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译者 tinoKING
Visitors to Wang Baoying's new house must tread softly or they will frighten her son. The four-year-old boy is not afraid of strangers. He is terrified his home will fall down.
在王宝英（音）家里说话得格外小心，不然就会吓坏她的儿子。不是孩子怕生，而是这个4 岁大的孩子总是处于这间房子即将垮塌的惊栗之中。
This is not just the fear of a childish imagination. Wang's concrete home – built this year to resettle migrants from China's latest and greatest hydro-engineering project – wobbles when she walks. Her neighbour's floor has completely collapsed. Another's bedroom is tilting. There are cracks on many of the walls.
这不是小孩子的胡搅蛮缠。这是给南水北调工程移民的混凝土安置房，王宝英在家中走动时，整个房屋都在摇晃。她家邻居的房顶已经垮塌了。另一间卧室也已倾斜，墙壁上尽是裂隙。
"My son cries every night because he thinks the house might collapse," says Wang, who discovered the problems three days after she moved in to Shuitianyang new village. "It's terrible. The authorities told us this would be a perfect home."
在搬进新家—水天阳（音）新村—的第三天就发现裂缝问题的王宝英说："我儿子整夜的哭，说是房子要塌了。太害怕了，政府告诉我们这是个放心工程。"
The former farmer is one of 345,000 people who are being relocated in a desperate bid to ease Beijing's drought crisis with a transfusion of water from the Yangtze basin, 1,277km to the south. Her old home and farmland will soon be flooded by the central leg of three vast channels that make up the £40n South-North water diversion, a 50-year project to replenish the arid north of China. According to US diplomatic cables released via WikiLeaks last week, the project is plagued by pollution and misconceived.
为了缓解北京的干旱问题，孤注一掷的南水北调工程，使34万5千农业人口被迫迁离他们的土地。历时50年，花费400亿的南水北调工程试图利用1277公里以外的长江水缓解北方的干旱。王宝英的老家就在此项工程的中线工程段中，很快就会变成一片汪洋。根据上周维基解密透露的美国外交电报，这项工程因为污染环境和不合时宜而广遭诟病。
Though Wang cried when she left her home in Xichuan, village leaders and propaganda slogans assured her the sacrifice was necessary for the nation. Migrants have also been promised new homes, compensation and farmland. But the reality, as many are discovering, is shoddily constructed housing, money that has been skimmed by officials, no jobs and a cold welcome from existing locals who are reluctant to share their property.
虽然王宝英离开四川老家的时候伤心掉泪，但是村里的领导宣传的口号使她相信这是一次"舍小家，为大家"的行为。政府还许诺移民有房、有田、有补贴。但是事实逐渐暴露：房，是危房；钱，是官员层层克扣下的；没有工作；不受当地人待见，当地人更不愿分给他们田产。
For the middle leg of the project, the origin of the diversion is Danjiangkou, where bathers plunge into the Han River beneath a vast dam and a giant slogan on the concrete embankment: "People and Water in Harmony, North and South Both Benefit."
人们在汉江的一座大坝里游泳，混凝土堤坝上刷着巨幅标语："人水和谐，南北互利"。这里是水源来自丹江口的中支工程的一段。
Paramilitary police guard the entrance to the reservoir on the other side of the barrier, which will not reach its maximum height until 2014. When the diversion channels are completed, water will flow north to Beijing and buildings along the banks will be submerged.
大坝的另一侧坝壁的入口有武警站岗。当2014年建到其最高位并且完工后，运河向北京供水，两岸的建筑都将被淹没。
The resettlement from those areas is due to finish by October. As much as any nation can be, China is accustomed to such migrations. Countless millions of farmers have been moved to make way for city expansion and the construction of airports, factories and roads.
这些地区的移民工程预计10月完成。中国对此已是处乱不惊了。很早之前就有数不清的农民工被迁移，为城市扩张，机场、工厂和公路的建设做贡献了。
Hydro-engineering projects account for a major share of this human torrent. Between 1949 and 1999, 17.5 million people – twice the population of London - were relocated for dams. Since then, the pace has accelerated thanks to mega-projects like the Three Gorges dam, which has forced the relocation of 1.5 million people, and the South-North diversion.
人口流动数量的很大一部分是水利工程移民。从1949年到1999年，中国为兴修水利工程令1750万人搬迁。这是伦敦人口的两倍。此后，大工程时代加快的这一人口增加的速度，三峡工程迫使150万人移民。现在又是南水北调。
Many families have been resettled more than once. Zhang Guangren, an elderly woman who farms a small plot on the edge of Danjiangkou reservoir, was forced to move twice by dam projects during her youth. Now her son has been told he must leave his nearby apartment which will be flooded when water levels are raised for the diversion. She says the compensation – 40,000 yuan – is not enough to buy a new home, but they have no choice.
