殘忍的貿易:被交易的新娘們
FOREIGNERS have long been attracted to Sapa and its surrounding mountains in the far north of Vietnam. First it was the French colonists, who built a hill station there. More recently it has been tourists, who come to enjoy the stunning landscape of terraced rice paddies and the colourful world of the Hmong tribes, with their distinctive red, black or “flower” dress. But now, it seems, another type of visitor is finding this territory attractive: gangs of kidnappers who snatch young Hmong women for sale as brides across the border in China.
長期以來, 外國遊客們被位於越南北部,羣山環繞的小城沙壩(SAPA) 所吸引, 沙壩最初曾是法國殖民地, 殖民者們在此修建了避暑山莊, 近來喜愛梯田壯美的景色和苗族多彩天地及苗族人民穿着的有特色的紅色, 黑色或者碎花的民族服裝的遊客們紛至沓來. 但現在, 看上去另一類的”遊客”也被吸引到了這個獨特區域: 拐騙團伙到此騙取年輕的苗族婦女並將她們作爲新娘越境販賣到中國.
The kidnapping has been going on for some time, and locals talk of a number of cases so far this year. The abductions follow a pattern: a Hmong girl is wooed by an out-of-towner—whether from Vietnam or China is not clear—who speaks her language. She is lured to a rendezvous to be drugged and smuggled into China, probably near Lao Cai, about an hour’s drive from Sapa. Tall, pretty girls are said to be particular targets.
這類的拐賣活動已經出現了一段時間了. 今年以來當地的居民們就在談論着很多起類似的拐賣事件. 此類的誘拐通常是這樣的模式: 一個苗族女孩被一個能說苗語的外鄉人(或許是越南人或許是中國人)所誘惑, 被騙到一個指定的地方, 或許是在離開沙壩一小時車程的Lao Cai附近, 然後被下藥迷昏並被偷運進中國. 據說在此類事件中, 個子高且漂亮的女孩子會被當作特別的目標.
One 18-year-old recently managed to get back home to tell her tale after a four-day ordeal. Held captive in China, she escaped through a window and contacted the Chinese police, who returned her to Vietnam. Most do not escape. One of those kidnapped last month was a married woman with a son; friends fear her family may never see her again.
最近一個剛設法逃回家的18歲女孩講訴了她四天的磨難. 她被拐騙到中國後, 從窗戶逃了出來並報警, 中國警察將她送回了越南. 但是大多數的女孩子則無法逃脫, 上個月被拐賣的婦女中有一個是有着一個兒子的已婚婦女, 她的朋友們擔心她的家人可能再也看不到她了.
There is some tradition of bride-kidnapping among the Hmong themselves, but this gangsterised, cross-border variety is especially cruel. Village girls with little knowledge of the outside world tend to be trusting. And the kidnappers seem to operate with impunity—even, according to one account, seeking a reward for returning two underage girls whom they had failed to sell in China.
在苗族人中的確是有類似的拐賣新娘的傳統, 但這類的垮境團伙案件顯得特別殘忍. 村裏長大的女孩子因爲對外界很少了解而容易輕信. 並且綁架者們看來並沒有因此而受到懲罰. 甚至出現這樣的情況, 他們要收到贖金後才能放回兩個因爲太小而無法賣到中國的女孩子.
Within China itself, the abduction and sale of women has long been recognised as a prevalent social evil. Three decades of strict family-planning policies have exacerbated a traditional preference for boy children and contributed to a shortage of marriageable women.
而中國這方面, 拐賣婦女長期以來被認爲是一種普遍存在的社會醜惡事件. 三十年來的嚴格的人口政策加重了傳統意義上的男孩爲主的思維並導致了適婚婦女的短缺.
Relations between Vietnam and China along their 1,300km (800-mile) border have improved: last month officials from the two countries, which fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979, completed a seven-year effort to demarcate the frontier. This, they hope, will open the way for increased links of various sorts. Stepped-up police co-operation to stamp out an evil little trade in Hmong women would be a good start.
有着1300公里(800英里)邊境線的越南和中國之間的關係已得到了改善, 上個月, 曾經在1979年有過短暫但血腥的邊境戰爭的兩國派出了官員完成了歷時7年的兩國邊境的劃界. 兩國希望這個舉動爲增強彼此在各方面的聯繫開闢通道. 而增強兩國警察之間的合作從而撲滅這類罪惡的苗族婦女拐賣貿易行徑將會成爲一個好的開始.
