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Nigeria

尼日利亞

Why northerners feel done down

為何感覺(jué)完了?

A terrorist insurgency has deepened a poor region'salready grave problems

恐怖叛亂—貧困的北方雪上加霜

THE roads are thick with traffic and pavementsthrong with hawkers selling phonecards, sunglasses and leather sandals. At night, streetcorners are lit up with a red glow from grills cooking spicy meat. But the bustle of Kano,Nigeria's second-biggest city and the commercial capital of the north, masks anuncomfortable reality: northern Nigeria is in steep decline.

主干道上交通甚忙，人行道上也擠滿(mǎn)了小攤小販，有賣(mài)電話卡的、太陽(yáng)鏡的、還有皮革涼鞋的。到了晚上，街頭擺滿(mǎn)了燒烤架，紅紅的炭火甚是明亮。但是盡管卡諾是尼日利亞第二大城市和北方商業(yè)省會(huì)城市，這些喧鬧的景象掩蓋了不爭(zhēng)的事實(shí)：北尼日利亞猛走下坡路。

An increasingly bloody insurgency waged by Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group, hassharpened frustration over the disparity between the jobless north and the oil-rich south. Inrecent months Kano has been relatively stable, following a military offensive to contain theterrorists. But though the pause in violence has brought people back onto the streets, theyhave rediscovered other problems. “Stoves are gone, people selling beer have gone, there is nomarket, there are few customers and I haven't been able to save any money in months,” saysChineu Abason, sitting in her wooden-shack restaurant in Sabon Gari, a mainly Christiandistrict, where Boko Haram bombs have killed scores of people this year (see picture above).

博科圣地是一個(gè)伊斯蘭教恐怖組織，他們的叛亂越來(lái)越殘忍，這讓本失業(yè)人數(shù)眾多的北方與油多富有的南方差距更大了。最近幾個(gè)月里，軍隊(duì)打擊并牽制恐怖分子，卡諾相對(duì)穩(wěn)定多了。但是，盡管叛亂暫時(shí)平息，人們重新回到了街道上，新的問(wèn)題又來(lái)了。“我們沒(méi)有爐子，沒(méi)人賣(mài)酒，沒(méi)有銷(xiāo)售，顧客也很少，這幾個(gè)月里我都沒(méi)存到錢(qián)。”Chineu Abason坐在她自己木棚餐廳里說(shuō)道。她的餐廳在Sabon Gari，這兒大多數(shù)人信奉基督教，僅今年就要大量民眾喪生在博科圣地轟炸下。

The fear of terrorism continues to cast a long shadow over the city and across the north.Bombings, kidnappings and bloody assaults by Boko Haram, as well as the army's efforts tokeep a lid on the fighting, have deterred investment. Farming, the north's main source ofincome, has been hamstrung. Consumer-goods companies say that insecurity has forced themto retreat from some areas. Commercial drivers say dangerous roads and military checkpointsadd 5-10% to their costs.

整個(gè)城市以至北方都沉浸在恐怖主義的恐懼中。不斷有來(lái)自博科圣地的轟炸、綁架和血腥襲擊，還有軍隊(duì)奮力回?fù)粢种瓶植绖?shì)力，這讓人們打消了投資的念頭。作為北方最主要的收入來(lái)源的農(nóng)業(yè)也因此荒廢。一些日用品公司稱(chēng)因局勢(shì)不安，他們?cè)诤芏嗟貐^(qū)都撤回了公司。商務(wù)車(chē)司機(jī)說(shuō)因危險(xiǎn)路段以及軍事檢查點(diǎn)，他們的驅(qū)車(chē)成本都增加了5-10%。

Despite a construction boom across Nigeria, many foreign companies avoid the north. InFebruary seven employees of Setraco, an international construction company, were abductedin Bauchi state by Ansaru, a group that splintered from Boko Haram, prompting an immediateshutdown of the firm's operations up north. PZ Cussons, the maker of Imperial Leather soap,and Guinness Nigeria are hanging on but have been hit by the conflict, too.

雖然建設(shè)熱潮風(fēng)靡整個(gè)尼日利亞，但是大多數(shù)外企自然而然地避開(kāi)了北方。二月份，國(guó)際建筑公司Setraco的七名員工在包奇州遭到博科圣地分支組織安薩魯綁架，這立即導(dǎo)致公司北上的運(yùn)營(yíng)全部癱瘓�；势じ镌》试碇圃焐炭ㄉ瓏�(guó)際和英國(guó)吉尼斯黑啤雖然站住了陣腳，但也不免受到了沖擊。

Even before Boko Haram's insurgency intensified nearly three years ago, the north wasstruggling. Unreliable electricity, cheap Chinese imports, smuggling and counterfeit goods havemade life hard for local companies. Vast spaces on Kano's edges have become industrialgraveyards. In rural areas the picture is bleaker still. Poor education puts off investors seekingskilled labour. Whereas the literacy rate in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital on the coast, is92%, in Kano it is 49%. In the north-eastern state of Borno, where Boko Haram got going, it is15%. Without better education, the region will struggle to attract investment or create jobs.The malaise is a useful recruiting tool for terrorists, as well as politicians with their eye on thetop.

