180217-Leaders-Heading Back to Hell重返地獄

03-02

Congo, scene of the world』s worst war in decades, is sliding back to mayhem

剛果，發生的人類近十年來最殘忍的戰爭現場，回到了戰亂的狀態

NO CONFLICT since the 1940s has been bloodier, yet few have been more completely ignored. Estimates of the death toll in Congo between 1998 and 2003 range from roughly 1m to more than 5m—no one counted the corpses. Taking the midpoint, the cost in lives was higher than that in Syria, Iraq, Vietnam or Korea. Yet scarcely any outsider has a clue what the fighting was about or who was killing whom. Which is a tragedy, because the great war at the heart of Africa might be about to start again.

midpoint中位數

20世紀40年代以來爆發的衝突是最血腥的，少數幾次衝突，都被忽略。1998年至2003年間，估計剛果的死亡人數至少1百萬，甚至可能超過5百萬。沒有人願意清點屍體，所以數字粗略。從中位數來說，死亡人數高於敘利亞、伊拉克、越南和朝鮮。但對於戰爭起因和交戰雙方，局外人卻鮮有人知。這簡直是一場悲劇，因為這場位於非洲中心的戰爭，可能會再次爆發。

The cause of the carnage大屠殺的起因

To understand the original war, consider this outrageously oversimplified analogy. Imagine a giant house whose timbers are rotten. That was the Congolese state under Mobutu Sese Seko, the kleptocratic tyrant who ruled from 1965 to 1997. Next, imagine a cannonball that brings the house crashing down. That cannonball was fired from Rwanda, Congo』s tiny, turbulent neighbour. Now imagine that every local gang of armed criminals comes rushing in to steal the family jewels, and the looting turns violent. Finally, imagine that you are a young, unarmed woman who lives alone in the shattered house. It is not a pleasant thought, is it?

為了理解真正的源頭，列舉一個極度簡化的例子，這就像一棟大房子，但橫樑已經腐爛。這就是剛果1965 到 1997年，在通過掠奪財富成為巨富Mobutu Sese Seko統治下的真實寫照。下一步，想像一下房子被炮彈擊中後轟然倒塌。這顆炮彈是由剛果的鄰國，領土雖小但暴亂不斷的盧安達發射的。

現在想像一下，所有當地的暴徒都蜂擁而至，盜竊房屋裡的珠寶，這場搶劫轉變成了浩劫。最後想像一下你是住在搖搖欲墜房子里的年輕女性，手無寸鐵。結局相比不會太好，對吧？

outrageously /a?t?red ??sl?/ 兇殘地，非比尋常地
oversimplify 英文常見構詞法--合成法的體現，具體是合成動詞類型下的「副詞＋動詞」組合，比如：over（過度）+whelm（壓倒）=overwhelm(壓倒，制服)；over（過度）+estimate（估計）=overestimate過度估計；以及本段出現的over（過度）+simplify(簡化)=oversimplify(過度簡化)，掌握了底層規律，背單詞的效率如火箭班躥升啊
analogy/?n?l?d?i/類比，類推
timber/t?mb?/ 木材，橫樑，本段是「橫樑」的意思
kleptocratic klepto thief盜賊的意思，起源於1815-1820的希臘；cratic是統治者的意思，連起來kleptocratic 指的是「盜賊統治」，指統治者或統治階層利用職權佔用人民財產而提高自身財產的手段；
cannonball/k?n?nb?l/炮彈，cannon大炮，ball炮彈，儘管這個詞隨著語境可以猜出來含義，還是可以講一下的。cannon「大炮」的意思，起源於14世紀的歐洲，16世紀左右確定了cannon的名字，炮管較長，彈道平直；口徑為30-52，最大射程可達30公里，中文的」加農炮「即是從cannon這個詞翻譯而來，如圖：

