Prologue: The Day my World Changed

序章　那一天，我的世界轰然改变

I COME FROM a country which was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

我来自一个国家，这个国家在午夜建立。而我在生死边缘徘徊的时刻，刚过正午。

One year ago I left my home for school and never returned. I was shot by a Taliban bullet and was flown out of Pakistan unconscious. Some people say I will never return home but I believe firmly in my heart that I will. To be torn from the country that you love is not something to wish on anyone.

一年前，我离家去学校，没曾想，却再也没能回去。我被塔利班分子开枪击中，失去意识，然后就被带离了我的国家——巴基斯坦。有些人说我永远都不会返回故乡了，但我坚信，总有一天，我一定会回去的。没有人愿意离开自己心爱的祖国。

Now, every morning when I open my eyes, I long to see my old room full of my things, my clothes all over the floor and my school prizes on the shelves. Instead I am in a country which is five hours behind my beloved homeland Pakistan and my home in the Swat Valley. But my country is centuries behind this one. Here there is any convenience you can imagine. Water running from every tap, hot or cold as you wish; lights at the flick of a switch, day and night, no need for oil lamps; ovens to cook on that don’t need anyone to go and fetch gas cylinders from the bazaar. Here everything is so modern one can even find food ready cooked in packets.

现在，每天清晨，当我睁开双眼，都期盼着能回到自己的旧房间。屋里摆满了我的东西，满地都是衣服，架子上摆满了我获得的奖状。而事实上，我却身在一个离我的故乡——巴基斯坦的斯瓦特河谷有五小时时差的国家。巴基斯坦与之相比，感觉像是落后了几个世纪。这里的便利条件远超你的想象：每个水龙头拧开，都有自来水流出，冷热水可以自由选择；无论白天或黑夜，只需按一按钮，灯光亮起，不需要点油灯；有燃气可以直接煮食物，而不用先去市场搬煤气。这里的一切都非常现代，甚至只要打开包装袋，就有熟食可以吃。

When I stand in front of my window and look out, I see tall buildings, long roads full of vehicles moving in orderly lines, neat green hedges and lawns, and tidy pavements to walk on. I close my eyes and for a moment I am back in my valley – the high snow-topped mountains, green waving fields and fresh blue rivers – and my heart smiles when it looks at the people of Swat. My mind transports me back to my school and there I am reunited with my friends and teachers. I meet my best friend Moniba and we sit together, talking and joking as if I had never left.

我站在窗边，能看到外面的高楼大厦。长长的公路上车水马龙、井然有序。树木和草皮都修葺得很整齐，还有平坦的人行道供路人行走。闭上眼睛，有那么一瞬间，我仿佛回到了我的故乡——顶峰白雪皑皑的高山、绿意盎然的原野，还有碧蓝的河水。一想到斯瓦特的人民，我的心就会愉快地微笑。我仿佛又回到了学校，和我的老师和同学们在一起，和我最好的朋友莫妮巴在一起，开心地谈谈笑笑，仿佛从未离开过。

Then I remember I am in Birmingham, England.

然后，我猛然醒悟，我是在伯明翰，在英国。

The day when everything changed was Tuesday, 9 October 2012. It wasn’t the best of days to start with as it was the middle of school exams, though as a bookish girl I didn’t mind them as much as some of my classmates.

2012年10月9日，星期二那天发生的事情，改变了一切。那天原本要大考，对学生们来说算不上太美好的日子。但和大多数同学不一样，我号称“小书虫”，感觉考试并不是什么大事。

That morning we arrived in the narrow mud lane off Haji Baba Road in our usual procession of brightly painted rickshaws, sputtering diesel fumes, each one crammed with five or six girls. Since the time of the Taliban our school has had no sign and the ornamented brass door in a white wall across from the woodcutter’s yard gives no hint of what lies beyond.

那天早上，我们一如既往地搭着被漆得五颜六色、喷着废气的三轮车——每辆车上只能搭载五六个女生——来到狭窄泥泞的哈吉巴巴路。自从塔利班控制该地区以后，我们的学校不能再有任何标志。隔着伐木场的白墙里，铜质的大门上没有任何装饰，不能让外界看出围墙里的状况。

For us girls that doorway was like a magical entrance to our own special world. As we skipped through, we cast off our head-scarves like winds puffing away clouds to make way for the sun then ran helter-skelter up the steps. At the top of the steps was an open courtyard with doors to all the classrooms. We dumped our backpacks in our rooms then gathered for morning assembly under the sky, our backs to the mountains as we stood to attention. One girl commanded, ‘Assaan bash! ’ or ‘Stand at ease!’ and we clicked our heels and responded, ‘Allah.’ Then she said, ‘Hoo she yar!’ or ‘Attention!’ and we clicked our heels again. ‘Allah.’

对女孩子们来说，这道门就像是通往魔法世界的大门，引领我们去往专属于我们自己的世界。我们依次进入后，便会揭开面纱。我们依次走上楼梯，楼梯尽头有一个和各间教室相连的开放式庭院，我们将书包留在教室里，然后回到庭院进行早祷。我们背对着群山恭谨站立。一个女孩高呼：“Assaan bash！”意思是：“稍息！”我们便轻扣鞋跟，应道：“真主安拉。”接着她喊：“Hoo she yar！”也就是“注意！”我们便再次鞋跟轻扣，应答道：“真主安拉。”