英国 北爱尔兰

　　Wrapped in the flag

　　国旗纠纷

　　The loyalist protests in Belfast have almost nothing to do with politics. That is why they are so alarming

　　贝尔法斯特的保皇抗议无关政治，却令人担忧。

　　OVER the past six weeks flag-draped protesters have become part of the Belfast landscape. Loyalists arrange demonstrations and road blocks—up to 80 a night—on social media, which means local residents usually know roughly where they will take place. Belfast’s bus company, Translink, tweets rolling updates on which services have been disrupted; taxi drivers get the news from their dispatchers. On days when many protests are expected, rush hour starts early; by evening, normally busy roads are almost deserted.

　　过去六个月披着国旗的抗议者成了北爱尔兰首府贝尔法斯特街头的一道景观。社交媒体报道保皇军组织游行示威，安放路障，一晚上达到80之多，这意味着当地的居民通常大概知道反对者在哪里举行示威。贝尔法斯特的公交公司，Translink,，在推特上滚动更新哪里的服务中断，出租车司机从车上广播调度员中得知信息。若某天预计会发生许多反抗时，一大早人们就匆匆忙忙做事了，到了晚上， 公交车路上通常几乎没人了。

　　The protests began on December 3rd, when Belfast city council voted to limit the number of days the union flag is flown over the city hall to about 20 a year, mostly national holidays and royal birthdays. In Northern Ireland the flag has a political meaning. It is not just a reminder that the province is part of the United Kingdom but a visual statement that it must remain so. To many Catholics—who may now outnumber Protestants in Belfast—it is also a reminder of a less equal past. Unionists on the city council voted against the restriction on flag-flying. But few were prepared for what has followed.

　　反对活动是12月3日开始的，因为贝尔法斯特市政厅做出一项决定，限制悬挂英国国旗的时间每年只有20天，大多数只在国家假期和皇家生日时悬挂。在北爱尔兰国旗有着政治含义，不仅提醒人们这个省是英格兰的一部分，同时是一种视觉上表达北爱尔兰必须一直这样。对许多天主教徒来说，国旗也提醒他们不平等的过去（尔法斯特天主教徒数目可能多于新教徒）。市政厅的工会会员投票反对限制悬挂英国国旗的时间。但只有极少的人准备好面对随之而来的问题。

　　Loyalist protesters, mostly from inner-city housing estates, have taken to the streets night after night. Wearing masks and singing sectarian songs, they have all but shut down Belfast’s city centre. On bigger nights, up to 2,000 may be involved. Most are fairly peaceful, although police have been pelted with bricks and petrol bombs (and by blocking roads and covering their faces, protesters are breaking the law). Predicting which gatherings will turn sour is difficult: the protesters appear to have no leaders. Spokesmen occasionally appear, but most are wild-eyed ranters—“headcases”, in Belfast argot.

　　保皇派反对者，大部分来自内陆城市住宅区，日复一夜的到街上游行示威。他们戴着面具，高唱宗教主义之歌，这些举措已经迫使贝尔法斯特的市中心关闭。在一些人数更多的晚上，可能有2000人参与其中。警察在处理冲突时，遭到了砖块以及燃烧弹的袭击，但大部分反对者都相当平静（他们破坏法律，阻断道路，蒙面）。预测这些集会最终不会成功是困难的：这些反对者似乎没有领导者。发言者偶尔出现，但大都数是睁大眼睛的谩骂者-跟疯子一样，在贝尔法斯特是种暗语。

　　The unpredictability of the protests is just one of the problems facing the police. Around 100 protesters have been arrested since early December and more than 60 officers have been injured. The police have used baton rounds (plastic bullets) and water cannons against the rioters, but they are treading carefully. As well as hooded thugs, the protesters include old folk and young mothers pushing babies in prams. Senior officers fear that uproar would follow any injuries, so they generally allow the roads to be blocked.

　　反对者的不可预测性只是警察面临的问题之一。12月初已经大约100个反对者被捕，60多个官员受伤。警察已经用防暴弹（塑料子弹）和高压水炮攻击骚乱者，但他们却很谨慎的对待。同样一些蒙面的暴徒，反对者包括老年人和推着婴儿车的年轻母亲。高级官员担心不断上升的骚乱会导致一些人员受伤，所以他们一般同意阻断道路。

　　The effect on Belfast’s economy is chilling. Usually busy shops and restaurants are empty on many evenings, while hotels report that people are cancelling their visits.Northern Ireland’s devolved government has recently been trying to boost its economy by luring tourists and foreign businessmen. A glitzy new exhibition centre dedicated to the Titanic (a ship built in Belfast) opened last spring. Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness—the country’s unionist first minister and his republican deputy—visited China in November to drum up business and will soon go back. The rioting is undoing these efforts. Investors have become jumpy, says the local branch of the Confederation of British Industry, a lobby group.

