 說...

Found this on news:

Germany was the first to make large-scale use of gas as a weapon. On 22 April 1915, at the start of the second Battle of Ypres*, sentries posted among the French and Algerian troops noticed a curious yellow-green cloud drifting slowly towards their line. Puzzled but suspicious, the French thought that the cloud masked an advance by German infantry, and ordered their men to stand to.
But the cloud proved to be chlorine gas. Panic-stricken, the French and Algerian troops fled in disorder, creating a four-mile gap in the Allied line. But the Germans, perhaps as shocked as the Allies by the devastating effects of the poison gas, failed to take full advantage, and the Allies held most of their positions.
德國是第一個大規模用毒氣作戰的國家。一九一五年四月二十二日,第二次伊普爾戰役開始時,法國和阿爾及利亞軍中哨兵見到一陣古怪的黃綠色煙霧慢慢飄向他們陣地。法軍困惑之餘,起了戒心,以為德國步兵會在煙霧掩護下進攻,下令準備迎敵。
但那煙霧原來是氯氣。法國和阿爾及利亞軍隊張皇潰退,同盟軍戰線出現了四英里長的缺口。但德軍也許和同盟軍一樣,給毒氣的殺傷力嚇呆了,未能充分把握機會,同盟軍大部分陣地因此得保不失。
*伊普爾市位在比利時西部,接近法國邊境,是第一次世界大戰同盟軍和德軍三度激烈交鋒的地點。