We helped in Iraq - now help us, beg Georgians
As Russia forces its neighbour to retreat from South Ossetia, the people of
Gori tell our correspondent of betrayal by the West
From The TimesAugust 11, 2008
Tony Halpin
As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian
farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t help
us now, why did we help them in Iraq?”
當俄國戰機在他村子附近轟炸時，一名農夫Djimali Avago問我說，「為什麼美國和北約
不幫我們？如果他們現在不幫我們，我們幹嘛去伊拉克幫他們？」
A similar sense of betrayal coursed through the conversations of many
Georgians here yesterday as their troops retreated under shellfire and the
Russian Army pressed forward to take full control of South Ossetia.
昨天，同一種背叛的指控在許多喬治亞人的交談之中出現，就當他們的部隊從砲火中
撤退，然後俄軍逐漸推進，掌控南奧賽提。
Smoke rose as Russian artillery fire exploded less than half a mile from the
bridge marking South Ossetia’s border with Georgia. A group of Georgian
soldiers hastily abandoned their lorry after its wheels were shot out and ran
across the border.
煙冒起，橫跨喬治亞和南奧賽梯的橋半哩外，俄軍砲火猛烈。輪胎被射爆後，看一群
喬治亞軍隊慌忙地拋棄了卡車，跑步跨過國界。
Georgian troops looked disheartened as they regrouped around tank lines about
2km from the border. Many said that they had been fighting in Tskhinvali, the
capital of South Ossetia, until the early hours when they were suddenly
ordered to withdraw from the breakaway region.
喬治亞部隊看起來士氣低迷，在距離邊境兩公里處的坦克陣列集結。許多人說他們在
南奧賽梯首都Tskhinvali作戰，直到早晨他們突然被命令撤離亟欲獨立的區域。
“They told us to come out – I don’t know why – but some of our guys are
still out there in the fields,” one soldier told The Times. “I want to go
back. If we lose South Ossetia now, it won’t be for ever because we will
never surrender our land.”
他們叫我們撤──我不知道為什麼──但裡面還有些我們的人，」一名士兵告訴時報
記者。我要回去。如果我們現在丟了南奧賽梯，這不會是永遠的，因為我們永遠不會
放棄我們的土地。」
President Saakashvili of Georgia has ordered a complete ceasefire and offered
talks to the Russians. Despite this, the sound of gunfire and shelling could
be clearly heard along the border zone last night.
喬治亞總統Saakashvili發出全面停火的命令，好與俄國進行協商。儘管如此，昨夜
邊境地區仍有一些槍砲交火。
Terrified civilians have fled in their thousands, convinced that Russia will
not stop at the border but sweep into Georgia. Some fear that the Kremlin is
intent on establishing a buffer zone to guard South Ossetia against future
incursions.
恐懼的人民數以千計地逃竄，他們相信俄國不會在邊境停住，而會直擣喬治亞。很多
怕克里姆林宮要設立一個緩衝區，保衛南奧賽梯免於未來更多騷擾。
Gori, normally a bustling city of 50,000 people, is largely deserted after
Russian airstrikes at the weekend. Scores of people were abandoning their
homes and loading possessions into vehicles or carrying what they could on
foot. “There is a lot of panic. Many people have left and I am thinking of
joining them. My bags are already packed,” Georgi, a 56-year-old resident of
Tirdznisi, said. “We are afraid that the Russians will come here and kill
us. People would not go if we had a strong army but they don’t believe in
our army any more.”
五萬人口的Gori城經俄國空襲後多區已被廢棄。許多人用車子或徒步帶著家當棄家而去。
「現在大家都很慌。很多人走了，我也想要走。我的行李已經打包好了，」Georgi，一名
56歲的Tirdznisi住民說道。「我們擔心俄國人會來把我們殺死。如果我們軍隊夠強人們
就不會走，但他們不再相信我們的軍隊了。」
Iago Jokhadze abandoned his village of Ergneti, close to Tskhinvali, after it
was bombed by Russian jets yesterday. Fighting back tears, he said: “I have
left everything, I don’t even have another shirt. If the Russians stay, then
I can never return. We’re afraid of what the Russians can do.”
