在法屬圭亞那探索羅亞爾島的監(jiān)獄生活

Just off the coast of French Guiana sit Les Iles du Salut， 3 islands with a dark past.

Despite the beauty and biodiversity of its nature， French Guiana， like much of this stretch of South American coastline， has a brutal past. From colonisation came rampant tropical diseases， slavery， and much suffering of the indigenous peoples. Some of the darkest days were during the time of the penal colonies， from the 1850s to the 1950s.

You dont have to look far to see the scars of the past. There are art installations， museums， and， most noticeably， ruins of the prisons of the past. These prisons， known here as“bagnes”， were located throughout the region and their ruins serve as daily reminders of this brutal past.

French Guiana was not always the tropical holiday destination it is today. In fact， during its penal colony days， being sent “en Guyane” was the ultimate form of punishment， reserved primarily for the worst of Frances criminals.

Ironically， one of the most notorious of French Guianas prison colonies was located on Les Iles du Salut， or Islands of Salvation， three small islands， now serving as nature reserves and day-trip holiday destinations for the French Guianese. During prison times， they were collectively called Iles du Diable， or Devils Islands， a name that remains with the smallest of the three.

I went to visit the largest of these， Ile Royale， to understand what life was like for the prisoners on these Devils Islands. But the journey to the island itself was a mini-adventure.

I love being on the water （and in the water） so I was happy to learn our ferry ride， from the old port of Kourou to Ile Royale， would take about an hour. But this was no ordinary ferry. We were sailing in style on a modern catamaran. Calm seas and a bright sunny morning made for a beautiful trip.

Arriving at Ile Royale， we were met by M. Serge Colin， a retired marine captain， whose knowledge of， and passion for， the history of these islands is beyond compare. We climbed aboard his all-terrain golf-cart and headed to the top of the volcanic island.

We began our tour at the Auberge de lIle Royale， where visitors can stay overnight， or enjoy a meal at the restaurant.

What I noticed right away was the abundance of wildlife on the island： iguanas， sea turtles （feeding along the pier）， a macaw （apparently a pet of the Auberge， with free reign of the island）， peacocks， and， everywhere I turned， agouti.

Yet the theme of our tour was much more sinister than the local wildlife. We followed M. Colin to a large， open square， lined with well-maintained buildings. These residences were once for the prison officers and now house the two gendarmes stationed on the island. Their primary job is to evacuate the Les Iles du Salut whenever there is a space shuttle launch， as the islands are directly under the flight path.

Beside the officers quarters sits one of the highlights of Ile Royale—the prisoner-built chapel， dating from 1855. The most striking features， inside the wooden church， are the murals painted by convicted forger， Francis Lagrange. Lagrange painted scenes of daily life in the prison， as well as postcardlike scenes of escapism for his fellow-prisoners. With the complicity of some of the prison-guards， Lagrange even kept his forgery talents in practice， copying documents and official papers， earning him special privileges within the prison.

Tucked beside the church sits the House of the Sisters. Nuns arrived on the island at the same time as the prisoners. They tended the infirmary until 1904， when French law dictated the separation of church and state.

The largest building on the island is the military hospital. This building， however， was not for the prisoners， but rather military personnel stationed on the island. Wealthy citizens of Cayenne also stayed in the hospital for periods of convalescence away from the city.

The islands lighthouse stands beside the hospital. Now automated， the lighthouse was once operated by a prisoner who was a mechanic.

After our tour of the grounds， we entered the remains of the prison compound itself. Here， any mental image of a tropical island getaway disappeared.

In the early days， prisoners were shackled to a wooden plank， which served as their bed. In 1929， the planks were upgraded to hammocks; slightly more comfortable but still crowded together in impossibly small spaces.

Prisoners could also be sent to solitary confinement in one of 32 cells with small windows or 34 cells which remained totally dark. Prisoners in solitary were only fed soup and bread every 3 days. Some prisoners remained in these conditions for years. However， as many of them were convicted to death， it was marginally better than the alternative. Getting out of solitary meant facing the guillotine constructed in the middle of the prison courtyard.

