| The origins of Norforce go back to the Second World War, when a rag-tag group of jackeroos, gold prospectors and adventurers teamed up with Aboriginal trackers in what was known as the North Australia Observer Unit. “非武力组织”的历史可以追溯到二战期间，那时候一群衣衫褴褛的新手、淘金者、探险者同土著人一起组成了所谓的澳大利亚北部观察者小队。 The 'Nackeroos' as they called themselves, took to the bush on horses and camels and in dugout canoes, keeping watch for the anticipated invasion of Australia by Japanese troops. The unit was disbanded after the war but its legacy of small, self-sufficient patrols carrying out covert surveillance was revived with the formation of Norforce in 1981.他们自称“那可鲁”，骑着马，骆驼，乘着独木舟，来到这片灌木丛，时刻注视着有没有日本军队入侵。该组织在二站结束以后就解散了，但是遗留了很多小的，自足的巡逻队，这些巡逻队也随着1981年“非武力组织”的形成而复兴。 The regiment's most recent success was in February, when they came across nine Indonesian fishermen and their grounded boat on an isolated beach in the Northern Territory. 该组织的最近一次成功行动是在二月份。那时他们在澳大利亚北部一个独立的沙滩上遇见九个印度尼西亚渔民以及他们停靠在岸边的船。 The vessel was one of dozens intercepted in recent months suspected of fishing illegally for shark fins, which command high prices in Asian restaurants. 他们已经监视这艘船很久了，因为他们怀疑在这艘船进行了非法的鲨鱼捕捉活动。而这种鲨鱼在亚洲的餐馆里价格是十分昂贵的。 The soldiers' most challenging adversaries, however, are northern Australia's stifling heat and its dangerous wildlife: from giant crocodiles and fearsome feral pigs to dingoes and poisonous snakes. "The crocs can grow up to six metres long, which is bigger than our Zodiac inflatable boats," one soldier told me. 这些战士们最大的敌人，却是澳大利亚北部的酷热以及危险的野生动物：从巨大的鳄鱼，到凶猛的野猪，再到澳洲野狗和毒蛇。“鳄鱼可以长到六米长，那可比我们的气垫船还要长啊。”一个战士这样对我说到。 Despite such hardships, there's no lack of recruits -- Aboriginal elders recognise the benefit of military service for young men who might otherwise find themselves struggling with unemployment, alcoholism and welfare dependency. 尽管困难重重，但是这个部队从来不缺乏新兵。上了年纪的土著人认为这个部队有利于他们的孩子的成长，因为如果不加入部队，他们可能在失业中挣扎，可能整天喝酒，依靠救济金生活。 Norforce's area of operations encompasses more than 100 Aboriginal languages, and many of its soldiers speak English as their third or even fourth tongue. The regiment's white officers have to be sensitive to a whole range of cultural differences among their soldiers. “非武力组织”的活动区域内有一百多种语言在使用，很多战士都是把英语作为他们的第三语言甚至第四语言来使用的。该组织的白人军官必须对士兵内存在的文化差异十分敏感。 Lieutenant Colonel Parker recalls the example of one Aboriginal soldier who simply disappeared one day, without explanation. A year and a half later, just as officers were despairing of every hearing of him again, he reappeared on parade. 帕克中校说起了一个例子，一个土著士兵突然有一天就消失了，没有留下任何解释性的话。一年半以后，当军官们已经对找到他不报有任何希望的时候，他又大摇大摆地回来了。 "He'd just gone off into the bush," said the colonel. "We call it going walkabout." Not exactly the sort of conduct you'd expect in a regular army, perhaps, but then Norforce is no ordinary regiment. “他当时只是跑到灌木丛中去了，”中校说道，“我们把这种行为称作离队出走”。这种现象在正规军队中是看不到的，也许这也是“非武力组织”不寻常之处吧。 |
