美国国家公共电台 NPR Frustration Mounts Over Puerto Rico's 'New Normal' As Federal Troops Leave The Island

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Emergency relief efforts are ending in Puerto Rico. Army officials say they are beginning to draw down federal troops. Roads are cleared across the island, many supermarkets and stores have reopened, and work is being done to rebuild the island's infrastructure¹. But that doesn't mean things are getting back to normal. There are still areas with no running water and only emergency power. NPR's Greg Allen reports on the growing frustration² over how the recovery is going.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE³: In the city of Morovis, people are still struggling to get basic necessities.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Spanish).

ALLEN: Cases of water and MREs are being handed out by Army Reserve troops at a high school in Morovis. Dozens of people line up and one by one carry cases away.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Spanish).

ALLEN: Hurricane Maria hammered this mountain community 40 miles from San Juan. More than six weeks later, the only power available here is supplied by emergency generators⁴. In a meeting with federal officials this week the city's mayor, Carmen Maldonado, asked for additional help.

CARMEN MALDONADO: (Speaking Spanish).

ALLEN: "Water. That's the critical issue," she said. There are at least 400 elderly and bedridden residents, Maldonado says, who aren't able to get out and lug⁵ home the cases of water they need.

LIEUTENANT⁶ GENERAL JEFF BUCHANAN: I'm trying to sort through, you know, what percentage of the problems are structural⁷ to the pump system versus⁸ the electrical power.

ALLEN: Lieutenant General Jeff Buchanan is in charge of the military's relief efforts on the island. In a meeting in the mayor's office in Morovis, Maldonado tells him there were problems with the city's aging infrastructure even before the storm. Buchanan says his authority only goes so far.

BUCHANAN: I'm convinced we can solve the electrical problem or we can at least have a temporary solution to the electrical problem. I'm less confident on the cleaning of the pumps and the pipes and all of those kinds of things.

ALLEN: Puerto Rico's water authority says it's working to fix the problems with the pumps and filtration system in Morovis. Mayor Maldonado says no one has been able to give her an estimate of when that will happen.

MALDONADO: (Speaking Spanish).

ALLEN: "It's a very sad situation," she says, "because we're as important as any citizen in another municipality. Often these mountain towns are neglected because we're less populated, and priority goes to heavily populated areas." Without power and water, Maldonado says, her city's economy is nearly at a standstill. The largest business in the city, a paper mill, was forced to shut down after it was damaged in the storm. Maldonado says it's now relocating to another municipality, taking 80 jobs with it. General Buchanan says Puerto Rico's National Guard will continue providing relief as long as necessary. But with the emergency over, Buchanan says federal troops under his command are going home. He doesn't like the word withdrawal⁹.

BUCHANAN: It's not a withdrawal. It's a transition. We're transitioning more from the federal side of the military to the state side of the military. It's just - it's - for us it's very natural. But we are concerned with how we talk about it because we don't want people to get the wrong impression. They're not being abandoned whatsoever¹⁰.

ALLEN: There are about 11,000 troops on the island now, down from more than 15,000 shortly after the hurricane. Over the next few weeks, that number will drop to close to half that as federal troops hand over responsibilities to National Guardsmen. But while the military says the emergency is over, for the vast majority of people in Puerto Rico things are far from normal.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: (Speaking Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: (Speaking Spanish).

ALLEN: Chaylin Palma's four kids, age 6 to 9, are already thinking about Christmas. One says he wants a house made out of rocks like the Flintstones. Another just wants a new bed. Their home was destroyed in Hurricane Maria. Since then they've been sleeping on cots at a high school in Morovis that's being used as a shelter. Chaylin has her own Christmas wish, and it's directed at the city's mayor.

CHAYLIN PALMA: Find us a home. Find us housing. Get us out of here. You're the mayor. This is your job.

ALLEN: FEMA says it's sending a team to the city to help a dozen families at the shelter find temporary housing. Mayor Maldonado wants to reopen the schools, but that will only be possible after housing has been found for the families sheltered there and after the city's water service has been restored. Greg Allen, NPR News, Morovis, Puerto Rico.

(SOUNDBITE OF ANDREW BIRD SONG, "TRUTH LIES LOW")

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lug   

n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动

参考例句：

• Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes.谁都不想拖着个装满衣服的大箱子到处走。
• Do I have to lug those suitcases all the way to the station?难道非要我把那些手提箱一直拉到车站去吗？

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

8 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

9 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

10 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。