受到俄軍轟炸後，Iago Jokhadze離開了他靠近Tskhinvali的家園Ergneti。他忍住眼淚，
說：「我什麼都沒了，我連一件汗衫都沒有。如果俄國人留下來，我永遠都回不來了。
我們怕俄國人不知道會做出什麼事來。」
Miriyan Gogolashvili, of Tkviav, said: “The Russians will be here tomorrow.
They want to show us and the world how powerful they are. Tomorrow it will be
Ukraine and nobody in the West is doing anything to stop them. Why were our
soldiers in Kosovo and Iraq if we don’t get any help from the West now?” he
asked.
Tkviav的Miriyan Gogolashvili說，「俄國人明天就會在這裡了。他們要讓我們跟世界
知道他們有多強大。明天可能就會是烏克蘭，然後西方沒有人會作任何事情阻止他們。
西方現在不幫我們，為什麼我們的士兵要去科所沃跟伊拉克？」他問道。
The Georgian Government is recalling its 2,000 troops serving in Iraq to
confront the threat at home. Many Georgians will be reluctant to send them
back after this war ends. Their despair was in sharp contrast to the
confidence on the other side. At a base near the border, Russian peacekeepers
appeared sure they would soon be joined by comrades from the regular army. “
We are operating normally; nobody has disturbed us at all,” said one.
喬治亞政府召回了其派遣在伊拉克的兩千名士兵以抵抗威脅。事件落幕後，許多喬治亞
人不會想要把他們在派回伊拉克了。他們的絕望與另一方的信心完全相反。靠近邊境的
一個基地裡，俄國維和人員顯現出他們絕對會與俄國正規軍會師的信心。我們正在正常
運作；沒有人打斷了我們的工作，」一人說道。
In Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, refugees from the fighting told how Russian
helicopters bombed homes in Tshkinvali and neighbouring villages. Some spent
days in basements before emerging to discover that their communities had been
obliterated. Mzia Sabashvili, who hid for three days, said: “I know that
lots of my neighbours are dead. I have no idea who is left.”
喬治亞首都Tbilisi裡，難民訴說著俄國直昇機如何對Tshkinvali以及鄰近村落轟炸
攻擊。一些人躲在地下室內好幾天，出來時才發現他們的社區被夷為平地。躲了三天的
Mzia Sabashvili說，「我知道我很多鄰居死掉了。我不知道有誰活著。」
The Russians paid little heed to those in their way. A vehicle carrying
observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe was
shot at by a sniper near Tskhinvali. The bullet cracked the toughened glass
of the passenger window, where a British officer had been sitting.
俄國人不太管誰檔在他們前面。一輛載著歐洲安全暨合作組織的觀察員的車子被狙擊手
攻擊。子彈把乘客座位的強化玻璃給打裂了，位子上作的是一名英國官員。
In Gori, where a statue of Stalin, the city’s most famous son, still stands
in the main square, relatives scoured lists of the wounded put up outside the
main hospital. More than 120 people were admitted yesterday in addition to
the 456 treated since fighting erupted on Friday. The chief surgeon said that
three civilians, including a pregnant woman, had died of their injuries.
在Gori，一座市廣場仍有史達林塑像的城市，憂心的家屬在一家醫院外面看著傷亡名單。
超過120人住入了醫院，而從禮拜五開始總共已經有456人受過醫院治療。主治醫生說
三位平民，包括一位懷孕的婦人，已經傷重不治。
Scores of soldiers milled around on the road outside. One said that they had
all been in Tskhinvali but were now preparing to pull out of Gori. “The
situation was very bad there but we were ready to stay. Russia is the enemy
of the world,” he said.
多位士兵在醫院外頭的路上晃著。一人說他們一直都在Tskhinvali，但現在準備要撤出
Gori。那裡的情勢很遭但我們本來準備要繼續待著。「俄國是世界的敵人」，他說。
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4500362.ece
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