透過戲劇工作達到和平目的

Working for peace through theater

By Arnold R. Grahl

Rotary International News -- 23 November 2009

扶輪和平獎學生羅素．范登布魯克在泰國和一位小孩運用戲劇與藝術的幫忙來達到和平的目標。

Rotary Peace Fellow Russell Vandenbroucke, with a child in Thailand, uses theater and arts to help achieve peace. Photo courtesy of Vandenbroucke

扶輪和平受獎人羅素范登布魯克運用戲劇的方式來傳達他對和平的渴望。

Rotary Peace Fellow Russell Vandenbroucke uses the stage to convey his desire for peace.

Soldier Circle的作者說"暴力行為的後果總是負面的"。一齣戲劇對在阿富汗與伊拉克戰爭中個別士兵具有仁慈教化作用的影嚮，和原子轟炸機在日本廣島被轟炸後五十週年紀念使它變成一個公共廣播節目。

"The consequences of violence are always negative," says the author of Soldier Circle, a play that humanizes the effects of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq on the individual soldier, and Atomic Bombers, which was turned into a public radio program for the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

如果說我的戲劇所傳達的信息是太簡單。我不寫那樣簡單的事情。或者至少我讓他們更複雜。他補充說。大部份人道主義問題的解決是是難以用簡單的方法解決。

"To say my plays send a message is too simple. I don't write about things that are simple -- or at least I make them more complicated," he adds. "Most humanitarian problems resist simple solutions."

范登布魯克，在美國肯塔基州的路易斯維爾大學戲劇藝術系主任與教授，當他在2006年春天共同教授一門戰爭與良知的課程時，決定申請朱拉隆功大學扶輪的和平與衝突的研究證書課程。當他在為他的學生將所有的資源清單放一起時，他突然產生了一份課程的教材。“我想著，我的學生還沒有資格，但我想我有，”他回憶說。有了他的學校與院長的支持，他申請一個公休並在2007年參加此課程。

Vandenbroucke, a professor of theater arts and department chair at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, USA, decided to apply for Rotary's peace and conflict studies certificate program at Chulalongkorn University while he was co-teaching a course on war and conscience in the spring of 2006. In putting together a list of resources for his students, he came upon materials for the program. "I thought, my students do not qualify, but I think I do," he recalls. With the support of his dean and the university, he took a sabbatical to attend in 2007.

在計劃進行中出現了關鍵性時刻當他在參觀了靠近緬甸和泰國邊境的難民營。當我們在48,000的難民營中出現對他們造成一個很大的衝擊。他回憶說。“當難民發現了我們集團的多樣性，他們說，'全世界都知道我們在這裡，世界正在關注我們。

One defining moment during the program occurred as he visited a refugee camp near the border of Myanmar and Thailand. "Our presence among the 48,000 refugees made a big impact on them," he remembers. "When the refugees spotted the diversity of our group, they said, 'The world knows we are here; the world is paying attention to us.'

“這是一個許多時刻它提醒我說，國際扶輪是一個非常值得感到驕傲的組織。”

"It was one of many moments that reminded me that Rotary International is an organization to be very proud of."

范登布魯克說和平與正義的問題一直是他是誰的一個基本部份。在1969年當他是一位預備軍官訓練團（後備軍官訓練團）的學生，當他聽到生物學的和化學的代理人的討論，他變成一位因良心問題而拒服兵役的人。在越南戰爭期間他獲得他的兵役委員會的許可改為二年的替代服務。

Vandenbroucke says issues of peace and justice have long been a fundamental part of who he is. He became a conscientious objector in 1969 when, as an ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) student, he listened to discussions of biological and chemical agents. He secured permission from his draft board during the Vietnam War to serve two years of alternative service.

後來，他轉去做戲劇因為他們有能力用扣人心弦的情感方式處理複雜的問題

Later, he turned to plays because of their ability to tackle complicated problems in an emotionally gripping manner.

這戲劇的訴求最終是非常簡單的：講有關於人類的故事，”他說。“我們理解個別的故事較好且更發自內心勝過任何概念。我通常都被故事吸引是因為故事本身有比較寬泛的社會層面。”

"The appeal of theater is ultimately very simple: telling stories about human beings," he says. "We understand stories of individuals far better and more viscerally than any concept. I am usually attracted to stories that have a broad social dimension to them."

在朱拉隆功大學三個月的時間是他認為是他一生中經驗最豐富的時期。自從參加這計劃，他陸續寫了幾篇包括Soldier Circle並且為牛津國際和平百科全書撰稿。

He counts his three months at Chulalongkorn as one of the richest experiences of his life. Since the program, he has written a couple of pieces, including Soldier Circle, and has contributed to the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace.

“我相信這個世界的問題既由男性和女性所引起的，也可以由男人和女人來解決，”他說。這項計劃呼籲人們要有這種領會。然後此領會會提供他們技能，專門知識和工具可以來幫助他們更有效地做到這工作。

"I believe the problems of this world are created by men and women and can be fixed by men and women," he says. "This program appeals to people who have that understanding. And then it arms them with skills, expertise, and tools that can help them do this work more effectively.

“最後一天，如果我可以說我對共同的願望所做的一些貢獻可以鼓舞我們大家，我將會感到滿足的，”他說。

"If, at the end of the day, I can say I have contributed a few drops to the collective fountain that sustains all of us, I will feel content," he says.