國際時事:曼德拉 祝你生日快樂
It has been 65 years of a fulfilling friendship but it was the things that Nelson and I could not do together that cemented our relationship far more than the things that we could.
這是65年的愉快友誼。但讓我們的友誼堅如磐石的，不是我與納爾遜·曼德拉(Nelson Mandela)能夠並肩作戰之事，而是我們無法共事之事。We met in 1948, ironically the year of the dawn of apartheid. We were reading law at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, where the unbearable logic of the National Party invaded our lives in the most unthinkable ways.
我們在1948年認識，諷刺的是，這一年南非開始實施種族隔離制度。我們都在約翰內斯堡金山大學(University of the Witwatersrand)學習法律。在這裏，南非國民黨(National Party)令人無法容忍的邏輯正在以難以置信的方式侵蝕着我們的生活。Though we could occupy the same desk in the lecture theatre, we couldn’t swim together in the swimming pool. We couldn’t sit next to one another at the rugby matches. Indeed, when Wits played the University of Pretoria, the despicable pass laws prevented Nelson and his fellow black students from travelling the 60 or so kilometers to the neighboring city.
儘管我們能在階梯教室裏共用一張課桌，但我們不能在一個游泳池裏游泳。我們不能在橄欖球比賽中坐在一起。實際上，金山大學與比勒陀利亞大學(University of Pretoria)舉行比賽時，可鄙的“通行證法”禁止納爾遜與他的黑人同學前往後者所在的60公里左右以外的鄰市。
Because of the color of his skin, Nelson could not join the soccer team, and he was barred from entering the gym to work out in the boxing ring, his favorite sport of all. Of course, the inhumanity of apartheid put a halt to much more than jolling and sports, but as two young friends of different color, we generally could not be seen together in the regular walkways of life.
由於他的膚色，納爾遜不能參加足球隊，被禁止進入體育館，不能走上拳擊臺從事他最喜歡的體育運動。當然，沒有人性的種族隔離中止的不僅僅是娛樂和體育。對於兩個膚色不同的年輕人來說，我們在生活中甚至通常不能一起出現在普通的人行道上。When he began practicing law in 1951 and I joined the bar three years later, we worked on numerous cases together, yet we couldn’t enjoy a cup of tea or a meal with one another at any of the eateries in the vicinity of the courts. Not even a bench in a public park would tolerate the presence of a black man in the company of a white.
1951年，納爾遜開始當律師，3年後我也進入律師行當，我們曾共同處理過無數個案子，但我們卻無法在法院附近的餐館中一起喝杯茶或吃上一頓飯。甚至連公園裏的一條長椅都不能容忍一個黑人與一個白人同時坐下。The other side of apartheid’s coin meant that a white person could not travel to the townships without seeking a permit, which was invariably declined. Hence, July 18th, Nelson’s birthday, was a day of immense importance to him, his family and friends and it was one they celebrated with joyful abandon at his home in Vilikazi Street, though it was difficult, if not impossible, for me and many of his friends of paler skin to join him in Soweto during those early years.
種族隔離的另一面意味着，白人未獲許可不得前往種族隔離區，而許可申請總是被拒絕。7月18日納爾遜生日這天對他、他的家人以及朋友具有舉足輕重的意義，這一天他們會在他位於Vilikazi街的家中縱情慶祝。儘管很困難，但只要有可能，在早些年，我和他淺膚色的朋友就會跑到索韋託(Soweto)參加聚會。It is not by choice but by circumstance that we are separated again for this birthday but rather than dwell on his poor health, I want to recall our good times together and the milestones we have shared in both our lifetimes.
今年的生日不能見面爲他慶祝，不是我們自己選擇的，而是迫於形勢。但我不想談論他令人憂心的健康，而是想回憶一下我們在一起的愉快時光，以及我們人生中共同經歷的里程碑。When Nelson and nine other members of the then outlawed ANC were tried in the early 1960s for attempting to overthrow the apartheid regime, I was one of their defending advocates. I recall the April morning of 1964 when he was due to deliver his now infamous speech in the dock and we read over what he had penned. He had wanted to say that he was prepared to die for a free and democratic South Africa.
20世紀60年代初，非國大(ANC)被南非當局宣佈爲非法組織，納爾遜及其他9名成員因試圖推翻種族隔離制度而受審判時，我是他們的辯護律師之一。我記得，1964年4月的一個早晨，納爾遜將在被告席上發表演講，但他這時已被剝奪了公權，他的發言將不能被採作證詞。我們逐字審閱他寫下的手稿。他想說，他願意爲一個自由民主的南非獻身。“Don’t you think you will be accused of martyrdom?”, I asked him. “And won’t there be some people who might consider your words a challenge. You ought to remove those words.”
