2022年12月01日 VOA慢速英语：宗教团体旨在重新定义与战争、仇恨相关的符号

 

When Dr. Sheetal Deo celebrated the Hindu festival of lights called Diwali recently, she did not think it would be considered offensive. But she got a letter from officials at her building in New York City telling her to remove her Diwali decorations because it "had a swastika on it."
当 Sheetal Deo 博士最近庆祝名为排灯节的印度灯节时，她认为这不会被视为冒犯。但她收到纽约市办公楼官员的一封信，要求她取下她的排灯节装饰品，因为它“上面有纳粹标志”。
 
The swastika is a cross with right angles at the ends. It is believed to have long been used as a symbol of peace and good luck in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist religions and several cultures.
纳粹标志是一个两端呈直角的十字.据信，长期以来，它在印度教、佛教和耆那教以及多种文化中被用作和平与好运的象征。
 
In the West and Russia, however, the swastika, also called hakenkreuz, is linked to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. The symbol is also linked to the Holocaust in which millions of Jews and other people were killed during World War II. Groups tied to acts of hate have continued to use the swastika.
然而，在西方和俄罗斯，万字符，也称为 hakenkreuz，与阿道夫希特勒的纳粹德国有关。该符号还与第二次世界大战期间数百万犹太人和其他人被杀的大屠杀有关。与仇恨行为相关的团体继续使用纳粹党徽。
 
However, the Associated Press (AP) reports that there has been a movement to reclaim the earlier meaning of the swastika in the past 10 years among Asian immigrants and Native Americans.
然而，美联社 (AP) 报道称，在过去 10 年中，有一场运动要求恢复纳粹党党徽的早期含义亚洲移民和美洲原住民。
 
Deo said she believes these communities should not apologize for using their symbol because of its misuse in the past.
Deo 说，她认为这些社区不应该因为过去滥用他们的标志而道歉。
 
"To me, that's intolerable," Deo said.
“对我来说，这是无法容忍的，”Deo 说。
 
But to many others, especially in the Jewish communities, giving the swastika a second chance is not possible.
但是许多其他人，尤其是在犹太社区，不可能再给万字符一次机会。
 
Shelley Rood Wernick is a director of the Jewish Federations of North America's Center on Holocaust Survivor Care. Wernick said Holocaust survivors could feel the horrors again when they see the symbol. She went on to say, "I recognize the swastika as a symbol of hate."
Shelley Rood Wernick 是北美犹太人联合会大屠杀幸存者关怀中心的主任。沃尼克说，当大屠杀幸存者看到这个符号时，他们会再次感受到恐怖。她接着说，“我认为万字符是仇恨的象征。”
 
 
Steven Heller wrote a book called Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption? He said the swastika is an emotional symbol for so many whose loved ones were murdered. Heller's great-grandfather died during the Holocaust.
史蒂文·海勒 (Steven Heller) 写了一本书，书名是万字符：超越救赎的象征？他说，对于许多亲人被谋杀的人来说，万字符是一种情感象征。海勒的曾祖父在大屠杀期间去世。
 
"A rose by any other name is a rose. In the end, it's how a symbol affects you visually and emotionally," Heller said.
“任何其他名字的玫瑰都是玫瑰。最终，这就是一个象征如何影响你的视觉和情感，”海勒说。
 
The swastika's meaning in other cultures
万字符在其他文化中的含义
The swastika has been used since prehistoric times. The word itself has roots in Sanskrit, an ancient language, and means "the mark of well being."
万字符自史前时代就已被使用。这个词本身起源于一种古老的语言梵语，意思是“幸福的标志”。
 
In the religion of Jainism found in India, the swastika represents four kinds of births. In Buddhism, it is called "manji." It is often used to mark the place of Buddhist temples. And in China, it is called "Wàn."
在印度的耆那教中，万字符代表四种出生。在佛教中，它被称为“曼吉”。常用于标示佛寺所在地。而在中国，它被称为“Wàn”。
 
The symbol is common in India. It is seen in doorways, on cars, and in other places. It is usually drawn with red and yellow colors.
这个符号在印度很常见。它出现在门口、汽车和其他地方。它通常用红色和黄色绘制。
 