Its easy to see how most prisoners didnt survive their sentences. Those few who did would rarely ever return to mainland France. In fact， for sentences under 8 years， a system called “l(fā)e doublage”， came into play. For every year of the sentence， an equivalent time must be served living in French Guiana， effectively doubling the sentence.

In all， between 1852 and 1938， over 50，000 prisoners died. A “l(fā)ucky” 1400 escaped， to face dense jungle and tropical diseases， and fewer than 300 lived to see eventual freedom in French Guiana. Despite a good deal of political pressure， it wasnt until 1946， the prison was closed for good and the remaining 240 prisoners were released and pardoned.

In 1965， the Centre Spatial Guyanais opened in Kourou and in 1971 the CNES， Centre National dEtudes Spatiales， purchased the islands. As they sit in the flight path of most rocket launches， the islands must be evacuated on launch days.

Visitors are free to tour the island at their leisure and can learn more about prison life at the small Musée du Bagne. However， to get the most out of your visit， its well worth taking a guided tour， which leave daily at 10am from the Auberge.

And next week， Im going to watch 2 brand new satellites be launched into space from French Guiana.

三個有著黑暗歷史的島嶼組成了薩呂群島，坐落在法屬圭亞那海岸邊。

除了自然景觀的美和生物種類豐富以外，法屬圭亞那像很多南美沿海地區(qū)一樣，有著野蠻的歷史。殖民給土著居民帶來了猖獗的熱帶疾病、奴隸制度和種種深重苦難。19世紀50年代至20世紀50年代期間作為流放地的時期是其最黑暗的時期之一。

想要找歷史的傷痕并不費勁，有裝置藝術(shù)作品、博物館，還有最顯而易見的舊時監(jiān)獄的廢墟。這些法語里稱為“bagnes”的監(jiān)獄遍布整個島嶼，監(jiān)獄的廢墟時刻提醒人們勿忘那一段野蠻的歷史。

法屬圭亞那并非一直以來都是如今這樣的熱帶度假勝地。事實上，在它作為流放地的那段時光，被判“在圭亞那”是一種終極刑罰，主要是為法國最惡劣的罪犯而保留的刑罰手段。

諷刺的是，法屬圭亞那最臭名昭著的殖民地監(jiān)獄位于薩呂群島，或者叫救贖群島，其三個小島現(xiàn)在是自然保護區(qū)和法屬圭亞那居民的一日游度假勝地。在監(jiān)獄云集的時期，這三個島被一并稱作“Iles du Diable”，即惡魔群島，如今最小的那個島保留了這個名字。

我游覽了其中最大的島，羅亞爾島，去了解在惡魔群島上的囚犯曾有過怎樣的生活。但前往島嶼的路途本身就是一次小探險。

我喜歡待在水上（和在水中），所以得知從庫魯?shù)睦细劭诘搅_亞爾島要乘大約一個小時的渡船，就很開心。但這不是普通的渡船。我們坐的是時髦的現(xiàn)代雙體船。早晨陽光明媚，大海平靜，這趟出行很美好。

到了羅亞爾島，迎接我們的是一位退休的海軍上尉，M·賽爾日·科林，他對群島歷史的了解和熱愛無人能及。我們坐進他的越野高爾夫球車向火山島嶼的山頂出發(fā)。

我們游覽的起點在羅亞爾島酒店，游客可在此過夜或者在酒店餐廳用餐。

我馬上注意到的是島上種類繁多的野生動物：鬣蜥、海龜（是在碼頭邊喂養(yǎng)的）、一只金剛鸚鵡（顯然是酒店的寵物，整個島嶼任它自由活動）、孔雀，以及我走到哪都能看到的刺豚鼠。