我問他：“你不覺得人們會指責你用苦肉計麼？是不是會有人覺得你的話咄咄逼人。你應該刪掉這些話。”“I’ve said it too often from public platforms and I’m not prepared to remove it now,” he insisted.
他堅持道：“我已經在公共場合多次說過這樣的話，這一次我也不打算刪掉。”“What about a compromise,” I suggested after a short discussion. “What about “But if needs be, My Lord, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
經過短暫討論以後，我提議：“妥協一下如何？這樣寫怎麼樣：‘我主，如有必要，我願爲理想慷慨捐軀’。”Two months later he was handed a life sentence and as harsh as that was, in our hearts it felt like a victory as we had feared he would have been sentenced to death.
兩個月後，他被判處無期徒刑，儘管這一判決過於嚴酷，但我們心裏卻覺得像是打了一場勝仗，因爲我們原本擔心他會被判處死刑。(But typical of the man, he always found a way to cast light on those dark years and I recall years later when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Price and asked me to travel with him to collect it and introduced me to the King of Norway. “This is George Bizos. My lawyer,” he said. “I don’t know why I brought him with me. He sent me to prison for 27 years).
（不過，他的典型作風是，總能在這些黑暗的年代中找到一絲光明。我記得，多年後，他獲得了諾貝爾和平獎(Nobel Peace Prize)，要我和他一起去領獎，把我介紹給了挪威國王。他說：“這是我的律師喬治•比佐(George Bizos)。我也不知道爲什麼要帶他來。他可是把我扔進監獄待了27年。”）When he was imprisoned on Robben Island, Nelson nominated me as the lawyer who would visit him and I had to apply for permission to travel to that barren stretch of land off the Cape and had to present pressing or necessary reasons to take me there, in order to convey or relay some critical information.
納爾遜在羅本島(Robben Island)坐牢時，指名要我擔任他的探監律師，我得申請許可才能前往與開普敦隔海相望的那片不毛之地。爲了傳遞或轉達某些重要信息，我得想出各種緊迫或者必要的理由才能去監獄探訪他。To her credit, his then wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was very inventive. She would say, “I can’t decide what school the children should go to. Or what subjects they must study. As their father, you must decide”. And I would be dispatched to hear what Nelson would have to say on the subject, but use our time to discuss our core business: freedom.
他當時的太太溫妮•馬迪克澤拉-曼德拉(Winnie Madikizela-Mandela)值得讚揚，她總是極富創意。她會說：“我沒法決定孩子應該上哪所學校。也不知道他們應該學什麼科目。作爲父親，你得決定。”然後就派我去聽聽納爾遜在這些問題上的意見。當然，我們會藉機討論核心問題：自由。After his release in 1990, his path to the presidency of South Africa lay ahead of him and he left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was the man truly capable of bridging the abyss that defined South Africa then. The one-time life prisoner excelled as head of the state and he worked his Madiba magic in countless ways.
納爾遜於1990年出獄，後來出任總統。他讓人們確信，他是真正能夠彌合南非當時巨大鴻溝的那個人。這位曾被判處終生監禁的階下囚最終成爲出色的國家元首，在方方面面創造着“馬迪巴”（Madiba，曼德拉的尊稱，來自他在科薩族的族名——譯註）奇蹟。Sadly, his personal life was marred by various tribulations. In 1991, he asked me to defend Winnie in the kidnap trial, despite the fact that their marriage had crumbled by then. Five years later he asked me to accompany him to court as he endured their very public divorce.
遺憾的是，他的個人生活卻屢遭打擊。1991年，他請我在綁架案中幫溫妮辯護，儘管兩人的婚姻在當時已經破裂。5年後，他要求我陪他出庭離婚案，此案引起廣泛關注。Happier moments were to follow, though, and a year or so later I recall a rather bashful 80-something Nelson telling me about Graca and the chapter in his life that had just opened. They pair were living together by then and he was more content that I had seen him in a long time.
但他後來的生活很幸福，我記得大概一年後，80多歲的納爾遜害羞地向我提起了格拉薩(Graca)，他說自己的人生翻開了一個新的篇章。兩人當時住在一起，過去很長一段時間他都沒有這麼心滿意足。But Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu thought their cohabitation was unbecoming of an icon and called on his friend to marry Graca and so they wed in a quiet ceremony in 1998.
不過，大主教德斯蒙德•圖圖(Desmond Tutu)認爲同居與納爾遜德高望重的身份不符，因此敦促他的這位朋友與格拉薩結婚。1998年，兩人低調舉行婚禮。High on Graca’s agenda was the unity of the various Mandela families and in the years that followed she forged a peace between the children and grandchildren from his first marriage to Evelyn Mase and his second marriage to Winnie.