Vikas Jain is a doctor in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. He and his wife have had to hide images in their home with the symbol because when their children's friends visit "they wouldn't know the difference."
Vikas Jain 是俄亥俄州克利夫兰市的一名医生。他和他的妻子不得不将带有这个符号的图像隐藏在家里，因为当他们的孩子的朋友来访时“他们不会知道其中的区别”。
 
The swastika was also an important symbol to many indigenous communities around the world. They can be found on objects dating back more than 10,000 years which now can be seen in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine.
对于许多土著社区来说，卍字也是一个重要的符号世界各地。它们可以在距今超过 10,000 年的物品上找到，这些物品现在可以在乌克兰国家历史博物馆中看到。
 
In the early 1900s, Native American artists used it in their crafts, including silver work, clothes, and pottery. But after the Nazis used it, leaders of the Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and other tribes approved an agreement in 1940 to ban the symbol from use.
在 1900 年代初期，美国原住民艺术家将其用于手工艺品，包括银制品、衣服和陶器。但在纳粹使用它之后，霍皮人、纳瓦霍人、阿帕奇人和其他部落的领导人在 1940 年批准了一项禁止使用该符号的协议。
 
Patricia Anne Davis is a member of the Choctaw and Dineh nations. She said it was a symbol of peace, healing, and goodness until the Nazis changed its meaning. She added that it is time to bring back the first meaning of the symbol.
帕特里夏·安妮·戴维斯是乔克托人和迪内人的成员国家。她说，在纳粹改变其含义之前，它一直是和平、治愈和善良的象征。她补充说，现在是恢复该符号最初含义的时候了。
 
Difference between swastika and hakenkreuz
万字符和哈肯克鲁兹的区别
 
The Coalition of Hindus of North America is one of the groups aiming to separate the swastika from the Nazi's "cross" called hakenkreuz.
北美印度教徒联盟是旨在将万字符与纳粹“哈肯克鲁兹”的“十字架”分开的组织之一。
 
The group supports a new law in the state of California that makes it illegal to show the hakenkreuz in public. The law does not criminalize the swastika as a sacred symbol. However, it says both symbols are "swastikas."
该组织支持加利福尼亚州的一项新法律，该法律规定在公共场合展示 hakenkreuz 是非法的。法律并未将卍字作为神圣的象征定为犯罪。然而，它说这两个符号都是“万字符”。
 
Jeff Kelman is a Holocaust historian based in the state of New Hampshire. He believes the hakenkreuz and swastika can be separated. Kelman is presenting this idea to Jewish communities.
杰夫·凯尔曼 (Jeff Kelman) 是新罕布什尔州的一位大屠杀历史学家。他认为 hakenkreuz 和万字符可以分开。凯尔曼正在向犹太社区介绍这个想法。
 
He is hopeful that the symbol can be redefined as a good thing because he sees his message being understood by so many people, including Holocaust survivors.
他希望这个符号可以被重新定义为一件好事，因为他看到他的信息被很多人理解，包括大屠杀幸存者。
 
"When they learn an Indian girl could be named Swastika and she could be harassed in school, they understand how they should see these as two separate symbols," Kelman said.
“当他们了解到一个印度女孩可以被命名为卍字，她可能会在学校受到骚扰，他们明白应该如何将这些视为两个不同的符号，”凯尔曼说。
 
Greta Elbogen is an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor. Members of her family were killed at - Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II. She said that she was surprised to learn of the swastika's history.
Greta Elbogen 是一位 85 岁的大屠杀幸存者。二战期间，她的家人在奥斯威辛-比克瑙集中营被杀。她说她很惊讶得知卍字的历史。
Elbogen said this new information about the symbol means she does not fear the symbol that was used to frighten her.
Elbogen 说关于这个符号的这个新信息意味着她不再害怕那个用来吓唬她的符号。
 
"Hearing that the swastika is beautiful and sacred to so many people is a blessing. It's time to let go of the past and look to the future," Elbogen said.
“听到卍字对这么多人来说既美丽又神圣是一种祝福。是时候放下过去，展望未来了，”Elbogen 说。