The U.S. Army has set up a data collection center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to assess the needs of residents in the aftermath of the massive earthquake January 12. Thousands who come daily are in desperate need of water, food and work.
美国军方在海地首都太子港建立了数据处理中心，评估1月12号大地震后的受灾情况。这个中心每天都有成千上万急需水、食品和工作的人前来求助。
Roughly 10,000 people show up here most days, at a building of the Haitian agriculture ministry, which the U.S. Army is using temporarily as a data collection and operations center.
美国陆军把这个信息收集和救灾中心暂时设在海地农业部，几乎每天都有一万多人来这里求助。
Soldiers outside the gate try to keep the crowds orderly, separating men and women into separate lines. Small numbers are allowed to enter through the iron gates every few minutes.
农业部大门外的美军士兵们极力维持秩序，让男性和女性分开排队，过几分钟放一些人进入农业部的大铁门。
The army 82nd Airborne Division oversees the center, where Creole-speaking Haitian staff conduct interviews with quake victims.
陆军第82空降师负责管理这个中心。当地说克里奥尔语的海地人负责跟灾民面谈。
One woman says she is desperate for help. "We came from under the rubble. We have many injuries. Our houses have been destroyed and all of my relatives have been killed," she says.
一名妇女说，她急需帮助。她说：“我们从瓦砾堆里爬出来的，遍体鳞伤。我们的房子塌了，我所有的亲戚都丧生了。”
U.S Army Sergeant First Class Brandon Lemmons says he passes along each day's information to his commanders, and they use it to map out their relief strategies. "The main concern, number one, everybody had more than anything, buy number, was food and water; number two would be medical. Number three would be shelter, depending on a typical day," he says.
陆军上士莱蒙斯说，他负责把每天收集到的信息上报给上级，供军方制定救灾决策时参考。他说：“现在人们最需要的就是食物和水。这是每个人当务之急的必需品。其次是医疗。此外，根据每天不同的情况，还有很多人需要有临时住所。”
He says other concerns include price gouging for essentials like baby food and rice.
他说，其他问题还包括哄抬婴幼儿食品和大米的价格等等。
As the army collects information, many Haitians come here in the hope of finding a job.
也有很多海地人到这个收集灾情信息中心来找工作。
"We don't have any money at all. We have lost everything. We are not able to work any more," says a woman who once worked for a U.S. military contractor and hopes to find similar work. "I was in charge of 50 employees in the laundry section."
一名海地人说，“我们身无分文，一无所有，工作也没有了。”另一名妇女以前给一个美国军方承包商工作，她希望能在这里找份类似的工作。她说：“我以前在洗衣部工作，负责管理50个雇员。”
Thirty Haitians have been hired to help operate this center. Sergeant Lemmons says the military is doing what it can to give jobs to local people, to fill the needs of this and other American units in Haiti. "A lot of them need interpreters. A lot of them need laborers for their base. Some of them want more skilled people to come in, like the masons. We may be able to use them later. So we may not be able to give them a job right off the bat, but the longer we stay, the more people we're going to need and hopefully the more people we can help," says Lemmons.
这个中心雇了30名海地雇员。陆军上士莱蒙斯说，他们尽可能雇当地人，帮助包括这个中心在内的美国机构在海地的运作。他说：“很多机构需要翻译，需要劳工。有的地方要一些有些技能的人，比如会盖房子的人，也许我们以后用得着。虽然现在还不能马上就给他们工作，但是我们在这里的时间越长，用的人就越多，能帮助的人也就越多。”
When the center closes in late afternoon, thousands will be turned away and face the prospect of coming back tomorrow. Sergeant Lemmons says the process so far has been orderly, but people are desperate and the need is great.
中心晚上关门的时候还会有几千名还没进去的人将被告知明天再来。莱蒙斯说，到目前为止秩序还算不错，但是在另一方面，陷于绝望的灾民们确实急需帮助。 |