另外，cannon/k?n?n/雖然跟日本相機公司「佳能」的英文商標canon發音相同，但含義卻大相徑庭。canon是指「標準」、「教規，」教室「、」正典聖經「等含義，是個GRE級別的辭彙，取這個單詞做商標，相比也從側面反映出了佳能創始人對待技術嚴謹的態度。以後再看到白底紅字的佳能標，也可以跟小夥伴裝一下X，哎，你知道canon英文商標是啥意思么？

loot/lu:ti?/搶劫

Mobutu and his underlings looted the Congolese state until it could barely stand. When a shock struck, it collapsed. The shock was the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The perpetrators of that abomination, defeated at home, fled into Congo. Rwanda invaded Congo to eliminate them. Meeting almost no resistance, since no one wanted to die for Mobutu, the highly disciplined Rwandans overthrew him and replaced him with their local ally, Laurent Kabila. Then Kabila switched sides and armed the génocidaires, so Rwanda tried to overthrow him, too. Angola and Zimbabwe saved him. The war degenerated into a bloody tussle for plunder. Eight foreign countries became embroiled, along with dozens of local militias. Congo』s mineral wealth fuelled the mayhem, as men with guns grabbed diamond, gold and coltan mines. Warlords stoked

ethnic divisions, urging young men to take up arms to defend their tribe—and rob the one next door—because the state could not protect anyone. Rape spread like a forest fire.

Mobutu和他的爪牙知道最後一刻，都在對剛果巧取豪奪。當襲擊來臨時，國家轟然倒塌。這次襲擊就是1994年的盧安達種族屠殺。讓人恨之入骨的暴徒們毀壞了監獄，逃到了剛果。盧安達為了追擊犯人，入侵了剛果。一路如入無人之境，因為沒有人願意為了Mobutu奮力抵抗。訓練有素的盧安達軍隊推翻了Mobutu，並扶持了當地同盟Laurent Kabila。沒想到Laurent Kabila調轉矛頭組建了génocidaires，所以盧安達也將他推翻了。戰爭演變成了針對掠奪物的血腥鬥爭。八個國家和數十隻當地民兵部隊被捲入其中。剛果的礦產資源並武裝兵佔領，鑽石被洗劫一空，金礦和鈳鉭礦一片狼藉。軍閥們勒令青壯男子拿起武器抵抗部落衝突，卻演變成了對部落的逐個洗劫，這無疑給戰爭又添了一把火。因為國家已經無力保護任何人。強姦像森林大火一樣席捲整個剛果。

underling/??nd?l??/ 下屬（含貶義），因為這裡語境是暴亂，可以翻譯成「爪牙」
genocide/d??n?sa?d/種族滅絕，大屠殺
perpetrator/?p?..p??tret?/犯人
abomination/?,bɑm?ne??n/令人厭惡的，極度厭煩的，語氣很重
génocidaires法語，意思是參與盧安達大屠殺的人，見下圖維基百科截圖：

overthrow/?ov?θro/打倒，推翻，聯繫上一段的構詞法記憶；
degenerate/d?d??n?ret/墮落，退化
tussle/t?sl/扭打，激烈鬥爭
plunder/pl?nd?/掠奪，搶奪，有v.和n.兩個詞性
embroiled/?mbr??l/捲入，使混亂
militia/mili??/民兵
coltan/?k?l?t?n/鈳鉭礦，剛果戰爭的導火索之一，盧安達和烏干達由民主剛果盜取鈳鉭鐵礦，然後出口到西方（主要是美國）。鈳鉭鐵礦廣泛用於製造高科技產品，如：行動電話、DVD播放機、PS2遊戲機等。
Warlordthe leader of an unofficial military group fighting against a government, king, or different group. 跟政府、國王和其他組織對抗的，非正式軍隊的領導者，也就是軍閥，參考東北之王張作霖。這個詞同樣是利用合成法來的：war戰爭；lord王，戰爭的王者，軍閥
stoke /stok/ 添火，大吃大喝

