英国卫报:西班牙小镇为何成疫情重灾区(9)（在线收听）

“People started asking if we could do something for their kids’ birthdays,

“人们开始问我们是否可以为他们孩子的生日做点什么，

so we did that too – playing Happy Birthday,” Francisco Reina, one of the town’s dozen municipal cops told me.

所以我们也这样做了——播放生日快乐歌，”弗朗西斯科·雷纳告诉我，他是镇上十几位市政警察中的一位。

“Then a local baker offered to make them cakes, so we delivered those.

后来，当地的一位面包师主动提出要给他们做蛋糕，所以我们就送去了。

We even got out and danced La Macarena.” Reina kept going even after his wife joined the sick and took to her bed.

我们甚至还跳了拉玛卡莲娜舞。甚至在雷纳的妻子患病并卧床之后，他都一直坚持着。

“We surprised one couple on their golden anniversary, playing the wedding march,” he said.

“我们在一对夫妇的金婚纪念日奏响了婚礼进行曲，给了他们惊喜。”

“That man wept.” Now the police station is full of brightly painted children’s pictures, sent in thanks.

那个男人哭了。现在派出所里满是人们寄来致谢的色彩鲜艳的儿童画。

The only visible signs of the pandemic scything its way through the town

这场严重疫情横扫城镇的唯一可见的迹象是，

were the muted to-and-fro of ambulances and hearses making daytime trips down empty streets to collect the infected and the dead.

白天，静音的救护车和灵车在空荡荡的街道上开来开去，接走被感染的人和死者。

Reina and his colleagues rescued the very sick from apartments, helped ambulance crews, and took food to those who couldn’t shop.

雷纳和他的同事们从公寓里救出了病重的人，帮助救护人员，给那些无法购物的人送去食物。

There was also anger. Posters appeared in windows and on balconies. “We want tests,” they read.

人群中还有愤怒。窗户和阳台上出现了海报。“我们需要检查，”他们写道。

Perhaps the most disturbing thing was that Santo Domingo could not mourn its dead.

也许最令人不安的事情是圣多明各不能哀悼它的死者。

In a small town like this, packed with relatives, friends and acquaintances,

在这样一个充满了亲戚朋友和熟人的小镇上，

hundreds may be expected at the velatorio – the 24-hour wake with the body on display – or the later funeral mass.

可能将有数百人参加守灵，即遗体被展示24小时的守夜仪式，或随后的葬礼弥撒。

A local group called I Like Santo Domingo lobbied for the cathedral bells, which are housed in their own baroque tower, to be rung in honour of the dead.

一个名为“我喜欢圣多明各”的当地组织游说说，应该在大教堂的巴洛克式塔中敲响钟声，以纪念死者。

On the evening of 22 March they chimed solemnly for two minutes as people stood silently at windows or on balconies – a tradition repeated every Monday over the following weeks.

3月22日晚上，当人们在窗户或阳台上静静地站着的时候，他们庄严地敲了两分钟的钟——这一传统在接下来的几周里的每周一都会重复。

It was, at least, a communal mourning. “That was really important to the families,” said the journalist Albo, who doubles as the group’s president.

它至少是一次公共的悼念。“这对家属来说真的很重要，”兼任该组织主席的记者阿尔博说。

“At least they felt that people were supporting them in their grief.”

”至少他们感到人们在悲伤中支持着他们。