然而我們這次游覽的主題比當?shù)匾吧鷦游镫U惡得多。我們跟隨M·科林來到一個開放的大廣場，四周次列著維護良好的建筑物。這些房子曾是獄警的住所，現(xiàn)在兩位駐扎在該島的憲兵在此居住。他們的首要工作就是當有航天飛機發(fā)射的時候疏散薩呂島上的人，因為薩呂群島恰恰在飛行航線的下方。

獄警的營房旁邊坐落著羅亞爾島的一大地標——囚犯建的小教堂，其歷史可追溯到1855年。這所木材構(gòu)建的教堂內(nèi)最惹人注目的特點是由偽造犯弗朗西斯·拉格朗日畫的壁畫。拉格朗日為獄友們畫了獄中的日常生活和明信片似的逃避現(xiàn)實的場景。串通了一些獄卒，拉格朗日甚至還在實際生活中發(fā)揮自己的造假天賦，去偽造文檔和官方文件，這為他在獄中賺到了一些特別優(yōu)待。

掩映在教堂旁邊的是一所修女院。修女們和囚犯們同時到達了這座島嶼。她們照管醫(yī)務(wù)室，直到1904年法國頒布法律確立了政教分離原則。

島上最大的建筑物就是軍隊醫(yī)院。然而，這座建筑物并不是給囚犯們使用的，而是給駐扎在該島的軍事人員使用的。有錢的卡宴市民在遠離城市進行康復(fù)治療時也會住在這所醫(yī)院。

島上的燈塔就矗立在醫(yī)院旁邊。如今自動化工作的燈塔曾經(jīng)是由一位機修工囚犯操縱的。

戶外之游結(jié)束后，我們進入了監(jiān)獄圍場遺跡里。這里不會帶給人們半點熱帶島嶼旅游地的聯(lián)想。

過去，囚犯們被鐐銬鎖到一塊厚木板上，那就是他們的床。1929年，厚木板升級為吊床，更舒服了一點兒，但仍是擠在小得無法想象的空間里。

囚犯們還可能會被單獨囚禁在帶有小窗的32個牢房之一或者34個全封閉的黑牢里。單獨囚禁的囚犯們每三天才能吃一次面包、喝一次湯。有些囚犯在這種環(huán)境下被監(jiān)禁了數(shù)年。然而，由于他們很多都被判死刑，單獨囚禁起碼比死刑好一點。從單獨囚禁室出去就意味著他們將走上建在監(jiān)獄院子中央的斷頭臺。

很容易明白為什么大多數(shù)囚犯沒有活著熬過刑罰。活下來的寥寥囚犯幾乎都不曾回到法國本土。事實上，有一個被稱為“重復(fù)”的制度是針對被判8年以下有期徒刑的囚犯而設(shè)的。每宣判一年刑期的監(jiān)禁，囚犯有生之年就必須在法屬圭亞那服勞役一年，刑期實際上加倍了。

1852至1938年之間總共有5萬多名囚犯死亡。“幸運的”1400名囚犯越獄了，他們面對的是密林和熱帶疾病，而在法屬圭亞那活下來，獲得最終自由的還不到300人。盡管監(jiān)獄承受著不少的政治壓力，直到1946年，它才被永久關(guān)閉，最后剩下的240名囚犯被赦免、釋放。

1965年，圭亞那太空中心在庫魯成立;1971年，法國國家太空研究中心（CNES）買下了該群島。由于群島坐落于多數(shù)火箭發(fā)射航道的下方，在火箭發(fā)射的日子，島上的人必須撤離。

游客可以隨意地免費游覽該島，還可以在小小的苦役犯監(jiān)獄博物館里了解更多關(guān)于監(jiān)禁生活的情況。然而想要更充分地享受你的旅程，跟團游覽是很值得的，羅亞爾島酒店每天上午10點都有出團。

而下周，我準備觀看兩顆全新的人造衛(wèi)星從法屬圭亞那發(fā)射升空。