小結：這段的生詞很多，整段不到170個詞，生詞就有14個，可見TE的閱讀，對於辭彙量來說真的是一個考驗。但對應地，如果能夠踏實下來，每期認真精度，次流量的積累也是非常大的。

The war ended eventually when all sides were exhausted, and under pressure from donors on the governments involved. The world』s biggest force of UN blue helmets arrived. Kabila』s son, Joseph, has been president since his father was shot in 2001. He has failed to build a state that does not prey on its people. Bigwigs still embezzle ; soldiers mug peasants; public services barely exist. The law counts for little. When a judge recently refused to rule against an opposition leader, thugs broke into his home and raped his wife and daughter.

最後階段參戰各方已經彈盡糧絕，受制於政府背後財團的壓力下才停止。全球最大部隊--聯合國維和部隊也抵達剛果。自2001年Kaliba被射殺之後，他的兒子Joseph成為了剛果的總統。權貴仍在在挪用公款，士兵搶奪農民，公共服務幾乎停滯。法律形同虛設。曾有法官依法判制裁了一個反對黨的領導，暴徒衝進了法官住宅，強暴了其妻女。

blue helmets helmet頭盔，「藍盔部隊」，聯合國維和部隊的別稱
Bigwig/b?ɡw?ɡ/權貴之人，有重大影響的人，非正式用法，同義詞有mogul, nabob,pooh-bah等等，實在記不住，就記住VIP這一個同義詞就行了
embezzle /imbezl?/挪用公款，侵佔
mug 有馬克杯、打劫的意思，這裡是後者
thug /θ?ɡ/暴徒

Mr Kabila was elected for a final five-year term in 2011. His mandate ran out in 2016, but he clings to the throne. He is pathetically unpopular—no more than 10% of Congolese back him. His authority is fading. He can still scatter protests in the capital, Kinshasa, with tear gas and live bullets. And few Congolese can afford to take a whole day off to protest, in any case.But in the rest of this vast country, he is losing control (see page 18). Ten of 26 provinces are suffering armed conflict. Dozens of militias are once again spilling blood.Some 2m Congolese fled their homes last year, bringing the total still displaced to around 4.3m. The state is tottering, the president is illegitimate, ethnic militias are proliferating and one of the world』s richest supplies of minerals is available to loot. There is ample evidence that countries which have suffered a recent civil war are more likely to suffer another. In Congo the slide back to carnage has already begun.

Kaliba五年總統任期的最後一屆從2011年開始，本應在2016年卸任，但他一直沒有退位。他的支持率低得可憐--只有不到10％的剛果人支持他，他的威望也在減弱。他仍然可以在首都金沙薩派遣組裝催淚瓦斯和荷槍實彈的武裝部隊。而無論如何，只有極少數剛果人能夠與之對抗一整天。但剛果土地廣袤，在其它地方正在逐漸脫離他的控制。26個省中，有10個省遭受著武裝衝突。數十隻民兵再次刀兵相見，血流成河。去年大概有200萬剛果人流離失所，無家可歸的總人數約430萬人。國家政權風雨飄搖，總統胡作非為，各地的民兵也巧取豪奪，把世界最富有的礦產資源掠奪殆盡。大量歷史經驗表明，經歷過內戰的國家很可能會重蹈覆轍。在剛果，另一場大屠殺已經開始醞釀。

mandate/?m?nde?t/ 命令，要求
clings /kl??/堅守，cling to 抱住，固守，這裡指到了任期仍不退位
scatter/?sk?t? $ -?r/分散

Beyond Africa, why should the world care? Congo is far away and has no discernible effect on global stockmarkets. Besides, its woes seem too complex and intractable for outsiders to fix.

It has long had predatory rulers, from the slave-dealing pre-colonial kings of Kongo to the Kabila family. Intrusive outsiders have often made matters worse, from the rapacious Belgian King Leopold II in the 19th century to the American cold warriors who propped up Mobutu for being anti-Soviet.

