经济学人135:索马里的青年党 为非洲之角而战

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　索马里的青年党

　　The struggle for the Horn of Africa

　　为非洲之角而战

　　Bullet boys

　　子弹男孩

　　Al-Shabab in Somalia:The History and Ideology¹ of a Militant² Islamist Group, 2005-2012.By Stig Jarle Hansen.

　　索马里的青年党：一个激进伊斯兰组织的历史和思想体系，2005-2012

　　The World's Most Dangerous Place: Inside the Outlaw³ State of Somalia.By James Fergusson.

　　世界上最危险的地方：法外之国索马里的内情

　　IN 2005 three dozen Somalis formed a club of Islamists, soon dubbing⁴ themselves the Shabab. Chaos⁵ had reigned⁶ over Somalia for a generation and there had been no real government since the military ruler, Siad Barre, fell in 1991. But within a year or so, the Shabab was the dominant⁷ force within a loose coalition⁸ of Islamic courts that had sought with some grim success to impose order.

　　2005年60个索马里人组织了一个伊斯兰教徒俱乐部，不久他们标榜自己是Shabab。自1991年军事统治者西亚德·巴雷垮台之后，那里就没有真正的政府，混乱折磨索马里一代人之久。大概在一年之内，青年党成了松散的伊斯兰法庭联盟主导力量，为了维持秩序，这伙人不择手段。

　　非洲之角.jpg

　　By 2009 the Shabab, with a core of 5,000-odd fighters, had mastered a good half of the country and made most of the rest virtually ungovernable. Stig Jarle Hansen, the Norwegian author of one of two important new books explaining the rise of the Shabab, reckons it controlled an area “equal to the size of Denmark, with perhaps 5m inhabitants”. The Shabab, Mr Hansen believes, was then the world's only self-proclaimed al-Qaeda ally controlling large territories. Because of a far-flung Somali diaspora of nearly 2m in America , Britain, Kenya and Scandinavia, the Shabab's capacity for wreaking⁹ terror at home and abroad has frightened and flummoxed Western and African governments. These two books, “Al-Shabab in Somalia” and “The World's Most Dangerous Place”, are essential reading for those who seek to counter the menace.

　　2009年，青年党以5000个奇特的战士控制了该国一半以上的地方，剩下的地方实际上大部分处于无政府状态。挪威作家Stig Jarle Hansen的新作解释了青年党的壮大，他认为青年党控制的地盘和丹麦一样大，里面可能有5百万居民。Hansen先生相信青年党是世界上唯一的以基地盟友自居而且控制很多地盘的组织。因为有将近二百万的索马里人流散在美国、英国、肯尼亚和斯堪的那维亚半岛，青年党在国内外制造恐怖的能力使西方政府和非洲政府感到恐惧困惑。

　　James Fergussonhas written the more readable work. With ingenuity¹⁰ and no little courage he has travelled far and wide, within Somalia and among the Somali diaspora in Britain and America, delving¹¹ into the soul of a ravaged¹² community. Few if any foreigners in the past half-decade have reached so deeply into the territorial¹³ nooks and crannies of Somalia's myriad¹⁴ fiefs. Mr Hansen focuses on the complex ideological¹⁵ detours¹⁶ and military tactics of the Shabab from its inception¹⁷. His is a succinct¹⁸ and definitive¹⁹ if somewhat dry history.

　　James Fergusson写过更有可读性的著作。为了剖析这个遭受蹂躏的地区的灵魂，他凭着机智和非凡的勇气广游四方，他去过索马里，也采访过流散在英美的索马里人。在过去五十年里，几乎没有外国人像他那样深入到索马里众多割据地区的角角落落。Hansen先生自青年党成立之初就关注它复杂的思想形态和军事战术。从某种意义上说他用简洁明确的文字写了一本关于青年党的历史书。

　　Both authors agree that although the bloody-minded Shabab is probably on the road to containment²⁰ if not outright²¹ defeat, quite a lot of Somalis may still reluctantly accept it as the lesser²² of many evils. It certainly did better than its rivals at transcending²³ the bitter divisions between the clans²⁴, sub-clans and sub-sub-clans whose doggedly²⁵ lethal²⁶ loyalties²⁷ were a main cause of the country's fragmentation.

　　两个作家都认为如果不能将残忍的青年党彻底打败，遏制可能就是对付它的手段，很多索马里人可能仍然不情愿接受青年党，他们认为青年党是众多魔鬼中邪恶程度相对低的那个。索马里四分五裂，民不聊生，在宗族、亚氏族，三级氏族之间，青年党确实比自己的对手做得好，对部族的绝对忠诚是导致这个国家分裂的主要原因。

　　The Shabab is driven by local grievances²⁸ yet has global aspirations²⁹, helping³⁰ to stoke rebellion in such troubled places as northern Nigeria and Yemen. In the past two years the West has been trying to bolster³¹ a revamped government in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, while accommodating the semi-autonomous fiefs to build what might become a workable federation³². Such efforts have been led by Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, who happens to be a close friend of Mr Fergusson. But Somalia is still one of the most dangerous countries in the world, and its people still among the most tragically³³ disturbed. The Shabab may be on the wane³⁴. But neither author predicts it will fade fast.

　　青年党受当地的怨愤力量推动，已经有了放眼环球的志向，它在发生动乱的地方协助平叛。过去两年里，西方视图在索马里首都摩加迪沙支持一个经过改进的政府，同时也可以协调半自治的割据地区组建一个能工作的联邦。英国首相戴维·卡梅伦已经将这个经验付诸行动。但是索马里仍然是世界上最危险的国家之一，它的人民还在遭受最惨痛的灾难。青年党可能会逐渐衰落，但是两个作家预测它衰退的速度不会太快。

　　1.focus on 致力于；使聚焦于

　　Many of these funds only focus on longer dated futures³⁵ contracts.

　　这些基金很多只关注期限较长的期货合约。

　　Do entrepreneurs put enough focus on customer relationships?

　　创业者给予客户关系的重视足够吗？

　　2.try to 试图,设法要

　　I try to get people to concentrate on why they win.

　　我设法让人们专心弄明白自己为什么会赢。

　　You need to try to find some common ground.

　　你需要设法找出你们之间的一些共同点。

　　3.happen to 碰巧；赶巧

　　Computers just happen to be one of those.

　　电脑恰好就是一种大脑自行车。

　　I happen to know of a few good ones!

　　我碰巧知道有那么几本不错的！

分享到：