埃塞俄比亚善良的撒马利亚人 An Ethiopian Good Samaritan

Okay. I really, really love trains. So, I was determined to ride the new Chinese-built railroad from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the port at Djibouti, which is another country in the horn of Africa. But, this is not a story about trains.

我承认我真的非常喜欢乘火车。所以我决定沿着埃塞俄比亚的亚的斯亚贝巴到吉布提（位于非洲之角）港的中国新建铁路游玩一番。不过，这篇文章与火车无关。

The route started out in the lush, green 150-kilometer long valley that runs from Addis to the city of Adama. Going south and east, and downhill, the land gets drier, becoming hard desert by the time you reach Djibouti twelve hours later. I had planned to sleep some on the train. But, I could not take my eyes off the Ethiopian landscape.

这条铁路线始于亚的斯亚贝巴到阿达玛市的150公里长的茂密的绿色山谷，呈南北走向，越往下走，土地就会越干燥，十二个小时后当你到达吉布提时，就会发现脚下的土地呈现一片荒漠景象。我本来打算在车上小憩一会儿的，但埃塞俄比亚的风景美得让我不忍入眠。

The ride was perfect, until we reached the Djibouti border.

不过，这段愉快的旅程在我们抵达吉布提边境后就结束了。

It was already dark by the time we reached the station in the tiny town of Dewele, just inside Ethiopia, where a team of Djibouti immigration inspectors boarded the train. A very professional, English-speaking Djibouti officer — with the uniform and attitude of a French gendarme — looked into my cabin.

当我们到达杰迪韦里小镇的车站时，天已经黑了。在这个埃塞俄比亚的小镇里，吉布提移民督查员登上了我们的火车。其中有一位说英语的官员，看起来非常专业，他穿着法国宪兵式制服，严肃地扫向我所坐的位置。

I handed him my passport and the electronic visa I had purchased before starting the trip.  

于是我交上了自己的护照和上车前买的电子签证。

"E-visas are not valid on the train."

“火车不支持电子签证。”

Me: "On the official website, www.evisa.gouv.dj, it says that it is good at airports and border crossings." Wisely, I had thought ahead and downloaded the relevant portion of the website to my phone.

我说：“官网www. evas.gouv.dJ上说电子签证适用于机场和边境口岸。”因此，我提前考虑到这一点，明智地在手机上下载了相关证明。

"Wait here."

“在这等一会儿”

Ten minutes later. 

Him: "Bring your luggage and follow me."

十分钟后，他回来跟我说：“把你的行李带上，跟我走。”

Earlier in the day, I had interviewed Salia Mohammed, a smart Ethiopian girl who worked as an attendant on the train, having recently graduated with an engineering degree from Adama University. I saw her crying as I was unceremoniously booted from the train.

白天，我采访过一个聪明的埃塞俄比亚女孩萨莉亚·穆罕默德，她是火车上的乘务员，最近刚从阿达马大学毕业。当我被别人从火车上无情地赶出来时，我看到她难过地哭了。

I wanted to stay at the station and wait for the train going back the next day.  But, the Djibouti official made me put my luggage in his jeep and drove me to the Ethiopian post at the border, about 10 kilometers away. 

He ordered me to take my luggage out of the jeep. Then he drove away. 

原本打算在车站等到明天火车回来。但吉布提官员把我的行李扔进了他的吉普车，将我送到了埃塞俄比亚十公里以外的边境哨所，然后扬长而去。

Most of the Ethiopian customs officials were lying on the ground chewing khat, a local plant that is a fairly mild narcotic stimulant. I could see there was no car or jeep at the post. No cell service, no internet. They were very welcoming. Seeing I was standing up, looking around, wondering what to do, one said: "Be free, don't worry."

这儿的大部分埃塞俄比亚海关官员都躺在地上嚼着阿拉伯茶，这种茶是当地相当温和的麻醉剂。在这里手机既搜不到信号也搜不到网络。官员们都很好客，当他们看到我站在那里四处张望，不知所措时，其中一个人安慰道：“放松点，别那么紧张。”

Trucks were going by every few minutes, but all were heading to finish their run in nearby Djibouti.

每隔几分钟就会有一辆卡车经过，不过，它们顶多会在吉布提附近转悠。

Where can I sleep? 

那么我睡哪儿呢？

"Sleep here, don't worry."

“别担心，睡这儿就行了。”

They said they could call for a bajaji, an Ethiopian-made tuk-tuk that is ubiquitous in Ethiopia. About 30 minutes later, I asked whether they had called.

他们告诉我可以叫摩托三轮车，也就是印度小车，这种车在埃塞俄比亚随处可见。三十分钟后，我问他们有没有打到车。

"No bajaji now. Tomorrow. Don't worry."