但非洲以外的國家，誰會在意呢？剛果地處遙遠的非洲，對全球股市的影響微乎其微。除此以外，事件過於複雜，外人很難解決。從殖民時期前剛果販賣奴隸的國王到Kabila家族，「掠奪主義」根深蒂固。闖入者往往會讓問題雪上加霜，無論是19世紀比利時貪婪的國王Leopold II，還是因為Mobutu反蘇而支持他的美國冷戰戰士，都是如此。

totter /t?t?ri?/ 顫巍巍的，動搖的，可以指人走路，也可以指政權不穩，這裡很顯然是後者
proliferating/pr?l?f?ret/ 擴散，繁殖注意重音在第二個音階
ample/?mpl/ 豐富的，足夠的，跟"abandance"類似
discernible/d?z?n?bl/可識別的，段落中，這個詞的前面加了一個no表示否定，也就是「影響微弱」的意思
woes/wo/ 悲哀、悲痛，GRE辭彙，比sorrowsad可高級多了
intractable/?ntr?kt?bl/難對付的
slave-dealing奴隸貿易
rapacious/r?pe??s/貪婪的，needy的2.0版同義詞
prop/prɑp/支柱，支撐

Nonetheless, the world should care and it can help. Congo matters mainly because its people are people, and deserve better. It also matters because it is huge—two-thirds the size of India—and when it burns, the flames spread. Violence has raged back and forth across its borders with Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Studies find that civil wars cause grave economic harm to neighbouring states, which in Congo』s case are home to 200m people. Put another way, if Congo were peaceful and functional, it could be the crossroads of an entire continent, and power every country south of it with dams on its mighty river.

但是，其他國家有理由關注，並且可以伸出援手。剛果重要主要是因為要給其人民應有的權利，並且應該賦予更多。還因為剛果國土廣袤--相當於印度領土的2/3--當剛果內亂時，周圍地區都會受到波及。暴力在剛果和盧安達、烏干達、安哥拉、南蘇丹和中非共和國的邊界蔓延。研究表明，內戰嚴重損害鄰國經濟，拿剛果內戰影響來看，有200萬人會受到影響。反過來說，如果剛果沒有內戰，國家井然有序，它可能成為整個歐洲大陸的十字路口，並且通過在國內聖河搭建大壩，可以個南部各個鄰國供電。

If outsiders engage now, the slide back to war may yet be held in check.First, cuts to the UN peacekeepers』 budget, made partly at President Donald Trump』s behest, should be reversed. The blue helmets are not perfect, and cannot protect remote villages. But they can protect cities and are the only force that Congolese trust not to slaughter and pillage. Second, Mr Trump』s welcome sanctions against Mr Kabila』s money men— building on earlier embargoes on conflict minerals—should be extended. Donors should press Mr Kabila to keep his promise to hold elections by the end of the year, and not to flout the constitution by running http://again.In this, they should make common cause with sensible African leaders. The Congolese opposition should take part in the vote, instead of boycotting it.

如果遇外敵入侵，也河壩也可以作為一道屏障。第一，可以降低聯合國維和部隊的預算，應總統特朗普要求的部分贊助應該退回。藍盔部隊的作戰能力無法覆蓋偏遠村莊。但是他們可以保護城市，同時也是剛果人民唯一可以相信，不會燒殺掠的部隊。第二，特朗普非常贊成針對Kaliba財團的制裁計劃--財團的財富積累是建立在控制有爭議的礦產資源出口基礎上的--這種制裁應該持續下去。支持者們應該給Kaliba先生施加壓力，讓他信守今年年底卸任的承諾，而不應該無視憲法，再次參選。這樣，他們就可以與多疑的非洲領導人聯合起來。剛果在野黨應該參與競選而不是抵制。

辭彙

at...behest按照...的命令
sanction/s??k??n/制裁，認可，支持
embargo禁止出入港口
pillage/p?l?d?/掠奪，GRE辭彙
flout/fla?t/嘲笑，愚弄，又一個GRE辭彙，學起來逼格滿滿
opposition /ɑp?z???n/ 對手，反抗者，在政治背景中，指反對黨或在野黨

句型

make common cause with與...聯合起來，比如英文版《喬布斯傳》中有這樣一句話：

One person who encouraged the denizens of the counterculture to make common cause with the hackers was Stewart Brand.

