策劃、編譯■李威撰、謝雯伃

英國倫敦發生暴動，許多民眾感到困惑不已，

紛紛追問這些原本守法的年輕人，為何突然淪為施暴者及竊盜者。

有人將責任推給社會邊緣的幫派團體，或者怪罪尼特族的不知上進，

但這些批評是否合理？而保守派與自由派又是如何理解這一連串的事件？

▲在英國伯明罕的市中心，搶劫的民眾搬出一箱箱的家庭劇院商品，圖攝於9日。（圖文／路透）

曾領導倫敦最令人聞風喪膽的街頭幫派男子表示，倫敦及其他城鎮近日發生暴動，是英國青年遭遇挫折後的必然結果，而非街頭幫派幹的好事。

A man who led one of London's most feared street gangs （1）says riots in the capital and other English towns and cities this week were the inevitable result of frustration felt by Britain's youth, not the brainchild of street gangs.

科爾將自己創立的惡名昭彰街頭幫派，轉型成志在幫助年輕人的娛樂組織。他對首相暗指暴動背後有幫派領導人提供協助的說法不以為然。

Elijah Kerr, who transformed the notorious street gang he founded into an entertainment organisation aimed at helping young people, poured scorn on British Prime Minister David Cameron's suggestion the riots were coordinated by gang leaders.

連續4晚，都市貧民區及城鎮陷入動盪，首相卡麥隆11日對街頭幫派宣戰。他表示，幫派是「所有暴力的核心」，明白否認政府緊縮政策或貧窮所起的作用。親眼見證英國貧民區絕望生活的科爾表示，卡麥隆的意見完全與事實脫節。

On Thursday, after four nights of mayhem （2）in English inner cities and towns, Cameron declared war on street gangs which he said were "at the heart of all the violence", flatly denying government austerity measures or poverty had played a part. Kerr, who has witnessed inner city （3）desperation first hand, said Cameron's comments were completely out of touch.

現年31歲的科爾表示，他在9歲開始涉入幫派事務，從此之後開啟販毒、吸食快克古柯鹼、進出監獄的人生。但在過去10年，他放棄暴力，把重心放在將幫派轉型成一個專注於音樂和創造力的合法娛樂組織。

Now 31, Kerr says he first got caught up in the gang scene when he was nine years old and has dealt in drugs, smoked crack cocaine and been in and out of prison. Over the last decade, however, he has renounced violence and turned his hand to converting his "crew" into a legitimate entertainment organisation centred around music and creativity.

他說：「他們（政府）想要歸咎於幫派──搞什麼鬼？政府說，幫派在一週前策畫整起暴動，要去搶劫電器賣場Curry's。這話多麼蠢，多麼荒謬。這都是鬼話。」

"They (the government) is trying to say gangs -- what? That they organised the whole riot a week before to loot a Curry's (electrical store). It's so stupid and ridiculous...It's just rubbish," he said.

「所有參與暴動的都是騎著單車的小朋友。看看那些被起訴的人，他們根本不是幫派份子。他們是一無所有的青年，他們之所以鋌而走險是因為試著要對抗目前所處的境況和警察，因為他們什麼都沒有了。」

"All those involved they are little kids on bikes. KIDS. Look at whose been charged -- they're not gangsters. Youths who have nothing, who have been swept up in trying to fight back against their circumstances and the police cos there's just nowt for them."

針對幫派進行多年田野調查的牛津大學學者丹斯利（James Densley）也贊同這樣的說法。「暴動中可能會有參加幫派的青年，或是與幫派有所牽扯的年輕人參與。但我並不認為，這必然是一起有計畫性的幫派活動。」他指出。

Dr James Densley, who did years of field work on gangs for Oxford University, agreed. "What we might have is gang-involved or gang-associated youth who are participating in the riots, but I don't think it is necesarily organised gang activity," he said.

「對幫派高階人士來說，他們對於在自己地盤上製造出這樣混亂場面，一點興趣也沒有，因為事實上，幫派需要地方社群的支持，才得以維持運作。」丹斯利表示，幫派是經濟組織，對於故意破壞社區物品等非經濟行為不感興趣。

"For the upper echelons of the gang they wouldn't be interested in causing such chaos in their own communities because the gang actually needs the support of the community to continue its operations." Densley said that gangs were economic organisations and not interested in uneconomic acts like vandalism （4）.

丹斯利表示，暴動對於那些渴望加入幫派，或是位於幫派低階的人來說，可能是建立名氣以及支撐他們犯罪憑證的大好機會。「在街頭上，這類的事非常、非常重要。這關乎到建立評價，透過暴力在街頭贏得尊敬。」他表示。

Densley said the riots might have been an opportunity for those aspiring to be in gangs or at the lower level of a gang to build a reputation and bolster their criminal credentials. "On the streets this kind of thing is very, very important. It's about building ratings and getting respect on the street through violence," he said.

當被問道個人是否譴責暴動行為，科爾小心謹慎地回答。「我所不能原諒的是，參與者在他們居住的區域砸店、洗劫貨物，讓當地小生意無以為繼。這些行為根本不會傷害到警方或是當局，只是在傷害我們自己。」

Asked if he condemned the disorder, Kerr chose his words carefully. "What I don't condone （5）is people smashing, stuffing up in their own area and small businesses on their turf. That's not hurting the police or authorities, that's hurting ourselves.

「不過，我並不是政府的支持者。我一點也不是會進行和平抗議的那種人。我曾經遇過麻煩事，我見識過這類事對一個人有怎樣的影響。它有可能會毀掉你的整個人生。」他補充說道。

"But I'm not a fan of the government. I'm not totally a peaceful protest kind of guy. I've been through trouble and I've seen what it can do to someone. It can shatter your whole life," he added.

科爾表示，政府所需快速進行的的事，就是讓社會大眾重拾信心。「他們（參與暴動的年輕人）真正需要的是領導課程以及個人導師，他們所需要的就是指引。」

Kerr says what the government needs to do quickly is sow hope back into communities. "What they (kids) really need is leadership programmes, mentoring. All they need is guidance."

英國首相卡麥隆表示，參與暴動者將會為自己的行為付出代價。對此，科爾僅有一個簡單的訊息想要告訴卡麥隆。「光是把每個人都關起來，進行宵禁，還有所有嚴峻言詞及動作，一切都無濟於事。只會讓情況變得更糟。」

And he has one simple message for Cameron, who said the rioters would pay for their actions: "Simply locking everyone up, curfews and all the harsh words and actions it's not going to change anything. It's just going to make things worse.

（路透Reuters）

1. gang

(n.) 幫派集團

2. mayhem

(n.) 騷亂

3. inner city

(n.) 內都 （指低收入住宅區或貧民區）

4. vandalism

(n.) 破壞公共或私有財的犯罪行為

5. condone

(v.) 放縱

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