Warnings of Humanitarian Crisis in Greek Port Town

 

 

PERAMA, Greece - Aid workers say the Greek economic crash is causing a humanitarian¹ crisis in one impoverished² suburb of the port city of Piraeus.

 

Most of the residents of Perama are unemployed³ and many are unable to afford basic healthcare or provisions.

 

Bankrupt

 

The rusting⁴ hull⁵ of a super-yacht sits on Perama dockside, a project started and abandoned four years ago when the shipbuilding company went bankrupt.

 

The shipyard is eerily⁶ quiet, the first hint of the disaster unfolding in this hillside town.

 

Shipbuilding and maintenance, the industrial lifeblood of Perama, are all but dead. 

 

Panayiotis Karagiannakis, the president of the dock-workers' union, says these days the situation here at the shipyard is tragic⁷.  Unemployment has reached 90 percent.  Nothing has been done to modernize⁸ the facilities to adapt to the needs of the industry.

 

In 2010 the main dockyard operations in Piraeus, one of Europe's busiest ports, were sold to the Chinese company Cosco. But Karagiannakis says the workers do not blame the Chinese.

 

"Our problem is not that China implements⁹ a shipping¹⁰ policy, but the fact that Greece, the Greek government does not do the same," he said.  "We have the ability, owning such a vast fleet, to support this industry and promote it.  This is not happening because we lack the political will, he added."

 

Health care

 

In the maze¹¹ of streets leading up from the port lies an emergency health clinic.

 

It is run by the Greek branch of Doctors of the World, an aid agency more used to war zones and famines.  Doctor Meropi Manteou volunteers at the center.

 

She says the greatest problem concerns children.  Children who cannot get access to vaccinations¹² and who cannot receive medical care.  The second biggest problem here is patients who recently lost their health care insurance.  They receive prescriptions¹³, but they cannot afford them anymore.

 

A debate erupts between patients over who is to blame for Perama's plight¹⁴.

 

Human tragedy

 

One middle-aged¹⁵ lady says she has been unemployed since 2008.  She says she is searching for work like a dog, but cannot find anything.  She says she would even clean toilets.  She says she would do it for her grandchildren, who she says are starving.

 

In their tiny house, Spiridoula Firlemi tries to care for her three-month-old son. The ceiling is caving in.  Her husband, a plumber¹⁶, has had no decent work for three years.

 

She says now the electricity bill has come, it is more than $1,500.  She says they will cut it off and maybe she will get electricity from a neighbor, because she cannot leave the baby in the cold.

 

This is a community that feels abandoned, with no work and no hope.  Aid agency Doctors of the World warns this is the start of a humanitarian crisis, within the borders of the European Union.

1 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。

2 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

4 rusting   

n.生锈v.（使）生锈( rust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There was an old rusting bolt on the door. 门上有一个生锈的旧门闩。 来自辞典例句
• Zinc can be used to cover other metals to stop them rusting. 锌可用来涂在其他金属表面以防锈。 来自辞典例句

5 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

6 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

9 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

11 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

12 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

14 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

15 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

16 plumber   

n.(装修水管的)管子工

参考例句：

• Have you asked the plumber to come and look at the leaking pipe?你叫管道工来检查漏水的管子了吗？
• The plumber screwed up the tap by means of a spanner.管子工用板手把龙头旋紧。