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The brutal world of sheep fighting: the illegal sport beloved by Algeria’s 'lost generation' . -By Hannah Rae Armstrong
残酷的斗羊世界：阿尔及利亚“迷失的一代”所钟爱的非法运动。汉娜-雷-阿姆斯特朗
Last August in Algiers, one week before the holiday of Eid al-Adha, men in tracksuits and trainers were guarding their sheep in anticipation of the fights to come.
去年8月，在阿尔及尔，宰牲节假期前一周，穿着运动服和培训师的男子正在看守他们的羊群，期待着即将到来的战斗。
Kbabshis, as these men are known, scour villages looking for lambs that are fast, belligerent and shock-resistant.
这些人被称为Kababshis，他们在村庄里寻找速度快、好斗和抗震的羊羔。
Then they spend years raising them to be champion fighters.
然后花数年时间将它们培养成冠军战士。
Coaches are tough but also surprisingly tender.
教练们很坚强，但也很温柔。
They treat their sheep like mistresses, stopping by the garages where they install them, bringing food, caressing and massaging them before they head out together for long walks on the beach.
他们像对待情人一样对待羊，他们把羊安置在车库前停下来，给它们食物，抚摸和按摩它们，然后一起去海滩上散步。
Professional trainers toughen their sheep by chaining their horns to a wall: as they pull and twist to break away, the resistance thickens their sinewy necks.
专业训练员通过将羊的角拴在墙上来训练它们：当它们拉扯和扭动以挣脱时，阻力会使它们筋肉发达的颈部变粗。
Unlike with cockfighting, there is no gambling on sheep fights, but speculation on the sheep market can make it a lucrative trade.
与斗鸡不同，斗羊不存在赌博，但对羊市场的投机可以使其成为一个有利可图的行业。
Each fight lifts the value of its victor and sentences the loser to slaughter.
每场比赛都会提升胜利者的价值，并将失败者送入屠宰场。
A champion ram might fetch as much as $10,000 – although most sheep trainers on a winning streak prefer to chase glory than cash.
一只冠军公羊的价格可能高达1万美元——尽管大多数连胜的驯羊师更喜欢追逐荣誉而不是金钱。
The sheep are given names that inspire fear, like Rambo, Jaws or Lawyer.
这些羊被赋予了令人恐惧的名字，如兰博、大白鲨或律师。
In the third round of one recent match, Hitler delivered a brutal defeat to Saddam.
在最近的一场比赛中，希特勒在第三轮比赛中击败了萨达姆。
Combat taa lkbech, which means sheep combat in the Algerian Arabic dialect, is a bit like football.
“Combat taa lkbech”，在阿尔及利亚阿拉伯语方言中意为羊群战斗，有点像足球。
It releases the pent-up energies of otherwise unoccupied men and allows them to safely act out potentially divisive strains of nationalism, regionalism and neighbourhood pride.
它释放了原本无事可做的人被压抑的能量，使他们能够表现出潜在的民族主义、地区主义和邻里自豪感的分裂倾向。
But sheep fighting lacks the artistry, skill and precision that make football so enthralling: a sheep confronts an identical opponent and bludgeons him into submission using only his face.
但是，斗羊缺乏艺术性、技巧性和精确性，而这正是羊群战斗的魅力所在：一只羊面对一个相同的对手，只用脸就能把他打倒在地。
Matches are a festival of brute force and domination.
比赛是一个蛮力和统治的节日。
When the sheep lose interest in a match, or prefer palling around with each other to smashing heads, the trainers take over, whispering and urging their beasts back into combat until they lock eyes once more and attack.
当羊群对比赛失去兴趣，或者喜欢互相打闹而不是砸头时，训练员就会接手，低声催促它们的野兽重新投入战斗，直到它们再次对视并发动攻击。
The men who train sheep for combat belong to a lost generation of Algerians, now in their 20s and 30s, moulded by an era of fear, fighting, corruption and curfews.
训练羊群作战的人属于阿尔及利亚迷惘的一代，他们现在20多岁和30多岁，生活在一个充满恐惧、战斗、腐败和宵禁的时代。
There are few jobs and no productive roles for them to play in society.
他们在社会上几乎没有工作可做，也没有生产性的角色可供发挥。
They lack relevant skills and education.
他们缺乏相关的技能和教育。
Most are unmarried.
大多数人都是未婚的。
They are not poor by most standards, but they depend on state subsidies that allow them to buy fuel, food and housing for next to nothing.
按照大多数标准，他们并不贫穷，但他们依赖国家的补贴，几乎不花一分钱就可以购买燃料、食品和住房。
They feel disposable, purposeless, humiliated.
他们觉得自己是可有可无的，没有目标，受到羞辱的。
Most feel the future lies elsewhere.
大多数人看不到未来。