他们却说：“现在已经没车了，明天再叫车也不迟”。

I decided to enjoy sleeping on the ground there, looking at the glorious stars and moon in the clear desert night.

于是我决定体验一把睡在地上的感觉，仰望沙漠之夜的星空和明月。

The border guards said there was a plane to Djibouti from Dire Dawa, the logistics hub city of Ethiopia, 240 kilometers away, but they did not know the time. Maybe I could get home that way.

边境守卫员告诉我会有一架从240公里外的埃塞俄比亚物流中心城市德雷达瓦飞往吉布提的飞机，但不知道具体时间。所以我可能乘这班飞机回家。

Two hours or so later, a truck — a double-wagon big rig — arrived going into Ethiopia. The driver spoke okay English and said he was heading toward Dire Dawa and that I could ride with him.  

两个多小时后，一辆卡车——高层大型货车来到了埃塞俄比亚。司机用一口流利的英语说他正准备开车前往德雷达瓦，可以捎上我。

I thought it would be a four-hour trip, or less.

我以为这段旅程应该不会超过四个小时。

The driver, Samuel Teklemariame, was playing beautiful African music as we drove through the night. He asked me if there was other music I wanted to hear. "I want you to feel safe."

当我们在夜色中前进时，司机塞缪尔·泰克梅里姆为我们演奏了优美动听的非洲音乐，并问我有没有其他想听的音乐。“我希望这能使你有安全感。”他说。

"No, I'm very happy. Don't worry." I wish I remembered the names of the musicians.

我倒希望自己能记住几个音乐家的名字，于是我回答：“我觉得挺安全的，不用担心我。”

About five hours later, at 3:00 am, we finally stopped at a little village called Arumakali, where lots of other trucks were parked. Since it had started to rain, we slept in a three-sided shelter, open to the air on one side. 

大约5小时后，也就是凌晨3点，我们终于在一个名为Arumakali的小村庄停了下来，那里停了许多其他卡车。因为要下雨了，我们就睡进一个三面封闭，一面朝外的棚子中。

Waking up at dawn, Samuel said that Dire Dawa was 30 kilometers away. I figured that would take a few minutes. 

早上醒来时，塞缪尔说迪雷·达瓦就在30公里之外。我明白这可能得要一段时间才能到。

The road goes over a mountain range leading to the high plateau that is the heartland of Ethiopia. Much of it was unpaved and narrow, with large trucks going both directions. It took us nearly 3 hours to go that 30 kilometers.

这条路穿过一条山脉，通向埃塞俄比亚的中心地带——一片高原。其中有很大一截还没铺好，而且很窄，路上还有双向行驶的大卡车。我们花了将近3个小时才走完那30公里。

Until the new railroad was built, this was almost the only way to get goods in or out of Ethiopia.  

在新铁路建成之前，这几乎是进出埃塞俄比亚的唯一途径。

I'm immensely impressed by the Ethiopian people. Many don't make much money — maybe 50 to 75 dollars per month. I was carrying maybe a year's income for them in my backpack. Of course, they knew that, but I never felt threatened in anyway.  

埃塞俄比亚人给我留下了深刻的印象。很多人赚的钱不多，也许每月只有50到75美元。我的背包里带的钱可能是他们一年的收入。当然，他们知道我很有钱，但我在这里从未感到受到过任何威胁。

And, Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia appear to get along very well.  Somebody should study how they do that. 

而且，埃塞俄比亚的穆斯林和基督教徒似乎相处得很好。有些人真应该研究他们是怎么做到这一点的。

Hard working truckers like Samuel are the life-blood of the Ethiopian economy. Every day, they do a key job in harsh conditions, with great skills and endurance.  

像塞缪尔这样勤奋工作的卡车司机们是埃塞俄比亚经济的命脉。他们每天都要在艰苦的条件下做一项关键的工作，这需要很强的技能和耐力。

Samuel was a good Samaritan, just when I needed one. Not only did he drive me to Dire Dawa. He waited for me at the Ethiopian Airlines office so I could buy a ticket to Djibouti, though I'm sure he was exhausted. Then, he found a bajaji to take me to the airport. I offered to pay him, but he refused.

塞缪尔是个热心肠的撒马利亚人，也正是我需要的那种人。不仅仅因为他开车送我去德雷达瓦。更是因为尽管他已经筋疲力尽了，但他仍热在埃塞俄比亚航空公司的办公室等着我，以便我能去买吉布提的机票。另外，他还找了一辆摩托三轮车带我去机场，我要给他车费，但他坚决不肯收下。

Samuel, thank you for giving me a great view of your country.

塞缪尔，谢谢你为我展示了你们国家最靓丽的风景。