The Women Who Never Leave Home

by Sara Toth Stub

The Women Who Never Leave Home

by Sara Toth Stub

這些從未離家的女人，憑借著自己的一雙巧手，將愛好變作了為自己創造美好生活的動力。她們不僅正創造著美好的未來，同時也在很好地保護著自己的傳統文化。

Inside a stone house in the village high in the mountains of northern Israel, about 40 women filled the wooden benches, plastic chairs and modern leather couches. All were dressed in black or navy blue, wearing dresses or long skirts and blouses, with1)transparentwhite2)veils3)drapedover their heads. Their hands were busy with sewing needles, making white lace or colorful4)embroidery.

These crafts, most of which are learned from their mothers and grandmothers, have for centuries been the5)pastimefor women. But today, these women are using this6)handworkto ensure their future. They sit here today as part of a7)cooperative, making products not only for their community, but to sell as art to outsiders. It is the first time many of them are earning their own money.

“This started as a hobby, but now it is work,” said Fares, 49, as she worked on a white lace veil, similar to the one that covered her dark hair.

1) transparent [tr?ns'p?r?nt] adj. 透明的

2) veil [ve?l] n. 面紗

3) drape [dre?p] v. 披蓋

4) embroidery [?m'br??d?r?] n. 刺繡

5) pastime ['pα?sta?m] n. 消遣，娛樂

6) handwork ['h?ndw??k] n. 手工藝

7) cooperative [k??'?p?r?t?v] n. 合作社，合作團體

Fares is among a growing number of women in Israel’s mountainous and8)isolatedvillages that are beginning to open their craft circles, kitchens and homes to tourists. They—along with other local women offering in-home meals and cooking9)workshops—are often helped by public10)grantsand courses in11)entrepreneurship, as the government wants to increase employment among Arabic-speaking minorities.

Like most women at her age, Fares didn’t study past her early teens, never worked outside the home and doesn’t leave the village on her own. Meanwhile, her daughter has earned a university degree and works in education. This12)stark contrastis the reality for many families in this village of about 6,000 people. These young women are doing what men from these villages did decades earlier. But women older than 40, for the most part, have been left13)on the sidelines.

“These changes are good,” Fares said. “But all of that started when I was too old.”

On a recent summer day, the women making lace welcomed me, showing me their crafts and offering me cheese-filled pastries and cold juice. The house14)opened intoa courtyard, partly shaded by15)figand16)pomegranatetrees.

One woman, 55-year-old Shanan, told me she joined the cooperative more for social reasons than for money.

“I like to sit here together with these women,” said Shanan, “Here, we talk about everything, about our homes, our children, and how things have changed. Everything has changed.”

In the midst of these changes, the women say that these handicrafts, and the all-female environment, are a way to preserve their traditions.

“It brings us back to it,” Shanan said, adding that now that local girls see tourists buying these things, they are more interested.

“It used to be that this handwork was invisible—the women would do their hobby and put it in the closet. At first, they didn’t believe that people would come here and buy their products, but that is what has happened.”

8) isolated ['a?s?le?t?d] adj. 偏僻的，孤立的

9) workshop ['w??k??p] n. 工場，作坊

10) grant [grα?nt] n. 補助金，津貼

11) entrepreneurship [,?ntr?pr?'n????p] n. 創業學

12) stark contrast 鮮明對比

13) on the sidelines 當旁觀者，不能直接參加

14) open into 通向，通往，面向

15) fig [f?g] n. 無花果（樹）

16) pomegranate ['p?m?gr?n?t] n. 石榴（樹）

在以色列北部高山上的一個村莊的石屋內，約有40名女性坐在木制長椅、塑料椅子和現代皮革沙發上。她們都身著黑色或深藍色的連衣裙、長裙或襯衫，頭上戴著透明的白色面紗。她們雙手拿著針線，不停地忙活著縫制白色的蕾絲和彩色的刺繡。

這些手藝大多數都是從她們的母親和祖母那里學來的，是幾百年來女性的消遣之一。但時至今日，這些女性正用這些手工藝來保障她們未來的生活。今天坐在這里的女性都是合作社的成員，她們做出的產品不僅是提供給她們自己的社區，也會作為工藝品賣給外人。她們中有很多人都是第一次靠自己掙到了錢。

“這在開始只是個愛好，但現在它成為了一份工作，”49歲的法里斯一邊說著，一邊縫著白色的蕾絲面紗，這和她黑發上蓋著的那個很像。

法里斯是在以色列山區的偏遠村落中向游客展示手工制作、廚房作業和家庭生活的女性群體之一，這個群體的人數正在不斷增長著。她們和其他提供住家食物和烹飪工坊的當地婦女一樣，都有著公共補助和創業課程方面的資助，由政府牽頭，目的在于增加阿拉伯語少數民族的就業機會。

和大多數同齡女人一樣，法里斯在十幾歲時就沒有繼續上學了，她從來沒有在家以外的地方工作過，也沒有獨自離開過村子。與此同時，她的女兒已經獲得了大學學位，正從事著教育工作。這種鮮明的對比是在這個人口約6000的村子里許多家庭的真實寫照。這些年輕婦女正做著村子里的男人早在幾十年前就在做的事情。但在大多數情況下，年齡超過40的女性都只能作為旁觀者。

“這些是好的變化，”法里斯說。“但當這一切開始時，我已經太老了。”

在最近的一個夏日，正在制作蕾絲的女性們歡迎著我的到來。她們向我展示自己的手藝，和我分享了芝士糕點及冰果汁。那座房屋還通向一個院子，那兒有一部分被無花果樹和石榴樹遮蔽著。

一位55歲的名叫沙南的女士告訴我，她加入合作社更多的是因為能夠更好地社交，而不僅僅是為了收入。

“我喜歡和她們一起待在這里，”沙南說，“在這里，我們什么都能談，談家庭、孩子，以及世事的變化。一切都變了。”

在這些變化當中，她們說這些手工藝品和全女性的環境，是可以保留她們傳統的一種方式。

“它把我們帶回到了過去，”沙南說道，又補充說當地女孩由于看到游客們在購買這些東西，也對手工藝品的制作更感興趣了。

“過去這些手藝品并不起眼—女性們只把它們當作愛好，然后將它們放在壁櫥里。起初，她們并不相信會有人到這里來買她們的產品，但這樣的事確實發生了。”

從未離家的女人

翻譯：大師