伊拉克和黎巴嫩的年轻人求“乌托邦”社会

翻译 | 张丁源

Young Iraqis and Lebanese aren't just demanding better societies. They're creating them at protest sites

在抗议地点，伊拉克和黎巴嫩的年轻人们要求并创造着“乌托邦”社会

November 7, 2019

Tamara Qiblawi and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN)An elderly woman in an SUV snakes through a crowd of young people on Beirut's main highway, known as "the Ring.""You shouldn't have let her pass!" protester Amir Baroudy, 26, yells at a group of youths, apparently distracted from the task at hand: forcing a road closure.

The demonstrators are scattered around the entrance to the Ring. Some form a circle, sitting cross-legged on the asphalt.One protester rolls a cigarette,another scrolls through his phone.A month ago,the city's residents would have considered the scene surreal.But since nationwide protests against political elites and corruption took off on October 17,casual gatherings of young men and women disrupting Lebanon's main arterieshave become the norm.

在贝鲁特被称为“the Ring”主道路上，一位老妇人驾驶着一辆SUV穿过了一群年轻人。“你就不应该让她通过！”26岁的抗议者阿米尔·巴鲁迪冲着年轻人们大喊着，很显然他已经转移了对强制封闭道路这一项工作的注意力。

示威者分散在the Ring的入口处。有些人盘腿坐在柏油路上，围成一圈。一名抗议者卷着香烟，另一名抗议者滑着手机屏幕。一个月前，这个城市的居民会认为这种场景是超现实的。但自从10月17日，全国范围内针对政治精英和腐败问题的抗议活动开始以来，青年男女随意聚会扰乱黎巴嫩的交通要道，已成为常态。

"This specific place is significant," says the long-haired, bearded Baroudy. "The Ring was used to divide people during the civil war, and this is the connecting point." The highway cuts across a former frontline, the "green line" that split predominantly Christian East Beirut from predominantly Muslim West Beirut until the end of the country's civil war in 1990, laying waste to its central district.

"Now this protest unites people together under one cause,one flag,no political parties,no sectarianism.Everyon's here together,united on this bridge,"says Baroudy.

“这个特别的地方很重要，”留着长发、蓄着胡子的巴鲁迪说。“内战期间，the Ring被用来划分不同宗派主义的人们之间的界限。它是一个连接点。”the Ring高速公路横贯曾经的一条前线——“绿线”。截止到1990年该国内战结束，这条“绿线”将以基督徒为主的东贝鲁特与以穆斯林为主的西贝鲁特分隔开来，把贝鲁特的中心区变成了一片废墟。

巴鲁迪说:“这次抗议把人们团结在一份事业、一面旗帜下，没有政党，没有宗派主义。所有人都聚集在这里，团结在这座桥上。”

In Iraq, protests are also ongoing against government corruption, a lack of basic services and growing unemployment. As in Lebanon, demonstrators there have transformed once heavily policed urban spaces into bastions of dissent. In Baghdad's al-Tahrir tunnel, men and women take cover from security forces and treat the wounded. Murals cover the tunnel walls.

The heart of old Beirut -- a neighborhood normally manned by private security guards -- is speckled with clusters of tentswhere activists meet for lively discussions about their future.

在伊拉克，针对政府腐败、缺乏基本服务和失业率上升等问题的抗议活动也在进行。就像在黎巴嫩一样，那里的示威者已经把曾经戒备森严的城市空间变成了异见者的堡垒。在巴格达的塔利尔隧道，男男女女们躲避安全部队，救治伤员。

老贝鲁特的中心——一个通常由私人保安把守的社区——布满了成群的帐篷，抗议人士聚集在那里，就他们的未来展开热烈讨论。

The young lead the charge here. They insist on shaking off political realities they see both as archaic and to blame for a steady decline in their living conditions.

"If you look at the scenes that we've seen in (Lebanon's) Tripoli and Beirut, in Baghdad and Karbala (in Iraq), it's almost like they're trying to replicate how they want society to behave," said analyst and development specialist Hafsa Halawa.

年轻人在这里冲锋陷阵。他们坚持要摆脱政治现实，他们认为政治现实既过时又使他们的生活条件不断下降。

“如果你观察我们在(黎巴嫩的)的黎波里和贝鲁特、巴格达和(伊拉克的)卡尔巴拉看到的情景，你会发现他们几乎是在试图复制他们希望社会如何运转的方式。”分析人士和发展专家哈芙塞·哈拉瓦说。

"Whether it's women who are treating the injured... whether it's couples proposing, whether it's people with rainbow flags, these are all indications of what kind of society they want to live in," she told CNN.

