No Other Choice—别无选择（乔治·布莱克）（第三章~end）
People of some twenty-six different nationalities were detained in the camp and formed a very colourful community indeed. Several enterprising people had opened little restaurants and coffee shops so that, when one entered some of the huts, one had the impression of being in an Eastern bazaar. A brisk black-market trade flourished in foodstuffs and other commodities. These reached the camp in two ways: through the embassies of the wealthier nations which sent parcels for their nationals and through people who had money and could purchase things outside the camp. The largest national contingent were the Poles who formed a closed and well-disciplined community. In many ways they ran the camp for they had been there the longest. The stronger nations could bring some pressure to bear on the Spanish government to release their citizens. The weaker nations could not.
【大约有26个不同国家的人被拘留在该营地，这形成了一个非常丰富多彩的社区。几个有想法的人开了小餐馆和咖啡馆，因此，当你走进一些茅屋时，你会有一种置身集市的感觉。活跃的黑市交易补充了食品和其他商品的买卖。这些物资通过两种方式到达营地:一种是通过富裕国家的大使馆，大使馆为他们的国民寄包裹，另一种是通过有钱的人，他们可以在营地外面买东西。最大的队伍是波兰人，他们组成了一个封闭和纪律良好的社区。他们在许多方面管理着这个营地，因为他们在那里待的时间最长。国力较强的国家可以向西班牙政府施加一些压力，要求释放本国公民。较弱的国家则不能。】
In the middle of January 1943, when I had been nearly two months in the camp, the lingering discontent and bitterness against the Spanish authorities, who kept the refugees indefinitely in the most squalid conditions, burst into open resistance. The movement started among the Poles and spread rapidly to the other nationalities. It was decided that we should all go on a hunger strike. This, it was hoped, would alert the international community to our plight and force the Spanish authorities to change their release policy and improve conditions in the camp.
【1943年1月中旬，我在集中营待了将近两个月，西班牙当局无限期地把难民关在最肮脏的条件下，人们对西班牙当局的不满和怨恨爆发了公开的反抗。这场运动始于波兰人，并迅速蔓延到其他民族。我们大家都决定进行绝食抗议。希望这将使国际社会注意到我们的困境，并迫使西班牙当局改变其释放政策，改善难民营的条件。】
The strike lasted a whole week. It was organised by the Poles, who formed the pickets and made sure that nobody accepted any food. To demonstrate that the strike was in earnest, the national representatives were not allowed to distribute any food to their nationals and all purchases outside the camp were stopped. Anyone who broke the strike ran the risk of a nasty beating-up at the hands of a gang of tough Poles. Already after the first few days, the camp administration began to try to lure the inmates back to eating by improving the daily fare. We were ordered to queue up and walk past the pots, even if we refused any food.
【抗议持续了整整一个星期。这是由波兰人组织的，他们组成纠察队，确保没有人接受任何食物。为了表明抗议是认真的，不允许国民代表向他们的国民分发任何食物，并禁止在营地以外购买任何东西。任何破坏抗议的人都有被一伙强硬的波兰人毒打的危险。在最初几天之后，集中营管理部门就开始通过改善日常伙食来引诱囚犯重新吃饭。即使我们拒绝任何食物，我们也要排队，从锅边走过。】
Exactly a week after the strike had started, a four-member team of the diplomatic corps, among whom was a British diplomat, visited the camp and talked with the strike committee. They advised the inmates to start eating again as they had received assurances from the Spanish authorities that conditions in the camp would be improved and releases speeded up. This was accepted.
【抗议开始一周后，包括一名英国外交官在内的4名外交使团访问了营地，并与抗议委员会进行了交谈。他们建议囚犯重新开始进食，因为西班牙当局向他们保证，集中营的条件将得到改善，释放速度将加快。这是得到保证的。】
I cannot say that I felt the worse for this experience. In the beginning I suffered from headaches, but after a few days my body seemed to get used to doing without food. The feeling of hunger disappeared and gave way to a strange feeling of elation, lightness and energy. I found this so pleasant that in later life I have frequently practised fasting for some days in order to recapture this feeling of euphoria. One result is that I can easily skip several meals, if circumstances require this, without experiencing any inconvenience.
【我不能说这段经历让我感觉更糟。起初我头痛，但几天后我的身体似乎习惯了不吃东西。饥饿感消失了，取而代之的是一种奇怪的兴高采烈、轻松愉快和精力充沛的感觉。我发现这是如此令人愉快，以至于在以后的生活中，我经常斋戒几天，以重新获得这种愉悦的感觉。由此带来的一个好处是，如果情况需要，我可以很容易地跳过几顿饭，而不会遇到任何不便。】
A few days after the strike ended, I and several others were suddenly released. I don't know on what basis the group of about fifteen inmates was formed. All I know is that a young Dutchman and myself were included because we were minors. A man from the British Embassy came to collect us and took us by train to Madrid. There we were put up in a hotel which we were not allowed to leave. Two days later, we boarded a train for Gibraltar, escorted by two members of the British Embassy. We arrived at La Linea the next afternoon. A few short formalities at the Spanish customs post and the barrier was lifted. We walked through to the other side. Here British soldiers were standing guard and we were met by blue-uniformed policemen. I had reached my destination. I stood on British territory.
