VOA常速英语2014--New Maryland Rail Line Stirs Up Holocaust Reparations Debate 新马里兰铁路引屠杀赔偿争议

 

New Maryland Rail Line Stirs Up Holocaust¹ Reparations Debate 新马里兰铁路引屠杀赔偿争议

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND — During World War II, France’s state-run railway the Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais, or SNCF, transported thousands of Jews to their deaths in Nazi² prison camps.  Today, the same rail company is the majority stockholder bidding on a light rail project in the U.S. state of Maryland.  Some Maryland lawmakers are pushing for SNCF to pay reparations to Holocaust victims and their families before participating in the project.  

在二战期间，法国国家铁路公司，SNCF，曾运输过数千名犹太人进纳粹集中营。现在，这家铁路公司是竞标美国马里兰州轻轨项目的大股东。在SNCF公司参加这个项目之前，马里兰议员就SNCF公司对大屠杀受害者及家属赔款一事施加压力。

The proposed rail line, called the Purple Line, would run through here and connect to the Silver Spring stop on its path through the Maryland suburbs. But 70-year-old actions are affecting today’s decisions, and it’s anything but business as usual.

这条竞标铁路，名字是夏尔，是连接银泉站与马里兰郊区的必经之路。但七十年前的事件仍然影响今天的判断，这决不只是一个普通的商业决策。

“The suffering didn’t end in the gas chambers³ and the crematoria of Auschwitz," said Ellen Lightman.

“苦难并没有在奥斯维辛的毒气室和火葬场结束。”艾伦·莱特曼叹息道。

Maryland resident Ellen Lightman cherishes keepsakes of her family lost in the Holocaust.

马里兰居民艾伦·莱特曼珍藏着大屠杀中已逝亲人的纪念品。

“And there was always this hole about what were they really like," she wonders.

“心中总有一片空白，也只有他们才能填满。”她疑惑道。

During World War II, France was overrun by German troops, and French trains and rail employees were placed under Nazi control.

在二战期间，法国曾被德国军队占领，法国火车及铁路雇员都处在纳粹掌控之下。

Lightman's family members were among 76,000 people - mostly Jews - transported by SNCF rail to Nazi death camps.

莱特曼的家属是那些经SNCF铁路运输到纳粹死亡集中营且大多数为犹太人的76000人之一。

“They were paid per head, per kilometer to transport people. Human beings! They were complicit and they need to be held accountable," she said.

“他们按每份人头，每千米路程收费。人性啊！他们是共犯！他们需要承担责任！”她说道。

“SNCF did not do it. The Nazis⁴ did it," said Alain Leray, president of SNCF America

“SNCF公司并没有这样做。而是纳粹党造成了伤害。”SNCF公司美国董事长阿兰·勒雷表示。

Alain Leray is the president of SNCF America and says the company also paid a heavy toll⁵.

阿兰·勒雷是SNCF公司美国分部的董事长，他表示公司也付出了惨痛的代价。

“Eight hundred were executed because they had disobeyed orders," he said. "Another 1,200 were deported⁶ and murdered in deportation⁷, so when I hear that we were somehow complicit, were we really complicit with more than 2,100 of our employees being murdered by the Nazis?”

“因为不遵守命令，近800名后员工被处决。”他提到，“另有1200人被驱逐出境及境外被害。所以当我听到公司是同谋时，我想问如果我们真是同谋关系，纳粹党谋杀会掉那2100多名员工吗？”

International agreements between France, which controls SNCF, and other countries have already provided remedies for Holocaust victims.

很多国家与掌控SNCF公司的法国达成国际共识，均为大屠杀受害者提供救援。

“It is actually the French government that needs to get off the dime⁸ and provide for the U.S. what it has for four other countries," said international law professor Mark Lagon.

“法国政府需要舍弃这些蝇头小利，为美国提供其他四国所能提供的。”国际法教授马克·洛根说道。

Some worry that pushing SNCF to pay reparations now could damage current French-American negotiations⁹.

也有人顾虑如果迫使SNCF公司赔款，这会对现法美谈判造成影响。

“I feel the opposite. It’s, in a sense, the bad cop that allows negotiations to take place successfully with a good cop in the executive branch," said Lagon.

“我感觉恰好相反。从某种程度来说，只要有好警察在行政部门，坏警察也能促使谈判成功。”洛根表示。

For SNCF, billions are at stake ahead of fast approaching bidding deadlines.

对SNCF公司来说，临近竞标最后期限时千万美元正处于紧要关头。

For Lightman, justice has no expiration¹⁰ date.

对莱特曼来说，正义也没有到来的那一天。

“It went back to them-“return to sender” because they were transported out of there already," she said.

“问题又重新回到他们身上，‘回到寄信人手中’，因为被转移的是他们。”她认为。

She vows¹¹ to fight on, continuing to speak for those who can no longer speak for themselves.

她宣誓要斗争到底，继续为那些已经不再为自己争取权益的人奋斗。

“There is no cut off for forgetting or not remembering," said Lightman.

“没有办法遗忘，也没有办法不去想起。”莱特曼说道。

 

Officials involved in the negotiations say they hope to settle the dispute on Holocaust reparations for U.S. citizens by the end of summer.  That is well within the timeframe for building the new line here, since the winning bid will be selected in 2015.

谈判中的相关政府官员表示，他们希望这个夏天之前处理好美国公民大屠杀赔偿问题。在其实是非常好的时间线，因为至2015年才会选出胜出竞标者。

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

4 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

8 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

11 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。