從恐懼到希望：一個孟加拉男孩的奇跡重生（上）

You cannot die！ You cannot die！” the father mumbles to the bloodied， 1）mutilated boy who lies unconscious on his lap.

“Listen to me！ You cannot die！” he repeats his 2）morbid 3）mantra. “If for nothing else， to exact justice.”

The two are on a 4）rickshaw headed to a hospital in 5）Dhaka. It’s not the most effective way to transport a dying child through the cramped， 6）congested streets of the Bangladeshi capital. But it’s all that the 7）impoverished father can afford.

Hours earlier， four men had surrounded the 7-year-old boy， bound his hands and feet and cracked open his head with a brick. They held him down and took a 8）switchblade to his throat. They sliced his chest and belly in an upside down cross. And in a final brutal act， they hacked him sideways， chopping off his 9）genitalia.

“It’s amazing that he lived，” a doctor would later say. “I’m really surprised he didn’t bleed to death prior to getting to the hospital.”

This is the story of a boy who not only survived， but is now the key witness in a trial that has forced Bangladesh to confront the cruel but overlooked practice of forced begging.

It is also the story of strangers， half a world away， who set out to show the boy that good exists in equal measure as evil—and who set off a chain reaction of kindness to make him whole again.

For his 10）resiliency， we will call him“Okkhoy”—the Bengali word for “unbreakable.”

Pure Evil

The attack took place in late 2010， just a few days before the Muslim festival of 11）Eid. Three area kids lured Okkhoy out of his home with the promise of a 12）popsicle.

“They kept insisting that I go down to this one area，” Okkhoy recounts. “I kept saying，‘Why？’”

His suspicions aroused， Okkhoy says he set off for home when a group of neighborhood men grabbed him and pulled him into an alley.

“They tied me up and told me they’d force me to beg，” he says. “I told them， ‘I know each and every one of you. And I’m going to tell my father.’”

That’s when one of the men grabbed a brick and struck him across the head， he says.

He fell to the ground and， mercifully， lost consciousness. Because what followed was even worse—an act that authorities dubbed “pure evil.”

The attackers left Okkhoy by the side of a warehouse， intending to come back later and dump him in the river.

His mother， who had gone looking for her missing child， found him.

Abed， alerted by a neighbor， rushed to the scene—and the 13）gory sight.

“It felt like the sky fell on me，” he says. “As a father， there is no greater pain in the world than knowing that you could not protect your child.”

Okkhoy spent three months in a Dhaka hospital， where doctors stitched up his wounds. But they were unable to do much to repair the severed organ.

A Despicable Practice

For most Westerners， the issue of forced begging was thrust into the spotlight in the 2008 Oscarwinning movie Slumdog Millionaire， in which a child in Mumbai， India， is intentionally blinded so he could bring in more money in alms.

But the existence and prevalence of “beggar 14）mafias” is an open secret in South Asian countries.

Pity pays.

So， the gangs kidnap and cripple children—knowing 15）sympathetic passersby are more likely to be touched by， and give to， a limbless child.

Almost half of Bangladesh’s 150 million people live on less than a dollar a day. The economy has slowed； poverty is skyrocketing.

And each new day brings a fresh batch of sun-caked boys and girls who tap on car windows to draw attention to their 16）disfigurement—a desperate way to survive.

The U.S. State Department， in its 2012 Trafficking in Persons report， cited forced begging as one of the areas where Bangladesh needs to develop a comprehensive approach of prevention and 17）prosecution.

Begging is banned in the country—at least in its 18）penal code. And a three-year prison term awaits anyone caught forcing someone to beg. But enforcement is 19）lax and for now， the 20）ringmasters in this cruel circus remain above the law.

A Nation Outraged

Okkhoy’s case would have gone unnoticed were it not for his father’s chance meeting with a human rights lawyer， Alena Khan.

When Abed went to the police to report the attack， he was told a case was already in the books.

Someone who identified himself as the boy’s uncle had told police that Okkhoy was assaulted by two boys in a playground 21）spat that turned ugly.

“Two little boys are capable of such brutality？ And you believe that？” the incredulous father asked.

