martyr

約旦媒體8月21日刊登了伊拉克前總統薩達姆的一份信件，薩達姆在信中呼吁阿拉伯人沿著他的道路走下去，并暗示自己將為巴勒斯坦和伊拉克事業而犧牲。據美聯社報道，這封信是薩達姆通過國際紅十字會轉交給住在約旦的一個老朋友的。薩達姆在信中說："我的靈魂和我的生命都將獻給我們寶貴的巴勒斯坦和我們熱愛的、堅忍的、苦難的伊拉克。"請看外電報道：

Facing trial and possible execution for the massacre of his fellow Muslims, ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein sought in a letter published Sunday to cast himself as amartyr, writing that his "soul and existence is to be sacrificed" for the Arab cause.

A Jordanian friend received the letter through the International Committee of the Red Cross, which verified its authenticity and said it had been censored by Saddam's American captors in Iraq.

"My soul and my existence is to be sacrificed for our precious Palestine and our beloved, patient and suffering Iraq," said the letter, published in two Jordanian newspapers and made available to The Associated Press.

文中的martyr意思是"烈士；殉難者"。如：My wish is that the martyrs who died for the liberty of our country did not die for nothing.（我希望為了國家自由而死去的烈士不會白白犧牲。）

martyr還可以用作動詞，表示"被殺害；遇難"，如：Hundreds of people are reported to have been martyred (killed) for their political beliefs.（據報道說，成百上千的人因其政治信仰而遭殺害。）

（中國日報網站編）