VOA常速英语2014--First Factory Opens in West Bank Industrial Zone 建立在西岸工业区的第一个工厂（在线收听）

First Factory Opens in West Bank Industrial Zone 建立在西岸工业区的第一个工厂

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK — A new factory has opened in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. It is the first paper product plant in the history of the ancient city and the first company to open in a new industrial zone set up by the Palestinian Authority.  

伯利恒，西岸——一个新的工厂建立在伯利恒西岸。这是在这个古都历史上第一个造纸厂和由巴勒斯坦自治政府设立在工业区的第一家公司。

It's morning at the Spring Tissues factory on the outskirts of Bethlehem and workers are making rolls of toilet paper. The company started operations two months ago and already produces three tons of toilet tissue rolls a day.

伯利恒郊外Spring Tissues工厂的工人在早晨就开始制做卷厕纸。公司两个月前,已经开始运营生产一天三吨的卫生卷纸。

Issa Karra’a, founder and marketing director of the company, says there was no such factory before in this city of 60,000 people. Nevertheless competition for customers is stiff.

Issa Karra’a公司的创业者兼市场总监说：在这个6万人的城市没有这样的工厂，然而对于客户来说竞争却是很激烈的。

“We have maybe 10 competitors and every competitor has many brands. So it’s difficult to enter the market because we don’t have that experience. We are new. And it’s a big challenge," said Karra’a.

“我们有大约10个竞争者并且每个竞争者都有许多品牌。因为我们没有经验所以很难进入市场。我们是新的，这是一个大的挑战” Karra’a说。

This is the first factory in Bethlehem’s new industrial zone, launched several years ago by the Palestinian Authority (with support from France). More than 30 projects are being planned in this and two other zones in Jericho and Jenin, says the Zone Authority’s Marketing Director, Nidal Jabari.

这是第一个在许多年之前由巴勒斯坦自治政府（和法国的支持）建立在伯利恒工业区的工厂。30多个项目正筹划在这个区域和两个其他区域耶利哥和杰宁，这个区域的权威市场总监Nidal Jabari说。

“We as the Palestinian government want to create jobs, want to support the entire economy of Palestine by using many tools. One of these tools is the industrial zone," said Jabari.

“我们作为巴勒斯坦自治政府想制造更多工作机会，想通过使用更多的工具来支持巴勒斯坦的整个经济。而这些工具之一就是工业区” Jabari说。

Businessman Jiryes Karra’a, Issa’s father, is helping with the start-up. He is worried because economic growth in the Palestinian territories is stagnating.

商人Jiryes Karra’a，Issa的父亲，协助其创业。他很担心，因为巴勒斯坦的经济增长是停滞不前的。

“If it’s a bad situation, of course we are afraid because if we’re not going to full capacity we have to become a little bit down ]downsize]," he said.

如果这是一个糟糕的局面，当然我们会很害怕因为如果我们不能全能生产，我们将不得不衰落萎缩。

Businessmen say restrictions by the Israeli government on Palestinian imports and exports and access to water and electricity present additional challenges.

商人们说,以色列政府在巴勒斯坦进口和出口贸易及获得水和电上的限制呈现出额外的挑战。

Normally, Spring Tissue employs 15 people and produces several other products, like tissues and paper towels. But today these lines are idle because raw paper stock, which must be imported, is tied up at an Israeli port.

一般地，Spring Tissue雇佣15个工人并制作一些其他产品，像面巾纸和擦手纸。但是今天这些生产线因为原材料的不足而停产。因为这些原材料都是需要进口的，而它们都被积压在以色列港口。

Jabari says both Palestinians and Israelis have an interest in promoting Palestinian enterprise.

Jabari说巴勒斯坦人和以色列人都有兴趣促进巴勒斯坦的企业。

“What we need is to create the peace. We cannot create the peace when these people are very poor. There is no job for them. There is no money for them, no future for them. [So] They are thinking about killing, about bombing," he said.

“我们所需要的是创造和平。当人们很贫穷的时候我们无法创造和平。他们没有工作，没有钱，没有将来。因此他们只想着杀戮和袭击”他说

Prosperity is the best weapon against terrorism, he says, but in any case, Palestinian entrepreneurs will survive because they have learned to improvise, and persevere.

繁荣是打击恐怖主义最好的武器，他说，但是无论如何，巴勒斯坦企业家将生存,因为他们已经学会即兴创作,并坚持下去。