"It's not just about governance. It's primarily about identity. This is what it means to be Lebanese these days.This is what it means to be Iraqi."

“无论是治疗伤者的女性……无论是求婚的情侣，还是LGBT群体，这些都是他们想要生活在什么样的社会的迹象。”

“这不仅仅是治理的问题。它主要是关于身份认同的问题。这就是如今身为黎巴嫩人的意义。这就是作为伊拉克人的意义。”

The young at the forefront

年轻人在最前线

Young protesters in Iraq and Lebanon say they are outraged at the perceived arrogance of the political elite. A proposed tax on WhatsApp calls by the Lebanese government exposed a gaping disconnect between the country's leadership and an increasingly tech-savvy -- as well as impoverished -- population that has come to rely on free phone calls.

伊拉克和黎巴嫩的年轻抗议者说，他们对政治精英的傲慢感到愤怒。黎巴嫩政府提议对WhatsApp的电话征税，暴露出该国领导层与越来越紧跟科技浪潮、越来越贫困、依赖免费电话的黎巴嫩人之间的巨大脱节。

In Iraq, a growing chasm between the political order and younger people (especially those under 25)that formed in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion has caused seething resentment.

"Following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, religious leaders dominated almost every political party. At the time, people accepted these parties and their leaders," said Iraqi activist Ahmed Salim. "Since that time, we have seen a new generation rising. This generation grew up in times of corruption which led to violence and instability in the country."

"We also have a degree of awareness that our parents did not have. We are also connected to the world through social media and television," Salim told CNN.

在伊拉克，2003年入侵后形成的政治秩序与年轻人(尤其是25岁以下的年轻人)之间的鸿沟日益加深

2003年美国入侵伊拉克之后，宗教领袖几乎控制了所有的政党。当时，人们接受了这些政党及其领导人。“从那时起，我们看到了新一代的崛起。这一代人是在腐败的年代长大的，腐败导致暴力和国家的不稳定。”

“我们也有一定程度的意识，这是我们的父母所没有的。我们也通过社交媒体和电视与世界联系在一起。”萨利姆告诉CNN。

Protests in Iraq were met with the brute power of the security forces. Over 200 protesters have been killed and thousands injured since the start of the protests, according to the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq. But the young continued to defy the threat of violence, organizing around places such as al-Tahrir bridge, with young men and women treating the wounded and giving out water, food, hard hats and gas masks to demonstrators facing tear gas.

伊拉克的抗议活动遭到了安全部队的野蛮镇压。据伊拉克人权独立高级委员会称，自抗议活动开始以来，已有200多名抗议者被杀，数千人受伤。但年轻人仍不顾暴力威胁，在解放桥等地组织起来，为伤者提供治疗，并向面临催泪瓦斯的示威者分发水、食物、安全帽和防毒面具。

"The groups provide logistical support, fundraising, delivery of medical material, medical volunteers from the medical schools. Tents, and tents. We also use tuk tuk to transport the wounded," says activist Salim, referring to the yellow motorized rickshaws typically used as taxis in working-class neighborhoods.

Dozens of tuk tuk drivers volunteered to help evacuate the injured, as well as to deliver water and food to protesters from people donating them.

这些组织提供后勤支持、筹款、运送医疗物资、以及来自医学院的医疗志愿者。帐篷,还提供很多帐篷。我们还用嘟嘟车运送伤员，”活动人士萨利姆(Salim)说。

数十名“嘟嘟车”司机自愿帮助疏散伤者，并从捐款者手中向抗议者运送水和食物。

"The tuk tuk has become a symbol of the revolution. We even created a 'Tuk Tuk' newspaper," Salim said.

Like the Arab uprisings of 2011, social media has helped galvanize this autumn's Middle Eastern protests, providing tools for organization, and allowing calls for political renewal to cut across social classes, attracting followers in urban and rural areas alike.

“嘟嘟车已经成为革命的象征。我们甚至还创办了一份’嘟嘟‘报。“萨利姆说。

与2011年的阿拉伯起义一样，社交媒体帮助激发了今年秋天的中东抗议活动，为组织提供了工具，并允许政治改革的呼声跨越社会阶层，吸引了城市和农村地区的追随者。

Human rights are key to the protest movement. Even as protesters call for better economic conditions and object to corruption, they insist on transcending religious and class divisions.

