制裁之下 伊朗奢華商場仍雨後春筍般涌現

TEHRAN, Iran — The low rumble of powerful engines reverberated against the high-rises of Zaferanieh, an upmarket neighborhood, as Porsches and Mercedes lined up to enter the multistory parking lot of a fancy new shopping mall, the Palladium, the latest addition to Tehran’s shopping scene.

伊朗德黑蘭——在高檔社區“藏紅花”(Zaferanieh)的高樓之間，迴盪着低沉而有力的引擎轟隆聲。保時捷和奔馳車魚貫進入奢華的新購物中心“帕拉狄翁”(Palladium)的多層停車場。這是德黑蘭最新的購物勝地。

Iran may be facing a dangerous economic abyss, with an empty treasury, historically low oil prices and the continuing damage of Western economic sanctions, but one indicator is going through the roof: Developers have broken ground on a record 400 shopping malls across the country, 65 in Tehran alone.

伊朗可以說正在面臨危險的經濟噩夢，國庫空虛、油價創下歷史新低，還有西方經濟制裁帶來的持續損害。不過，有一個經濟指標卻一飛沖天：開發商在伊朗全國破土動工了創紀錄的400座購物中心，單在德黑蘭就有65座。

In part, the malls are a lagging indicator, a testament to a not-so-distant past when Iran was raking in record oil profits, earning more than $700 billion in the last decade. Awash in money, with a relatively strong currency, Iranians developed a taste for luxury, setting off a boom in construction projects to host new shopping experiences.

某種程度上，這些商場是一個延遲的指標，見證的是不久之前伊朗從石油上賺得盆滿鉢滿的時代：過去十年的石油總收入超過了7000億美元（約合4.35萬億元人民幣）。現金流充裕加上貨幣相對強勢，伊朗人培養出了對奢華事物的喜好，激發了那些旨在帶來購物新體驗的建設項目的開發熱潮。

But the mall-building boom also reflects other factors, as construction and investment companies affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards Corps and the police have led the way.

不過，購物中心熱還反映了其他一些因素，與伊斯蘭革命衛隊(Revolutionary Guards Corps)及警方有關係的建築與投資公司在這股熱潮中一馬當先。

“Under sanctions, with nowhere else to invest, building shopping malls is the only lucrative business in Iran,” said Jamshid Edalatian, an economist. “The Guards, the police and other institutions are the ones who have money, so it is logical for them to invest in what makes a profit.”

“在制裁之下，沒有別的地方可以投資，建購物中心是伊朗眼下唯一利潤豐厚的生意，”經濟學家賈姆希德·伊達拉季安(Jamshid Edalatian)說。“只有衛隊和警察這樣的機構才坐擁資金，所以他們投資到可以賺錢的領域是合理的選擇。”

Together with banks, wealthy individuals and powerful foundations, tax-exempt organizations that are supposed to care for the poor, Iran’s security forces are building malls with Western-sounding names such as Rose, Mega Mall and Atlas Plaza. Their bright neon letters stand in sharp contrast to the revolutionary slogans painted on murals in surrounding neighborhoods, labeling consumerism a Western illness and taboo under Iran’s rigid ideology.

與銀行、富裕的個人、有勢力的基金及本該爲窮人提供幫助的免稅機構一起，伊朗的安全部門正在修建諸多如“玫瑰”(Rose)、“美嘉商場”(Mega Mall)和“阿特拉斯廣場”(Atlas Plaza)這樣名稱帶着西式風情的購物中心。它們外面掛着鮮亮的霓虹字母，與附近社區牆上刷着的革命口號形成了鮮明對照。在那些口號中，遵照伊朗嚴苛的意識形態，消費主義是西式病態的象徵，應予禁絕。

Not so long ago, shopping in revolutionary Iran was a dull experience, with hole-in-the-wall stores offering the same clothes, electronics and furniture. Shopping was considered a necessary evil meant to support a life of religious piety. Commercials, once banned on state television and billboards, are now allowed, but only for Iranian products.

就在不久之前，在伊朗購物還是件無趣的事情，只有侷促的小商店賣着千篇一律的服裝、電子產品和傢俱。購物被認爲是支持宗教虔誠生活的一種必要之惡。官方電視臺和露天大標牌上曾經不準放廣告，如今雖然允許了，卻只准宣傳伊朗產品。

The new malls represent a departure from all this. Customers can stroll past Nike and Massimo Dutti stores, order freshly baked baguettes in the ground level supermarket or work out at the penthouse gym overlooking the city and its majestic Alborz mountain range.