很多住户被安置搬迁了不止一次。年事已高的张光仁（音）被迫搬迁了两次，在丹江口水坝边上种了一小块薄田。现在她儿子必须从附近的公寓里搬出来，那里将成为库区。她说4万元赔偿费不够买一间新房，但他们别无选择。
"You can't go against the government. If you do, they'll force you to move."
"不能反对政府，如果你不搬，他们强拆。"
The government is building 85 schools, 71 clinics and 3.2m square metres of new housing. Compensation is higher than before. There is a little more consultation. But it is also being pushed through more quickly. It has taken 18 years to move everyone from the Three Gorges area. The diversion resettlement is taking place over just two years. Compared to past relocations, the state media insists the relocation is moving smoothly.
政府正在兴建85所学校、71家医院和总面积320万平米的新住宅，赔偿金额比以前多，也能采纳一些民意了。但也更迫不及待的加速移民速度。三峡移民共花费了18年，而南水北调移民只用了两年多一点的时间。相对于过去的移民安置，国家传媒坚称移民工程很顺利。
But when the Guardian talked to 30 relocated people in three villages in Nanyang, Henan province, only one was glad to have moved. Eight reluctantly accepted the patriotic sacrifice they had to make for the "national project." The remaining 21 were furious.
但当《卫报》记者在对河南南阳的三个村内30位被安置的移民进行采访时，仅有一位对其搬迁表示高兴。8人对这种为"国家工程"做出的"爱国主义牺牲"勉强接受，其余的21人则很是愤怒。
Without exception, the longer they has been at their new homes the less they liked them.
只要住进新家时间越长，他们就越不满意。无一例外。
The adjustment is already proving difficult for some. Zhang Jianchao was furious that local hospitals would not deliver the baby of his daughter-in-law. In a panic at her labour pains, he hired a car and drove his son and wife 160km back to their old town for the birth.
想重新融入新环境那是困难重重。张建超（音）为当地医院拒绝为其儿媳妇接生感到愤怒。在其儿媳妇出现宫缩镇痛时，他只能雇车把儿子和儿媳妇带回160公里外的旧城镇生产。
"I'm angry. It was very worrying and expensive," said the former silkworm farmer, who is now without land or work and living with his large family on a government allowance of 100 yuan (£10) per person per month. He says their new home is half the size of his old place because local officials cheated him of fair compensation.
"我很生气。这儿的生活让我担心，成本也高"。这位以前养蚕为生的农民现在没有土地、没有工作，一大家人靠政府给的每人每月100元人民币（约10英镑）的补贴度日。因为地方官员在合理赔偿问题上的瞒骗，他的新家只有旧家的一半大。
The most commonly heard complaint is of official corruption. Villager after villager said their compensation was skimmed by cadres, usually by undervaluing the farmers' plots of land and over-estimating their own holdings.
移民对政府官员的腐败怨声载道。村民们一个接一个地说，他们的赔偿金被那些干部刮走了，他们常用的手段是少算农民们的土地面积，而多算自家的面积。
"I can accept that it will take time for us to make a living in our new homes but it is not fair that the officials have profited from this move. We were told that the sacrifice for this project would be shared," said Chen Xinfeng [name changed], who runs a small restaurant. "President Hu Jintao said honest folk shouldn't lose out, but that is what has happened."
经营一家小餐馆的陈新峰（音，化名）表示，"我理解重新谋生需要时间，但官员们从这次搬迁中牟利，这不公平"，"胡锦涛主席说诚实的人不应受损失，但我们就是受损了。"
Propaganda slogans on walls and banners strung across the road urge residents to play a patriotic role to the "key state-level project". Many urge existing communities in the area to welcome the newcomers. "The waters of Danjiangkou are fresh and sweet. My heart is linked to the new migrant's heart," proclaims one of the most poetic exhortations.
沿路墙上的标语口号及横幅鼓励居民发扬爱国主意精神，支持"国家重点工程"。很多标语敦促当地居民欢迎新移民。一条最有诗意的标语写道："丹江口的水美又甜，我与新移民心连心"。
But friction between the old and new communities seems to be getting worse. At Liangzhuandong new village – which migrants moved into a year ago - a crowd of residents gathered to expressed a long list of grievances, including inadequate compensation, unfulfilled promises of new land, poor water quality and fights with locals.
但新旧村民之间的摩擦越来越严重。一年前搬入的梁砖东（音）新村的移民们，聚集在一起表示巨大的不满，包括赔偿金不足，提供新土地的承诺没有落实，水质差及与当地居民的争斗。
The migrants are unhappy they have not been given a share of the local farmland as they were promised. The old residents complain their new neighbours are "uneducated people from the mountains."
政府承诺的新移民的耕地由当地村子划拨没有兑现，移民们不满，而当地居民抱怨这些来自山区的新邻居"没有教养"。
Both accuse the other of theft. This summer, the tension erupted into violence. According to several accounts, a fight between two individuals escalated rapidly into a melee involving several hundred people.
