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International aid agency Oxfam is calling for a major change of direction by Western countries in their efforts to reduce suffering in Afghanistan. It warns poverty is driving ordinary Afghans into the arms of insurgents¹ and drug gangs.

国际救援机构乐施会呼吁西方国家在努力减少阿富汗人民的痛苦方面，大力调整自己的方向。乐施会警告说，贫困使阿富汗民众落入叛军和贩毒集团的魔掌。

In a letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other world leaders, Oxfam says social and economic progress in Afghanistan has been slow and is being undermined by increasing insecurity.

乐施会在写给英国首相布朗和其他国家领导人的信中说，阿富汗在社会和经济方面的进展缓慢，局势越来越不安全使这个国家难以在社会和经济方面取得进步。


The Oxfam policy advisor² in Afghanistan, Matt Waldman, says the security situation has worsened, especially in southern Afghanistan, during the past 18 months.

乐施会驻阿富汗的政策顾问沃尔德曼说，过去18个月来，阿富汗的安全局势已经恶化，尤其是在阿富汗的南部地区。

Oxfam says two years after the international community pledged more than $10 billion of aid to the country, many of the commitments made remain unfulfilled. In the "Afghanistan Compact" the donors⁴ and Afghanistan's government resolved "to overcome the legacy⁵ of conflict" by promoting development, security, governance, the rule of law, and human rights.

乐施会说，两年前，国际社会承诺为这个国家提供100亿美元以上的援助，但是许多承诺到现在都没有兑现。在所谓的《阿富汗契约》 中，捐助国和阿富汗政府决心通过发展、安全、管理、法治和人权等方式，来克服不断发生的冲突。

Waldman, who is based in Kabul, told VOA more could be done with the money that has been made available for Afghanistan.

在喀布尔工作的沃尔德曼表示，阿富汗现在所得到的援助资金可以做更多的事。

"It is not really a just question of volume, volume of aid that is, what is perhaps even more important is how the aid money is spent," he said. "It is estimated that up to 40 percent of aid to Afghanistan goes back to donor³ countries and that is through corporate⁶ profits of contractors⁷ or through high consultant⁸ salaries. We have got to try to get more aid to the people of Afghanistan, we have got to try to improve donor coherence⁹, and too much aid is un-coordinated, which has obvious consequences. Too much aid is wasted and not used to deliver real results for the people of Afghanistan."

沃尔德曼说：“这并不是一个援助金额问题，可能更重要的是如何使用援助的资金。据估计，40%的援助金额经由承包商的盈利和高昂的顾问薪资，又回流到捐助的国家。我们必须争取让更多的援助款项花在阿富汗人民身上，我们必须争取改善捐助国的统一性。太多的援助没有得到协调，造成了明显的后果。太多的援助被浪费了，没有为阿富汗人民带来真正的成果。”

The Oxfam letter says development is the key to lifting Afghans, the majority of whom live in rural areas, out of their poverty.

乐施会在信中说，发展经济是使大多数居住在农村地区的阿富汗人脱离贫困的关键。

Waldman says there has been little aid to the agricultural sector¹⁰, but it is essential to counter the country's flourishing drug trade, and related criminal activity in Afghanistan and the region.

沃尔德曼说，阿富汗农村得到的援助一向很少，但是这些援助在对抗阿富汗和这个地区泛滥的毒品交易和相关的犯罪活动中非常重要。

"There are no quick fixes to the poppy problem in Afghanistan, I would say aerial eradication¹¹ is wrong, it will drive farmers, the vast majority of whom are very poor and trying to feed their families into the hands of the Taleban and that would be a big mistake," he added. "Likewise, proposals to license¹² poppy production are not workable in this environment. The government does not have the authority in the poppy areas to be able to control this. What I think is the way to move forward in this situation is through supporting a comprehensive approach in which rural development is at the center, because we need to give sufficient support for agriculture so that Afghans are not forced to turn to poppy."

沃尔德曼说：“阿富汗种植鸦片的问题无法快速解决。我认为空中销毁的办法是错误的，它将把阿富汗农民赶到塔利班那里去，是大错特错。阿富汗农民大部分很贫穷，只想养家活口。同样，发放执照给种植鸦片的农民的建议在这个环境下也行不通，因为政府在种植鸦片的地区没有控制的力量。我认为，在目前形势下可行的办法是，实行一个以农村发展为中心的全面计划，因为我们需要为农业提供足够的支持，使阿富汗人民不致被迫靠鸦片为生。”

Oxfam's letter follows warnings by the Atlantic Council and the Afghanistan Study Group, both U.S.-based, that Afghanistan could become a failed state if urgent steps are not taken to deal with worsening security and the slow reconstruction¹³.

在乐施会发出这封信函之前，总部设在美国的大西洋理事会和阿富汗问题研究小组曾经警告说，如果不采取紧急措施，解决不断恶化的安全局势以及重建工作迟缓的问题，阿富汗可能沦为一个失败的国家。