16 The Valley of Sorrows
16 悲伤之谷
It all seemed like a bad dream.
一切都像是一场噩梦。
We had been away from our valley for almost three months and as we drove back past Churchill's Picket, past the ancient ruins on the hill and the giant Buddhist stupa, we saw the wide Swat River and my father began to weep.
我们已经离开故乡的河谷近三个月了。回乡路上，我们行经丘吉尔的防御堡垒、山丘上的古老遗迹和巨大的佛塔。当看到宽广的斯瓦特河时，父亲开始抽泣。
Swat seemed to be under complete military control.
斯瓦特看来完全在军方控制之下。
The vehicle we were in even had to pass through an explosives check before we could head up the Malakand Pass.
我们搭的车甚至得先经过爆炸物检查哨，才能往马拉根德山隘前进。
Once we got over the other side and down into the valley it seemed there were army checkpoints everywhere and soldiers had made nests for their machine guns on so many of the rooftops.
而当我们进了山隘，往山谷下方驶去时，到处都能看见军方的检查哨。许多屋顶上都有士兵架好的机关枪。
As we drove through villages we saw buildings in ruins and burned-out vehicles.
当我们开车穿越村落时，看见许多建筑的废墟和烧毁的车辆。
It made me think of old war movies or the video games my brother Khushal loves to play.
这让我想起早期的战争电影，和弟弟胡沙尔爱玩的电玩游戏。
When we reached Mingora we were shocked.
当我们抵达明戈拉时，震惊万分。
The army and Taliban had fought street to street and almost every wall was pockmarked with bullet holes.
军方和塔利班展开巷战，几乎每一面墙上都是坑洞，弹痕处处。
There was the rubble of blown-up buildings which the Taliban had used as hideouts, and piles of wreckage, twisted metal and smashed-up signs.
一些塔利班藏身的建筑成为焦黑的瓦堆，还有成堆的废墟、弯曲的金属与被砸烂的招牌。
Most of the shops had heavy metal shutters; those that didn't had been looted.
那些还没被劫掠的商店，多数是受到沉重的金属百叶窗的保护。
The city was silent and emptied of people and traffic as if a plague had descended.
城市一片静寂，空无一人，鲜有车影，就像瘟疫降临一般。
The strangest sight of all was the bus station.
最奇怪的景象是巴士站。
Usually it's a complete confusion of Flying Coaches and rickshaws, but now it was completely deserted.
正常情况下，这里应该满是巴士和人力车，挤得一团乱，但现在则是完全废弃的状态。
We even saw plants growing up through the cracks in the paving. We had never seen our city like this.
我们甚至看到人行道砖块的裂缝中长出了杂草。我们从未见过自己的城市如此衰败。
At least there was no sign of the Taliban.
但至少，我们没有看见塔利班。