Reaction to President Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East has prompted some initial mixed reactions in Egypt. While plans for economic and development aid are being welcomed, hopes for a more consistent stand on regional unrest and a new approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were largely dashed.
奥巴马总统就中东局势发表的演说在埃及引起了褒贬不一的反应。奥巴马的经济和开发援助计划受到欢迎，然而人们期待美国对地区动乱表现出一致的立场，在以、巴冲突问题上采取新的作法，在他们看来这些希望大都落空。
The promise of aid, in the form of debt relief and loan guarantees, is helping allay some fears in Egypt and Tunisia. Popular uprisings in the two nations succeeded in toppling the old governments, but at a cost.
以免除债务和贷款保证的方式提供援助的承诺，有助于消除埃及和突尼斯的一些忧虑。两国的民间起义成功地推翻了旧政权，却也付出了代价。
"The economic situation has become very dire, particularly on the financial front. There is a big financing gap and this needs to be closed right away. So I think any amount of money and any opportunity to have access to cash would help this situation immensely," said Magda Kandil, director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies.
埃及经济研究中心主任坎迪尔说：“经济情势变得非常可怕，特别是在财务方面。现在出现了一个急须弥补的财务裂痕。因此我认为任何数额的金钱，以及任何可以获得现金的途径，都是非常有帮助的。”
Both Tunisia and Egypt have been hard hit by a drop in tourist revenue. In Egypt, remittance earnings are down after more than a million of its workers fled the conflict in neighboring Libya. General uncertainty has kept foreign investment at bay and led to hoarding of key commodities at home - all elements that put the chances of a peaceful transition at risk.
突尼斯和埃及两国都遭受到观光收益下跌的打击。由于一百多万埃及劳工逃避利比亚内战，使埃及外汇收入大幅滑落。一般情势的不确定，使国外投资裹足不前，主要商品囤积仓库。所有促使政权和平转移的因素，都在飘摇不定。
Economist Kandil says that the way the economic assistance has been structured will help. "I think the beauty about the debt forgiveness is that it starts in the form of debt swap, which means that the money will not be just loose cash that the government can do whatever it wants to do with it," he said.
坎迪尔说，经济援助方式的设定，将有助于目前的情势。他说，“我认为债务减免的妙处是把减免的债务用作发展项目基金。这笔钱政府不可以随便动用。”
She is encouraged that some of the money is slotted for development projects, a key issue, she argues, at this juncture.
对于这些资金分用于发展项目上，坎迪尔感到很受鼓舞。她认为在这个时刻这是关键的问题。
The economic part of Mr. Obama's speech appears to be the one aspect that will resonate strongly in the weeks and months to come.
奥巴马总统演讲中有关经济的部分看来会在未来几个星期乃至几个月中产生强烈的反响。
The rest, according to Egyptian publisher and long-time democracy advocate Hisham Kassem, was a profound disappointment.
至于奥巴马讲演的其他方面，埃及出版人、长期倡导民主的卡萨姆认为都令人十分失望。
"He [Obama] reiterated double standards while trying to package it as a support for freedom. But we saw how he made clear that [Libyan leader] Moammar Gadhafi has to leave, and then referring to the actions of the government of Bahrain as 'the rule of law,' enforcing the rule of law - that was the bottom line - no. No, no," Kassen said.
他说：“奥巴马表示支持自由，却又重申了双重标准。我们可以清楚地看到他让利比亚领导人卡扎菲下台，而提到巴林政府的行动时，却说这是法制，是在执行条例或执法。这就是底线。 这是不行的。”
Kassem argues that the unevenness of Mr. Obama's approach to the region extends to Saudi Arabia - like Bahrain, a key ally and a fierce suppressor of government opponents - which the president did not mention at all.
卡萨姆说，奥巴马总统对这一地区不均衡的手法也袒护了沙特阿拉伯。沙特和巴林一样，也是美国的重要盟友，沙特阿拉伯强烈镇压反政府人士，但奥巴马总统根本就没有提到沙特。
As for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there was hope that the U.S. leader would seize this period of dramatic change to take an equally dramatic new approach to the peace process. Washington had tried to dampen such expectations, but again, some sense a missed opportunity.
至于巴勒斯坦以色列之间的冲突，人们希望奥巴马政府能够在这个剧烈变化的时期，采取同样戏剧性的新措施来推动以巴和平进程。虽然美国之前试图减少这方面的期盼，但在奥巴马讲话后， 有人还是认为这是失去了时机。
Publisher Kassem says he had hoped that in the political part of the speech, Mr. Obama would offer something tangible, whether on peace talks, or a tougher stand on Syria. He recalls an earlier effort by the president to reach out to the region, during a 2009 address in Cairo.
出版人卡萨姆说，他希望在奥巴马讲话中有关政治的部分应该提出一些具体的东西，不论是有关和平谈判，还是对叙利亚采取更为强硬的立场。他回忆奥巴马2009年在开罗发表演讲时曾经向这一地区表达过善意。
"I personally, at the time, in spite of a lot of optimism, thought he said nothing, had no time frames, no concrete plans for anything. And it turned out to be true. And now he's doing more of the same, almost two years later," Kassen said.
他说：“尽管激发了很多乐观期盼，就我个人来说，当时就认为他言语空洞，没有制定时间框架，对任何事情都没有具体的计划。这些最终都得到了证明。这次讲话尽管是在上次演讲两年之后，但跟上次没有什么不同。”
The question now may be how much that argument will even matter. The uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East began, as Mr. Obama noted, without U.S. political help. The economic aid, however, could ensure that the successful ones can carry through.
就像奥巴马总统所指出的那样，虽然北非和中东抗议运动并不是在美国的政治帮助下兴起的，但美国的经济援助却可以使取得成功的国家能继续坚持下去。 |