英国卫报:绑架为何成了一门生意(1)（在线收听）

In 1982, a British insurance broker named Doug Milne set out in search of new markets.

1982年，一位名叫道格·米尔恩的英国保险经纪人开始寻找新的市场。

His speciality was kidnapping and ransom insurance, known in the industry as K&R.

他的专长是绑架和赎金保险，在业内被称为“K&R”。

Milne enrolled in a Spanish-language course in London,

米尔恩在伦敦参加了一个西班牙语课程，

and a month later, with rudimentary skills and only one or two solid contacts on the ground, he boarded a flight to Bogota.

一个月后，他掌握了基本的技能，在只有一两位可靠联系人的情况下，乘飞机前往了波哥大。

On his first day in the Colombian capital, Milne was walking to a meeting with a potential client when, he recalled,

在他去哥伦比亚首都的第一天，米尔恩和一位潜在的客户去参加会议，据他回忆，

“a guy pulled up alongside and this chap who was walking in front of me, his head just exploded”.

“当时一个人在旁边停下车，然后走在我前面的家伙就被爆头了。”

It was a drive-by assassination. Milne cancelled the meeting and spent the afternoon in a bar near Bogota’s entertainment district.

那是一次驾车刺杀。米尔恩取消了那次会议，并在波哥大娱乐区附近的一家酒吧度过了一个下午。

“I missed my meeting and I think I left there about 11pm after having drunk a couple of flagons of Tres Esquinas rum,” Milne told me.

米尔恩告诉我，“我错过了我的会议，在喝了几大瓶特雷斯·埃斯奎纳斯朗姆酒之后，我在晚上11点左右离开了那里。”

He was, of course, horrified. But he also realised that he’d come to the right place.

当然，他吓坏了。但他也意识到他来对地方了。

While he knew nothing about the victim or the motive,

虽然他对受害者和动机一无所知，

the murder drove home to him the extent to which Colombian society was at the mercy of criminals and guerillas.

但是这起谋杀案使他清楚地认识到，哥伦比亚社会在多大程度上受到罪犯和游击队的支配。

His clients needed what he had to offer.

他的客户想要他提供的东西。

Kidnapping and ransom insurance was created in the 1930s,

绑架和赎金保险创立于20世纪30年代，

but it wasn’t until the 60s that it began to really catch on, following a spate of kidnappings in Europe by groups such as Eta in Spain,

但是它直到60年代才开始变得流行起来，因为一些组织在欧洲发起了一连串绑架事件，比如西班牙的埃塔组织，

the Red Army Faction in Germany and the Red Brigades in Italy.

德国的红军派和意大利的红军旅。

The appeal was simple: in the event of a kidnapping, the insurance would provide reimbursement for ransom payment.

他们的诉求很简单：发生绑架事件时，保险公司会提供赎金补偿。

There were caveats to prevent fraud and to ensure that the existence of the policy did not actually increase the risk of kidnapping.

还有一些防止欺诈的警告，并确保该政策的存在不会实际上增加绑架的风险。

The first was that the policy had to be kept secret.

首先，这项政策必须保密。

In fact, it could be voided if its existence became public.

事实上，如果被公开的话，它可能会被作废。

The concern was that if the kidnappers knew of the policy, they would demand more money.

人们担心的是，如果绑匪知道这个政策，他们会要求更多的钱。