在法屬圭亞那探索羅亞爾島的監獄生活

Discovering Prison Life on Ile Royale， French Guiana

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 1）brutal past. From 2）colonisation came 3）rampant tropical diseases， slavery， and much suffering of the 4）indigenous peoples. Some of the darkest days were during the time of the 5）penal colonies， from the 1850s to the 1950s.

You don’t 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“6）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 France’s criminals.

Ironically， one of the most 7）notorious of French Guiana’s 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 Devil’s 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 Devil’s 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 8）Kourou to Ile Royale， would take about an hour. But this was no ordinary ferry. We were sailing in style on a modern 9）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 10）all-terrain golf-cart and headed to the top of the volcanic island.

We began our tour at the Auberge de l’Ile 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： 11）iguanas， sea turtles （feeding along the pier）， a 12）macaw （apparently a pet of the Auberge， with free reign of the island）， peacocks， and， everywhere I turned， 13）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 14）gendarmes stationed on the island. Their primary job is to 15）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 16）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 17）infirmary until 1904， when French law 18）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 19）Cayenne also stayed in the hospital for periods of 20）convalescence away from the city.

The island’s 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 21）compound itself. Here， any mental image of a tropical island getaway disappeared.

In the early days， prisoners were 22）shackled to a wooden plank， which served as their bed. In 1929， the planks were upgraded to 23）hammocks； slightly more comfortable but still crowded together in impossibly small spaces.

Prisoners could also be sent to solitary 24）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 25）guillotine constructed in the middle of the prison courtyard.

It’s easy to see how most prisoners didn’t survive their sentences. Those few who did would rarely ever return to mainland France. In fact， for sentences under 8 years， a system called “le 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 “lucky” 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 wasn’t 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 d’Etudes 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， it’s well worth taking a guided tour， which leave daily at 10am from the Auberge.

And next week， I’m 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，有裝置藝術作品、博物館，還有最顯而易見的舊時監獄的廢墟。這些法語里稱為“bagnes”的監獄遍布整個島嶼，監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獄位于薩呂群島，或者叫救贖群島，其三個小島現在是自然保護區和法屬圭亞那居民的一日游度假勝地。在監獄云集的時期，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），所以得知從庫魯的老港口到羅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代雙體船。早晨陽光明媚，大海平靜，這趟出行很美好。……