“Yes， now let us do our job，” he was told and dismissed.

Undeterred， Abed decided to appeal to a judge. But there， too， he was told to let the police handle the matter.

In the courthouse that day was Khan who， as founder of the Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation， has made a career of upsetting the 22）status quo.

“I saw the father standing there helplessly before the judge， and I kept thinking that there’s a child who has been broken beyond repair，” she recalls.

Khan decided the first thing the case needed was attention， so she contacted a local television station.

“No child should go through this，” she says.

The response from an outraged nation was immediate.

The high court asked authorities to launch an inquiry.

And within days， the Rapid Action Battalion， Bangladesh’s elite anti-crime unit， rounded up five suspects and charged them with attempted murder.

Why did they target Okkhoy？

It was payback， his father says.

Abed had gotten into an argument with one of the men at a tea stall.

“He said to me， ‘Just you wait and see. I will take your son and make him work for me.’”

Authorities continue to look for four others who they say are part of the same gang. To ensure Okkhoy and his family stay safe， they were placed in a battalion compound.

“As long as it has its 23）venom， a snake will always attack，” Abed says. “Who knows how many other children this gang did this to？ Because we’re the family that unmasked them， they will always want to destroy us.”

（To be cintinued...）

你不能死！你不能死！”父親對著鮮血淋漓，一身傷殘的男孩喃喃而語，而男孩躺在他懷里已經(jīng)不省人事了。

“聽我的話！你不能死！”他重復著他那可怕的禱咒?！叭绻皇菫榱藙e的什么，也要求個公道?！?/p>

兩人正乘坐一輛三輪車趕往達卡市的醫(yī)院。要送一個垂死的男孩穿過孟加拉國首都狹窄而擁擠的街巷，這并不是最為有效的方法，但這已是這位窮困父親所能盡的最大努力了。

幾個小時前，四名男子圍住這個七歲男孩，捆住他的手腳，并用一塊磚砸破了他的腦袋。他們把他摁在地上，用一把彈簧刀劃破他的喉嚨。他們在他的胸口和肚子上切下一個倒十字。在殘忍的最后一擊里，他們將他踢成側(cè)臥狀，砍掉了他的生殖器。

“他能活下來真是個奇跡，”一位醫(yī)生后來說道?！拔艺娴氖欠浅３泽@，他竟然沒在到達醫(yī)院之前因為流血過多而死?！?/p>

這是一個男孩的故事，他不僅活了下來，而且如今變成了一場審判的關鍵證人，迫使孟加拉國去面對這種殘忍卻備受忽視的強迫行乞行為。

這也是一群陌生人的故事，他們遠在地球的另一端，卻決心要讓那男孩看到這世界不僅存在著邪惡，同樣還有善良——而他們也引發(fā)了一系列善意的連鎖反應，讓他恢復如初。

因為男孩的韌力，我們將會稱他為“歐可伊”——孟加拉語里“堅強不屈”的意思。

純粹的邪惡

那場襲擊發(fā)生于2010年年底，就在穆斯林宰牲節(jié)的前幾天。三個當?shù)氐暮⒆釉S諾歐可伊會請他吃冰棒，將他誘拐出了家門。

“他們一直堅持要我走到這個指定的地方來，”歐可伊講述道?！拔乙恢闭f：‘為什么呢？’”

