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The conflict over Northern Ireland turned this into a hard border.
关于北爱尔兰的冲突让这里变成了一条严密把守的边境。
The violence lasted for more than 30 years, killed over 3,600 people and came to be known as The Troubles.
暴力冲突持续了30多年，死亡人数多达3600多人，这就是后来我们熟知的“北爱尔兰问题 ”。
It came to end in 1998, when Nationalist and Unionist Party leaders came together for a historic peace deal.
这一冲突一直持续到1998年民族主义者和联合主义者双方领导人达成历史性的和平协议才结束。
They reached a compromise: Northern Ireland would remain in the UK but people would be eligible for both Irish and UK citizenships.
他们达成了如下协议：北爱尔兰仍属英国，但北爱尔兰人民可以获得爱尔兰公民和英国公民两种身份。
And in the future, Northern Ireland could vote to join Ireland.
未来北爱尔兰也可以投票加入爱尔兰。
This deal came to be known as the Good Friday Agreement.
这一协定就是后来的《耶稣受难日协定》。
It allowed Nationalists in Northern Ireland to be part of the Republic of Ireland while the Unionists remained part of the UK.
该协定允许北爱尔兰民族主义者成为爱尔兰共和国的公民，但联合主义者仍属英国公民。
Which meant this hard border wasn’t needed anymore.
这就意味着，这里的边境不再需要严密把守了。
So, the British military left. The watchtowers came down. And more roads opened.
于是，英国军队撤走了。了望塔拆掉了，开放的道路也多了。
There are now around 270 official crossings, most of which are completely invisible.
如今，这条边境线上有将近270个官方口岸，其中大部分都是完全隐秘的。
And they're all part of a border that stands as a symbol of the compromise that ended decades of conflict.
而这些口岸都位于一条象征着结束了数十年冲突的妥协的边境线上。
"The British people have voted to leave the European Union."
“英国人民投票决定退出欧盟。”
"Reignited a fierce debate over Northern Ireland's future."
“重新点燃了对北爱尔兰未来的激烈辩论。”
"Because both are members of the European Union. But when Britain pulls out of the EU,"
“因为两国都是欧盟成员。但英国退出欧盟的话，”
"it's now an outer-EU border and the question is, do we put up barbed wire again? Or soldiers? There'll be a custom's border at the very least. "
“这里现在是欧盟的外边界，问题是，我们是否要再次拉起铁丝网？再次派防守的士兵过去？到时候起码会设立海关的。”
In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU, even though Northern Ireland was overwhelmingly in favor of remaining.
2016年6月，英国投票决定退出欧盟，尽管绝大多数北爱尔兰人都支持继续留在欧盟。
The UK’s argument in favor of Brexit was to control its own national borders — but there was little mention of its Irish border at the time.
英国赞成脱欧是基于控制自己国界这一点 - 但当时他们几乎没有提到其与爱尔兰接壤的边境问题。
That changed when the UK and EU started negotiations -the status of the Irish border became one of the first three things to figure out.
但当英国和欧盟开始谈判时，形势就发生了变化 - 爱尔兰边境问题成了阻碍脱欧最为突出的三大问题之一。
Now, more than a year later, it’s still unresolved.
如今，一年多时间过去了，这一问题仍然没有得到解决。
But there are a few options: The UK could reimpose a hard border by bringing back the police and the walls.
但他们还是有选择的余地的：英国可以再次派遣警察过去并再次筑起围墙，重新加强这里的防守。
But that would isolate the population of Nationalists in Northern Ireland.
但这样就会失去北爱尔兰民族主义者的人心。
Alternatively, they could put the border here, leaving Northern Ireland in the EU Customs Union, but separating it from the UK mainland.
或者，他们也可以将边境划在这里，将北爱尔兰留在欧盟关税同盟区内，将其与英国大陆分开。
But this would betray the Unionists.
这样又背叛了北爱尔兰的联合主义者。
See, either way, both these options risk violating the Good Friday Agreement.
看见没，无论是两种办法中的哪一种，都会触犯《耶稣受难日协议》。
A third option is for the UK to stay in the EU Customs Union, meaning it wouldn't need a customs border,
第三种选择是英国继续留在欧盟关税同盟，这样一来它就不需要海关边境，
but that’s unacceptable for Brexiters in the UK government, who specifically want control over their own borders.
但这对英国政府内的脱欧派来说简直是无法接受的，因为他们迫切希望能控制自己的边界。
The UK needs to put a border somewhere but just can't decide where.
英国需要给自己划一条边境线，但又无法决定到底划在哪儿。
"On relation to the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland,
“就北爱尔兰和爱尔兰之间的边境问题，
we will not return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
我们是不会在那里重新实行严防的。
But the suggestion that there should be a border down the Irish Sea, separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, is completely unacceptable."
“但把边境线划在爱尔兰海沿线，将北爱尔兰和英国其他地方分开的建议是完全不能接受的。”
"We are not going to be in a customs union, we’re not going to be in the Customs Union,
我们不会加入关税同盟，也不会继续留在欧盟关税同盟，
because if we were, that would prevent us from being able to follow an independent trade policy.”
因为留下来的话，会妨碍我们实行独立的贸易政策。”
Now, there's a fourth option that would be in line with the Good Friday Agreement — it’s the idea of reunification.
还有第四种办法，而且不会触犯《耶稣受难日协议》——那就是重新统一北爱尔兰和爱尔兰。
In the past when both Ireland and the UK were in the EU and the borders were open;
过去，当爱尔兰和英国都还是欧盟成员而两国的边境都十分开放的时候；
there was little incentive for Northern Ireland to vote to reunite with the Republic of Ireland.
北爱尔兰人几乎没有和爱尔兰共和国统一的动机。
But if the UK went with the option of hard borders,
但如果英国最终选择了重新恢复该地的边境检查，
Northern Ireland would be isolated and the only way to rejoin the EU would be through reunification.
北爱尔兰就会被孤立起来，而重新加入欧盟唯一的办法就是和爱尔兰共和国重新统一。
Typically, this would be an overwhelming victory for the Nationalists and a loss for the Unionists.
一般说来，这对北爱尔兰的民族主义者而言将是一场压倒性的胜利，而对联合主义者而言则是一场损失。
But Brexit seems to have changed some opinions.
但脱欧一事似乎改变了某些人的主张。
A recent poll found that 28% of the respondents who supported Northern Ireland’s place in the UK would now vote to join the Republic of Ireland.
最近的民调发现，原本支持北爱尔兰作为英国的一部分的那些受访者有28%人现在已经投票支持加入爱尔兰共和国了。
While not a perfect solution, it would give Northern Ireland a voice about its own place in Europe; a voice that’s barely been heard so far.
尽管这一办法也非面面俱到，但它至少能让北爱尔兰，可以说是有史以来第一次，为自己在欧洲的地位发声。
