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When I think about the chance encountersI’ve had in my travels, dominoes come to mind. Every effect has its cause,sometimes stretching back for weeks, years, or (in this case) eons. It’s as iftime itself conspires, wilfully, to set up the cascade that tumbles us into thepresent moment, as if no encounter truly happens by chance.
每每想到旅行中的偶遇時，我的思緒就會像多米諾骨牌一樣漸次打開。萬事皆有因果，因果輪回有時是短短幾周，有時可能長達數年，還有的時候(就像這次一樣)可能是永生。時間本身似乎也蓄意參與了共謀，通過一連串的事件將我們帶到此時此刻，仿佛沒有一次偶遇是真的“偶遇”。
The domino metaphor is uniquely appropriatein this story. It’s set in Nepal, my second home since 1979, and to where I’dreturn as a visitor or resident almost every year for the next three decades.But on 25 April 2015, at 11:56 am, two plates of the Earth’s crust shiftedslightly. Their movement caused a deadly earthquake that toppled buildings,levelled ancient temples, triggered horrific landslides and sent houses –especially in Nepal’s Sindhupalchowk district – cascading down hillsides. Morethan 8,800 Nepalis were killed, and hundreds of thousands made homeless.
對這個故事而言，多米諾骨牌的比喻十分貼切。故事發生在尼泊爾，從1979年之后，那里就成了我的第二故鄉。此后的30年，我幾乎每年都會回去一趟，有時只是簡單看看，有時會住上一段時間。但2015年4月25日中午11:56，地殼的兩個板塊發生了輕微的移動，引發了致命的地震，大量建筑物和古廟倒塌，甚至觸發了可怕的山體滑坡，導致房屋沿著山坡滾落下來——尼泊爾辛杜帕爾喬克地區(Sindhupalchowk)的災情尤為嚴重。這次地震造成8,800多尼泊爾人死亡，數十萬人無家可歸。
Given my long connection to the place, itis not surprising that I felt the tremors in my own core when the massiveearthquake struck. Part of me wanted to fly immediately to Kathmandu and dowhatever I could. But I knew, having worked in disaster zones before, thatwithout a clear and essential role, I’d just be anuisance.
由于我與尼泊爾之間有著特殊的聯系，所以當這樣的災難發生時，我的內心感到躁動不安也就不足為奇。我真想立刻飛到加德滿都，盡自己的一份微薄之力。但由于之前曾經參加過救災活動，所以我深知，倘若沒有明確的分工，我只會給救災工作徒增累贅。
So six months later, I travelled to Nepalwith a purpose: to visit some of the more successful relief efforts and reporton the country’s recovery. I knew I’d see people whose lives had beendevastated, but planned to remain objective. And I did a pretty good job at it –until Ivisited Camp Hope, and met a 10-year-old girl from Sindhupalchowk.
所以，我一直等到6個月后才特地來到尼泊爾，希望探訪一些比較成功的救災措施，并報道這個國家的重建工作。我知道自己難免看到很多生活被完全摧毀的人，但我還是希望能盡量保持客觀。我原本表現得很好——直到我來到“希望營”(Camp Hope)，并在那里遇到了一個來自辛杜帕爾喬克的10歲女孩。
Pedro and Lorenzo, two young backpackersfrom Portugal, had never heard of Sindhupalchowk. “Frankly,” said Pedro, “wedidn’t know anything about Nepal.” They’d arrived the night of 24 April, deepinto an open-ended trip across Asia. Their plan was to wake early, climb to thetop of the newly restored Dharahara, a historic 62m-high monument overlookingKathmandu, and then go trekking.
佩德羅(Pedro)和洛倫佐(Lorenzo)是兩位來自葡萄牙的背包客，他們之前從未聽說過辛杜帕爾喬克?！罢f實話，”佩德羅說，“我們之前對尼泊爾一無所知?！彼麄?月24日晚上到達尼泊爾，開始了深度的亞洲自由行。他們計劃早點起床，爬上剛剛重建的達拉哈拉塔(Dharahara)，在62米的塔頂俯瞰整個加德滿都，然后再去徒步遠足。
The next day, predictably, they overslept.Just as they left the hotel, the earthquake struck. The delay had saved theirlives: all 180 people in and around the Dharahara were killed by the fallingtower.
不出所料，他們第二天早晨睡過了頭。正當他們離開酒店時，地震發生了。雖然因為睡過頭而耽誤了旅程，但他們卻因此撿回了性命：達拉哈拉塔倒塌時，里面和周圍的180人全部喪生。
Though a flight home was offered, Pedro andLorenzo didn’t leave Nepal. They stayed, using their savings to buy rice,vegetables and fruit for the terrified locals camped on the streets. During thenext three weeks, their story – which they posted on Facebook – went viral. Tensof thousands of euros flowed in, bolstering their ragtag relief efforts. Duringthe following weeks, they worked non-stop, bringing food, supplies, andclothing to people made homeless by the disaster. As the tourist district wasin shambles, they’d been granted refuge at Dwarika’s, an elegant localhotel that also hosts the Spanish Consulate.
