《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 83 (194):尤弟来到巴厘岛
日期:2012-09-12 14:47

(单词翻译:单击)

He and Ann consulted all kinds of lawyers, but nobody knew how to advise them. Before 9/11 there would have been no problems—Yudhi, now married, could just go to the immigra-tion office, update his visa situation and begin the process of gaining citizenship. But now? Who knew? "The laws haven't been tested yet," said the immigration lawyers. "The laws will be tested on you." So Yudhi and his wife had a meeting with a nice immigration official and shared their story. The couple were told that Yudhi was to come back later that same after-noon, for "a second interview." They should have been wary then; Yudhi was strictly instruc-ted to return without his wife, without a lawyer, and carrying nothing in his pockets. Hoping for the best, he did return alone and empty-handed to the second interview—and that's when they arrested him.
他和安妮向各式各样的律师求教,却没有人知道如何给他们建议。九一一之前没有任何问题——已婚的尤弟只要去移民管理局提供自己的签证状况,即可开始申请公民。可是现在?谁知道?"这些法规尚未经过试验,"移民律师说:"现在即将在你身上测试。"于是尤弟和他太太去见了一名客气的移民官员,叙说他们的故事。这名官员告诉这对夫妻,尤弟当天傍晚必须回来接受"第二次面谈"。他们当时应当提高警觉;尤弟被严格指示必须单独前来,不能由妻子或律师陪同,口袋里不能带任何东西。尤弟往好处想,确实空手单独回来接受第二次面谈——结果这些政府人员当场逮捕他。

They took him to a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he stayed for weeks amongst a vast crowd of immigrants, all of whom had recently been arrested under the Homeland Security Act, many of whom had been living and working in America for years, most of whom didn't speak English. Some had been unable to contact their families upon their arrests. They were invisible in the detention center; nobody knew they existed anymore. It took a near-hysterical Ann days to find out where her husband had been taken. What Yudhi remembers most about the detention center was the dozen coal-black, thin and terrified Ni-gerian men who had been found on a freight ship inside a steel shipping crate; they had been hiding in that container at the bottom of that ship for almost a month before they were dis-covered, trying to get to America—or anywhere. They had no idea now where they were. Their eyes were so wide, Yudhi said, it looked like they were still being blinded with spotlights.
他们把他送往新泽西伊丽莎白镇的拘留所待了数星期。拘留所内有一大群移民,都是近来在国土安全条款下被捕的,许多人在美国工作、居住多年,多数都不谙英语。有些人被捕时无法与家人联络。他们在拘留所是隐形人;没有人再去留意他们的存在。近乎歇斯底里的安妮,花费数天的时间才得知丈夫的下落。尤弟对于拘留所里十几位黑炭般黝黑、消瘦、受惊害怕的尼日利亚人记忆犹新;他们在货船上的货柜箱里被人发现,他们在船底的货柜里几乎躲藏了一个月后才被发现,他们企图来美国——或任何地方。他们根本不清楚如今身在何处。尤弟说,他们的眼睛张得老大,好似仍被探照灯照得头晕目眩。

After a period of detention, the U.S. government sent my Christian friend Yudhi—now an Islamic terrorist suspect, apparently—back to Indonesia. This was last year. I don't know if he's ever going to be allowed anywhere near America again. He and his wife are still trying to figure out what to do with their lives now; their dreams hadn't called for living out their lives in Indonesia.
拘留期过后,美国政府将我的基督教徒朋友尤弟——如今显然是伊斯兰恐怖分子嫌疑犯——遣送回印尼。这是去年的事。我不知道他是否允许再靠近美国。他和他的妻子如今仍在设法处置他们的生活;他们的梦想并不能让自己生活在印尼。

Unable to cope with Jakarta's slums after having lived in the first world, Yudhi came to Bali to see if he could make a living here, though he's having trouble being accepted into this soci-ety because he isn't Balinese—he's from Java. And the Balinese don't like the Javanese one bit, thinking of them all as thieves and beggars. So Yudhi encounters more prejudice here—in his own nation of Indonesia—than he ever did back in New York. He doesn't know what to do next. Maybe his wife, Ann, will come and join him here. Then again—maybe not. What's here for her? Their young marriage, conducted now entirely by e-mail, is on the rocks. He's so out of place here, so disoriented. He's more of an American than he is anything else; Yudhi and I use the same slang, we talk about our favorite restaurants in New York and we like all the same movies. He comes over to my house in the evenings and I get him beers and he plays me the most amazing songs on his guitar. I wish he were famous. If there was any fairness, he would be so famous by now.
在文明世界住过之后,尤弟无法接受爪哇的贫民窟,于是来巴厘岛看看能否在此地谋生,尽管来自爪哇的他因为不是巴厘岛人的关系,其实不易被这个社会接纳。巴厘岛人一点也不喜欢爪哇人,认为他们全是盗贼和乞丐。因此尤弟在自己的祖国印尼,比在纽约时遭遇更多歧视。他不知道接下来如何是好。或许他的妻子安妮会过来和他会合,也或许不会。她在这儿能做什么呢?他们如今只仰赖电子邮件沟通,婚姻岌岌可危。他在此地如此迷茫,如此疏离。他身为美国人的部分超过其他人;尤弟和我使用相同的俚语,我们谈论我们在纽约最爱的饭馆,我们喜爱相同的电影。他在傍晚时分到我的屋子找我,我请他喝啤酒,他弹奏美妙的吉他曲子。我希望他成名。假如世界公平的话,他现在应当成名。

He says, "Dude—why is life all crazy like this?" Eat, Pray, Love
他说:"老兄——人生何以如此疯狂?"

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重点单词
  • havenn. 港口,避难所,安息所 v. 安置 ... 于港中,
  • strictlyadv. 严格地
  • guitarn. 吉他
  • fairnessn. 公平,公正
  • securityn. 安全,防护措施,保证,抵押,债券,证券
  • suspectn. 嫌疑犯 adj. 令人怀疑的,不可信的 v. 怀疑
  • prejudicen. 偏见,伤害 vt. 使 ... 存偏见,伤害
  • containern. 容器,集装箱
  • updatev. 更新,补充最新资料 n. 更新
  • waryadj. 小心的,机警的