 | | Peruvian female traffic police roar along on their motorcycle wearing Santa gear during a rally in Lima [Reuters] |
Move over Rudolph①. Santa has taken to the streets of Lima on a Harley Davidson.
Passers-by stared as a team of Peru's mostly female traffic police -- best known for refusing to take bribes -- roared along on their bikes wearing red hats, false beards and fur trimmings on their knee-high boots.``We're trying to spread a bit of optimism, that's what Christmas is all about,'' Hector Dulanto, head of the traffic police, told reporters, as his Santas set out to distribute sweets to children at a local church. They are taking candies and toys to schools and community centers across Lima every day until the end of December. ``The children are a bit afraid of us. This is a way of getting closer to them,'' said one Santa, Patricia Montalban, as she parked her tinsel-trimmed Harley Davidson. ①The name for one of the nine reindeers who pull Santa Clause's sleigh. (Agencies) | 圣诞节将至，一群圣诞老人骑着他们的坐骑奔驰在秘鲁首都利马的大街上。不过，今年圣诞老人的坐骑可不是由驯鹿鲁道夫拉着的雪橇，而是摩登十足的哈利-戴维森摩托。 街上的行人纷纷驻足观看这支"圣诞老人车队"。实际上，这是秘鲁的一支交通巡警队，其大部分成员都是女性，这支队伍素以廉洁而闻名。圣诞期间，她们头戴红帽子，贴上假胡子，用白色皮毛装饰及膝的高统靴，拌成圣诞老人的样子，骑着摩托车执行巡逻任务。 "圣诞巡警"们正准备出发去当地一个教堂向孩子们分发糖果。交通队长埃克托尔·杜兰托告诉记者说："我们这样做是为了营造一种乐观的气氛，而这也正是圣诞节的实质所在。"  这些"圣诞老人"每天都会为全利马市的学校和社区中心的孩子们送去糖果和玩具，这项活动将维持到12月底。
一名名叫帕特里夏·蒙塔尔班的"圣诞女巡警"一边停靠她装饰一新的哈利-戴维森摩托车，一边对记者说道："孩子们都有点害怕警察，这是一种拉近我们和孩子们之间距离的好办法。" (中国日报网站译) |
Updated: 2001-12-21 01:00