The national flags of Iraq and Lebanon have emerged as an unlikely symbol of dissent in these movements. Protesters painted national emblems on their faces and draped flags on their shoulders as they faced off with security forces. A mural at Baghdad's al-Tahrir tunnel portrays a woman waving the Iraqi flag, with writing that reads: "We want a nation."

伊拉克和黎巴嫩的国旗出人意料地成为这些运动中持不同政见者的象征。在与安全部队对峙时，抗议者在脸上画上了国家的象征，并将国旗披在肩上。在巴格达塔里尔隧道的一幅壁画上，一名妇女挥舞着伊拉克国旗，上面写着:“我们想要一个国家。”

Protesters hold sectarian political systems, which Iraq and Lebanon have in common, accountable for the social barriers that have fueled decades of civil unrest.

"Our protests are unlike protests in the past. Before, protests were a mix of religious groups making political demands," said Sahar Qassim, a 28-year-old activist in Baghdad. "Now, the protests are political, and religion does not play a role in our demands."

抗议者认为，伊拉克和黎巴嫩所共有的宗派政治制度是造成数十年内乱的社会障碍的原因。

“我们的抗议不同于过去的抗议。在此之前，抗议是宗教团体提出政治要求的混合体。“现在，抗议是政治性的，宗教在我们的要求中没有发挥作用。”

Social utopias and political organizing

社会乌托邦和政治组织

But amid the displays of unity, some protesters privately worry that they are not sufficiently organized. Political figures, such as Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed political and militant group Hezbollah, have criticized the movement for being "unclear" about their demands.

The slogans that resonate most loudly are "the people want the downfall of the regime" and "revolution."

但是在团结的表现中，一些抗议者私下里担心他们没有足够的组织。伊朗支持的政治和军事组织真主党(Hezbollah)的领导人哈桑纳斯鲁拉(Hassan Nasrallah)等政治人物批评这场运动对他们的要求“不明确”。

最能引起共鸣的口号是“人民要求政权垮台”和“革命”。

"One of the questions I constantly come back to in looking at both protests, is, you want to renew the political class, where do we even start?" says Halawa.

In Lebanon, a prominent figure in the protests, Charbel Nahas, has repeatedly warned that the country could "slip into violence" in the absence of political organizing.

So far, however, the movements have insisted that they are leaderless. Lists of demands have emerged at protest sites, but many of the calls compete with one another, with few groups presenting themselves as capable of leading their countries into a new phase. "Political parties" is a reviled term to many, who feel it is reminiscent of the heavily factionalized status quo.

哈拉瓦说:“在看到这两次抗议活动时，我经常想的一个问题是，你想要重建政治阶层，那么我们从哪里开始呢?”

在黎巴嫩，抗议活动中的重要人物查贝尔·纳哈斯(Charbel Nahas)多次警告说，如果没有政治组织，黎巴嫩可能会“陷入暴力”。

然而，到目前为止，这些运动都是群龙无首的。抗议地点已经出现了一系列要求，但许多要求相互竞争，很少有组织自称有能力领导自己的国家进入一个新阶段。对许多人来说，“政党”是一个备受诟病的词，他们觉得这个词让人联想到严重的党派化现状。

Protesters also fear that more political organization may disrupt the "social utopias" of the demonstration sites, Halawa said.Having protesters commit to political plans could potentially divide people, and engaging with the politicians means that the protest movement could become tainted by the wheeling and dealing of politicians. Halawa called it the movement's "paradox."

"When the movement becomes political, when it reaches the point when representatives are negotiating on their behalf with the regime, the problem becomes ownership," she said. "Everybody owns it but you can't all be in the room at the same time."

"It is a question of having to sacrifice part of that utopia that is your protest center in order to play the game," Halawa said. "The game is inherently dirty. That's politics."

哈拉瓦说，抗议者还担心更多的政治组织可能会破坏示威场所的“社会乌托邦”。让抗议者致力于政治计划可能会造成人们的分歧，而与政客们接触意味着抗议活动可能会因政客们的花言巧语而蒙上污点。哈拉瓦称之为运动的“悖论”。

她说:“当这场运动变成政治运动，当代表们代表自己与政府谈判时，问题就变成了所有权问题。”“每个人都拥有它，但你不可能同时在一个房间里。”

哈拉瓦说:“问题是，为了玩这个游戏，你必须牺牲部分乌托邦式的抗议中心。”“这个游戏本来就是肮脏的。这就是政治。”

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