VOA标准英语2010年-Aid Groups Worry US Aid to Gaza Won't

Palestinians sit next to bags of food aid, distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in the West Bank village of Sanour near Jenin, 17 Jun 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to move forward with $400 million in aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Some of this amount counts that which was promised at last year's international donor¹ conference, that followed that followed Israel's military incursions into Gaza.  But aid groups say because of Israeli border closings, aid may not reach those in need.

 

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency - or UNRWA - is the largest aid provider in Gaza.   The White House says UNRWA will receive $40 million to help pay for educational and health services; some of that money will also go into humanitarian³ efforts in the West Bank.  The U.S. has also pledged an additional $10 million for the construction of five new UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness says that the U.S. is his organization's biggest donor, and that UNRWA is very grateful.  But there's a problem. That money may never get past the Israeli blockade.

"With this blockade against building materials, it seems hard to see how America's pledge of $10 million is going to make any difference unless, because of the close relationship between America and Israel, there's some kind of agreement that this $10 million for UNRWA schools in Gaza will go through," he said.

But Gunness says this has not been UNRWA's experience in the past.  Last year, the United States contributed almost $270 million to the organization. "Virtually none of that has been spent Gaza is being reconstructed; it's being reconstructed by other people, which is precisely⁴ what the world did not want," he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross tells a similar story.  ICRC spokeswoman Dorothea Krimitsas says her organization helps provide health care, water and sanitation⁵.  She says her group faces frequent delays in getting supplies into Gaza, and some supplies are blocked entirely⁶.

"It's difficult to say what the reasons are," said Krimitsas. "It has happened with spare parts for important medical equipment for hospitals. The one item that comes to my mind right now is electrodes for electrocardiograms, which have been blocked.

Tunnel economy

A Palestinian tunnel-digger works inside a smuggling⁷ tunnel where four Palestinian workers were killed in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 29 Apr 2010

The border closures have forced Gaza to rely on goods smuggled⁸ through underground tunnels from Egypt. Yousef Munayyer, the Executive Director of the Washington D.C.-based non-profit Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development, says 80 percent of the goods coming into Gaza are coming in through the tunnels - everything from food, to cars, to live cattle - all this at ridiculously high prices. In addition, Hamas charges shopkeepers and consumers an additional value-added tax. It seems everyone is getting rich but the Gazans themselves.

"Businessmen on the Egyptian side who are able to have an exclusive market of a million and a half people to which they can market products for a much higher price," said Munayyer.  "There's a very shrewd economic profit-based interest system here at play and there are people on the Egyptian side and in the government of Gaza who are finding ways to benefit from this structure."

Because the tunnel economy is clandestine¹⁰, it's difficult to estimate just how much money is being made.   Unconfirmed rumors¹¹ on the ground say Hamas is clearing hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

"And so much is available information from accounts on the ground in Gaza," said Munayyer.  "All of this is contributing to an underground, sort of 'black' economy, which is very difficult for any of us to measure and gauge¹².  We know that it really is a full-fledged industry. 

'Conundrum¹³'

If this is the case, then why bother with the closures at all?  "It's a conundrum," says Jonathan Schanzer.  He is Vice² President of Research at the Foundation for Defense¹⁴ of Democracies and author of Hamas vs Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine.  Schanzer says the point of the blockade is to prevent Hamas from increasing their arsenal¹⁵.

"The Israelis have been loath¹⁶ to allow anything in that could be used to fabricate weapons that could be launched against the Israelis  and that includes rockets or any kind of projectile," he said.

Schanzer admits that the blockade has worked to the advantage of Hamas but suggests that keeping Hamas thus sidelined may actually be in Israel's best interest. "If you begin to allow certain goods to come through, then that essentially¹⁷ frees up Hamas to bring in items of concern in greater quantities. Hamas can being to build up and become fatter from a military perspective," he said.

Schanzer says the only other option for Israeli would be for Hamas to relinquish¹⁸ its control of the Gaza Strip and allow for a new, unity⁹ government to control both Gaza and the West Bank.

In his announcement last week, U.S. President Obama said that Gazans deserve a better life and expanded opportunities.  The big question is whether aid groups will actually be able to make this happen or will they end up re-pocketing the funds for use elsewhere.
 

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

5 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

11 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

13 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

16 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

17 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。

18 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。