In the 17th century, residents in the remote English village of Eyam quarantined themselves to prevent the spread of bubonic plague. Many paid with their lives. Now their descendants and locals are outraged that a steady stream of visitors has ignored government warnings to stay at home to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Last weekend, walkers were out in force in the spring sunshine in the Peak District National Park, and traipsed through the village, which is home to about 1,000 people.
Local councilor Claire Raw said residents, a significant proportion of them elderly, were angry and urged people to leave. “We need to protect our residential areas that do have higher-than-average proportions of older people,” she told AFP. “We all need to behave responsibly.”
Because of the pandemic, which has so far claimed 465 lives across Britain, the museum that tells the story of the “plague village” has decided not to re-open after the winter break. Normally, it receives about 30,000 visitors each year. But more than half of its volunteers are aged over 70 — one of the most at-risk groups for the virus.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
In 1665, the bubonic plague arrived in the Derbyshire village of Eyam from London, nearly 250km further south, carried by fleas in fabrics ordered by a tailor. As dozens died, the rector of Eyam church, William Mompesson, with the help of his predecessor Thomas Stanley, convinced parishioners the only way to fight it was to shut off the village completely.
Neighboring communities helped out, leaving food on the edge of the village. Vinegar — the only known disinfectant at the time — was used to keep germs at bay. The current vicar of St Lawrence’s church, Reverend Mike Gilbert, is currently in self-isolation because his wife has shown symptoms of COVID-19.
During the plague, worshippers gathered outside to pray, keeping their distance from one another. Now, the church is closed and services have moved online, while Gilbert has been posting videos on Facebook and speaking to parishioners via videoconferencing. What happened in the past — centuries before modern medicine and science — was driving the current response locally, he said. “It does inspire others because we know that even though the death toll was terrible, most people did survive,” he explained.
“All the things that they had decided to do were very efficient,” said Francine Clifford, a village historian. “It was successful. But they paid the price.” In 14 months, 260 villagers died of plague — perhaps at least one-third of the population, which was estimated at between 350 and 800. But by November 1666, the disease had disappeared and containment prevented it from spreading further north.
Joan Plant, 73, is descended from one of the 83 families that survived the plague. It was astonishing that history was repeating itself, she said. But as the government in London imposes a three-week lockdown, with non-essential shops and services shut, and restrictions on crowds, people should look to the past for inspiration. “I think the lesson at this moment is to remember that they isolated themselves. Nobody went out. Nobody came in,” she said.
Current restrictions could be in place for weeks, if not months. Plant said people should be aware that it is for the greater good. “I know a lot of people died [in Eyam] and that’s really tragic and sad. But actually, it saved the communities around,” she added. “It didn’t go any further north in the country. One small village in the north of Derbyshire, 350 years ago, made a difference to everybody else so that it didn’t spread. I think that’s the lesson we need to learn. The technique worked 350 years ago. If we take on board what we’re up to do and do as we’re told, then it will work again in 2020.”
(AFP)
十七世紀，在英國偏遠的伊姆村中，居民將自己隔離起來，以阻止淋巴腺鼠疫擴散。絕大多數的村民都為此賠上了他們的性命。今日，面對絡繹不絕的遊客不顧政府呼籲待在家中、對付新冠病毒疫情爆發的警告，倖存者的後代和當地居民都感到非常憤怒。上週末，大批健行遊客在煦煦春日中傾巢而出，造訪峰區國家公園，並跑到人口約一千人的伊姆村上遊蕩。
當地議員克蕾爾‧勞表示，村裡的居民──相當高的比例為老年人──都很生氣，紛紛要求遊客離開。「我們必須保護我們的住宅區，特別是這裡的年長者比例比平均高出許多。」她向法新社表示：「我們所有人都需要負責任地行事。」
武漢肺炎全球大流行至今已在英國各地奪走四百六十五條人命，由於疫情的關係，述說「黑死病村莊」故事的博物館已決定不會在寒假後重新開門。該博物館通常一年會接待三萬名左右的訪客。不過，超過半數的志工都已年逾七十──正是病毒感染風險最高的族群之一。
一六六五年，淋巴腺鼠疫藉由一名裁縫師訂購布料裡面的跳蚤，從南方約兩百五十公里遠的倫敦抵達德比郡的伊姆村。眼見數十名村民相繼死亡，當時伊姆教堂的教區牧師威廉‧蒙佩森，在前任牧師湯瑪斯‧史丹利的協助下，說服當地教區居民，讓眾人知道唯一能對抗疫情的方法就是完全關閉村莊。
附近的社區紛紛伸出援手，把食物放在村莊的邊界。當時的人們則用醋──當時人類唯一知道的消毒劑──讓細菌不要近身。聖勞倫斯教堂現任的教區牧師邁可‧吉爾伯特因為妻子已經出現了武漢肺炎症狀，目前正在自我隔離。
在鼠疫期間，信徒改在戶外聚會進行祈禱，並且互相保持距離。現在，教堂已經關門，禮拜儀式改到線上舉行，吉爾伯特也持續在臉書上發布影片，並經由視訊會議向教區信徒喊話。這位牧師表示，在現代醫學和科學數個世紀之前發生的事，驅使今日當地出現這種反應。吉爾伯特解釋說：「封村確實啟發了其他人，因為我們知道，儘管當時死亡人數高得驚人，大多數人還是活了下來。」
村裡的歷史學家法蘭馨‧克里福表示：「當年他們決定做的所有事情都是很有效的。」她說：「最後獲得成功，不過村民也付出了代價。」在十四個月期間，兩百六十位村民死於鼠疫，當時居民數量估計在三百五十人到八百人之間，死亡人數起碼是人口的三分之一。不過，到了一六六六年十一月，疫情完全消失，封村也成功阻止疾病繼續向北擴散。
當年有八十三個家庭從鼠疫倖存下來，現年七十三歲的喬安‧普蘭特是其中之一的後代。她說，看到歷史重演真的很震驚。不過，隨著倫敦政府實施為期三週的封城措施，非必要的商店和服務停止營業，並且限制群眾聚集，普蘭特認為大家應該要回顧過去尋求啟發。她指出：「我想，眼下的課題是記住當時的人們進行自我隔離。沒有人出門，也沒有人進來。」
目前的限制就算不會維持好幾個月，也可能要持續數週。普蘭特表示，大眾應該要意識到限制是為了更大的利益。「我知道很多人在伊姆村死去，這確實是很悲慘也很傷感的事。不過，隔離村莊事實上卻拯救了附近的社區。」她補充說：「鼠疫並沒有在國內繼續向北蔓延。德比郡北方的一個小村莊改變了其他人的命運，疫情沒有繼續擴散。我想那就是我們需要學習的功課。這個方法在三百五十年前奏效。如果我們能夠理解、接受我們能做到的事，並且照指示行動，那麼這個方法在二○二○年還會再度奏效。」
（台北時報章厚明譯）
A: Bruno Mars is definitely one of today’s most popular singers. B: He has even won 14 Grammy Awards. A: I love all his megahits, like “Just the Way You Are.” B: And his new song with Lady Gaga “Die with a Smile” has a caused worldwide sensation. A: I wonder if we’ll hear the new song at his Kaohsiung concert? A: 火星人布魯諾是近年來最受歡迎的流行歌手。 B: 對啊他還曾榮獲14座葛萊美獎。 A: 他所有的金曲我都愛，像《Just the Way You Are》。 B: 最近他和女神卡卡合唱《Die with a Smile》更造成大轟動！ A: 不知道在高雄有沒有機會聽他演唱這首新歌呢？ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
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