隨著臺灣近年來對次級勞動力的需求激增,大量外籍移工來臺。移工在臺灣所面臨的種種生存問題,是歷來文學、社會學所關注的議題。尤其臺灣四面環海,諸多報導文學、民族誌書寫也聚焦外籍漁工在臺灣的生命體驗。最為特別的是旅居臺灣的加拿大作家左韓瑞(J.W. Henley, 1982-)是少數以臺灣菲律賓漁工為小說主角的創作者。本文以左韓瑞的長篇小說《移民漁工血淚記》(Migrante, 2020; 2022)為例,除了探究外籍作家如何觀看臺灣的跨國漁工議題,並進一步剖析作家如何再現臺灣菲律賓漁工的形象及其遭遇的問題外,更聚焦「我們」(臺灣人、在臺外籍人士,包括知識分子)在表述「他們」(東南亞移民工)時所遭逢到的應然與困難的境遇。
小說揭露「靜默」的漁工其職場困境,以及置身在漁船空間的漁工生命在國家法律與社會文化中遭到政治與文化性棄置,並進一步呈現其「裸命」的生命姿態。本文聚焦三個問題：（一）在左韓瑞的筆下,小說是如何形塑跨國漁工的生命姿態,以及作家在表述「他們」時可能的困境？（二）外籍漁工的生命/身體如何和漁船空間進行連結,並展現出一種例外狀態？（三）左韓瑞如何透過小說中「無名死者」的意象與外籍漁工的「裸命」相連？
本文指出,左韓瑞以「無名死者」塑造出臺灣外籍漁工的形象。「無名死者」(nameless dead)作為一失去被賦名權利的生命體,被剝奪屬於「生命」的任何權利,作者以此一形象再現跨國漁工的生命姿態。與此同時,這本小說也呈現出「我們」在為「他們」發聲時的應然與困難的局限性。
* 本文初稿曾以〈邁向死亡地帶:論《移民漁工血淚記》中的跨國移工形象〉為題,宣讀於國立臺灣文學館主辦「文學百態:Lán來寫臺灣―第二十屆全國臺灣文學研究生學術研討會」(2023.10.27-28),感謝論文講評人黃慧鳳教授給予諸多提點。此外,本文在撰寫及修訂的過程中,感謝國立臺灣大學臺灣文學研究所謝欣芩及鄭芳婷二位教授的悉心指導,同時也誠摯感謝二位論文匿名審查人細膩地指正,幫助筆者釐清相關問題,使本文更趨完善,在此一併謹致謝忱。
As Taiwan’s demand for secondary labor has surged in recent years, a large number of migrant workers has come to Taiwan. The various survival challenges faced by these workers have frequently been a topic of concern in literature and sociology. Given Taiwan's geographical context, surrounded by the sea, literary journalism and ethnographies focusing on the life experiences of transnational fish workers are particularly significant. J.W. Henley (1982-), a Canadian writer residing in Taiwan, is one of the few authors who writes novels featuring Taiwanese Filipino fish workers as protagonists. This article uses Henley’s novel Migrante (2020; 2022) as a case study to explore how foreign writers perceive Taiwan’s transnational fish workers. It further analyzes how the writer re-presents the image of Filipino fish workers in Taiwan and the challenges they encounter. Additionally, it focuses on how “We” (Taiwanese and foreigners in Taiwan, including intellectuals) confront the necessity and difficulty of articulating the experiences of “Them” (migrant workers of Southeast Asian origin).
The novel exposes the plight of “silent” fish workers in the workplace, highlighting how the lives of fish workers aboard fishing boats are politically and culturally marginalized by national laws and social norms, presenting a “bare life” perspective. This essay investigates three research questions: (1) In Henley’s writing, how does the novel portray the lives of transnational fishers and the dilemmas the writer may face when articulating “Them”? (2) How do the lives/bodies of migrant workers connect with the space of fishing boats, demonstrating a state of exception? (3) How does Henley connect to the “bare life” of migrant workers through the image of the “nameless dead” in the novel?
This article argues that Henley employs the concept of the “nameless dead” to illustrate the experiences of Taiwan’s transnational fish workers. The “nameless
dead,” as a living entity stripped of the right to be named, is deprived of any rights
associated with “life.” The author uses this imagery to re-present the life attitudes of
transnational fish workers. Simultaneously, the novel also highlights the limitations
and challenges faced by “We” in speaking out for “Them.”