互相谩骂攻击从没停止过。今年夏天，这种紧张关系引发了暴力冲突。据不同的来源称，当地两名村民间的争斗迅速升级为数百人参与的混战。
Elsewhere, there have been reports of demonstrations. Last November, police clashed with thousands of migrants in Qianjiang city to protest shoddy housing and inadequate compensation, according to Radio Free Asia.
在别的地方还出现了一些示威抗议的报道。据"亚洲自由广播"报，去年11月，在潜江市，数千移民举行示威，抗议劣质房屋及欠缺赔偿，警方与示威者发生冲突。
Liu Guixian, director of Nanyang Relocation Office, said these cases were exceptions.
南阳移民办公室主任刘桂献（音）称，此种事件属于例外。
"Some new migrants get along with locals well. Some don't. It will take time to mix cultures and habits." He insisted the damaged homes would be repaired and the villagers would receive land and compensation by November. Adjustments, he said, take time.
"一些新移民能和当地人和睦共处，一些不能。文化和习俗的融合需要时间。"他坚称11月前会修缮受损房屋，农民是会得到补贴和土地的。他说，"有待时间调整"。
Whether all these teething pains are even worthwhile remains to be seen, according to the US government analysis released by WikiLeaks. In a cable dated 8 August 2008, the US embassy said the diversion is poorly conceived and unlikely to be completed.
初期的损失是否物有所值还不一定，又据维基解密公布的美国政府一份分析报告显示，在这份2008年8月8日的电报中，美国大使馆称：南水北调工程构想很差，不大可能完成。
The eastern and central routes might ultimately serve their intended purpose, it says, but the western route could lead to "an irreversible drain on government funds."
电报表示，该工程的东线及中线工程可能最终能到达其目的，但西线工程可能导致"政府资金付之东流"。
The US diplomats said the money would be much better spent on water conservation and improved irrigation. Ultimately, they predicted, the supply-side engineered solution would fail.
美国外交官员们称，把钱用于节水及改善灌溉系统方面可能会更好。他们预计这种用输水来解决问题的工程方案最终将会失败。
"In the unlikely event that the project is completed in its entirety by its original deadline of 2050, the water crisis may have intensified to such a point that the amount of water the project is able to supply will have already become insufficient, making it necessary to find an entirely new solution," they noted.
"该工程不太可能在2050年预计的完工日期前完全建成，到时缺水危机可能已经恶化到该工程送去的水也不足以解决问题，这就令其不得不寻找一个全新的解决方案"。
Other doubts remain. Du Yun, a geographer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, has questioned whether the Han River can spare water. Ultimately, he said, the project's viability could be undermined by changing weather patterns and improved technology.
对南水北调工程还存在不同的质疑。武汉中科院地理学家杜云（音）质疑汉江是否有多余的水资源用来输出。他说，该工程的实际效果可能会受气候变迁及技术发展而削弱。
"The trend recently is for more rain in the north and less in the south. Water diversion is not cheap, but the price of desalination is falling. Right now, it is unclear whether water diversion is economical".
"目前的趋势是北方出现更多降水，而南方的降水减少。分水工程价格不菲，而海水脱盐淡化的价格在下降。目前而言，还不清楚输水的做法是否经济。"
A final judgment on the cost and consequences of the project will not be clear for many years for both the nation and the individuals whose lives have changed.
这项工程的成本和后果还不清楚。给国家，给每个生活已被改变的村民的最终答案还没有定论。
Jia Zhaixu was one of the newest, happiest arrivals, having moved three days earlier and was settling in to a neat whitewashed, two-storey buildings in Dashiqiao. But the former farmer was clear-eyed about the future.
三天前，又一批最新的移民高高兴兴的搬进了大石桥（音）村。贾翟旭（音）是其中一员，安置进整洁的粉刷一新的两层小楼中，这位前农民可是个明眼人儿。
"A new home is like a new wife. For the first three days, it's very exciting, but after that who knows how you will feel," he said.
他说："搬新家和娶媳妇是一样的，头三天新鲜劲儿过了，以后咋样还不知道呢。"
• Additional reporting by Cecily Huang
*Cecily Huang的附加报道
Major Chinese hydroprojects and resettled population
重大水利工程及其搬迁安置人口数量：
Three Gorges dam – 1.5m people
三峡大坝-150万人
Sanmenxia dam – 410,000 people
三门峡大坝-41万人
Danjiangkou dam – 380,000
丹江口大坝-38万人
South-North water diversion – 345,000
南水北调工程-34万5千人
Xiaolangdi dam – 200,000 people
小浪底大坝-20万人
Pubugou dam – 120,000
瀑布沟大坝-12万人
Zipingpu dam – 33,000 people
紫平铺大坝-3万3千人
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