自我放逐之旅-Gozo

上週前同事在群組詢問有誰想要到GOZO去看流星雨，

想到我還沒見過流星，不過我亦不太喜歡露營。

於是我自己訂了間B&B，

到GOZO來個兩天一夜的微旅行。

拍了不少不錯的照片，

而當中有幾張印象特別深刻。

Last week, a former colleague in the group asked who wanted to go to GOZO to watch the meteor shower. I realized that I had never seen a meteor, but I'm not really into camping either. So, I booked myself a B&B and embarked on a micro trip to GOZO. I took quite a few good photos, and among them, there are a few that left a deep impression on me.

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<<角落>>

在GOZO最高的教堂閒晃時，

無意間見到了這個畫面，

視覺上的衝突使我沉思了一陣子。

在冠冕堂皇的教堂附近，陰影之後，

一柱刑具佇立在此。

人們總是被光鮮亮麗的事物所吸引，

而往往忽視生活中的那些不公、不義。

好人命短，壞人齊天，

神愛世人，這句話雋刻在人們的心中。

然而，上帝在哪裡?

"Corner"

Near the grandiose church, hidden in the shadows, stands a pillar of punishment. People are often drawn to bright and beautiful things, yet they frequently overlook the injustices and unfairness in life. The saying "God loves humanity" is etched in people's hearts. 

However, where is God?

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<<駐足>>

一隻貓咪，躲在陰影之下。

陰影的外面，有陽光、藍天，及更寬廣的世界。

當然，還有未知。

人們傾向於安於現狀，

離開了陰影，很熱、很渴，甚至可能找不回回家的路。

你是否曾在伸手不見五指的迷霧中穿梭，

見過碧藍清澈，連幾隻魚都數得清楚的海洋，

超過40度的熱不可耐，低於0度的寒風刺骨。

世界很大，危險之於，也充滿了驚喜。

"Pause"

People tend to be comfortable. Once we leave the place, it could be hot, thirsty, and we might even lose our way. Have you ever wandered in the fog where you can't see your hand in front of you, seen the clear blue sea where even a few fish are visible? 

The world is vast, and amidst danger, but it's also full of surprises.

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<<你妳>>

在爬GOZO教堂之前，我其實猶豫了一陣子，

因為當天真的超級無敵熱，而在爬的過程中，甚至登頂後，

其實沒什麼遮蔽物。

過程中，我見到了一對年輕情侶，

男帥女美，且女生皮膚很白。

在這炎炎夏日的南歐顯得有點格格不入，

很難相信她平常會在烈日之下做這種事。

然而對女孩來說，

僅僅因為有他在，

這趟旅途，也就變得有意義。

至少從他們合照時的笑容看起來。

"Between"

Before climbing the GOZO church, I hesitated for a while because it was incredibly hot that day, and during the climb, there was little shelter, even at the summit. During the process, I saw a young couple, handsome boy and beautiful girl, the girl's skin fair. In this scorching South European summer, they seemed a bit out of place, and it's hard to believe she would normally do something like this under the blazing sun. However, for the girl, simply because he was there, this journey became meaningful. 

At least that's how it appeared from the smiles in their photos together.

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<<人命>>

太陽底下，一個下坡路旁立了一座紀念碑，

上面寫了一位女孩在2015年遭遇的悲劇離開人世。

其實我原本想到的是另一方面的悲劇，

所以上網查了一下，原來僅是酒駕超速車禍導致的。

回過神來，我驚訝的發現，

為什麼我當下會有「僅」是車禍的想法?

在馬爾他，這個人口只有50萬的國家，

甚至在GOZO這個僅不到5萬人口的小島。

家喻戶曉，人們彼此認識，

一起酒駕超速車禍致死案，上了新聞，人們悲痛，

成立NGO組織、呼籲當局修法，

甚至還立了個紀念碑。

然而台灣每年交通事故死了3000人，

受傷近50萬人，

美軍阿富汗戰爭打了20年都沒有台灣道路一年死得多。

若皆立碑，其數量將超過全台的便利商店數量總數。

我，或者我們台灣人，可能早已對此司空見慣，

尤其，我自己也經歷過車禍的生死瞬間，

然而，

這是正常的嗎?

"Life"

Under the sun, next to a downhill road, stands a monument. It tells of a tragedy a girl faced in 2015, and she left. Originally, I was thinking of a different kind of tragedy, so I looked it up online and found out it was just a fatal car accident due to drunk driving and speeding. Snap back to reality, I was surprised at why I thought of it as "just" a car accident? Maybe is because Taiwanese sees 3,000 traffic accident deaths and nearly 500,000 injuries every year. More than US military deaths in Afghanistan. 

But is this normal?