然而，新的購物中心與這一切背道而馳。客人們可以悠閒地逛耐克(Nike)和Massimo Dutti店鋪、在底層的超市購買新鮮出爐的法棍，或者在頂層的健身房鳥瞰全城，觀賞雄偉的厄爾布爾士山脈。

“We cater to what people desire to do: spending money, buying stuff and enjoying themselves as they shop” said the owner of the Palladium, Hassan Raftari, who described himself as a shopaholic. The scion of a family famous for its kebab restaurants, Mr. Raftari led a business expansion into the construction of luxury apartment buildings. During his trips abroad, he said, he would always wonder why shopping in Iran was so boring.

“我們滿足了人們的慾望：花錢、買東西、享受購物，”帕拉狄翁的老闆哈桑·拉夫塔裏(Hassan Raftari)說。他號稱自己是購物狂。拉夫塔裏的家族以經營土耳其烤肉餐廳出名，而他本人領導的企業擴展到了建造奢華公寓樓的領域。他說，自己去海外旅行的時候，總是會想，爲什麼伊朗的購物體驗如此無聊？

“So I decided to build my own shopping center,” he said, stressing that his mall is 100 percent private owned. He is now selling the mall’s 250 shops one by one, reportedly at prices of around $330 a square meter. “We have 1,000 parking spaces and my only mistake has been that I haven’t built more,” said Mr. Raftari.

“所以我決定建造自己的購物中心，”他說，並且強調名下的這座商場爲百分之百私人擁有。眼下，他在逐個出售其中的250家鋪面。據報道，價格約爲每平米330美元。“我們擁有1000個停車位。我唯一的失誤是沒有建更多，”拉夫塔裏說。

Malls comparable to the Palladium are mushrooming across the city. According to an industry website, , 65 malls and entertainment center are currently being developed in the capital, and not just for the rich. Around Tehran’s southern bus terminal, one of the poorer areas of the city, three malls are under construction.

在德黑蘭，與帕拉狄翁類似的購物中心正如雨後春筍般冒出來。根據行業網站的統計，這裏目前有65座購物和娛樂中心項目在開發，而且目標客戶羣並不只是富人。德黑蘭南部的公交總站位於城裏較爲貧困的地區，卻也有三座購物中心正在興建。

For urban Iranians, many of whom have seen their income dwindle during years of sanctions, the malls are a confirmation of their growing influence.

對許多伊朗城市居民而言，他們眼看着自己的收入在多年的經濟制裁中逐漸縮水，而這些購物中心卻是對他們日漸擴大的影響力的一種肯定。

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the state has dominated public spaces, using murals, the morals police and state media to emphasize what officials say are unchangeable revolutionary values. In private, though, Iranians have moved on, embracing satellite TV and the Internet, widening their world views and comparing their lives to those of people in Turkey, Malaysia, Europe and other popular holiday destinations.

1979年的伊斯蘭革命以來，國家佔據了絕大部分的公共空間，利用牆上的口號、道德警察和官方媒體來強調官方宣揚的不可撼動的革命理念。然而，在私底下，伊朗民衆已經在向前看了，他們熱情接納了衛星電視和互聯網，擴展了世界觀，並將自己的生活與土耳其、馬來西亞、歐洲及其他度假勝地的民衆的生活進行了比較。

From that perspective, the ornate shopping malls stand out as middle-class outposts in the state-controlled economy, indications of Iranian’s increasing desire to join the modern world, experts say.

專家表示，從這個角度來看，那些華麗的購物中心在國家控制的經濟裏成了代表中產階級的堡壘，象徵着伊朗人日漸加深的融入當代世界的渴望。

“Nowadays, there are just so many urbanized, middle-class people in Tehran who aspire to Western lifestyles,” said Kazem Alireza, a history researcher working for the Parliament. “Their needs are met by developers who offer them consumerism, just like the Western patterns of urbanization and changing lifestyles. Shopping malls make people happy, at least for now they are satisfied with them.”

“現在，德黑蘭有了好些嚮往西式生活方式的城市化中產階級，”爲國會工作的歷史研究者卡齊姆·阿里禮薩(Kazem Alireza)說。“提供消費主義的開發商滿足了他們的需求，就像西式城市化和不斷變化的生活方式一樣。購物中心讓人們覺得開心，至少現在能讓他們感到滿意。”

The boom in shopping malls is just simple economics, insiders say. “Basically a group of 10 to 20 very wealthy individuals and state institutions are building all the malls,” said one chief executive of a design company that serves the shopping centers, who asked not to be named because of a fear of losing business. “They have moved from housing projects to malls. It’s just very profitable.”

有業內人士稱，購物中心熱不過是出於簡單的經濟盤算。“基本上是一二十家非常富裕的個人和官方機構在修建所有這些商場，”一家設計公司的首席執行官說。此人所在的公司在爲購物中心服務，出於丟掉生意的擔憂而要求不具名。“他們從住房項目轉到了購物中心項目上。因爲實在是能賺很多錢。”