【抗议结束几天后，我和其他几个人突然被释放了。我不知道这个由15名囚犯组成的小组是根据什么成立的。我所知道的是一个年轻的荷兰人和我是因为未成年人。英国大使馆的一个人来接我们，把我们送上去马德里的火车。在那里，我们被安排在一家旅馆里，不准离开。两天后，我们在两名英国大使馆人员的护送下登上了开往直布罗陀的火车。第二天下午，我们到达了拉利尼亚。在西班牙海关处办理了几项简短的手续，限制就被解除了。我们走到另一边。这里有英国士兵站岗，我们遇到了身穿蓝色制服的警察。我到达了目的地。我站在英国的领土上。】
Waiting buses took us straight to the quayside where naval launches transferred us to a passenger liner, the Empress of Australia, lying with a great number and variety of other ships at anchor in the roadstead. A convoy had been formed and would leave in a few hours for England. The voyage was uneventful, though the tension, created by the lurking danger of U-boats and enemy aircraft, never quite left us.
【公共汽车把我们直接带到码头，海军的汽艇把我们送到一艘客轮——澳大利亚女皇号上，这艘客轮和许多其他船只停泊在锚地。船队已经组成，几小时后将启程前往英国。这次航行平安无事，但潜艇和敌机的潜伏危险所造成的紧张气氛一直没有离开我们。】
As soon as the ship was alongside in Greenock, immigration officers came on board. We had to queue up and were questioned in turn. I showed them my travel document and told them that my mother and sisters were living in England, but I did not know where. Later in the day, we were taken by train to London under an escort of soldiers. From King's Cross station buses took us to a place called the 'Royal Victorian Patriotic School'. This name rather baffled me. I imagined it to be some kind of special school where one attended lessons in patriotism and if one passed the examination, one was released. I was wrong, of course, but not all that much for the school was an interrogation centre for refugees, the purpose of which was to weed out German spies and other security risks. The name had nothing to do with the centre, but was that of a requisitioned girls' school on the premises.
【船一靠近格林诺克，移民官员就上了船。我们不得不排队，挨个接受审问。我给他们看了我的旅行证件，并告诉他们我的母亲和姐妹们住在英国，但我不知道在哪里。当天晚些时候，我们在士兵的护送下乘火车去了伦敦。我们从国王十字车站乘车来到一个叫“皇家维多利亚爱国学校”的地方。这个名字使我莫名其妙。我把它想象成一所特殊的学校，在那里上爱国主义课，通过考试就可以获释。当然，我错了，但这所学校并不是一个难民审讯中心，其目的是清除德国间谍和其他安全隐患。这个名字与中心没有任何关系，它只是征用了女子学校的所在地。】
After a few days there, I was called up for interrogation. It was conducted by a sharp-featured, dark, young captain in the Intelligence Corps whose manner was polite, but distant. I told him my life story and, especially, the details of my escape from occupied territory. He took everything down in longhand and, as he frequently interrupted to ask probing questions, it took two full days before I had finished. On the third day, he called me again and went over certain parts of my story which needed elucidation. I repeated everything in a straightforward way, exactly as it had been.
【在那里呆了几天后，我被叫去接受审问。指挥这次行动的是情报部队的一名年轻上尉，他相貌鲜明，肤色黝黑，彬彬有礼，但态度冷淡。我告诉他我的生活经历，特别是我逃离被占领土的细节。他用手写的方式记下了所有的东西，由于他经常打断我，问一些试探性的问题，他花了整整两天时间才把它写完。第三天，他又打电话给我，把我故事中需要解释的部分讲了一遍。我直截了当地重复了所有的事情，完全照旧。】
The following day I was not called for by him. In the afternoon there was a film show, 'The Dictator' with Charlie Chaplin, but I never saw it. The film had just started when I was called out to see the CO of the establishment. A tall, grey-haired colonel told me that he had succeeded in locating my mother and that I would be allowed to go. He then picked up the telephone and dialed a number. At the other end my mother answered. He told her she was speaking to an immigration officer and asked her if she had a son in Holland. She confirmed this and he then asked her to give a short description. Satisfied, he said, 'Well, I have good news for you. He is here with me now and I'll hand the receiver to him so that you can speak to him yourself.'
【第二天他没有找我。下午有一场查理·卓别林演的电影《独裁者》，但我没看。电影刚开始，我就被叫去见相关的主管。一位高个、头发灰白的上校告诉我，他已经找到了我母亲，我可以去了。然后他拿起电话，拨了一个号码。在电话的另一端，母亲接起了电话。他告诉她，她正在和一位移民官员交谈，问她是否在荷兰有个儿子。她证实了这一点，然后他请她做一个简短的描述。他很满意，说:‘好吧，我有好消息告诉你。他现在和我在一起，我把听筒交给他，这样你就可以亲自跟他说了。”】
I don't remember what we said to each other, but the outcome was that she would meet me in an hour's time on the platform of the station in Northwood, where she lived. The colonel then gave me half a crown for the fare and shook hands. I was free to go. An hour later, after several changes and much asking, I got out at Northwood station. It was dark and raining, but at the end of the platform I recognised at once the waiting figure of my mother. I was home.
【我不记得我们说了什么，但结果是，一小时后她将在她住的诺斯伍德车站的月台上和我见面。然后上校给了我半个克朗作为车费，并和我握手。我可以走了。一个小时后，我换了几次车，问了好几次路，终于在诺斯伍德站下车了。天很黑，下着雨，但在月台的尽头，我立刻认出了等待着的母亲的身影。我回家了。】
