Way Back Home｜回家之路
國立東華大學英美語文學系
109學年度曾珍珍教授紀念獎學金—英文短文獎得獎作品｜
109 Academic Year Award-winning English Essay of Prof. Chen-chen Tseng Memorial Scholarship,
Department of English, National Dong Hwa University
On February 5th, 2020, I ran away to Changsha Airport with my father by driving the car at night. I still feel terror-stricken when I recall this experience. My parents worked in Mainland China, Hubei, where the coronavirus originated. After a year-long preparation, I finished my college entrance examination and visited them in January. Unfortunately, Happy New Year went along with a terrible outbreak of the epidemic. My father tried his best to send me back to Taiwan. We slept in the car for almost 4 days to wait for my flight. My father was relieved when I finally boarded the plane. However, we didn’t know that this was the beginning of a nightmare.
二零二零年二月五號的這一天，我和爸爸連夜開車逃到長沙機場。現在回想這一切，我還是很激動和害怕。我的父母在中國的湖北省工作，也就是新冠肺炎的起源地，經歷了一年多的備考時間，在學測完試之後，我終於可以在一月時去湖北省探望我的家人。但不幸的是，疫情隨著新年的到來開始爆發。為此，爸爸盡全力想要把我送回台灣。為了等待我的航班，我們幾乎四天都睡在車上。當我終於登機的那一刻，爸爸如釋重負，殊不知這一切才是惡夢的開始。
To transfer to another plane to Taoyuan, I landed at Xiamen Airport (due to the pandemic, the Taiwan Government issued orders to implement border control). Airport customs and police forced every passenger to scan a special QR code that could show the places you had stayed in the past 14 days. The scan showed that I had stayed in Hubei, so immediately, I was temporarily detained in an interrogation room in the airport. I could not even speak there. They detained me and deliberately caused me to miss my flight. I was so frightened that I wanted to cry. Inside the room, I suffered alone in silence. People outside the room disputed where I should go. I knew nothing about this city, and I was helpless.
為了能夠抵達桃園機場，我需要在廈門轉機（由於疫情，台灣政府下達指令進行航班管制）。廈門機場的海關和警察，強制要求每一位下機的乘客，掃描一個特殊的QR code。這個QR code可以顯示你過去十四天內的所有活動足跡。當我掃描時， QR code顯示過去的十四天內我曾待在湖北。我立刻被帶走並暫時扣留在機場的審訊室。在那裡我幾乎說不出話來，他們把我扣留在審訊室裡並故意拖延時間讓我錯過轉機的航班。我那時害怕到很想大哭，在審訊室裡，只有我一個人和一片死寂。我依稀可以聽到其他人在門外爭執著應該讓我去哪裡的討論聲。對於廈門這個城市我一無所知，而我卻孤身一人。
Eventually, the police took me to the ambulance, which had waited outside the airport. They said they would let me take the next flight the next morning. However, when I arrived at the hotel, the driver dragged my luggage out and told me that I had to stay in this quarantine hotel for 14 days. People around me all dressed like biochemical warriors. Did I look like a virus? I was freaking out and clutching the door of the ambulance. I knew if I unclasped my fingers, I might lose a chance to go back home. I must go home before April because of the interview with the professor at my dream university.
最終，航警把我送上了早已在外等候多時的救護車。他們說會讓我搭明天早上的班機回台灣，但當我搭著救護車來到飯店時，才被司機告知我必須在集中隔離飯店待滿十四天才能離開，而我的行李也被司機拖下了車。穿得像生化戰士的人們圍著我，讓我不禁懷疑：我看起來像病毒嗎？我被嚇到不知所措，只是緊緊抓著救護車的門，不肯下車。我心裡很清楚，如果我放開手，很可能就失去回家的機會，甚至會失去之後四月份去理想大學面試的機會。
I can hardly remember the details of that night, but the feeling of helplessness has left a deep imprint in my mind. I was crying and calling the people whom I knew for help. My parents and my relatives in Taiwan were all shocked. My aunt advised me not to get off the ambulance. I knew she was right, but who could help me then? Distant water does not put out a nearby fire. I was forced to stay in the hotel for 14 days until March.
我其實已經不太記得那晚的細節了，但沒有人可以幫你的那種無助感，讓我永遠無法忘記。只記得我那時候邊哭邊打給所有認識的人尋求幫助，我的父母和在台灣的家人都很震驚。我姑姑一直告訴我千萬不要下救護車，我知道她說的是對的，但那時候有誰可以幫我？遠水救不了近火，最後我被迫在飯店隔離了十四天，在廈門滯留到了三月。
Desperate disappointment always comes first when there seems to be some hope. When I eventually finished my quarantine, I got a phone call from the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). They informed me that I wasn’t permitted to go back to Taiwan because my name got a red remark on the airport list of people who were banned from entering Taiwan. SEF promised they would try their best to help me go back home, but the date was uncertain. When I heard about it, I could barely stand and burst into tears, just like a tight string that suddenly broke. The hope of going back home after quarantine always supported me and gave me some strength, but now what could I do, and who could help me? I wandered around Xiamen alone for almost two weeks. I had no choice but to wait for the Taiwan government to issue a permit.
當你滿懷希望的時候，最先到來的卻是至深的絕望。在我終於解除隔離的時候，我接到海峽交流基金會（海基會）的來電。他們說由於我的名字在台灣的入境禁止名單上並且被標記為紅色，因此我現在仍然不能回到台灣。海基會告訴我，他們會盡最大的努力協助我，但卻無法保證我能夠回到台灣的日期。聽到這個消息的時候，我忍不住大哭起來，就像一根一直被繃緊的線突然斷了一樣。我一直懷抱著希望，只要熬過隔離期我就可以回家了，所以我要堅強，但現在我無能為力，也沒有人可以幫我。我別無選擇，只能繼續滯留在廈門將近兩週，等待台灣政府的入境許可。
I sincerely thank my family and friends for always caring about me and talking to me during this time. Even my teachers and classmates registered for a WeChat account to have video phone calls with me. Furthermore, all the hardworking people in SEF tried their best to accelerate the review process and put me on the priority list. Before March 20th, I got the permission to go back home. Fortunately, after a series of epidemic inspections and another 14 days of quarantine, I was safe and sound.
在這段期間，我真的非常感謝我的家人和朋友，他們一直關心和陪伴著我。甚至為了跟我視訊，學校的老師和同學們也都註冊了微信帳號。我也感謝所有海基會辛苦的工作人員，他們盡力加快我的審查進度，並把我列在優先返台名單上。在三月二十號前，我得到了返家許可。最大的幸運是，在經過一連串的防疫檢查和第二次的十四天隔離期後，我依舊安然無恙。
On April 23rd, I went to the Department of English, National Dong Hwa University, and had an interview. Moreover, I was lucky to be one of the students in the department. I couldn’t imagine how fortunate I was, as I never knew how long and challenging the way back home could be.
在四月二十三號，我來到了國立東華大學英美語文學系面試，並很榮幸成為這個系的其中一員，我無法想像這一切能如此順利，就像我從來不知道，有天回家的路會是如此的漫長和充滿挑戰。
英文作者｜Author：英美語文學系 解雯茜｜Lubby Hsieh, Department of English
中文譯者｜Translator：英美語文學系 解雯茜｜Lubby Hsieh, Department of English