当你们大笑时，我哭着走了

日前纽约哥伦比亚大学推出了戏剧《寻找李伟》，剧本中持续对黑人使用种族歧视型语言举行攻击，学习中文的黑人学生Lillian Okoye出席了演出。她不堪剧中多处种族歧视的语言和观众的反应，给赞助演出的哥大中国学生学者联谊会写了一封公开信。

（中译文）哥伦比亚大学中国学生会及有关人员：

观看2008年4月26日在哥伦比亚大学师范学院上演的中文话剧"寻找李伟(Finding Li Wei)"，是我在哥大生活中最痛苦和失望的经历之一。当我听到演出中的那些对黑人的种族主义的言论时，特别是一角色的对话针对黑人区的黑人，我几乎崩溃。"我觉得哦，美国人还是挺好的啦。哦，不对，要除了那些黑人区的黑人。哎哟，我最怕黑人了啦！"接着是哄堂大笑，我回家后痛苦不堪，不仅角色的对话伤害了我，还有来自几乎99％的观众的笑声，他们是哥大的中国学生。

我深感混乱和沮丧哥大的中国学生会（CUCSSA）参与和排演了这种种族主义的节目，特别是在2008年北京奥运会，全世界各民族人民汇聚中国之际。做为一位哥大东亚文化系的黑人学生，我付出很多的努力学习中文和中华文化，也曾远渡重洋留学中国。而这出由中国学生会排演的种族主义的话剧公开在我的校园喧闹地上演，令人无法不失望。我也被告知艺术和科学系研究生于明辉（音译： Minghui Yu）的不幸，他也是哥大的中国学生会（CUCSSA）的成员。虽然我知道他在2008年4月4日遭受纽约西哈莱姆区年轻人的 (West Harlem youth) 身体骚扰并且死亡，但是嫌犯的种族背景并不能使这次攻击整个黑人区非洲裔居民的种族主义言论合法化。

在演出之前，我是如此兴奋，还邀请了五位朋友同往。不仅如此，还取消了我为主持人的哥大Karaoke的活动，早知如此，还不如去唱歌。

这个种族主义的事件发生在我自己的大学，发生在我的眼前侮辱了我。

以中文的方式发布的种族主义言论并不能减轻问题的严重性。为此，对当时的听众说几句：当你们大笑时，我哭着走了。在我为中国留学生写出这样的煽动种族主义的剧本而悲哀时，我却发现剧作者是我的一个"朋友"，本校东亚文化系08级的郭瑞(音译： Guo Rui)。

哥大是世界闻名的大学，她的确需要加强校园内的种族兼容。去年哥大校园内就有多起"憎恨"犯罪，只有几起得到校方注意，很失望又一起出现了。

哥大的中国学生会（CUCSSA）成员们请记住，这里也有非裔学生，还有从黑人区非洲移民的后代。请你们给与尊重，停止种族主义！！！！！！！

Lillian Okoye

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黑人学生代表致哥伦比亚大学CSSA的一封信（原文）

To the Members of the Columbia University Chinese Scholars and Students Association (CUCSSA), and to those it may concern:

I am writing this note in response to the performanceof "寻找李伟 (Finding Li Wei)," a Chinese drama (spoken in Mandarin) held on the night of Saturday,April 26th, 2008 at Teacher's College, ColumbiaUniversity. This was one of the most hurtful anddisappointing experiences for me during my time hereat Columbia University in the City of New York. I was so devastated to hear the racism and the racist slursagainst Black people in the show itself. Specifically, there was a racist comment made by one of the characters in the show and it was targeted towards Blacks in Harlem. I went home crying after hearing oneof the characters saying, "I feel like Americans arequite nice, but actually no, except for those Black people in Harlem. I'm terrified by Black people!" which was followed by an uproar of laughter in the audience. Not only did the character's words hurt me, but so too did the outburst of laughter by nearly 99％ of the people in the audience, who are Chinese students at Columbia University.

I am deeply upset and saddened that Columbia Chinese Scholars and Students Association would be associated with and originally produce and write something soracist, especially at a time when the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, an event that people from all acrossthe globe and people of all races will be traveling to China to see. As a black Columbia student and East Asian Studies major, I have dedicated so much of myenergy to learning about Chinese language and culture, and even spent quite some time in China for study abroad. I am so saddened that this act of racism occurred on my campus and in such a public, blatant manner, in a play that was written and produced by the Columbia University Chinese Scholars and Students Association (CUCSSA). In recent weeks, I too have been coping with the loss of fellow student, Minghui Yu of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, who was also an active member of the CUCSSA. Although I realize that the physical harassment and death he endured on April 4th, 2008 was at the hands of a West Harlem youth, the ethnic background of his assailant is not a justification for a generic attack on the entire African Diasporic community in Harlem.

Prior to the beginning of the show, I was so excited to attend and invited five of my friends to attendthis event. I was so excited to be there. Not only that, but I also cancelled an event last night that Iam group organizer and creator of, called the Columbia University Chinese Karaoke Group, since the event conflicted with yesterday's performance of "Finding Li Wei." To make a long story short, I sacrificed my own event to attend this one. In hindsight, I would have rather gone to karaoke.

This incident of racism insulted me and the entire African-American community at my own university and infront of my own eyes! This prejudice will not be tolerated. The fact that these racist comments were spoken in Chinese does NOT desensitize the issue. To my fellow audience members: I left crying while all of you kept laughing and snickering. I am so saddened that "Chinese scholars" would write a screenplay that would instigate racism in our Columbia community. I am also especially disappointed, hurt and overwhelmed by the fact that a "friend" of mine, Guo Rui SEAS '08 was the playwright.

Columbia University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and it really needs to enforce its supposed in tolerance of racist acts on campus. Within the past year alone, there have been many hate crimes on Columbia's campus, with only a few gaining attention by the administration. I am so saddened that yet another one occurred. Members of the CUCSSA, please remember that there are fellow students of the African Diaspora and from Harlem who attend the SAME University as you. Show respect, and STOP THE RACISM!!!!!!!

Lillian Okoye

(文章仅代表作者个人立场和观点)