本日口譯文章：熱浪侵襲巴基斯坦致數百人滅亡
巴基斯坦卡拉奇——對付困擾這座巴基斯坦最擁堵、最淩亂的都會的各類災害，好比大水、陌頭暴力和政治危急，卡拉奇的窮漢們早就學會了若何應答。但是，一股使人梗塞的熱浪在三天前襲來，至今已致使最少650人滅亡。這一狀態沒有獲得任何減緩，令他們無路可逃。
“太熱了，”34歲的保安沙米姆·拉赫曼(Shamim ur-Rehman)說。他坐在一張行軍床上，備受酷熱困擾。“沒有電扇，甚麽都沒有，日間晚上都睡不著。”
高溫激發的滅亡人數在急劇上升，各大病院疲於應答大量湧入的傷員，寧靖間也已到達人數上限。在如許的情勢下，巴基斯坦總理納瓦茲·謝裏夫(Nawaz Sharif)於周二宣告進入緊迫狀況。部隊在街道上搭建搶救場合，本地的省級當局命令黌舍停課，市政辦公場合休業。
具有卡拉奇最大的停屍房、並供給救護車辦事的艾德希基金會(Edhi foundation)表現，他們在比來幾天已吸收了600多具屍首。
基金會的談話人安瓦爾·卡茲米(Anwar Kazmi)表現，“最先滅亡的是在陌頭生存的人——海洛因成癮者、托缽人和無家可歸的人。然後是老年人，特別是那些沒人照料的。”
從很多方面講，這場危急是卡拉奇的氣候、政治和宗教身分配合促進的一場完善風暴帶來的效果。
熱浪使得氣溫最高到達攝氏45度，而歷久缺水缺電加重了這類氣象的影響。在這座生齒達2000萬的擁堵都會裏，透風根本只能靠海風吹。
此時正值一年一度的齋月時代，大部門穆斯林會在日間戒食禁水。這也加劇了高溫氣象帶來的康健威逼。
在卡拉奇，齋月象征著15小時沒有任何水源彌補。這特別影響到在戶外日頭下事情的體力勞動者和陌頭商販。
真納(Jinnah)病院急診部主任思敏·賈馬裏(Seemin Jamali)表現，該院有272名病人死於與高溫有關的狀態，個中包含脫水。範圍較小的阿巴西·沙希德病院(Abbasi Shaheed Hospital)則表現，自周一夜以來該院已收入56具屍首。
卡拉奇官員表現，大部門受害者是50歲以上的男性，特別是來自低收入群體的白天勞工。
只管卡拉奇住民習氣於應答其他各類緊迫情形——好比他們會在經常湧現的陌頭暴動時代囤積日經常使用品——然則面臨賡續加重的高溫，他們仿佛有些手足無措。
缺電是巴基斯坦國度電網幾十年來治理不善的效果，並且平日在薄暮時分，許多人停止齋戒開端做飯的時刻會加倍緊張。
停電不但會使空調裝備和風扇癱瘓，還會由於電泵沒法事情而致使供水削減。在許多社區，冰塊由於缺乏都邑被加價出售。
“咱們只管即便坐在陰涼裏，”32歲的穆罕默德·優素福(Mohammad Yusuf)說，他追隨一個搬運隊乘皮卡車到處做活。“咱們本日一起開到口岸鄰近，在一棵樹下坐了三個小時。”
在真納病院，賈馬裏表現，從周六到周一，她的員工已接治了5000多名患者。她說，最主要的致死身分是這一波熱浪，而不是齋戒。
只管有許多人持續禁食，但其他一些人背後認可，他們沒法蒙受崇奉的請求。蘇巴·薩迪克(Subah Sadiq)是一位賣生果的攤販，也是七個孩子的父親。他說，一成天都站在街上卻甚麽都不喝是弗成能的。
“這是獨一的生路，”他說。
即就是對那些不由食的人來講，堅持不脫水也是一個挑釁：依照巴基斯坦的司法，齋月時代在公開場合吃喝是違法的，不外一些神職職員稱，假如康健存在傷害，信徒可以違背齋戒的劃定。
大樓保安拉赫曼不肯廢棄齋戒。
“只要另有些力量和猛烈的意願，我就會齋戒，”他說。
【參考譯文】
KARACHI, Pakistan — Karachi’s poor have long learned to cope with the many adversities that afflict Pakistan’s most crowded and chaotic city, including flooding, street violence and political crises. But since a suffocating heat wave descended on Karachi three days ago, killing at least 650 people, they have found no respite and no escape.
“It’s so hot,” said a security guard, Shamim ur-Rehman, 34, as he sat on a cot, beleaguered. “There is no fan, there is nothing. I can’t sleep at night or during the day.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared an emergency on Tuesday as the death toll from the heat wave soared, with overwhelmed hospitals struggling to treat a surge of casualties and morgues filling to capacity. The army set up emergency treatment centers in the streets and the provincial government closed schools and city offices.
The Edhi foundation, which runs an ambulance service and Karachi’s largest morgue, said it had collected over 600 bodies in recent days.
“The first to die were the people on the streets — heroin addicts, beggars, the homeless,” said Anwar Kazmi, a spokesman for the service. “Then it was the elderly, particularly those who didn’t have anyone to take care of them.”
In many ways, the emergency is the product of a perfect storm of meteorological, political and religious factors in Karachi.
Chronic shortages of water and electricity have exacerbated the impact of the heat wave, which has brought temperatures up to 45 Celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit, in a crowded city of 20 million people that is normally ventilated by a seabreeze.
The health dangers are further exacerbated by the demands of the annual Ramadan fast, when most Muslims abstain from eating or drinking water during daylight hours.
In Karachi, that means about 15 hours with no source of hydration — a factor that has particularly affected manual laborers and street vendors, who work outside under the sun.
Dr. Seemin Jamali, head of the Jinnah hospital’s emergency wing, said 272 people had died there from heat-related conditions, including dehydration. The smaller Abbasi Shaheed Hospital said 56 bodies had been brought in since Monday night.
Officials said the majority of the victims were men over the age of 50, especially day laborers from lower-income groups.
Although Karachi residents are used to dealing with other emergencies — stockpiling groceries, for example, during bouts of street violence — they seemed at a loss for how to manage the extended heat wave.
The electricity shortages are the product of decades-long mismanagement of Pakistan’s national grid, and are often worse at dusk when many people are cooking in preparation for the end of the fast.
Not only do the power cuts make air-conditioning units and ceiling fans useless, they also reduce the water supply by shutting down pumps. Ice is in short supply and being sold for a premium in many neighborhoods.
“We try and sit in the shade,” said Mohammad Yusuf, 32, a laborer who works on a moving crew with a pickup truck. “We went all the way near the port today and sat under a tree for three hours.”
At the Jinnah hospital, Dr. Jamali said her staff had treated over 5,000 patients between Saturday and Monday. The heat, not the fasting, was the principal factor in the deaths, she said.
Although many continued to fast, others quietly admitted that they were unable to cope with the demands of their faith. Subah Sadiq, a fruit vendor and father of seven, said it was impossible to stand in the street all day without drinking anything.
“This is the only way to survive,” he said.
Even for those not fasting, staying hydrated is a challenge: under Pakistani law, eating and drinking in public places are illegal during Ramadan, although some clerics said their followers could break the fast if their health was in danger.
Mr. Rehman, the building watchman, was refusing to give up.
“As long as I have some life in me, and strong intentions, I will fast,” he said.
市場價：HK$ 110
