A glimpse of life on the road | Kitra Cahana

譯者: Marssi Draw 審譯者: Geoff Chen

As a little girl, I always imagined

還是小女孩的時候，

我常想像有一天我會遠走高飛。

I would one day run away.

From the age of six on,

從六歲開始，

I kept a packed bag with some clothes

我就準備好背包，

裡面裝了幾件衣服和一些食物罐頭，

and cans of food tucked away

in the back of a closet.

放在櫃子後面。

There was a deep restlessness in me,

我心底有一股強烈的不安，

a primal fear that I would fall prey

一種原始的恐懼，

害怕自己落入枯燥乏味的平淡生活。

to a life of routine and boredom.

And so, many of my early memories involved

因此，我早期的記憶

intricate daydreams where I would walk across borders,

都和錯綜複雜的白日夢有關，

我會想像自己穿越邊界、搜尋莓果，

forage for berries,

and meet all kinds of strange people

遇見各式各樣的陌生人，

living unconventional lives on the road.

他們都在旅途中過著不尋常的生活。

Years have passed, but many of the adventures

幾年過後，

我小時候幻想的許多冒險──

I fantasized about as a child --

traveling and weaving my way

一邊旅行，一邊編織

between worlds other than my own —

漫遊異國世界的路途──

have become realities through my work

已透過紀實攝影師這份職業實現了。

as a documentary photographer.

But no other experience has felt as true

但是沒有任何經歷

讓我感到如童年時的白日夢般如此真實，

to my childhood dreams

as living amongst and documenting the lives

即使是在我穿梭於美國各地浪人夥伴，

of fellow wanderers across the United States.

並記錄他們的生活之際。

This is the nomadic dream,

這是流浪的夢想，

a different kind of American dream

另一種版本的美國夢，

lived by young hobos, travelers,

生活就依靠著年少遊民、旅人，

hitchhikers, vagrants and tramps.

以及搭便車、流浪與漂泊的人們。

In most of our minds,

我們大多數人都認為

the vagabond is a creature from the past.

流浪是來自過往時光的產物。

The word "hobo" conjures up an old

「遊民」這個字召喚了一種古老的

black and white image

黑白畫面，

of a weathered old man covered in coal,

一位煤碳覆蓋、歷經風霜的老人，

legs dangling out of a boxcar,

雙腳在貨車外頭擺盪著，

but these photographs are in color,

但這些照片都是彩色的，

and they portray a community

描繪出跨越全國各地的

swirling across the country,

fiercely alive and creatively free,

一個生氣蓬勃、無拘無束的社群，

seeing sides of America that no one else

他們看見不同面向的美國，

gets to see.

而那是一種 未經世人見過的模樣。

Like their predecessors, today's nomads

就像他們的先民，當代的遊牧民族

travel the steel and asphalt arteries

逐著美國境內的鋼筋與柏油幹道而居。

of the United States.

By day, they hop freight trains, stick out their thumbs,

白天，他們跳上貨運列車、伸出拇指，

and ride the highways with anyone

跟著任何人踏上公路，

from truckers to soccer moms.

不論駕駛是貨車司機還是中年婦女。

By night, they sleep beneath the stars,

夜裡，他們睡在星空下，

huddled together with their packs of dogs,

相互依偎，他們的一窩貓、狗和寵物鼠

cats and pet rats between their bodies.

交錯在大家的身體之間。

Some travelers take to the road by choice,

有些旅人自願趟上旅途，

renouncing materialism, traditional jobs

拋開物質生活、正規工作和大學文憑，

and university degrees in exchange for a glimmer of adventure.

就為了換取些許冒險。

Others come from the underbelly of society,

其他來自社會底層的人們

never given a chance to mobilize upwards:

從未擁有向上流動的機會：

foster care dropouts, teenage runaways escaping

像是寄養家庭的中輟生、

逃離虐待和無情家庭的青少年。

abuse and unforgiving homes.

Where others see stories of privation

在那裡，人們看到的是貧困

and economic failure,

和破產的故事，

travelers view their own existence

旅人看待自我的存在

through the prism of liberation and freedom.

是透過解放與自由的棱鏡。

They'd rather live off of the excess

他們選擇遠離那種

of what they view as a wasteful consumer society

他們視為揮霍的消費社會，

than slave away at an unrealistic chance

拒絕在不切實際的機會中埋頭苦幹，

at the traditional American dream.

做著傳統的美國夢。

They take advantage of the fact

他們利用一種現況，

that in the United States,

那就是在美國

up to 40 percent of all food ends up in the garbage

有高達 40% 的食物最終都會被丟棄，

by scavenging for perfectly good produce

他們翻找垃圾車和垃圾桶裡

in dumpsters and trash cans.

完好無缺的食物。

They sacrifice material comforts in exchange

他們犧牲物質上的安逸，

為了換取時間與空間

for the space and the time to explore

a creative interior,

去挖掘富有創造力的心靈，

to dream, to read, to work on music, art and writing.

去夢想、去閱讀，

沉浸在音樂、藝術與寫作之中。

但是仍有許多面向

But there are many aspects to this life

that are far from idyllic.

離恬靜宜人的生活十分遙遠。

No one loses their inner demons

沒有人因為上路

by taking to the road.

就能甩開心底的惡魔。

Addiction is real, the elements are real,

耽溺是真的，環境惡劣是真的，

freight trains maim and kill,

貨運列車傷人且致命，

and anyone who has lived on the streets can attest

任何生活在街上的人都能證明

to the exhaustive list of laws

法律詳盡地

that criminalize homeless existence.

宣判無家可歸是種犯罪行為。

Who here knows that in many cities

在場有誰知道，

across the United States it is now illegal

在美國的許多城市裡， 當代有些事違反法令，

to sit on the sidewalk,

像是坐在人行道上、

to wrap oneself in a blanket,

把自己裹在毯子中、

to sleep in your own car,

睡在你個人的車子裡，

to offer food to a stranger?

或是給陌生人食物？

I know about these laws because I've watched

我知道這些法律是因為我目睹了

as friends and other travelers

朋友和其他旅人

were hauled off to jail or received citations

被拖進牢裡，

或收到所謂犯罪的證明文件。

for committing these so-called crimes.

Many of you might be wondering why anyone

在座許多人也許會疑惑，

為什麼有人會選擇像這樣的生活，

would choose a life like this,

under the thumb of discriminatory laws,

受控於差別待遇的法律、

eating out of trash cans,

吃垃圾桶裡的食物、

sleeping under bridges,

睡在橋下、

picking up seasonal jobs here and there.

選擇各地的短期工作。

The answer to such a question is as varied

這個問題的答案

as the people that take to the road,

就如同上路的人們一樣不盡相同，

but travelers often respond with a single word:

但是旅人通常只會回答一個詞：

freedom.

自由。

Until we live in a society where every human

直到我們居住在

一種人人的勞動都保有尊嚴的社會，

is assured dignity in their labor

so that they can work to live well,

他們能靠工作讓生活過得更好，

not only work to survive,

不只是為了存活而工作，

there will always be an element of those

屆時，永遠都會有一群人

who seek the open road as a means of escape,

將追尋開闊的道路

做為一種逃離、解放，

of liberation and, of course, of rebellion.

當然，還有反抗的方式。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）