人命曾經賤價如此

The Spaniard was surprised with the cheapness of labor in China and incidentally wished that he had a thousand Chinese in Peru. This led to the discussion of the expediency of taking the Chinese to Peru, and finally to an attempt on their part to load the Don Pedro with Coolies. ……Besides this, rumors began to be afloat that the Coolies were taken to “the other side of the world” to be enslaved for a series of years and finally murdered. ……Then began that system of kidnapping, purchasing, chaining, starving, and, as it may appropriately be called, murdering, ……Old men were seized in the rice fields, boys in the school-room, young men in the shops, and carried by force to the suffocating holds of vessels at Macaow (引按： Macaow 為Macao的古稱之一). ……They usually command a price varying from $10 to $27 per man, according to their strength.

以上引自Russell H. Conwell, “People for Sale”, 載於Donald Pittis and Suasn J. Henders編 Macao: Mysterious Deacay and Romance, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1997. P77-80

最大力的男人只值二十七大元，這是十九世紀中期，澳門成為「豬仔埠」時發生的事情。1847年，一名西班牙人驚覺中國人命廉價，想到有一千個中國人到秘魯為自己做事的利益，便以堂．伯度（Don Pedro）號從澳門運走三百個廣東話中的「咕喱」（苦力）。原以為離鄉別井一段時期便可以回家富起來的可憐男子，成為豬仔以後的悲痛命運，很快傳回他們的故鄉，十足十電視劇《大地恩情》的情節。大家知道了簽約做豬仔是賣命的行為，不打算再受騙了，可是，堂．伯度號成功販賣人口的消息傳出，是不是豬仔，已經不再是中國男人自己可以決定的事情。

因為利潤可觀，更因為人性貪婪和自私，那時候，在澳門以至整個廣東省區，不管你是在田地幹活的老人，在學校上課的學生，抑或是在商鋪裡的年輕人，只要你是男人，就有可能被擄被誘被家人朋友出賣到豬仔館中，甚至會因為不就範而被殺死被餓死，而你的命運只有一條，就是被送到那些停泊在澳門的苦力船上，呼吸著令人窒息的空氣，然後到地球的另一面過著奴隸一樣的生活，留下一屋大小的女人，穿起白色喪服在家中無盡泣血。原來在蓮花寶地上，人命曾經如此廉價；原來這個城市的歷史，曾經如此殘酷的記載了人性的無恥與貪慾。



2003年10月19日