甚至在三年前，博科圣地叛亂還未像如今越演越烈，北方就處于水深火熱之中。受到電力不穩(wěn)，便宜的中國(guó)進(jìn)口商品，以及走私和假冒商品的沖擊，當(dāng)?shù)仄髽I(yè)生存異常艱難�？ㄖZ廣闊的空間成了工業(yè)的墓地。農(nóng)村的場(chǎng)景更加荒涼。這里教育程度低，投資者都不在這里找技術(shù)工人。相比而言，在尼日利亞沿海商業(yè)首都，92%的人會(huì)識(shí)字，而卡諾只有49%。東北部的博爾諾州盡力吸引來(lái)商投資創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)。在這個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)的萎靡期，恐怖分子正好招兵買(mǎi)馬，官員們此時(shí)則死死地盯著他們。

Northerners habitually complain that politicians have made personal fortunes from thebooming oil industry in the south, while failing to share its benefits. Mutterings of a north-southdivide have grown louder with the prospect of President Goodluck Jonathan, a southernChristian, running for a second term in 2015. Northerners resent what they see as a violationof an unwritten rule that the presidency should rotate every two terms between the largelyMuslim north and the mostly Christian south. A southerner has held the post for 11 of the past14 years.

北方人民常常抱怨官員們從南方石油產(chǎn)業(yè)中為自己撈油水，卻從來(lái)不與人民分享。總統(tǒng)古德勒克·喬納森是一位南方基督教徒，他很有可能參加2015的總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選，這使得南北方分歧的抱怨聲更大了。在北方主要是穆斯林民族，而南方主要是基督教徒，南北方間有一條不成文的規(guī)矩：總統(tǒng)每?jī)蓪媚媳陛啌Q一次，現(xiàn)在完全違背了這個(gè)規(guī)則，這讓北方人民痛恨不已。過(guò)去的14年里，南方人就占了11年。

Nigeria's finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, insists that the government recognises thenorth's need. Nigeria has courted $20 billion of foreign direct investment in the past threeyears, 10% of the African total. Yet most investors set up shop in Lagos. “When we adviseinvestors coming to Nigeria, they don't even talk about the north,” says a South African bankerin the plush Hilton Hotel in Abuja, the capital, which lies between north and south. “It simplyisn't a consideration. It's the sad truth and it isn't about to change.”

尼日利亞財(cái)政部長(zhǎng)伊衛(wèi)拉強(qiáng)調(diào)政府深知北方人民的需求。過(guò)去三年里，尼日利亞獲外商直接投資200億美元，占非洲總額的10%。然而，大多數(shù)的投資者都在拉各斯開(kāi)店。在位于中部的首都阿布賈的豪華希爾頓酒中，一位南方銀行家說(shuō)到“我們建議投資者來(lái)尼日利亞，但他們并不談?wù)摫狈健＿@不是簡(jiǎn)單的考慮，這就是殘酷的事實(shí)而且暫時(shí)改變不了。”

There are few signs of revival in Kano, though it is nearly as big as Lagos. “Shoprite OPENINGSOON” is splashed on a red-and-orange sign where the Ado Bayero Mall, the north's firstmodern shopping centre, is going up. It has been a long wait: Shoprite, a South African fooddistributor, has been operating in Lagos since 2005.

盡管卡諾和拉各斯面積差不多，卡諾卻很少有復(fù)興的苗頭。紅橙相間的“Shoprite即將開(kāi)業(yè)”字樣噴在AdoBayero購(gòu)物中心，這是北方的第一個(gè)現(xiàn)代購(gòu)物中心，正逐漸恢復(fù)過(guò)來(lái)。這是一個(gè)漫長(zhǎng)的等待：Shoprite作為南非最大的食品經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商，早在05年就進(jìn)駐拉各斯運(yùn)營(yíng)。

Kano's state governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has poured millions into infrastructure. Taxisweave through huge concrete columns that will eventually support a flyover. But while three-lane highways are being built, feeder roads from rural communities remain decrepit. Amultimillion-dollar development, the Mega Five Projects, will have three posh housing estatesand two transport terminals.

卡諾的州長(zhǎng)Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso投入了上百萬(wàn)用于基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。巨大的水泥柱下出租車(chē)往來(lái)穿梭，而上面將支撐起一座立交橋。但是正當(dāng)三條高速公路建設(shè)時(shí)，通往農(nóng)村社區(qū)的支路卻還是殘破不堪。投資百萬(wàn)美元的5個(gè)大型項(xiàng)目將建成3個(gè)豪華住宅區(qū)和2個(gè)運(yùn)輸站。

Such projects make little sense when many northerners, struggling to make a living, aredeciding to leave Kano in search of better prospects—down south. “It is the only logical wayfor the government,” says the owner of a big construction company. “Visible developmentgives the impression of stability and progress.” But it will not be enough to close the gulfbetween Nigeria's two halves. As a result, northerners are increasingly resentful.

努力謀生的北方人民決定離開(kāi)卡諾尋找更好的出路---南下，這項(xiàng)工程就沒(méi)有太大的意義了。一個(gè)大型建筑公司的老板說(shuō)道：“看得到的發(fā)展才會(huì)讓人覺(jué)得穩(wěn)定和進(jìn)步，這才是政府該有的邏輯思維。”但是，尼日利亞南北方的鴻溝一時(shí)還無(wú)法消除。因此，北方人民怨恨情緒日益高長(zhǎng)。

【重點(diǎn)解析】

1.terrorist group 恐怖組織

例句:He was kidnapped and briefly detained by aterrorist group.

他被一個(gè)恐怖組織綁架并短暫拘禁。

2.scores of 很多;幾十

例句:Campaigners lit scores of bonfires inceremonies to mark the anniversary.

參加運(yùn)動(dòng)的人們?cè)诟鞣N儀式上點(diǎn)起一垛垛篝火以紀(jì)念周年慶典。

3.as well as 既…又…;除…之外

例句:As well as many democrats, including jimmy carter.

同時(shí)也有很多民主黨人，包括卡特。

4.struggle to 努力;奮力

例句:Curiously, the struggle to survive has greatly improved her health.

奇怪的是，她拼命求生的抗?fàn)幨沟盟�的健康狀況大有好轉(zhuǎn)。