評論
打印
Asia
亞洲版塊
Australia's indigenous people
澳大利亞的土著居民
Voice recognition
話語認可
The prime minister wants to include Aboriginals in the constitution
總理希望將土著居民納入憲法
“This rock is an awesome feature,” says James, a ranger of the Anangu people in central Australia.
澳大利亞中部阿南古族的護林員詹姆斯說：“這塊巖石真是太棒了。”
“It’s a story book.” The story may be about to get longer.
”這是一本故事書。”這個故事可能會變得更長。
James is standing at the base of Uluru, a humungous monolith embedded in the red desert near the middle of Australia.
詹姆斯正站在烏魯魯的底部，烏魯魯是一塊巨大的巨石，嵌在澳大利亞中部附近的紅色沙漠中。
The country’s indigenous people have made it a civil-rights symbol: they want Australians to change the constitution to guarantee them a say in laws that affect their lives.
澳大利亞的原住民已經將其作為民權的象征：他們希望澳大利亞人修改憲法，以確保他們在影響他們生活的法律中擁有發言權。
The battle over the call for an Aboriginal “voice to Parliament” is looming as a big test for Anthony Albanese, the newish prime minister (pictured), and his centre-left Labor government.
呼吁原住民“向議會發聲”的斗爭迫在眉睫，對新任總理安東尼·艾博年和他的中左翼工黨政府來說是一次巨大的考驗。
In late July Mr Albanese flew to an Aboriginal festival in Arnhem Land, some 2,000km north of Uluru, to add his own voice to the campaign.
7月下旬，艾博年飛往烏魯魯以北約2000公里的阿納姆地參加一個原住民節日，為這場運動加入了自己的聲音。
On July 30th he promised the region’s Yolngu people a referendum on the idea within his government’s three-year term, calling it “a momentous change” and a step “in our nation’s journey of healing”.
7月30日，他承諾在他的政府3年任期內對該計劃進行全民公決，稱這是“一個重大的改變”，是“我們國家治愈之旅”的一步。
Aboriginal people make up barely 3% of Australia’s 25m inhabitants.
在澳大利亞2500萬居民中，原住民僅占3%。
But their forebears had lived on the continent for some 60,000 years before the British landed in 1788.
但在1788年英國人登陸之前，他們的祖先已經在這片大陸生活了大約6萬年。
They played no part in drafting Australia’s constitution and were not accorded any rights in it.
他們沒有參與起草澳大利亞憲法，也沒有在憲法中被賦予任何權利。
Five years ago Aboriginal delegates gathered at Uluru, a sacred site also known by the name colonists gave it, Ayers Rock, after a long quest to find a formula to give “First Nations” a say in government policies over their people.
五年前，原住民代表們經過漫長的探索，終于找到了一個方案，讓“原住民”在政府對其人民的政策上有發言權。
The delegates produced the “Uluru Statement from the Heart”, a short, elegant cry for constitutional change.
代表們發表了《烏魯魯發自內心的聲明》，這是要求修改憲法的簡短而優雅的呼聲。
Their peoples’ “ancient sovereignty”, it said, had never been ceded, and still co-existed with that of the British Crown.
它說，兩國人民的“古老主權”從未被割讓，而且仍然與英國王室的主權共存。
The statement added that the shocking levels of imprisonment and broken families among Aboriginal people were proof of the need for change.
聲明補充說，土著人民被監禁和家庭破裂的程度令人震驚，證明了改變的必要性。
The conservative government of the day greeted the plea coldly.
當時的保守黨政府對這一請求反應冷淡。
It misrepresented the statement as a call for a third chamber of parliament, and said new laws would be better than a constitutional amendment.
它將這一聲明歪曲為呼吁議會第三議院，并表示新的法律將比憲法修正案更好。
