津巴布韦渴望任何形式的变革 [英国媒体]

Zimbabweyearns for change of any kind

津巴布韦渴望任何形式的变革
 


Drivingaround Zimbabwe, one can hardly tell the country is in the middle of thebiggest political crisis since independence.

驾车在津巴布韦附近行驶，人们很难看出该国正处于独立以来最大的政治危机之中。

Inone town, a man in his 20s invites me to his shop and tries to convince me tobuy a silver necklace. "It costs twenty dollars," he says. "Butfor you I can make that fifteen."

在一个小镇上，一个20多岁的男子邀请我去他的商店，并试图说服我买一条银项链。“它值二十美元，”他说。但对于你，我可以十五美元卖给你。”

Heoffers the discount rather half-heartedly. "You see, people don't want to spendmoney on thing like these; the economy is really doing badly."

他很不情愿的给了折扣，“你知道的，人们不想把钱花在这些东西上；经济状况真的很糟糕。”

Theonce-promising African country has sunk into an economic abyss.
Thegovernment was forced to abolish the country's currency in 2009 because ofhyperinflation, and introduced more stable foreign currencies such as the USdollar.

这个曾经充满希望的非洲国家陷入了经济危机，由于通货膨胀，政府被迫在2009年废除了国家货币，引入了更为稳定的外国货币，比如美元。

Inflationpeaked at 79.6 billion percent in mid-November 2008.
OnWednesday this week, the government published the latest inflation rate showinga 2.24% year-on-year rise for the month of October. Some economists, however,say the new figures are a gross underestimate.

通货膨胀在2008年11月中旬达到了796亿的峰值。
本周三，政府发布了最新的通货膨胀率，显示10月份同比增长2.24%。然而，一些经济学家说，新的数据是被严重低估了的。

It'sno surprise then that many Zimbabweans almost instantly warmed to themilitary's move to take control of the country, and confine President RobertMugabe to his official residence.

难怪许多津巴布韦人几乎立即因为军方控制该国的举动感到兴奋，并将总统罗伯特•穆加贝(Robert Mugabe)限制在他的官邸。

"Themilitary has done a good thing," says one bookseller. "They willensure we get a transitional government."
Heis firmly convinced that Mr Mugabe's 37-year rule is coming to an end.

“军方做了一件好事，”一位书商说。“他们将确保我们会有一个过渡政府。”
他坚信穆加贝持续37年的统治即将结束。

Therehas been a sudden change of tone in the country, and the sense is that manyZimbabweans have been yearning for change.
Anychange, it seems, would do.

在这个国家，突然发生了变化，而这种感觉是，许多津巴布韦人一直渴望改变。
任何改变，似乎都可以。

At themarket, traders hope this means their fortunes will change. Many of thempassively watch shoppers walk past their shops, resigned to the idea that mostpeople are struggling to make ends meet.

在市场上，交易者希望这意味着他们的命运将会改变。他们中的许多人被动地看着购物者走过他们的商店，屈从于大多数人努力维持生计的想法。

Sowhen a middle-aged tourist buys souvenirs, the rest of the traders suddenlyswarm around her as they invite her to view their merchandise. She thanks them,but politely declines the invitation and walks away.

因此，当一个中年游客买纪念品的时候，其他的商人突然围着她，邀请她参观他们的商品。她谢了他们，但礼貌地拒绝了邀请，走开了。



Thetraders believe their economic situation will improve once Mr Mugabe's ruleends. But there is still political uncertainty surrounding the succession.

小商贩们相信，一旦穆加贝的统治结束，他们的经济状况将会改善。但围绕政府的继任问题仍存在不确定性。

The once-vibrant opposition has begun to speak out, andthe former Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, is now back in the country. Hehas demanded that President Mugabe steps down.

曾经充满活力的反对派已经开始大声疾呼，而前总理摩根·茨万吉拉伊现在又回到了这个国家。他要求穆加贝总统下台。

What started as a split within the ruling Zanu-PF partycould well develop into a broader crisis with politicians from across thedivide angling to take over from Mr Mugabe.

执政的非洲民族联盟-爱国阵线党内部的分裂很可能演变成一场更广泛的危机，来自各个阶层的政治家们都将从穆加贝手中接管政权。

But the president still commands a lot of respect as anindependence icon.
The same respect does not seem to be extended to hiswife, Grace, who was thought to be his preferred successor. Her openlyextravagant lifestyle has been widely criticised.

不过，作为独立偶像，总统仍然赢得了很多尊重。
同样的尊重似乎并没有延伸到他的妻子格蕾丝身上，格蕾丝被认为是他的首选继承人。她公开奢侈的生活方式受到了广泛批评。

What is clear is that the events of this week have dented- if not ended - any chances she had of succeeding her husband.

很明显的是，本周发生的事件如果没有结束的话，将影响到她接替丈夫的任何机会。

In the midst of political uncertainty, Zimbabweans remainhopeful. Change is coming, in whatever form.

在政治不确定的情况下，津巴布韦人仍然充满希望。无论何种形式，变革都将到来。