2006年VOA标准英语-80,000 Palestinian Civil Servants Go on Strike

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
02 September 2006

Tens of thousands of Palestinian government employees, who have not been paid in months, went on strike Saturday.  The labor¹ unrest poses a major challenge to the Palestinian government, led by the Islamic militant² group Hamas.

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Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya sweeps trash as part of a cleaning campaign with Hamas volunteers in Gaza City 
  
Some 37,000 unpaid³ Palestinian teachers went on strike across the West Bank and Gaza Strip on the first day of the school year. They were joined by 40,000 civil servants, who walked off the job, shutting down government offices and services. Garbage collectors went on strike earlier this week, and mounds⁴ of trash rotting in the streets have left a rancid stench in the air.

The strike is aimed at the Hamas-led Palestinian government, which has been unable to pay most salaries since it took power five months ago. Hamas is broke in the wake of international sanctions, imposed because of its refusal to recognize Israel and renounce⁵ violence. The United States and European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

Ismail Sultan, a teacher in the West Bank, says it is an intolerable situation for government employees.

"They don't have an income. Many people do not have an income," he said.

So how do people live?

"Everybody has his ways to survive, but it's a very difficult time," he added.

Palestinian schoolgirls arrive at their closed school to attend the first day of studying in Gaza City  
  
The strike pits Hamas against the rival and more moderate Fatah faction⁶, which has been working to topple the government. In the West Bank, Fatah gunmen stood in front of schools, enforcing the strike. Hamas is stronger in Gaza, but it was unable to prevent the strike there, even though militiamen urged teachers and students to go to school. 

It is the first major work stoppage of its kind since Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority in March, and shows that its grip on power could be weakening. Until now, Palestinians had stood behind Hamas in protest against the international sanctions, which were seen as collective punishment. But many cash-strapped Palestinians are running out of patience, and they are questioning whether Hamas is capable of governing.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

4 mounds   

土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆

参考例句：

• We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
• Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊，这就是同墓，”——我想他要说的一定是公墓，“看到那些土墩了吗？

5 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

6 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。