歐可伊起了疑心，他說自己開始往家的方向走，這時附近的一群男子抓住他，并將他推進了一條小巷。

“他們將我綁了起來并告訴我說，他們要強迫我去行乞，”他說?！拔腋嬖V他們說：‘我認得你們每一個人，而且我要告訴我的父親?！?/p>

就在這時，其中一名男子抓起一塊磚頭，砸向他的頭部，他說。

他倒在了地上，并且“幸運”地失去了直覺，因為隨后的情況更加恐怖——那是一種被當局稱為“純粹的邪惡”的行為。

襲擊者們把歐可伊留在了一間倉庫旁邊，想要晚點回來再把他扔進河里。

他的母親到外面來找尋自己失蹤的孩子，這時發(fā)現(xiàn)了他。

阿貝德得到鄰居相告，沖到了事發(fā)地點——見到了這血腥的一幕。

“我感覺就像是天塌下來了，”他說?！白鳛橐幻赣H，世上最痛苦的便是眼看著孩子受傷，自己卻無能為力?！?/p>

歐可伊在達卡市的一間醫(yī)院里待了三個月，那里的醫(yī)生們縫合了他的傷口，但對于修復被砍斷的器官，他們也無能為力了。

一種卑鄙的行為

對于大多數(shù)西方人來說，強迫行乞問題是因2008年的奧斯卡獲獎影片《貧民窟的百萬富翁》而引起關注的，片中印度孟買市的一個孩子被故意弄瞎，以便在別人施舍時獲得更多的錢財。

但“乞丐團伙”的存在和盛行在南亞國家早已是個公開的秘密。

博取同情，有利可圖。

于是，一些幫派綁架孩子，并將其傷害致殘——知道富有同情心的路人更有可能被缺胳膊少腿的孩子們所打動，并施予錢財。

在孟加拉國的1.5億人口中，大約有一半人每天靠不足一美元生活。當?shù)亟?jīng)濟發(fā)展緩慢；貧困問題正飛速蔓延。

每一天，都有新一批曬得皮膚皸裂的男孩女孩拍打著車窗吸引人們注意他們殘缺的容貌——一種絕望的求生方式。

美國國務院在其《2012年度人口販運問題報告》中引證說，強迫行乞是孟加拉國需要著手進行全面處理，實行預防并檢控的領域之一。

該國嚴禁行乞——至少刑法典是這么規(guī)定的。如果有人因強迫別人行乞而被逮捕，他將面臨三年牢獄之災。但其法令執(zhí)行并不嚴格，時至今日，這個殘暴馬戲團的領班們依然超脫于法律之外。

一個國家的震怒

要不是歐可伊的父親有機會遇到了人權(quán)律師阿勒娜·汗，歐可伊的案例也許就會湮沒無聞。

當阿貝德去警察局報案時，他被告知案卷中已經(jīng)有了一宗案例。

某個自稱是男孩叔叔的人告訴警察說，歐可伊是在一個操場上跟兩個男孩發(fā)生小口角，繼而場面失控而受到襲擊的。

“兩個小男孩有可能做出這么殘暴的事來嗎？你也就相信了？”滿心疑惑的父親問道。

“好了，我們會處理的了?！彼蝗缡歉嬷⒋虬l(fā)走了。

阿貝德毫不氣餒，他決定去求助于一名法官。但在那里，他又被告知應該讓警察來處理此事。

那天在法院里的人就是阿勒娜·汗——孟加拉人權(quán)基金會的創(chuàng)始人，她在打破現(xiàn)狀方面已經(jīng)有所建樹。

“我看到那位父親無助地站在法官面前，而我不停地想著，有個男孩被殘害到了無法補救的地步，”她回憶說。

汗認定這宗案子所需要的第一點便是引起關注，于是她聯(lián)系了一家本地的電視臺。

“沒有哪個孩子應該遭到這樣的對待，”她說。

一個震怒的國家立刻做出了反應。

高院敦促當局著手進行調(diào)查。

幾天之后，孟加拉國頂尖的反犯罪組——快速反應營便圈定了五名嫌疑人，并控告他們蓄意謀殺罪。

他們?yōu)槭裁磿詺W可伊為目標呢？

那是為了報復，他的父親說。

阿貝德曾在一個茶攤上和其中的一名男子發(fā)生過爭執(zhí)。

“他告訴我說：‘咱們走著瞧。我會抓走你兒子，讓他替我做事?！?/p>

當局繼續(xù)搜尋另外四名被他們供出的同幫派成員。為了保證歐可伊和其家人的安全，他們被安置在了一個軍營里。

“只要還有怨恨存在，毒蛇總會發(fā)起攻擊，” 阿貝德說。“誰能知道這個幫派還殘害了多少其他的孩子呢？因為我們這家人揭發(fā)了他們，他們總會想要毀掉我們?！?/p>

（未完待續(xù)……）