美国国家公共电台 NPR--Turkey's government scrambles to respond to anger over lax building rules

Turkey's government scrambles¹ to respond to anger over lax building rules

Transcript²

Following the earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people, Turkey's government struggles to respond to anger over lax building rules, and its plans for the thousands who need homes.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

There is grief over the more than 35,000 people who have died so far as a result of last week's earthquake. But in Turkey, that is mixed with anger over the government's response. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been deflecting³ blame for what he calls the disaster of the century. But he's under increased pressure after old videos have emerged showing him praising a policy of forgiving construction violations⁴, even for some of the very buildings that collapsed⁵ and killed thousands in the earthquake. NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Istanbul and joins us now. Good morning, Daniel.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁶: Hi, Asma.

KHALID: So why would the president of Turkey have allowed unsafe buildings to be built in this earthquake-prone area?

ESTRIN: Well, it means that housing gets built a lot faster and a lot more cheaply. Let me play you this video from 2019. Erdogan was on the campaign trail for his party and touting⁷ housing projects in Marash, which ended up being one of the most hard-hit areas from the earthquake. Let's listen.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN: (Non-English language spoken).

ESTRIN: He's saying, "We solved the problem of 144,156 citizens of Marash with zoning amnesty." Now, amnesty means some contractors⁹ who don't build according to earthquake code can just pay a fine and all is forgiven. For Erdogan, this is all about economic growth. Turkey's economy has been booming with these massive construction projects. It's helped keep him in power all these years. But now, after the earthquake, the government says it's arresting contractors who helped build these shoddy buildings that collapsed, although we're seeing reports now of tens of thousands of these amnesty certificates granted by the government in these earthquake-struck areas.

KHALID: So, Daniel, how are people that you've been speaking with responding to this situation? Are they blaming Erdogan specifically? Are they, you know, blaming the way things broadly get done in the country?

ESTRIN: I spoke⁸ to some university students who are actually being forced to leave their dorm to make way for earthquake evacuees¹⁰. And they said, you know, everyone has been worried for a long time about buildings not being safe enough in earthquake zones. I met this one young law student at a protest. She gave only her first name, Aysenur (ph). She fears she could get in trouble for criticizing the government. And she says her family lives in one of the cities that was hit by the earthquake. Their home is OK, but they made sure it was built safely before they moved in.

AYSENUR: We researched that. We looked, like, can you give us the official report if it's safe? So that's why we didn't have any problems with it, thank God. But just two blocks away, people have died.

ESTRIN: And I know Istanbul is also in a seismic¹¹ zone. And I asked her about these new signs in the Istanbul metro¹² asking people to prepare an emergency bag in case of an earthquake.

AYSENUR: It's garbage. They're like, we're not going to make the buildings safe, but you should have water, a bag, food. So you will deal with it. When I read it, it's like they're mocking with us.

ESTRIN: You know, there are elections that are supposed to be held this spring, but already there are calls from within Erdogan's party to postpone¹³ the election because of the earthquake. It's hard to see how you can even have voting in some of these damaged areas. But it's also hard to see why Erdogan would even want an election right now, given the trouble he might be in. But, you know, many people are not really focused on these politics now. Their priority is to help people get through this crisis and to help people grieve.

KHALID: All right. That's NPR's Daniel Estrin. Thank you so much.

ESTRIN: You're welcome.

1 scrambles   

n.抢夺( scramble的名词复数 )v.快速爬行( scramble的第三人称单数 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• The breaking of symmetry scrambles the underlying order of nature. 对称性的破坏会打乱自然界的根本秩序。 来自互联网
• The move comes as Japan scrambles for ways to persuade women to have more babies. 这一行动的出现正值日本政府想尽各种办法鼓励妇女多生育孩子。 来自互联网

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 deflecting   

（使）偏斜， （使）偏离， （使）转向( deflect的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A variety of mechanical surfaces have been employed for deflecting the exhaust jets of solid-propellant rockets. 人们已经用过各种类型的机械控制面来偏转固体推进剂火箭的排气流。
• If she made a leading statement, he was expert deflecting her into more impersonal channels. 只要她一开口，他就会巧妙地把她的话题转到与个人无关的问题上去。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 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。

7 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

11 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

12 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

13 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。