格拉薩的當務之急是團結納爾遜幾個家庭間的關係。通過她隨後幾年的努力，納爾遜與第一任妻子伊芙琳•梅斯(Evelyn Mase)的子孫和他與溫妮的子孫言歸於好。I recall many happy birthday celebrations that followed when Nelson would take rightful place at the head of the table, surrounded by the family he had always wanted to nourish, but which life had prevented him from doing.
我記得後來納爾遜度過了許多個快樂的生日。他理所當然地坐在主座，身旁是他的親人。他一直希望能撫育他們，但生活讓他未能如願。If he were in better health, I imagine Nelson would be heavily disappointed by the current family disputes that are playing out for the world to see. He did not expect any privilege for himself and I know he would appeal to them now to follow his example.
我想，假如他身體尚好，他一定會對目前鬧得沸沸揚揚的家庭不和感到極度失望。他從不爲自己謀取特權，我知道他會請求家人們以自己爲榜樣。The matter of his final resting place is also beyond dispute and is a decision he made a long, long time ago.
他的安葬之地也毫無爭議，他在很久之前便做出了決定。I was reminded of that fact in January of this year, not long after he was released from hospital, when I went to visit him at his Houghton home. As soon as I entered the living room, he called out to the staff, ‘Get me my boots.’
今年1月的事情讓我記起他的這個決定。那時他出院不久，我前往他在霍頓區(Houghton)的住處看他。我一進客廳，他便吩咐身邊的工作人員：“請把我的靴子拿來。”‘What do you want your boots for, Tata,’ one of the asked.
“塔塔（Tata，父親之意，南非民衆對曼德拉的又一愛稱），您要靴子幹什麼？”一個人問道。‘George is here. He will take me to Qunu,’ he answered.
“喬治來了。他會帶我去庫努(Qunu)，”他答道。It was clear that he wanted to go home.
顯然他想回家。Qunu is a place that is very near and dear to Madiba’s heart. It is where he has enjoyed his retirement, where his contemporaries knocked on his door uninvited and unannounced, something he greatly enjoyed.
納爾遜對庫努充滿親切感。他在這裏享受了退休時光，常有同輩的“不速之客”不打招呼就去拜訪他，這讓他很是開心。It is also there, in the kraal, where he chose his final resting place, in consultation with Graca, something he has talked about many times and always in practical tones.
在與格拉薩商量之後，他選擇死後葬在庫努的村莊。他已經多次談及此事，每次都是就事論事的語氣。Nelson doesn’t fear death. He once said that when he eventually departs he would look for the nearest ANC branch in heaven and join it. And he has often said – in jest - that when he dies, he will be in the good company of Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Chief Albert Luthuli and Oliver Tambo.
納爾遜不畏懼死亡。他曾說過，當他最終離開人世後，他會去天堂尋找到最近的非國大支部，然後加入。他也常常開玩笑說，死後就能好好陪着沃爾特•西蘇魯(Walter Sisulu)、戈文•姆貝基(Govan Mbeki)、“酋長”艾伯特•盧圖利(Albert Luthuli)和奧利弗•坦博(Oliver Tambo)了。I last saw Nelson at his Houghton home a week or so before he was admitted to hospital last month and we strolled down memory lane, as we often do. But he asked some questions that saddened me.
我最後一次在霍頓區住處看到納爾遜，是他上月住院的大約一週前。像往常一樣，我們又陷入了回憶的海洋。但他問的一些問題令我難過。‘When did you last see Oliver (Tambo)?, he wanted to know.
“你上次見到奧利弗（坦博）是什麼時候？”他問。‘How’s Walter (Sisulu)?.’
“沃爾特（西蘇魯）怎麼樣？”I couldn’t lie to him and so I reminded him that they had passed on many years ago. I recall a blank expression sweeping over his face for a moment or so, before the conversation got back on track.
我不能說謊，於是提醒他，他們已經去世多年了。我記得他一時間表情茫然，過了片刻纔開口說話。As I was saying goodbye, he turned to me and said, ‘George make sure that you don’t leave your jacket behind.’
我道別時，他轉身對我說：“喬治，別落下你的夾克。”As it turned out, I had left it in the car. But Nelson’s words touched me. He was being thoughtful and wanted me to shield myself from the winter chill that had crept into this part of the world.
實際上，我之前把夾克留在了車裏。但納爾遜的話讓我感動。他細心周到，希望我注意保護自己，抵禦悄悄逼近的冬日嚴寒。Today, on his 95th birthday, I also wish for him a shield to protect him as he finds his way back to good health.
今天，在他的95歲生日之際，我也祝願他能夠得到保護，恢復健康。I have said to him on many birthday occasions in the past, here’s to your 100thbirthday.
過去很多次在納爾遜過生日時，我曾對他說，祝你活到一百歲。“You are optimistic,” he would laugh in response.
“你真樂觀，”他笑道。I sincerely hope not, my friend.
朋友，我當然是說真的。
