VOA常速英语2007年-Some Palestinians Survive by Garbage Picking

By Jim Teeple
Hebron, West Bank
28 November 2007
 

Palestinians in the West Bank who live near Israeli settlements have discovered a new way to make a living.  VOA's Jim Teeple reports from the West Bank that some Palestinians now survive by picking through Israeli garbage. 

Trucks unload their cargo¹ all day at the Yata dump, just outside the West Bank city of Hebron.   The garbage they unload is mostly from nearby Israeli settlements, and it is the main source of income for some Palestinians – young men and boys who live nearby.

This is where we met 32-year-old Faris Raba'e, a father of five who supports his family on what he finds here and what he can sell at the nearby Yata market.  Faris makes between $5 and $20 a day from what he finds at the dump.

"I look for everything that is useful -- tin, iron, anything that is useful,” he says. “Today I found some boots and I found some iron.  Today is a light day."

The boys should be in school, but their families have sent them here instead.  "I am extremely exhausted² by the time I go home. I make very little money but I am forced to be here," says one.

Health experts say the West Bank garbage pickers suffer from a variety of health problems.  Respiratory diseases are rampant³ and many endure daily cuts and infections from picking through the garbage. 

Faris says he is a sick man. "I have two major health issues -- constant back pain and I also have a lot of problems breathing."

Once he collects his cargo, Faris brings it home to clean it.  Then he and his five children sort through the garbage, getting it ready to be sold at the nearby market.  Faris says his children suffer from asthma⁴ and today his wife, who is expecting their sixth child, is too sick to help. 

Sometimes, Faris finds something really valuable, such as computer parts.  He has built several computers from parts he has found at the dump. "The Jews usually throw away stuff like that during the holiday season -- then they stop. Since the Infitida the past six years 70 percent of the people in this village now go to the garbage dump."

Faris says today business is good.  Winter is coming and people need the shoes he has found at the Yata garbage dump – a dump that hundreds of Palestinians and their families depend on for their survival⁵.

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

4 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

5 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。