美国国家公共电台 NPR--4 people recall the invasion of Iraq and say the consequences live on

4 people recall the invasion of Iraq and say the consequences live on

Transcript¹

To mark the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, we've gathered the recollections of four individuals who witnessed the events first-hand, each from a distinct perspective – a college student, a U.S. Army intelligence officer, an Iraqi translator and former U.S. Marine².

We asked each of them to share the memories they still carry from the first days of a war that lasted nearly a decade.

These interviews were lightly edited for length and clarity.

It changed my life in so many ways. And whenever someone is talking about life, I remember that kid, who held my hand and said, 'Swear by God that my life will be okay and I will not live an orphan³.

Born in Iraq, al Dulaimy was studying engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Baghdad when the U.S. invaded.

"I was living in Fallujah. I was an engineering student at the beginning of the war, with all the confusion that was happening. It was the first time in my life I made a lie. And I lied to a child."

"There was a shooting on the highway in Fallujah that resulted in many deaths of civilians⁴, and I saw what I never thought I would see in my life. So many cars shot. So many people lying on the side of the street. One of the cars was a pickup⁵ truck. [The] father, in the driver's seat, was killed. The mother was in the passenger seat. She was killed. And the kid, I think he was ten years old. They took him out of the car. They laid him on the side. His back was to the car. He cannot see his mom and dad. And his injury was severe. And he refused to go to a hospital. He said, 'I don't want to live if my father and mother are dead.'

"He was holding my hand in such a force. It was amazing for me, how a 10-year-old can do that. And he said, 'Please. I don't want to be an orphan. If they are dead, let me die.'"

"And that was my first lie in my life."

"I was like, 'No, you're going to be okay, we're going to take you to a hospital.'"

"And he said, 'Swear by God, they are alive.'"

"And I did."

"It changed my life in so many ways. And whenever someone is talking about life, I remember that kid, who held my hand and said, 'Swear by God that my life will be okay and I will not live an orphan.'"

An American, she's a former U.S. Army sergeant⁶ who served as an Arab linguist⁷ in a military intelligence company of the 101st Airborne Division.

"When we first arrived there, the people who were willing to come up and talk to me as a woman in the U.S. Army, they all wanted to tell me how they had suffered under Saddam Hussein and their hopefulness for the future. And I was there when that started to turn and to curdle⁸, as we were unable to provide security, unable to keep the electricity on."

"Years later, some folks called it 'Man On The Moon Syndrome⁹' — 'You Americans could put a man on the moon. What do you mean you can't do X, Y or Z here in Iraq?'"

"And you could see the anger starting to come. You could see the rage. You could see people losing their hope and getting more and more frustrated¹⁰."

"And shooting at us."

"And at that point, when people I knew were getting hurt, I at least am not mature enough to have been able to not get angry. It's really hard to keep an open heart towards people who are trying to kill you."

"So, you know, I think that curdling¹¹ was happening on both sides and that took some time, after coming home, for that sense of empathy to return."

"And thinking back to how young — how young — everyone was, and what we ask of people who are barely adults, is kind of shocking today."

I remember how devastated¹² I was, as an Iraqi, because of the looting of the National Museum.

An Iraqi journalist and translator at the time of the U.S. invasion, he went on to work as a news editor at the New York Times Baghdad bureau before emigrating to the U.S.

"When the war started, I was working as a translator in a contracting company. I had this perception that Americans were always read, you know, 'the biggest country in the world...The Superpower'. And what shocked me actually was the lack of preparation."

"I remember how devastated I was, as an Iraqi, because of the looting of the National Museum. As you know, Iraq is the land of Mesopotamia, and we have antiquities¹³ and we have a civilization that goes back 6000 to 7000 years. The museum was without any kind of protection for days, while troops were protecting other facilities in Baghdad — buildings like the Oil Ministry¹⁴."

"Imagine the Metropolitan¹⁵ in New York open for looters for two or three days. Imagine how devastated you would be as an American citizen."

"On TV, I remember seeing [U.S. Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld saying that 'the American Army is not a police force'. You know, '...it's not our job'. To me that was shocking: to just let it go in the hands of looters. To me, that was even more than painful, I would say."

"It's a disaster to the memory of the nation."

Alnaemi now lives in New York City and teaches journalism¹⁶ at New York University.

Carlos Gomez-Perez

And no one prepared us. We didn't know how to deal with it.

A U.S. Marine who rose to the rank of Lance Corporal. He was awarded the Silver Star for "conspicuous¹⁷ gallantry and intrepidity¹⁸ in action against the enemy" during a 2004 combat operation in Fallujah, Iraq.

"I was in the Marine Corps¹⁹, Echo Company, Second Battalion²⁰, First Marines. In 2003, I already had a son, even though I was only 21. I was in Iraq, and I remember going to different houses, doing door-to-door checks. And literally²¹, they were handing me babies – like, 'Please. Mister, mister, take her, take her'. My child's back home, and you're giving me your kid, so that I can take him somewhere better. Replaying in my mind is that."

"And no one prepared us. We didn't know how to deal with it. And no one discusses. Because it's not fun to talk about those experiences that you have to live with the rest of your life."

(Ret) Cpl. Gomez-Perez now lives in San Diego. He's currently unemployed²².

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

6 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

7 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

8 curdle   

v.使凝结，变稠

参考例句：

• The sauce should not boil or the egg yolk will curdle.调味汁不能煮沸，不然蛋黄会凝结的。
• The sight made my blood curdle.那景象使我不寒而栗。

9 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

10 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 curdling   

n.凝化v.（使）凝结( curdle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Curdling occurs when milk turns sour and forms solid2 chunks. 凝结时牛奶变酸并且结成2大块固体。 来自互联网
• The sluggish cream wound curdling spirals through her tea. 黏糊糊的奶油在她的红茶里弯弯曲曲地凝结成螺旋形。 来自互联网

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

15 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

16 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

17 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

18 intrepidity   

n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为

参考例句：

• I threw myself into class discussions, attempting to dazzle him with my intelligence and intrepidity. 我全身心投入班级讨论，试图用我的智慧和冒险精神去赢得他的钦佩。 来自互联网
• Wolf totem is a novel about wolves intrepidity, initiation, strong sense of kindred and group spirit. 《狼图腾》是一部描写蒙古草原狼无畏、积极进取、强烈家族意识和团队精神的小说。 来自互联网

19 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

20 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

21 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

22 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。