美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S. Palestinian Aid Cuts Hit Programs Providing Food And Health For Gaza's Poorest

U.S. Palestinian Aid Cuts Hit Programs Providing Food And Health For Gaza's Poorest

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The U.S. government is a major aid donor¹ to the Palestinians, but this year, the Trump² administration has withheld³ millions of dollars even for projects to address a humanitarian⁴ crisis in Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin went to see what effect that's having on people there.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁵: Here's one thing U.S. taxpayers⁶ have paid for in Gaza - eye surgeries. This state-of-the-art surgical⁷ equipment comes with a sticker that says in Arabic, from the American people. U.S. money subsidizes cataract⁸ surgeries so even poor Palestinians can get them. Abdel Rahman al Hams watches over his mom, Shafika, in the recovery room at St. John Eye Hospital in Gaza.

ABDEL RAHMAN AL HAMS: She says that she's feeling better now because she can see around. After the surgery, she count fingers.

ESTRIN: And she couldn't do that before the surgery?

HAMS: No.

ESTRIN: But money's nearly run out to send doctors to do eye surgeries and train local surgeons. That's because the Trump administration has frozen most of the $251 million earmarked for Palestinian aid projects this year. Aid agencies are cutting back. Hilary DuBose says her group, Catholic Relief Services, can't give any more food vouchers⁹. Half of Gazans live under the poverty line.

HILARY DUBOSE: And nothing is more frustrating¹⁰ as a humanitarian aid worker to see a humanitarian crisis unfolding in front of you that you can't do anything about.

MANAL FASIH: (Speaking Arabic).

ESTRIN: Manal Fasih lists the food she used to get with U.S. funding.

FASIH: (Through interpreter) White cheese, yellow cheese, halva for the kids, spices, tomatoes, pasta, noodles, sugar, rice - everything we needed for the home, they gave us. May God bless them.

(CROSSTALK)

ESTRIN: She opens an empty jar in her kitchen. She's run out of za'atar, a local spice as basic as salt and pepper. She's run out of rice and oil and cheese. She begins to cry silently over the sink. She says she's sorry to bother me with her troubles. Her husband Fathi he thinks the U.S. is cutting aid to pressure Palestinians to get on board with the Trump administration's peace efforts with the Israelis.

FATHI: (Through interpreter) This is humanitarian aid for people who need it. It shouldn't have anything to do with politics.

ESTRIN: The U.S. says it's freezing aid to review if it's advancing U.S. policy goals. This came after the Palestinian Authority stopped dealing¹¹ with the Trump administration because President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, says the U.S. does want to help the Palestinians.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NIKKI HALEY: But we're not fools. If we extend a hand in friendship and generosity¹², we do not expect our hand to be bitten.

ESTRIN: Gaza is in crisis. Almost half of the workforce¹³ is without jobs. Now, without U.S. funds, some Gazans who work for U.S. aid projects are themselves out of a job. Bassam Nasser is a Palestinian who runs the Catholic Relief Services' Programs in Gaza. He walks me through dark offices. He's given the pink slip to half his staff.

BASSAM NASSER: It takes five minutes for a staff member to start crying. The majority of the staff members will have serious financial problems as they receive the termination letters. We are very sad. We don't want this. We want to continue.

ESTRIN: After a recent wave of violence, Trump administration officials said it's impossible to make a lasting¹⁴ investment in Gaza because the militant¹⁵ group Hamas rules there. Dave Harden, who used to oversee¹⁶ U.S. aid to the Palestinians during the Obama administration, says shutting down U.S. aid projects could actually empower Hamas.

DAVE HARDEN: I can tell you who will fill the vacuum - Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran and Islamic Jihad. And we will have ceded¹⁷ this space.

ESTRIN: There is some money the U.S. recently released for Palestinians - money for Palestinian security forces to help Israel combat militants¹⁸ in the West Bank. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Gaza.

(SOUNDBITE OF AES DANA'S "ANTHRAZIT")

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 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

8 cataract   

n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障

参考例句：

• He is an elderly gentleman who had had a cataract operation.他是一位曾经动过白内障手术的老人。
• The way is blocked by the tall cataract.高悬的大瀑布挡住了去路。

9 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

10 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

13 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

14 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

15 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。

16 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

17 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。