受虐倖存者 Moeapulu Frances Tagaloa:「He was a popular and well-known teacher, but he was also a pedophile, and unfortunately, there were other little girls that he also abused in care.(他是位受歡迎的知名老師,但也同時是個戀童癖者,更不幸的是,有其他小女孩也在照護機構遭遇魔手。)」
來自紐西蘭的Tagaloa,回憶起兒時在照護機構曾遭受的虐待,心中的痛苦至今仍在恢復當中。而像她這樣的案例,在紐西蘭至少有20萬起以上。這些受害者在無數個夜晚被痛苦的記憶折磨,他們的經歷是一個國家不能忽視的傷口。
受虐倖存者Moeapulu Frances Tagaloa:「I didn’t remember my abuse until I was an adult, and started getting flashbacks, and that was very traumatic, like experiencing that trauma, so I had to work through that. It took a while, get counselling and all sorts.(我直到成年後才記得起那些受害情,形然後開始想起那些片段回憶,這對我來說非常痛苦,就像是再次去體會那傷害,所以我要好好走出來,諮詢和其他幫助都花了不少時間。)」
數百名倖存者擠滿了議會公眾座席,激昂地唱著毛利傳統歌曲。7月24日,紐西蘭皇家委員會(Royal Commission)提出一份針對1950-2019年間,兒童和弱勢成年人在公立和教會照護機構受虐事件的報告。在這70年間,約有20萬人在身心靈上都遭受到嚴重虐待,由於有部分投訴未被受理,甚至紀錄遺失或遭到毀損,實際數字可能是更高。紐西蘭總理Christopher Luxon,在國會會議上鄭重回應,並表示將在11月12日發表正式官方道歉。
紐西蘭總理 Christopher Luxon:「I cannot take away your pain, but I can tell you this, today you are heard, and you are believed.(我無法抹去你們的痛苦,但我可以告訴你們,你們的聲音被聽見,你們的經歷也被相信了。)」
紐西蘭反對黨主席 Chris Hipkins:「And whilst a formal apology is still some time away,we are sorry. As a society and as a country we are sorry. (儘管正式的道歉尚需時日,我們仍深感抱歉,作為一個社會和國家,我們對此感到抱歉。)」
紐西蘭政府不但正面承認幾十年來的國恥,也表示國家有責任實行轉型正義,制定補償政策。而報告裡也估計,受虐倖存者若要回歸正常日常生活,平均每人花費成本高達85.7萬紐西蘭元,約新台幣1663萬元。目前賠償金尚未定數,但可以確定的是紐政府將面臨數十億紐元的支出。而Luxson表示,眼下最應討論的不是賠償金,而是盡全力保護受害者。
紐西蘭總理 Christopher Luxon:「A terrible injustice was done in the name of state care, and it is now the responsibility of the state to make redress, and this government will ensure that it happens. (這些不公義在國家照護的名義下發生,是時候由國家擔起責任來處理,政府將確保這一過程得以實施。)」
報告公開後,也對紐西蘭天主教會帶來了巨大的衝擊。然而,作為天主教中心的梵蒂岡卻至今未對此發表任何評論。
路透社梵蒂岡駐地記者 Joshua Mcelwee:「At this point, we’ve not had a response from the Vatican press office,in terms of any sort of comment offered by the Catholic Church, or the Vatican to this report. I expect that perhaps they will put out a brief statement stating their sorrow, and their upset over the treatment of children and vulnerable adults over those past decades.(直至目前,我們還沒從梵蒂岡新聞處,收到天主教會或梵蒂岡,對於此報告的回應,我預期他們也許會發表一份簡短的聲明,表達他們對過去幾十年來,這些兒童和弱勢成年人所遭受的待遇感到失望和難過。)」
和澳洲及加拿大已被揭發的照顧機構兒童受虐案相似,原住民兒童往往被安置在條件較差的設施中,儘管毛利人只占紐西蘭總人口數不到20%,但他們卻成為了受害者中的主要群體。
西班牙電視台Antena3 記者兼神父 Antonio Pelayo:「The Church must show closeness and must accompany these people, that they have been innocent victim, because in many cases they are minors or vulnerable adults, as in the case of these Indigenous people in New Zealand, They do not have the physical or psychological strength to do so, and this absolutely must be remedied.(教會必須展現關懷,並陪伴這些無辜的受害者,因為在許多案例中,受害者是未成年人或弱勢成年人,就像紐西蘭的原住民一樣。他們沒有足夠的力氣或是勇氣來這麼做,這是絕對需要被糾正的。)」
這份報告揭示了紐西蘭最黑暗的一面,為社會敲醒警鐘。受害者站出來為自己發聲,政府也承諾將採取行動,確保未來不再發生類似悲劇。然而,實現真正的轉型正義需要全社會共同努力。唯有正視過去的錯誤,並給予受害者應有的補償和支持,才能真正撫平這段歷史帶來的創傷。
受虐倖存者 Moeapulu Frances Tagaloa:「I knew I needed to be able to let other people know what had happened and I knew I was not the only one that was abused by this person. So if there were others out there, it would be important for them to know that.(我需要讓其他人知道發生了什麼事,我知道我不是唯一被這個人虐待的受害者,如果還有其他人,那麼讓他們知道這些事情是很重要的。)」