美国国家公共电台 NPR In Papua New Guinea's Sorcery Wars, A Peacemaker Takes On Her Toughest Case

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The lush, tropical nation of Papua New Guinea sits on an island just north of Australia. Traditions there have been developed over thousands of years. But today the ancient practice of sorcery is becoming a trigger for a modern kind of violence. Public, mob-style attacks against suspected practitioners¹ have drawn² the concern of locals, aid groups and the government. Durrie Bouscaren went to the scene of one attack in the country's mountainous highlands region to try and understand the root causes of the violence.

DURRIE BOUSCAREN, BYLINE³: The people who live on the mountain call it the land where the sky falls down. Up in the eastern highlands, the mist rolls down the slopes and over the pine trees in a way that makes you feel suspended. And it's here where, in a village that overlooks the town of Henganofi, three young men died just after the new year. The clan⁴ decided⁵ that sorcery was the cause of the deaths despite a recent typhoid outbreak. Villagers armed with machetes killed the man they believed was responsible and set fire to the houses where his family lived.

Alongside an aid worker, I visited members of the victim's family - dozens of people sheltered in a church near the village for six weeks. Jim Maris, the victim's brother, says his infant daughter died there because his wife couldn't get to a hospital.

JIM MARIS: (Through interpreter) The baby was sick. She couldn't come out because of fear of being hung. Yeah, she stayed at the church, and the baby passed away.

BOUSCAREN: Sorcery is an ancient practice here, and many people believe that it has real consequences in the mortal world. But in the last few decades, accused sorcerers have been tortured and killed, sometimes publicly, and in places where these types of attacks didn't happen in the past. Somu Nosi is a social researcher in the regional capital Goroka. She's also worked as an interpreter for NPR.

SOMU NOSI: We have this negative impression from these people of murderers or, you know, killers⁶.

BOUSCAREN: As she sips⁷ a cup of tea in a grocery store deli, she explains how in Tok Pisin, a colonial language based on English and German, her grandfather who practiced sorcery would be known as a poison man. But in her tribe's local language, the term is tusa man, closer to his role as a village healer.

NOSI: They'll say, tusa means herbs or to make it all right.

BOUSCAREN: She says tusa men were also known for their ability to kill their enemies with poisonous plants or spiritual powers.

NOSI: Aside from him being a warrior⁸, you know, carrying bows and arrows, this was one of the - another skill added onto what the community had. But to us, it was our skill, our possession, our prized, you know, specialty⁹.

BOUSCAREN: This specialty gave the tribe something that others feared, and that fear protected them. When Australian colonists¹⁰ and missionaries¹¹ arrived at the start of the 20th century, they pressed local residents to abandon their beliefs. Sorcery was considered the work of the devil and punishable with imprisonment¹². People converted to Christianity.

Today, it's hard to know how many deaths are tied to sorcery attacks. There's no official count. Some estimates are as high as 500 murders a year. Others are closer to 30. Papua New Guinea's government has committed to a national action plan to prevent the violence. But the why of the issue, why an accusation¹³ like this can be used to justify¹⁴ mob violence - that's what still nags¹⁵ at Monica Paulus. I meet her in a white-walled conference room at the Tribal¹⁶ Foundation in Port Moresby.

MONICA PAULUS: What do I say? Good morning.

BOUSCAREN: She's a sweet, round-faced grandmother from Chimbu Province just west of Henganofi. She's also an aid worker who's faced down mobs to rescue sorcery victims. Paulus spends a lot of time interviewing the accusers. In her area, they mostly target women and children.

PAULUS: They accuse women because they want the land. If the husband dies and if the children are very small, they accuse the woman so that they will get the land, the coffee garden.

BOUSCAREN: Other times, she says, an attack is a retaliation¹⁷ for something else.

MARIS: (Foreign language spoken).

BOUSCAREN: In the case of the village near Henganofi, Jim Maris says he thinks his brother was targeted because of his recent success growing coffee. He says it was jealousy¹⁸ that prompted the attack.

MARIS: Jealous.

BOUSCAREN: When the brothers started selling raw coffee beans in town, they made good money.

MARIS: (Through interpreter) They tried. They work hard, and they get money. And they tried to improve their lives. When their life has improved, then other people - they become jealous, and they attack them and accuse them.

BOUSCAREN: Several months after the attack, police have made no arrests. A women's organization tried to broker¹⁹ a peace deal between the clans²⁰, but it was broken a week later. Relatives of the first victim had retaliated²¹ by killing²² two more. For NPR News, I'm Durrie Bouscaren in Goroka, Papua New Guinea.

SHAPIRO: Durrie Bouscaren is NPR's Above the Fray²³ fellow. It's an international reporting fellowship sponsored by The John Alexander Project.

1 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 sips   

n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句
• Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

9 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

10 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

13 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

14 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

15 nags   

n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The trouble nags at her. 那件麻烦事使她苦恼不已。 来自辞典例句
• She nags at her husBand aBout their lack of money. 她抱怨丈夫没钱。 来自互联网

16 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

17 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

19 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

20 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

21 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

22 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

23 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。