VOA慢速英语2022--加沙的瓦砾带来机遇和风险

 

The Gaza Strip, a Palestinian area on the Mediterranean¹ Sea, has few jobs, little electricity and almost no natural resources. But after four wars with Israel in just over 10 years, it has lots of destroyed buildings, or rubble².

Local businesses are now finding ways to make money from the rubble left behind after years of conflict.

The Gaza Strip suffers from a shortage of construction materials. So, a new industry has started up to reuse the stones, bricks and concrete from the rubble. It provides money to some people. But some are concerned that the reused rubble is not of high quality and might be unsafe.

"It's a lucrative³ business," said Naji Sarhan who oversees⁴ housing in the territory. He added, "We are trying to control and correct the misuse⁵ of these materials."

Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers have gone to war four times since the Islamic militant⁶ group took control of the territory in 2007. The most recent fighting was in May. Israeli airstrikes have damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings in the fighting.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says it worked with local businesses to remove about 2.5 million metric tons of rubble left behind from the wars. Gaza's Housing Ministry⁷ says the 11-day war in May left an additional 270,000 tons.

That includes the Al-Jawhara building in downtown Gaza City. Over the past three months, workers have taken the tall building apart floor by floor. They separated twisted metal from the rubble, to be straightened out and reused as building materials.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza for the past 15 years. The blockade restricts the entry of badly needed construction materials in the area. Israel says such restrictions⁸ are needed to prevent Hamas from using things like concrete and steel for military use. Since 2014, it has permitted some imports. But thousands of homes need to be repaired or rebuilt, and there are widespread shortages.

The UNDP has put restrictions on reusing the materials. It says that renewed rubble is not safe enough for use in building homes and other structures. But it can be broken into smaller pieces to be used for road projects.

The U.N. road projects have provided a partial solution for the rubble problem. But most of Gaza's rubble continues to be used for private businesses. Sarhan said it is illegal to use renewed rubble in major construction. But he said enforcing that ban is very difficult.

Ahmed Abu Asaker is an engineer in Gaza. Many brick factories use the rubble, he said, which is not a "great concern." But he said that a few times it has been mixed into concrete, which is much more dangerous.

There have not been any reports of building collapses⁹. But Abu Asaker estimates that thousands of homes have been built with materials from reused rubble since 2014.

Antar al-Katatni runs a brick factory that uses materials from the rubble. He said internationally supported projects do not use his bricks because they are not permitted to do so. But "poor people do," he added.

A brick costs 2 shekels, or about 65 cents, when made from higher quality Israeli materials. The price for the ones al-Katatni makes is 1.7 or 1.8 shekels. A building often requires several thousand bricks and the price difference can save a lot of money for a poor family.

Words in This Story

concrete — n. a hard, strong material that is used for building and made by mixing cement, sand, and broken rocks with water

lucrative — adj. producing money or wealth

twisted — v. to bend or turn in order to change its shape

blockade — n. an act of war in which one country uses ships to stop people or supplies from entering or leaving another country

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

4 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

5 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。