有一個人在推動反主流文化人群與黑客的聯合中發揮了作用，他就是斯圖爾特·布蘭德。用於指聯合某個人或某個群里，以合作方式共同完成某件事。

A flicker of hope一線希望

The omens are not all bad. South Africa has just dumped Jacob Zuma (see page 39), who indulged Mr Kabila』s claim that Western pleas to uphold Congolese law were imperialism. (Mr

Zuma』s nephew reportedly has oil interests in Congo.) Cyril Ramaphosa, Mr Zuma』s successor, is honest and pragmatic. Just as Nelson Mandela was repelled by Mobutu, and hastened his departure, so Mr Ramaphosa is surely repelled byMr Kabila. He has experience negotiating the end of bad things, including apartheid, Northern Ireland』s troubles and Mr Zuma』s presidency. He must not let Congo go back to hell.

局勢也並不是每況愈下。Kabila聲稱西方國家虛情假意地支持剛果法律，南非總統祖瑪對此深信不疑，可結果證明這只是帝國主義的手段而已。好在南非已經擺脫了祖瑪的統治。報道稱，祖瑪的外甥對剛果的石油很感興趣。祖瑪的繼任者Cyril Ramaphosa是個真誠的實用主義者。正如尼爾遜·曼德拉被Mobutu抵制一樣，Cyril Ramaphosa也註定被Kaliba抵制。他對通過談判來收拾殘局很有經驗，種族隔離，北愛爾蘭風波和祖瑪任期等事件中都是如此。他不能讓剛果再次陷入水深火熱之中。

omen/om?n/預兆
imperialisn/?mp?r??l?z?m/帝國主義
pragmatic/pr?gm?t?k/實用主義
repel/r?p?l/擊退，抵制，不愉快，這裡指ZZ鬥爭
reignites/?ri:iɡnait/重燃
uphold /?phold/支持，擁護，其他同義詞見下：

back: 通常指對論點、行動、事業等的強有力支持。
uphold: 既可指積極努力對陷入困境者的支持，也可指給某人在行動、道義或信仰上的支持。
support: 含義廣泛，多指在道義上或物質上支持某人，也可指對某項事業的支持。
sustain: 側重指連續不斷的支持。
advocate: 多指通過寫文章或發表演說等來支持或擁護，往往暗示提倡某事或為某事辯護。

Northern Ireland』s trouble愛爾蘭風波，指1920年被英國征服後，國家內部關於應該自製還是順從英國統治的爭論，從1966年延續到1999年。去年英國退歐，也有愛爾蘭獨立的消息。具體可點擊鏈接了解：http://alphahistory.com/northernireland/

總結

最難的翻譯是第二段最後一句話。「山火」可以用「肆虐」、「蔓延」等來形容，但是rape卻無法用這兩個動詞來形容，所以為了突出原文」傳播「的特性，考慮到貶義的立場，只能在補充rape發生地--剛果這一地點的情況下，用」席捲「作為橋樑來連接兩者，盡量保留原文的語境和傾向性。TE對於比喻的用法很普遍，也很活潑，讀起來不覺驚嘆於作者對於文字的把握度。雖然翻譯的難度增加，但這恰恰能夠體現翻譯者的水平和素養。任何一種語言的形成，背後都是其政治、歷史、地理、文化、飲食、影視、氣候等綜合作用的結果，文化之間存在差異決定了不可能有兩種語言完全對應。這也恰巧體現了翻譯的樂趣。如果成天圍繞著apple-蘋果，banana-香蕉這種毫無難度的傳達，那豈不是很無聊？