2015年经济学人 也门人和沙特人 跨越边界的爱恋

Love across the line

The geopolitics of illicit¹ love

FOR daysYemenhas been abuzz with talk of Huda and Arafat. Huda al-Niran, a 22-year-old Saudi woman,

fell in love with Arafat Muhammad, a Yemeni, while he was working inSaudi Arabia.

In October the couple fled toYemenafter her parents refused to let them marry, but Ms Niran was arrested for entering the country illegally.

She seemed set for a quick trial and deportation². Then their love story became a cause célèbre for young Yemenis,

who view it as a version of Romeo and Juliet in the south-west of theArabian peninsula.

On November 26th Ms Niran was freed into the custody³ of the UN for a period of three months, allowing her to seek refugee status.

Yemenis have been gripped by the saga⁴ for several reasons. The country's deep-rooted conservative traditions are slowly changing.

Young middle-class men and women have grown increasingly willing to challenge their families' expectations,

with many now bidding to choose their own spouse⁵ rather than submit to an arranged marriage.

ut more often than not, unlike Mr Muhammad and Ms Niran, they end up putting their adolescent relationships aside and fulfilling their parents' wishes.

Yemeni interest in the star-crossed lovers touches on geopolitics, too.

The case has presented an opportunity for Yemenis to score a point against the Saudis, who want the Yemeni authorities to return Ms Niran.

Many Yemenis resent their richer and more powerful neighbour's interference in their country's affairs.

Moreover, the kingdom recently deported⁶ tens of thousands of Yemeni workers after deciding to cut down on foreign labour.

Many of the Yemeni campaigners who spearheaded the protests that led to the ousting⁷ of President Ali Abdullah Saleh two years ago

have enthusiastically taken up the cause of Ms Niran and Mr Muhammad,

organising street protests to press the government to drop the charges against Ms Niran and grant her refugee status.

They describe their temporary shift in focus from agitating⁸ for political change as ensuring the “victory of love”.

Some Yemenis whisper that public opinion might have been different if the nationalities had been reversed.

“Let's face it,” says a young Yemeni. “If Huda were a Yemeni who ran across the Saudi border with her Saudi boyfriend,

we'd be cursing the Saudis and demanding that they send her back.”

1 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

2 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

5 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

6 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

8 agitating   

搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论

参考例句：

• political groups agitating for social change 鼓吹社会变革的政治团体
• They are agitating to assert autonomy. 他们正在鼓吹实行自治。