美国国家公共电台 NPR--El Salvador's fight against gang violence came at the cost of civil rights

El Salvador's fight against gang violence came at the cost of civil rights

Transcript¹

It's been nearly a year since El Salvador's state of exception began. The effort to crack down on gangs has been hugely popular with the public there, but it has also come at a huge human cost.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

For almost a year, El Salvador has lived under what the government calls a state of exception, like an exception to the rules. Authorities suspended some basic civil rights. The government jailed more than 60,000 people, saying it was fighting gang violence. A violent country did become peaceful. Although, there was a cost. Here's NPR's Eyder Peralta.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE²: A few years ago, you wouldn't dream of walking through this part of Soyapango.

VILMA: (Through interpreter) My daughters grew up with panic. They asked, what are we doing here? We're waiting to be killed?

PERALTA: Vilma (ph) and her friend, Orbelina (ph), were outside in a field watching their grandkids play. Like everyone in this story, they've asked us to use only their first names because they're afraid of government reprisals³. Orbelina says she once got caught in the crossfire⁴. Bodies used to be left in the alleys⁵ of this neighborhood. Now this whole city is surrounded by troops. And this place is now peaceful. I asked Orbelina if the change is real.

ORBELINA: (Through interpreter) It's real. It's a huge, huge change.

PERALTA: Indeed, the military has swept through neighborhoods like these. By some estimates, they have thrown about 2% of El Salvador's population in jail. And you feel it here. Buses run empty. Businesses are shuttered. And most of the people you see on the streets are children, women or older men.

(SOUNDBITE OF CEMENT RUSTLING)

PERALTA: Onofrito is 68 years old. And he's helping⁶ his daughter renovate⁷ her house. The new peace gave her enough confidence to build, he says.

ONOFRITO: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: "In the old days, if someone tried to deliver this cement," he says, "he'd be taxed by the gangs." The gangs terrorize communities. They harass⁸ citizens. They turn neighborhoods into war zones. So on these streets, you hear little sympathy. Let them rot in jail. Kill them, people told me. But Onofrito says innocent people have gotten picked up, too.

ONOFRITO: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: He points to a house near a coconut⁹ tree. The old man there, he said, was innocent. But he was taken. And he wasn't released for more than a month. When he came back, he looked terrible. His mind was gone. He was weak. He looked yellow.

ONOFRITO: (Through interpreter) But maybe that's the way it's got to be. Someone always pays the price.

PERALTA: We keep walking. And we get a reminder¹⁰ that things are more complicated than they appear.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUN FIRING)

PERALTA: This new El Salvador is the work of President Nayib Bukele. In 2019, he inherited a country with one of the worst homicide rates in the world. And now he's touting¹¹ more than 300 days without a killing¹². Ruth Lopez of the human rights group Cristosal says this comes along with runaway¹³ authoritarianism¹⁴.

RUTH LOPEZ: (Through interpreter) What we have is a rupture¹⁵ of democracy, a rupture of the constitution.

PERALTA: Bukele, she says, has taken ahold of all three branches of government. He has installed loyal judges and loyal lawmakers. He has defied the constitution and says he will run for a third term. And this war on gangs, she says, has been undertaken with reckless disregard for human life. The suspension of constitutional guarantees means Salvadorans can be held for months, years even, without charges. Human Rights Watch says the government has been arbitrary, picking up more than 1,000 children.

LOPEZ: (Through interpreter) In medical terms, it's like having a brain tumor¹⁶ and treating it by cutting off the head.

PERALTA: Lopez says this is not sustainable. What happens when gang members are let out of prison? What happens to the families who lost parents, who lost children? Plus, she says, all the social problems that led so many Salvadorans to join gangs are not being addressed.

LOPEZ: (Through interpreter) That means this is a temporary solution.

PERALTA: In an interview with NPR, Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador's justice minister, says they studied the gangs. And this is a measured approach for a huge problem.

GUSTAVO VILLATORO: You only have one way, to use all your tools that you have in your constitution to fight against another unconstitutional government.

PERALTA: Villatoro says they've built the biggest prison in Central America, and all of those gang members won't leave, quote, "walking." He shrugs¹⁷ off the concerns of human rights groups.

VILLATORO: We have more than 6 million supporting the whole strategy.

PERALTA: And he's mostly right. Salvadorans, by and large, support President Bukele. In a recent independent poll, Bukele had an 84% approval rating.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

PERALTA: Back in Soyapango, we tracked down Jose (ph) at the house near the coconut tree. He's in his 60s. Decades ago, he moved to San Salvador from a rural region.

JOSE: (Through interpreter) I didn't see a TV until I was 25 years old.

PERALTA: To make ends meet, he sells vegetables and bread. And he has no idea why police barged into his house in the middle of the night. He has no tattoos¹⁸. The gangs would steal from him, so he has no idea why he was taken to jail and thrown in a tiny cell with more than 20 others. They slept on the floor. And it was so crowded, they had to sleep on their sides.

JOSE: (Through interpreter) They gave us a spoonful of beans and two bags of water.

PERALTA: He spent more than a month in jail. Like most of those arrested, he was charged with unlawful association. They let him out because he was near death.

JOSE: (Through interpreter) I never imagined that I would end up behind bars, that they would take all of my clothes, that I would have to use the bathroom in front of everyone.

PERALTA: His wife told me that they are Christian¹⁹, so they forgive the government. I ask Jose if he feels the same. He nods, but his eyes grow teary.

JOSE: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: This pain, he says, he'll never get over it. He hits his knees with his fists to stop himself from crying and turns to Scripture²⁰.

JOSE: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: The parable²¹ of weeds, he says. In it, Jesus warns that one should be careful that if you're in a hurry to pull the weeds, you could also root out the wheat.

Eyder Peralta, NPR News, San Salvador.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

5 alleys   

胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径

参考例句：

• I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
• The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

8 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

9 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

14 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

15 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

16 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

17 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

18 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

20 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

21 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。