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| 中东冲突给巴基斯坦经济造成严重影响 |
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中东冲突给巴基斯坦经济造成严重影响
Mideast Conflict has Serious Economic Impact on Palestinians
Art Chimes
Ramallah, West Bank
20 Jul 2001 13:12 UTC
Violence has 1)rocked the Middle East since late September, when Palestinians began their 2)intifada. Hundreds have been killed, mostly Palestinians, in gun battles, bombings, and other incidents. In an attempt to 3)curtail Palestinian attacks, Israel has imposed a variety of travel restrictions, closures, curfews, and other measures. The policy may have prevented terror attacks, but the Israeli actions have had a serious economic impact as well.
The Palestinian city of Ramallah, just a few minutes' drive north of Jerusalem, is the commercial and political center of the West Bank. The city is dotted with new buildings and construction projects, many half-completed, and some apparently abandoned 4)midstream.
Construction has been a backbone of the economy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the Palestinians gained limited 5)autonomy in 1994. Hotels, office buildings, and houses have gone up throughout the territories, and work on 6)upgrading the neglected 7)infrastructure has included road improvements, water and sewer systems, and other projects.
Much of the work has been financed by wealthy donor countries, but a lot is being done by local companies and individuals.
Israeli checkpoints, road closures, and other security measures have had a tremendous impact on Palestinian builders. The secretary-general of the Palestinian Contractors Union, Mohammad al-Amour, says there are many reasons why contractors have trouble getting both materials and workers. "Many [times, we start a project and] can't continue because of the closure, because of the labor's delay on the roads, because of the 8)checkpoints, because of the shooting every day," he says.
Mr. Al-Amour says the contractors in his organization find all too often that when they can get workers, they cannot get materials, and when they have the materials, the workers cannot make it to the job.
A new study by a consulting group has found that Palestinian 9)contractors have suffered losses totaling $111 million since the intifada began more than nine months ago, and that 10)figure does not include lost wages. Jamal Milhem, executive director of Talal Abu Ghazaleh and Company, says the inability of contractors to complete work on time creates expensive contractual problems. "Some companies have lost projects, and they have been 11)informed by owner of the project that they should stop working that project because they didn't meet 12)deadline. ... Some companies have reached agreements with owners to extend dates, and although it causes a lot of losses, meeting the fixed cost and fixed expenses," he says.
Many, perhaps most Palestinians, describe Israeli security measures including area closures, checkpoints, and the like as collective 13)punishment. Hassan Abu Libdeh, head of the Palestinian central 14)Bureau of Statistics, says the Israeli measures are wide-ranging. "We think that what we are talking about is a country that has been shaken in much more than just the pure 15)financial figures we are talking about," he says. "In other words, the Palestinian Authority ... is not able to provide minimum means of survival for its citizens. This is basically what Israel has been doing and this is basically what we're facing."
Amid the violence in the Arab-Israeli conflict, there is little 16)prospect that the various closures and other Israeli security procedures will be eased in the 17)foreseeable future.
Mr. Abu Libdeh says the issue is not just one of what he calls "a population being held 18)hostage," but of the ability of Palestinian society to provide the basic means of 19)survival for its members.
注释：
(1) rock [rCk] vt.摇摆, 使动摇
(2) intifada [IntI5fB:dE] n (Arab) 起义，暴动
(3) curtail [k:5teIl] vt.缩减, 减少(经费等), 剥夺(某人的)特权(或官衔等), 简略
(4) midstream [5mid5stri:m] n.河流正中, 中流
(5) autonomy [C:5tRnEmI] n.自治
(6) upgrade [Qp5^reId] n.升级, 上升, 上坡 adv.往上 vt.使升级, 提升, 改良品种
(7) infrastructure [5InfrEstrQktFE(r)] n.下部构造, 基础下部组织
(8) checkpoint [5tFekpCInt] n.检查站, 车站的行李房
(9) contractor [kEn5trAktE(r)] n.订约人, 承包人
(10) figure [5fI^E(r); (?@) 5fIgjEr] n.数字
(11) inform [In5fC:m] v.(～ of/about) 通知, 告诉, 获悉, 告知
(12) deadline [5dedlaIn] n.最终期限
(13) punishment [5pQnIFmEnt] n.惩罚, 处罚, 惩处
(14)Bureau of Statistics n.统计局
(15) financial [faI5nAnF(E)l] adj.财政的, 金融的
(16) prospect [prE5spekt; (?@) 5prRspekt] n.景色, 前景, 前途, 期望
(17) foreseeable [ fR:`si:Ebl ] adj.可预知的, 能预测的, 能看透的
(18) hostage [5hRstIdV] n.人质, 抵押品
(19) survival [sE5vaIv(E)l] n.生存, 幸存, 残存, 幸存者, 残存物 |
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