My Safe Child（我那安全的孩子）

My Safe Child（我那安全的孩子）
I am thirty－three years old，and I am so happy that I am not a mother． I do not hear a biological clock ticking，only the nerve wrecking¹ ticks of bombs yet to explode． My friends are leaping whenever their cell phones ring．“Where are you? No，you can‘t go out． No，I don’t care if all the other children are going”。How nave² children are when they tell lies． What mother in Israel now would believe that “all the children are going” anywhere?
And where are the children going? Where will their fears take them? In many places in the world children are afraid of the unknown，of the unreal． You know that you live in a war zone when you realize that the greatest fears of the children are of what they know only too well．
Two years ago，when my younger brother was ten，he came home from school，and as he opened the door he heard the familiar sound of explosion rising from the street he just left behind him． Sitting in front of the television five minutes later，he could see his friend wandering blindly in the street，which was covered with body parts and injured people． The friend‘s father，who picked him up from school and took him for a pizza，was killed in front of his eyes． My brother refused to talk about it．“This kid wasn’t really a friend of mine，”is all he would say，“I don‘t really know him that well”。That evening he told my father that he is afraid of Freddy Kruger，a monstrous³ murderer from a common horror film． My father didn’t know whether to laugh or cry，but I suspect he felt some relief． How good it is to caress⁴ your child‘s hair and to tell him that Kruger doesn’t really exist． But the man who exploded himself in the centre of a busy street did exist． And the man who will explode himself in another one of our busy streets in a few years is now my brother‘s age． His mother doesn’t have to worry about the dangers which lurk⁵ on the way to school． There are no schools anymore． We have demolished⁶ them all，when we crushed the infrastructure⁷ of the Palestinian Authority． His younger brother was killed when our soldiers exploded their home． Our soldiers exploded their home because his older brother was a “wanted person”。Exploding his family‘s home was our way to insure that he will soon turn from a wanted person into an unwanted body，torn to a thousand pieces，surrounded by his victims．
The young terrorist to be sleeps now in a tent provided by UNRWA． What is he afraid of? Not much to fear anymore． The worst already took place． But the bulldozers are still around，demolishing the neighbors’ homes． Every day a few new tents join the raw． His mother tells him how they were deported⁸ from their home in Latrun in 1967． His grandmother tells him it was nothing compared to what she had to go through when she was driven away from Jaffa in 1948，carrying his screaming mother，then a newborn，in her arms．
My grandmother doesn‘t understand her plight⁹． It had never occurred to her to go back to her home in Poland，which she had to flee as a refugee，haunted by the rise of Nazism¹⁰ in Europe． The fact that the Palestinians still talk about Jaffa，she says，just proves that they want to exterminate¹¹ us． Whenever a suicide bombing strikes our cities，my grandmother calls me and tells me of her secret plan．“I am an old woman，and I have nothing to loose，”she says in a conspiratorial¹² tone．“I will wear rags like their women，and go and explode myself in the centre of Nablus． This will teach them a lesson． I will show them what it’s like．”I am trying to tell her that they already know what it is like，that the number of their dead is three times bigger than ours，that the fear and terror we spread in their lives is much bigger than ours． But my grandmother doesn’t hear me，because she is crying．“They are not human beings，”she says．“What people can do such things，kill children like this？”De－humanized people，I want to answer，but I keep my mouth shut，and think about the child that I don’t want to have．
The child I won‘t have will never feel the guilt¹³ of being an occupier，or the fear of becoming a victim． I will never tell him not to be scared，when fear is the only rational thing to feel． I will not have to teach him that the Palestinian child is a human being just like him，while everybody else will tell him that it is not so． The child I won’t have will keep sleeping，curled in a secret corner of my mind． The child I will never have is going to be the only safe child in the Middle East．

1 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

2 nave   

n.教堂的中部；本堂

参考例句：

• People gathered in the nave of the house.人们聚拢在房子的中间。
• The family on the other side of the nave had a certain look about them,too.在中殿另一边的那一家人，也有着自己特有的相貌。

3 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

4 caress   

vt./n.爱抚，抚摸

参考例句：

• She gave the child a loving caress.她疼爱地抚摸着孩子。
• She feasted on the caress of the hot spring.她尽情享受着温泉的抚爱。

5 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

6 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

10 Nazism   

n. 纳粹主义

参考例句：

• His philosophical eyes were obviously shortsighted by the evil influence of Nazism. 显然，他那双哲学家般的深邃的眼睛也被纳粹的妖氛所眩惑。 来自中国文学部分
• Nazism suppressed all three movements as degenerate. 纳粹把所有三个运动都作为颓废艺术而加以镇压。

11 exterminate   

v.扑灭，消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• Some people exterminate garden insects by spraying poison on the plants.有些人在植物上喷撒毒剂以杀死花园内的昆虫。
• Woodpeckers can exterminate insect pests hiding in trees.啄木鸟能消灭躲在树里的害虫。

12 conspiratorial   

adj.阴谋的，阴谋者的

参考例句：

• She handed the note to me with a conspiratorial air. 她鬼鬼祟祟地把字条交给了我。 来自辞典例句
• It was enough to win a gap-toothed, conspiratorial grin. 这赢得对方咧嘴一笑。 来自互联网

13 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。