盡管可以買到回家的機票，但佩德羅和洛倫佐并沒有離開尼泊爾。他們留了下來，用自己的積蓄為露宿街頭、驚恐萬分的當地人購買了大米、蔬菜和水果。接下來的3個星期，他們發在Facebook上的故事在網上火了起來。他們收到了數萬歐元捐款，使之可以救助更多的底層群眾。接下來的幾個星期，他們不停地工作，為無家可歸的災民們提供食物、補給和衣服。由于旅游區已經變成一片廢墟，所以他們被安排到德瓦利卡(Dwarika’s)當地一家優雅的酒店避難，西班牙領事館也坐落在這里。
Dwarika’s is managed bySangita Shrestha, whose mother owns the property. The Shresthas had alsostarted some rebuilding projects, and soon the two Portuguese were involvedwith those as well. Then another domino fell.
德瓦利卡酒店由桑吉塔·施雷斯塔(Shrestha Shrestha)負責管理，這是她母親的資產。施雷斯塔也啟動了一些重建項目，而那兩位葡萄牙游客也參與了進來。后來，另外一個多米諾骨牌倒下了。
“In mid-May,” Pedro recalled, “someone came to Dwarika’s and told usthat 350 people -– men, women and 81 children – had been evacuated byhelicopter from an area called Sindhupalchowk. They’d been left in an emptylot, without clothes, food or water. So we got a few vans,”he said, “and broughtthem basic supplies.”
“那是5月中旬，”佩德羅回憶道，“有人來到德瓦利卡告訴我們，直升機從一個名叫辛杜帕爾喬克的地方疏散了350人，有男有女，還有81名兒童。他們被留在一片空地上，沒有衣服，也沒有吃喝。于是，我們找到幾輛貨車，”他說，“給他們送去了基本的補給。”
Sangita, Pedro, Lorenzo and half a dozennew volunteers banded together to care for these uprooted Nepalis. Sangitasecured the use of an empty football field, and within days a tent city wascreated. Water was trucked in, electric wires connected and a kitchen set up.The children were enrolled in a nearby public school. Pedro gave the settlementa name: Camp Hope.
桑吉塔、佩德羅、洛倫佐和十幾名新加入的志愿者一起照顧這些背井離鄉的尼泊爾人。在桑吉塔的擔保下，他們得以使用一片空曠的足球場。短短幾天，一座“帳篷城市”拔地而起?？ㄜ囘\來了水，還接上了電線，甚至在那里建起了廚房。孩子們也入讀了附近的公立學校。佩德羅給這里起了一個名字：希望營。
In October 2015, I arrived in Nepal towrite my story. I’d installed myself at Dwarika’s and was scopingout interesting relief projects. One morning, Sangita joined me for coffee. “There is aproject,”she said, “that I very much want you to see.”
2015年10月，我來到尼泊爾為自己的報道尋找素材。我住在德瓦利卡，四處尋找有吸引力的救援項目。一天早晨，桑吉塔跟我一起喝了一杯咖啡。“我很想讓你看一個項目?！彼f。
When we arrived at Camp Hope, a large groupof adults and scores of children awaited us, pressing their hands together inthe traditional Nepali greeting. Sangita had work to do, and needed to pawn meoff for a while. She scanned the crowd with narrowed eyes, and singled out ablack-haired girl wearing a pink fleece jacket and a calm, curious expression.She had a pageboy haircut and intensely curious eyes.
當我們來到“希望營”時，已經有一大群成年人和孩子在此等候。他們雙手合十，為我們送上尼泊爾的傳統問候。桑吉塔還有工作要做，得離開一會兒。她瞇著眼睛掃描著人群，找出一個穿著羊毛外套的黑發女孩兒，她留著娃娃頭，眼神里充滿了好奇。
“Laxmi?”The little girl nodded eagerly, and stepped forward. “This isJeff, from the United States. Please show him around.”
“拉克希米(Laxmi)？”那個小女孩急切地點著頭，向前邁了一步，“這是杰夫，他來自美國。請帶他四處轉轉?！?/p>
Nepal’s Hindus and Buddhists believe in thedoctrine of reincarnation. Some of this has rubbed off on me. I recognized inLaxmi a familiar soul, and felt an instant bond, as if she had somehow been apart of my life for many years. When she took my hand, I gave myself over toher completely, feeling instant trust and affection. It seemed feasible that,in some past life, she had been the adult, and I the child in her charge.
尼泊爾的印度教徒和佛教徒都相信轉世輪回。其中一些教義已經對我產生了影響。我看到拉克希米時有一種似曾相識的感覺，就好像她早在多年前就已經融入了我的生活。當她拉住我的手，我的信任感油然而生，立刻就把自己完全托付給她。就好像她在前世是個成年人，而我則是由她照顧的孩童。
