Palestinians face hurdles to a greener West Bank 巴勒斯坦人打造更環保約旦河西岸的努力困難重重
◎俞智敏
http://iservice.libertytimes.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=592390&day=2012-06-17
After years of neglect, the Palestinians are going green. In a society preoccupied with the struggle for independence from Israel, protecting the environment has often been sidelined – as evidenced by the ubiquitous sight of burning trash and piles of garbage bags on sidewalks in this city of 30,000 north of Jerusalem.
經過多年的忽視，巴勒斯坦人終於開始重視環保。在這個長期尋求脫離以色列獨立建國的社會裡，保護環境經常受到冷落—從這個位於耶路撒冷北方、人口3萬人的城市裡隨處可見焚燒的垃圾堆，以及路邊排滿了成堆垃圾袋就可以證明。
Trying to raise awareness, officials are encouraging thousands of children to collect compost, visit recycling centers and plant trees. The hope is that the young generation will learn good habits, and maybe teach their parents something about conservation.
為了提高環保意識，官員們正鼓勵數千名學童蒐集堆肥、參觀資源回收中心並種樹。當局希望下一代能學到環保的好習慣，或者還能把保育觀念教給家長。
Still, educators say they face many obstacles：paltry budgets, poor infrastructure, bad habits and life under Israel’s thumb.
但教師們表示，他們仍面臨許多障礙，如預算不足、缺乏基礎建設、生活習慣不佳，以及民眾生活完全受到以色列控制等。
Malvena Aljamal, who runs the environmental directorate at the Ramallah municipality, said the challenges are many. Ten percent of Ramallah’s waste goes uncollected daily because some residents are too lazy to take it to the containers spread around the city. Instead, they burn their garbage, releasing toxic chemicals, or just toss it into neighbors’ yards and open lots.
朗阿拉市環保局長阿賈瑪說，環保的挑戰有很多。朗阿拉市每天有10%的廢棄物未被清運，因為有些居民懶到不肯把垃圾拿到全市各地的垃圾箱裡丟棄。他們寧可焚燒垃圾，散發有毒化學物質，或者乾脆把垃圾丟到鄰居的院子裡或空地上。
The rest of the West Bank faces greater hurdles. Yousef Abu Safiya of the Palestinian Environmental Authority says he lacks the resources to enforce bans on unregulated burning and dumping, or to create a green police force of 200 officers.
西岸其他地區則面臨更大困境。巴勒斯坦環保署官員沙非亞說，他缺乏資源來執行非法焚燒與傾倒垃圾的禁令，或者成立一支200人的環保警察部隊。
He said his office is integrating green values into schools and summer camps around the West Bank, but the education effort is hamstrung by disorganization.（AP）
他表示該署正打算把環保價值融入西岸各學校與夏令營的教育中，但這項努力卻因缺乏組織而大打折扣。（美聯社）
新聞辭典
sideline：動詞，指自活動或注意力的焦點移開，如The minister was sidelined after he criticized party policy.（這位部長批評黨的政策後即遭到冷落。）
under someone’s thumb：受某人控制、仰人鼻息，如He’s got the committee firmly under his thumb – they agree to whatever he asks.（他牢牢把持著整個委員會，不論他要求什麼他們都會同意。）
hamstring：動詞，指切斷（人、馬等的）腿後腱使成跛腳，引申為指限制某人做某事的能力、破壞或阻礙某事的功效等，如The company was hamstrung by traditional but inefficient ways of conducting business.（這家公司被傳統但無效率的交易方式弄得綁手綁腳。）
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