VOA英语2010年-Lebanon Storms Crush Palestinian Settlement

After months of drought, storms pounded Lebanon during the weekend, destroying or damaging most of the 60 homes in Jal al-Bahr, one of Lebanon's poorest communities of Palestinian refugees.

On the shores of the Mediterranean¹ in southern Lebanon, water laps onto the walls of the tin and concrete houses still standing² in this tiny Palestinian community. Residents say waves, between six- and nine-meters high, crushed or permanently³ damaged most of the homes in this community.

Standing on the broken concrete in a destroyed house, this man says he and his wife were eating dinner when three waves crashed through the building. Now, they are homeless, staying each night with a different friend or relative.

The United Nations says this community is already one of the poorest among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. A new poverty study funded by the European Union says everyone in Jal al-Bahr lives below the poverty line, and 30 percent live in extreme poverty, which means they cannot afford enough to eat.

Development specialists say communities of Palestinians living outside refugee camps in Lebanon can sometimes be better off than those living in the camps. Rupen Das of the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development says Palestinians cannot own property in Lebanon, and the residents of Jal al-Bahr are essentially⁴ squatters on public land.

"Their housing is not permanent," said Das. "They are vulnerable to the elements. If there is any conflict there is no militia⁵ protects them. There is no Lebanese Army around the camp that protects them."

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are essentially foreigners, even though most are born and raised in Lebanon. In Jal al-Bahr, they are not allowed to rebuild their own properties without a special permit. Residents say often they are not allowed to repair their ramshackle houses. Those who build without a permit are thrown in jail.

Director Salvatore Lombardo of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon says his agency also is not allowed to re-build settlements like Jal al-Bahr. But he says, even if the agency could rebuild, it would not necessarily have the means.

"We have not rehabilitated⁶ any shelter anywhere because of lack of funds," said Lombardo. "Here are 4,000 shelters that need to be rehabilitated."

With no other aid organizations in the settlement, and the United Nations unable to help, Jal al-Bahr residents say they do not know what they will do.

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

4 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。