Nepalis Criticize Slow Recovery One Year After Deadly Quake
VOA News
Last updated on: April 24, 2016 1:19 PM (source)
Nepalis Criticize Slow Recovery One Year After Deadly Quake
尼泊爾致命地震屆一年，重建速度緩慢惹民怨
VOA News
April 24, 2016 1:19 PM
Thousands of Nepalis marked the one-year anniversary Sunday of the Himalayan country's devastating earthquake, grieving for the loss of nearly 9,000 people in the midst of lagging reconstruction that has left 4 million survivors in temporary shelters.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli placed a wreath at the ruins of the Dharahara tower in the heart of the capital, Kathmandu.
The tower collapsed in the April 25, 2015, disaster, killing 132 people at the landmark site.
Tower's collapse
Madhav Newpane, a shop owner near the tower who saw it collapse, brought flowers and candles to the commemoration.
"There were many people killed here on that day," Newpane said. "I will never be able to forget that day."
At the nearby Durbar Square, a dozen crimson-robed monks chanted from Buddhist scriptures as the victims' relatives sat crossed-legged, praying in front of framed portraits of their loved ones.
However, about 100 protesters clashed with riot police outside Oli's office, demonstrating against the slow pace of the Nepalese recovery.
More than 600,000 homes were destroyed in the magnitude-7.8 quake that upended roads in the country and turned mountain villages into rubble.
"Government, where is reconstruction," the protesters chanted as they tried to force their way through a police barricade. "Open the gates of the government."
International aid
International donors have pledged $4.1 billion toward Nepal's recovery, but only $1.3 billion has been sent to the country so far, with the government blamed for taking months to set up the National Reconstruction Authority, which was only completed in December.
Homeless survivors have been promised about $2,000 in aid, but only several hundred have received the first $500 installment.
One Red Cross official in Nepal said, "We are hoping that the government's priorities and perspectives on reconstruction will soon be clear so that we can help people to rebuild and get their lives back on track as quickly as possible."
數千名尼泊爾人於週日時紀念(mark)這個在喜馬拉雅山區的國家所發生的毀滅性地震一週年，同時也為此震災近九千名的罹難者哀悼。災後重建的腳步緩慢(lagging)，此刻，四百萬的倖存者仍待在暫時的避難所中。
尼泊爾首相卡德拉‧普拉薩德‧奧利(Khadga Prasad Oli)在位於首都加德滿都(Kathmandu)中心區的達拉哈拉塔(Dharahara tower)廢墟獻上了花圈(wreath)。
達拉哈拉塔在2015年4月25日的災難中倒塌，造成132人喪生於此地標性的場所。
達拉哈拉塔倒塌
馬達夫‧紐班(Madhav Newpane)是在塔附近的一位店主，當時目睹了整座塔的倒塌。他也帶來了鮮花和蠟燭到這個紀念儀式(commemoration)。
紐班說：「有很多人那天在這裡喪命了，我將永遠無法忘記那一天」。
在附近的杜巴廣場(Dubar Square)上，十幾位穿著深紅色長袍的僧侶吟誦著佛經(Buddhist scriptures)，一旁的罹難者親屬則雙腿盤坐(cross-legged; crossed-legged)，在相框裡摯愛的親人相片前祈禱。（編按：新聞中「雙腿盤坐」“crossed-legged” 的拼法較少人使用。）
但在首相奧利(Oli)的辦公室外約有100名的示威者與防暴警察(riot police)發生衝突，他們對尼泊爾緩慢的復甦步伐示威抗議(demonstrate against . . .)。
這場規模7.8的地震翻覆了(upend)國內的道路，讓山區村落成了碎石瓦礫(rubble)，更有超過六十萬的房屋在地震中摧毀。
「政府的重建在哪？」「打開政府的大門。」示威者高喊著口號，企圖要強力突破警方所設置的路障(barricade)。
國際援助
國際間的捐助團體已承諾(pledge)將美金41億元用於尼泊爾的重建，但目前送達當地的只有13億美元。尼泊爾政府為此備受責難，因為光是成立國家重建局(National Reconstruction Authority)就花了數個月的時間，到了12月才完成。
無家可歸的倖存者得到保證，每人能獲得約美金兩千元的援助，但目前僅有數百人收到第一期五百元的分期款項(installment)。
尼泊爾紅十字會一名人員表示：「我們希望政府盡快釐清重建的重點(priority)和展望(perspective)，讓我們能幫助人民盡速重建，並讓他們的生活重新回到軌道(get one's life back on track)。」
Language Notes
mark (v) 紀念（某特別或重要的日子）
lagging (a) 落後的；遲緩的
wreath [riθ] (n) 花圈；花環
commemoration (n) 紀念；紀念活動、儀式等
riot [`raɪət] (n) 暴亂；暴動
demonstrate (v) 示威抗議
upend (v) 倒置；（使）混亂
barricade (n) 路障；障礙物
pledge [plɛdʒ] (v) 保證（給予）；許諾
installment (n) 分期付款；（分期的）部份
priority [praɪ`ɔrətɪ] (n) 優先順序；優先處理的重點
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, highlight the blanks to reveal the hidden answers.
Britain has pledged £1.3 million to the UN for refugee work.
With so little money available, repairs must remain a low priority.
The fans were kept back behind barricades.
Supporters demonstrated outside the courtroom during the trial.
Carter's 90th birthday will be marked with a large party at the Savoy Hotel.
He upended the bicycle to fix its flat tire.
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Durbar Square, Kathmandu. Read more on VOA.
