Confessions of A Sniper (3)

每日一看---Confessions of A Sniper(3)

Night falls on a Syrian rebel-controlled area including the destroyed Dar Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Nov. 29, 2012.
攝於2012/11/29，夜晚降臨在敘利亞叛軍控制的區域，包括阿勒波市遭摧毀的達阿西法醫院

It didn't start this way--neither for this young rebel nor the revolution. "I think I'm unrecognizable now," the Sniper says. "I never really thought I'd kill someone." But he has killed--34 people who did not see his bullet coming, including, he suspects but cannot quite admit, his childhood friend Mohammad, a man who was "dearer to me than a brother."

不管是對這位年輕的叛軍，還是整個革命，事情都不是這樣開始的。「我覺得自己已經悖離初衷了，」這位狙擊手說，「我從沒想過自己真的殺了人。」但他確實殺了人---共有34位來不及看見他子彈飛來的人，包括一位可能被自己射殺的童年好友，默罕莫德。對這位狙擊手來說，默罕莫德「比兄弟還親」。

The Syrian revolution is also unrecognizable from 20 months ago, when Syrians first took to the streets in peaceful protests demanding freedom and dignity from a totalitarian leader who allowed little of either. The uprising soon morphed into an armed revolt as soldiers defected and men took up arms against the loyalist troops shooting into the crowds and going house-to-house looking for dissenters. As the conflict became deeper and bloodier, and the international community looked on impotently, armed rebels scrounging for help were increasingly compelled to compete for resources. Various backers — both Syrian and foreign, private and state-sponsored — entered the fray, picking their men on the ground and funneling weapons and money to them. The help wasn’t always free: it often required pledges of allegiance, which many rebels have said they made with little intention of keeping. The money and weapons haven’t really bought the rebels’ love or obedience, just their temporary gratitude.

而敘利亞革命也已悖離初衷。20個月前，敘利亞人民首次踏上街頭，和平抗議、要求專制獨裁的領導人給予自由與尊嚴。但這場起義馬上變為武裝暴動，士兵變節、人民拿起武器，攻擊掃射人群、家戶搜索異議份子的政府軍。隨著這場衝突加劇、濺起更多鮮血，以及世界各國只能無能為力旁觀，四處尋求資助的武裝叛軍只能不斷競爭，搶取資源。不論來自敘利亞國內還是國外，私人贊助還是官方支持，四面八方的金主進入戰區、吸收新手下，運送武器和金錢給叛軍。不過，這些幫忙可不是免費的。金主通常會要求締結盟約，但想維持盟約關係的叛軍其實少之又少。這些武器和金錢買到的不是叛軍的愛或服從，而是暫時的感激。

小解說：unrecognizable(a)未被承認的，無法辨識的，無法認出的；totalitarian(a) 極權主義的，一黨專制的 (n)極權主義者；impotently(adv) 無能為力地；funnel(n)漏斗，煙囪 (v) 匯集，送入、注入

Free Syrian Army fighters sit in a house on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, June 12, 2012.
幾位敘利亞自由軍坐在一間屋內，位於阿勒波市邊境。攝於2012/6/12

Regime soldiers overtake a building at the end of street 15 in Salah Aldeen, Aleppo, Aug. 4, 2012. Three snipers targeted the group Nour el Deen Zenki and their headquarters while tanks support with rockets from the side. By the end of the day, snipers were taken out and the street was reclaimed.

2012/8/4政府軍拿下此棟建築，位於阿勒波市薩拉阿登的15街尾。3位狙擊手攻擊努爾丁札克組織及其總部，但敵方配有火箭的坦克正從另一邊夾擊。當天結束時，叛軍狙擊手被驅逐出去，該街重獲政府控制。