VOA标准英语2012--France, Algeria: Two Lenses on the Past

 

France, Algeria: Two Lenses on the Past

Algeria's war of independence from France has been retold many times - in movies and in history books on both sides of the Mediterranean¹.

Today, the French Army Museum in Paris offers the latest narrative² - casting a sometimes brutal³ look at 132 years of French colonial rule. 

Exhibit curator, Lieutenant-Colonel Christophe Bertrand, says the honesty surprises visitors - especially Algerian ones. "We tried to balance our outlook" he says, "to have a historic vision - so it's a fairly new view of what the French army did," he said.

Bertrand says the exhibit is trying to offer a building stone toward a reconciliation⁴ that must eventually take place between these two sides.

France's occupation is told through a treasure trove⁵ of objects - uniforms, weapons, paintings, documents, photos and movies. It begins in 1830.

Bertrand says French troops began settling in the capital, Algiers, and along the coast, ending the Ottoman presence. As French conquered Algerian territory, an opposition⁶ was born, first spearheaded by Emir Abd el-Kader.

Over the decades, hundreds of thousands of French, or "pieds noirs," settled in Algeria. Algerians fought alongside French troops in the first and second world wars. But the seeds of resistance remained.

Bertrand says the events of May 8, 1945, when French shot Algerian demonstrators, helped spark the country's war of liberation in 1954.

The exhibit offers grainy films of the fighting and photographs of Algerians being tortured. Later come images of Algerians celebrating their independence, on July 5, 1962.

Fifty years later, the Army Museum's exhibit counts among a flood of books, documentaries, debates and shows here marking the anniversary.

At an art gallery across town, portraits by Algerian artist Mustapha Boutadjine celebrate the women who fought for Algeria.

Boutadjine says some of these women were tortured, raped⁷ and killed during the war. Some were Algerian but others were French. He says nobody talks about their story.

A native of Algiers, Boutadjine was 10 years old when his country became independent.

Boutadjine says his parents were tortured during the war. "They lived the revolution like all the other Algerians." He says it is something he will never forget - but he feels no hatred⁸ toward the French.

Ties still bind⁹ the two nations. Alongside the returning pieds noirs, millions of Algerians have since immigrated¹⁰ to France, raising French children. Arabic words like "toubib," or doctor, now pepper the French language. And singers like Cheb Khaled are household names.

But diplomatic relations are rocky. And the past remains¹¹ painful.

Visiting the Army Museum, 61-year-old Corinne Mathis says the exhibit sheds light on a period few French know much about.

Mathis says school history classes spend little time teaching about France's presence in Algeria. French must be curious to find out on their own.

Another retiree, Algerian Nourredine Kadra, admits ties today could be better.

Kadra says there shouldn't be any problems between France and Algeria. But politicians in both countries are stirring things up.

Curator Bertrand believes historians - like the French and Algerians who helped realize the exhibit - will help bring the two nations closer. With time, he believes, both France and Algeria will reconcile with their common past, and be able to look ahead. 

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

8 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

9 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

10 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。