美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S. Returns Balangiga Church Bells To The Philippines After More Than A Century（在线收听）

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It has been more than a century since American soldiers seized three church bells from a town in the Philippines. That was back during the Philippine-American War in 1901. Today, those bells are being returned. NPR's Julie McCarthy has been following the odyssey of the bells and watched as they returned. And she joins us now to tell us this story. Hey, Julie.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi there.

MARTIN: Can you just start off by telling us why these bells were taken in the first place?

MCCARTHY: Well, it's 1901. Picture this - the United States is the colonial power in the Philippines, but the Filipinos fight for independence. And before long, you've got a full-blown U.S.-Philippine War on your hands, where 200,000 people are dead. Now, in this small place called Balangiga, the U.S. occupiers start jailing the men, abusing the women, destroying the food supply. And what do the locals do? They stage a revolt. And what do they do to use a signal to launch it all? The bells of St. Lawrence the Martyr Church. The local fighters end up killing two-thirds of the American unit, arguably the worst loss in the U.S.-Philippine War. The U.S. retaliates. They're told to turn the place into a howling wilderness. They do, and they carry off the bells as they go as booty.

MARTIN: Wow. So what do these bells represent for the Philippines?

MCCARTHY: Well, I guess you can imagine after a tale like that, the bells of Balangiga come to be seen as a symbol of resistance - the struggle for independence. They signaled a revolt against the imperial Americans, who ended up being slaughtered. And certainly for President Duterte - Rodrigo Duterte - these are, no question, a symbol of resistance. He has sort of staked out a claim, resisting the American administration where he can. And he has made this a point of owning these bells. He said last year in his State of the Union that, I want these bells back. We should demand them to come back. And a historian said to me, he's the winner out of all of this. Now, it's hoped that this will also smooth relations by bringing the two sides closer, but for how long really is the question.

MARTIN: Right. But I imagine this was an incredible scene. I mean, what was it like when the bells came home?

MCCARTHY: Oh, it was really wonderful. It was full of emotion and joy and pride. And it was full of history. The bells were flown in a cargo plane - the Spirit of Macarthur, the general who commanded the troops who liberated the Philippines during World War II. The U.S. had taken the bells when they were the colonial power and when the Philippines was battling for them for independence. So these bells sort of track the whole relationship, really, in some ways - or the start of that relationship.

And in anticipation of their arrival, things got even more charged when these burly servicemen couldn't break into the crates. And when they finally broke into them and then hoisted them into the public view, there was a big round of applause. They are in great condition, by the way. And yeah, and the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim, said that lot of people had had a hand in bringing these bells, from the highest levels of government to scholars to retired U.S. personnel. And he talked about how it reflected the U.S.-Philippine relationship. Here he is.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SUNG KIM: Our shared history is enduring and deeply personal. It is my great honor to be here at this closing of a painful chapter in our history.

MARTIN: A painful chapter, but Julie, just real quick - why'd take so long?

MCCARTHY: Well, as one Navy captain who was very involved in this said to me, it takes a long time to change the sentiments and attitudes. And people had fierce feelings about this. Everybody was bound up in a sense of valor on their own side, as they described it.

MARTIN: NPR's Julie McCarthy with a remarkable story. Thank you so much for sharing that, Julie. We appreciate it.

MCCARTHY: Thank you.