　　这些暴乱使贝尔法斯特经济陷入瘫痪。好几个晚上平日繁忙的商店和饭店都空无一人，旅馆也称人们取消了他们的来访。恢复自治权的北爱尔兰政府最近一直试图通过吸引旅客和外商投资来刺激经济增长。去年春天纪念泰坦尼克号的一个耀眼的展览中心开放了，因为这艘船是在贝尔法斯特建造的。北爱尔兰联合党的第一任主席彼得-罗宾逊（Peter Robinson）和他的共和党副主席-和马丁·麦吉尼斯（Martin McGuinness）在12月访问了中国，并将很快返国。此次行程在于促进经济发展。暴乱者正在破坏了他们所作的这些努力。投资者开始忐忑不安，认为英国工业联合会的当地分支是一个游说集团。

　　The riots have not yet threatened the peace process. Unionist politicians, even from the once-hardline Democratic Unionist Party, have condemned the violence while defending the flying of the union flag. The protests are less political than cultural—they reflect a sense among poor Belfast Protestants that Catholics are getting everything they want and that unionist heritage is being erased. The protesters appear to have no demands other than restoring the flag, though one hot head has called for a return to direct rule from Westminster—in effect, tearing up the country’s fragile peace. Unionist leaders have set up a forum to talk about flags and other loyalist complaints, but the protesters are not co-operating.

　　暴乱者还没有威胁到北爱尔兰的和平进程。联合党的政治家，即使是来自曾经强硬的民族联合党，谴责这些暴乱行为，同时支持悬挂英国国旗。 此次抗议其文化意义远大于政治意义，他们反映了贝尔法斯特可怜的新教徒的一种情绪，即天主教徒能得到他们一切所需的并且联合党的历史遗迹正在被抹除。反对者似乎除了要求恢复悬挂国旗外，没有其他要求，虽然一个性情鲁莽的人号召威斯敏斯特规则的回归，其实质是粉碎这个国家脆弱的平静。联合党领导者开设论坛讨论悬挂国旗和其它保皇派埋怨的问题，但是反对者不愿意配合。

　　The lack of a clear political motive makes the explosion of loyalist rage more dangerous rather than less. An angry group seemingly beyond the reach of politicians or rational arguments cannot be easily tackled.Northern Ireland’s fragile peace has held only because fierce political enemies have been able to control their constituencies and deliver functional government. If they lose the ability to control the streets, their authority could follow. These disturbances may burn out, only to flare again unexpectedly.

　　缺乏一个清晰的政治动机使保皇派的暴发活动危险变多而不是减少。一个愤怒的集团不在政客的掌控之下，合理的争论也不能得到简单地解决。北爱尔兰脆弱的和平状况得以维持仅仅是因为凶险的政治敌人已经有能力控制他们的选区并且产生功能型的政府。即使英国失去了对北爱尔兰的政治控制权，但是他对这个国家的影响和权威仍得到保留。这些混乱可能终有一天会耗尽消失，却会出乎意料的再次爆发。

　　One thing is clear: the cash-strapped Westminster government cannot pour money into Northern Ireland, as it has in the past when trouble has flared. Unemployment, which has doubled since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, is likely to stay high, creating more idle hands. Northern Ireland’s devolved government will have to cope with this problem by itself. It is quite a test.

　　有件事情是明确的：缺乏资金的威斯敏斯特政府不可能把钱投入到北爱尔兰政府中，因为过去问题出现时他们这样做过。2008年金融危机出现时，失业率翻了两番，并有可能上升，导致更多的人没有工作。北爱尔兰权利已交接的政府必须靠自己解决这个问题，对他们来说，这的确是个考验。

　　1.take place 发生

　　例句:A total solar eclipse is due to take place some time tomorrow.

　　明天某个时刻会发生日全食。

　　2.block up 堵塞

　　例句:With this disease the veins in the liver can block up, and all sorts of damage follows.

　　这种病会堵塞肝脏中的静脉，并引发多种损伤。

　　3.rush hour 高峰期

　　例句:I had to drive eight miles at rush hour.

　　我得在交通高峰时间行车8英里。

　　4.tear up 撕毁

　　例句:The Indian began tearing up damp grass.

　　印第安人动手拔了一些湿草。