Leading anti-hunger advocates are fasting to protest U.S. budget-cutting proposals that could threaten some of the world's most vulnerable people.
一些主要的反饥锇活动人士最近绝食，抗议美国政府削减预算的建议。他们认为，这些削减计划会危及世界上一些最容易受到伤害的人。
The budget passed by the House of Representatives includes deep cuts to programs aimed at alleviating hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. These reductions follow an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts which benefit the nation's wealthiest people.
国会众议院通过的预算方案中包括大幅削减一些旨在缓和美国和世界各地饥锇和贫困现象的项目。而在此之前，布什政府时期一些有利于美国许多最富有者的减税措施得以延长。
"We just think that's wrong," says World Food Prize winner David Beckmann, president of the anti-hunger group Bread for the World. He vows to only drink water for a week to protest the proposed cuts.
世界粮食奖获得者戴维·贝克曼是反饥锇组织“为世界争取面包”的主席。他指出，国会这样做是错误的。他誓言，在一个星期里只喝水，以此抗议拟议中的削减。
Deep Cuts
Beckmann is especially concerned about a 40 percent reduction in emergency food aid for disaster victims and refugees - from $1.7 billion last year to $1 billion in the house budget.
贝克曼特别关注的是为受自然灾害影响的人以及难民提供紧急粮食援助的款项将被削减百分之40，从去年的17亿美元减少到众议院预算方案中的10亿美元。
"If that would actually happen, we think it would mean cutting off something like 18 million people around the world who depend on food aid," he says. "These are some of the most desperate people in the world."
他说：“如果真的削减了，世界各地大约1,800万依赖粮食援助的人将受到影响。而他们是世界上处境最糟糕的人。”
The protest has been joined by more than 30 organizations, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish and secular groups. Organizers say about 4,000 people are fasting for varying periods of time.
有30多个组织参加了贝克曼的抗议活动，其中包括基督教、穆斯林、犹太人组织和一些非宗教团体。抗议活动组织者说，一共有大约4千人进行时间长短不等的绝食。
Former Congressman Tony Hall is leading the effort. In 1993, Hall fasted for 22 days to call attention to what he called Congress's lack of conscience toward poor and hungry people.
前国会议员托尼·霍尔领导了这次活动。1993年，霍尔曾经绝食22天，以引起人们关注他所说的国会对贫困和饥饿的人的不闻不问态度。
School meals, small farmers targeted
This year, the house proposed cutting in half a $200-million school meal program for children in developing countries.
今年，国会众议院建议把为发展中国家儿童提供校餐的2亿美元项目削减一半。
"If you picture yourself in a classroom of 20 kids - often times this is the only meal they receive in the day - in essence we would walk into that classroom and pick out 10 kids we would no longer feed," says Rick Leach, president of the World Food Program USA, one of the groups supporting the protest.
世界粮食计划署美国负责人里克·里奇指出，削减这些项目等于是从饥饿的孩子口中夺食。他说：“设想你在一个有20个孩子的教室里，这些食物往往是他们一天里唯一的一顿饭。所以，我们等于是走进这个教室，挑出10个孩子，以后不再给他们东西吃了。”
And at a time of rising food prices, U.S. development aid aimed at helping improve small farmers' productivity is slated for a 30 percent cut. Nutrition programs targeting the critical first 1,000 days of a child's life would be cut 16 percent.
在粮食价格不断攀升的时刻，美国旨在帮助提高小农场生产力的发展援助款项将被削减百分之30。针对一个孩子生命最重要的头1,000千天的营养项目将被削减百分之16。
Leach says Congress can choose one of two paths: "One leads to a comprehensive approach to address hunger. The other leads to historic cuts that have never been seen, never ever been proposed like this by an administration, by a Congress. The effort to address global hunger has always had strong bipartisan support."
里奇指出，国会可以选择走哪条路：“一条路是全方位地解决饥饿问题。另一条路是没有任何一届政府或任何一届国会曾经提出过的历史性大削减。解决全球饥饿问题的努力一向是得到两党坚决支持的。”
Campaign promise
Republicans took control of the House of Representatives this year, promising to make deep budget cuts. Republicans contacted for this story were not available for comment.
共和党今年控制了国会众议院，并保证要大幅度削减预算。记者联系的共和党人没有就此发表评论。
But many have said that the United States simply cannot afford to spend the money on foreign aid at a time when the nation is $14 trillion in debt. Some have complained about waste and corruption in countries receiving U.S. aid.
但是不少人表示，当美国深陷14万亿债务的时候，根本没有能力把钱花在对外援助上。一些人则批评接受美国援助的国家中的浪费和腐败现象。
Bread for the World's David Beckmann agrees the United States needs to reduce its deficit. But he says there are ways to do that without cutting programs for the poor and vulnerable.
“为世界争取面包”组织的贝克曼也同意，美国应当减少赤字。但他同时指出，其实有办法可以做到这一点，而不必削减帮助穷人和弱势群体的项目。
Raise taxes?
"Right now there seems to be this taboo on raising anybody's taxes," he says. "But it's crazy not to raise taxes for millionaires but to throw kids out of preschool or to cut off the supply of food aid to refugee camps."
他说：“现在，似乎给任何人增税都是一个不能碰的问题。但是，一方面不给百万富翁增税，一方面把孩子们赶出学前班 或停止为难民营提供粮食援助，这未免太荒唐了。”
There is currently little appetite in Congress for raising taxes. But the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected the deep cuts in the Republican-controlled House budget.
目前，国会对增税没有兴趣。但是民主党控制的参议院反对共和党控制的众议院预算中的大幅度削减。
Negotiations are under way to reach a compromise. Observers say cuts to many programs are likely, but the depth and scope are very much under debate.
相关谈判正在进行，以期达成妥协。观察人士说，可能会削减许多项目，现在辩论的是削减的深度和广度。 |