By Natalia Antelava
BBC News, Dushanbe
Tajikistan is well-versed in hardship, but this winter has been too
much.塔吉克向來為人所熟悉的即是生活的艱辛困苦，然而這個冬天則更是無比的淒楚了。
Millions of people here are trying to survive without heat, water or electricity in temperatures that stay well below zero.
數百萬人在氣溫遠低於零度，沒有暖氣、水電的情況下試圖求生存。
In a freezing maternity ward, outside the capital Dushanbe, nurses and doctors scurry as Unicef, accompanied by health ministry officials, deliver emergency supplies of extra blankets and small gas heaters.
在首都Dushanbe外一個極冷的婦產科病房裡，醫護人員忙進忙出，正當聯合國兒童基金會伴隨著衛生部的官員，運來更多的毛毯及小型煤氣熱水器等緊急物資。
One of the officials is quick to assure me that all the hospital needs are being met, and the situation is under full control.
其中一位官員簡短的向我保證，所有醫院所需物資很快就會被送到，情況完全在控制之中。
But in a quiet room, a few feet away, nurses speak of their worries.
就在幾呎外的一間休息室裡，護士們談到了她們所憂慮的事。
"It's horrible," one of them says as she wraps a newborn baby girl in several layers of blankets.
"情況真是糟透了，"其中一位護士邊說邊將初生的小女嬰裹在層層毛毯中。
The maternity ward, she explains, has no heating, and only a limited electricity supply.
她解釋說，這間產房沒有暖氣，只有有限的電力供應。
"We are terrified that this will become worse, we have children here who are sick, who need special attention. We need electricity," she adds.
"我們怕情況會更加惡化，我們有生病的孩童須要特別照顧。我們需要電力，"她又繼續說。
She lays the baby down and gently slips a bottle of hot water next to her.
她把嬰兒放下並且輕柔的將熱水瓶塞在一旁。
It is the best heating method they have, but it does not always work.
這是她們目前最佳的保溫方法了，但並不是每次都有效。
Power failures
In the past few weeks, a number of babies are reported to have died in hospitals across the country, although no-one knows how many.
在過去的幾個星期，在塔吉克各地的醫院都有幾起嬰兒死亡的傳聞，然而沒有人知道到底有多少件。
There is no official data, because the government says the deaths
are not related to the energy crisis.因為塔吉克政府表示這幾起死亡案例與能源危機無關，也就沒有官方的數據。
But aid workers disagree.
但是救援人員並不同意這種說法。
"There have been deaths prompted by the cold weather and power failures, but all these reports are anecdotal.
"寒冷的天氣與電力中斷已經造成了幾起死亡的案例，但是所有的報導都是傳聞"。
"Unfortunately there are no official reports about these deaths," says Sobir Kurbonov, a Unicef health worker.
"不幸的是這些死亡案例都沒有正式的報導，" Sobir Kurbonov，聯合國兒童基金會的衛生工作者說。
Some international aid workers suggest that the general lack of transparency has made it very difficult to estimate the scale of the problem.
幾位聯合國救援人員暗示說，缺乏一般的透明化，會使問題的大小非常難以估計。
But now, there is no longer any doubt that Tajikistan could face a serious humanitarian crisis.
現在，塔吉克可能面臨嚴重的人道危機卻是毫無疑問的了。
On Wednesday, the Tajik government appealed for emergency aid and together with international donors it is now designing an action plan aimed at easing the situation.
星期三，塔吉克政府懇求緊急援助和國際捐贈，將用在針對緩和目前情況的行動計劃上。
Frozen rivers
The crisis has already gone far beyond power supplies, affecting every sphere of this impoverished and fragile society.
危機已經遠遠超越了電力的供給，影響遍及這個貧窮且脆弱的社會的每一個領域。
Humanitarian agencies say hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from severe food shortages.
人道主義機構表示有數十萬人正遭受嚴重食物短缺之苦。
"People are spending all they have on trying to keep warm, and they don't have enough money to buy food," says Zlatan Milisic, the country director for the UN's World Food Programme.
"人們用盡一切試圖保暖，所以他們沒有足夠的錢來買吃的，"聯合國世界糧食計畫署的區域署長Zlatan Milisic說。
And things are likely to get worse before they get better.
在情況獲得改善之前事情可能還會變得更糟。
With rivers frozen, the country's hydropower stations continue to slow down.
由於河流結冰，塔吉克水力發電廠的產能也大大的降低了。
Nurek, the main plant, is losing its reservoir of water.
主要電廠Nurek的蓄水量正逐漸降低中。
Set high up in the mountains and surrounded by snow-covered peaks, Nurek is like a giant bathtub that has been unplugged.
座落在高山上，環繞在覆蓋著靄靄白雪的群峰中，Nurek像極了一個塞子被拔掉的大浴缸。
Energy experts predict that within days the water will reach the critical level, and the whole country could shut down.
能源專家預測，過不了幾天蓄水量將降至臨界水位，屆時整個國家可能就要癱瘓了。
'Harder and harder'
The government's mammoth task is to keep Tajikistan away from slipping into a stone age.
塔吉克政府最大的任務就是要避免塔吉克倒退回石器時代。
But some believe its too late for that.
但是好些人認為時機早已過了。
"This country has no future," says Ermokhmad, an intelligent, soft-spoken man, who lives in the outskirts of the capital.
"這個國家已經沒有未來可言了，"Ermokhmad說，他是個聰明、講話聲音低低柔柔的男人，現在住在首都的郊區。
"Is this what you call life?" he asks as he shows me around his house.
"這樣也能叫做生活嗎? "他邊問邊帶著我到他家四處看看。
The tour is quick. To keep warm, all 10 members of his family live in one room.
導覽很快就結束了。為了保暖，他家十口人全擠在一個房間裡。
It's lit by a bleak kerosene lamp; they do not remember the last time they saw electricity.
裡頭的照明就靠一盞陰暗的煤油燈；他們不記得上次電來時的光景。
The air is heavy and full of smoke. In the corner, Ermokhmad's four children, their heads buried in school textbooks, are sitting on the floor next to the crackling woodstove.
空氣很沉悶而且滿是煙霧。角落裡，Ermokhmad的四個小孩在劈啪作響的柴爐旁息地而坐，埋首於學校的教科書中。
Gurgling on top of it is their dinner - rice porridge.
他們的晚餐 - 米粥就放在爐子上滾煮著。
Ermokhmad has a long list of complaints, and an even longer list of questions.
Ermokhmad有一長串令他怨聲載道的東西，但是想問的問題卻更多。
Why is it, he asks, that his children have to walk for an hour every day to get to the nearest school? Why is every winter more and more difficult for him and his neighbours? Why have prices gone up so much?
他問為什麼他的孩子們每天必須跋涉一個小時到最近的學校去上課? 為什麼每一個冬天都令他和他的鄰人感到越來越難熬呢? 為什麼物價漲了這麼多?
He does not seem to have many answers, but he does have a solution.
他看來好像沒辦法得到許多答案，但卻有一個解決的辦法。
"I will go to Russia," he says.
"我要到俄羅斯去，" 他說。
That is what hundreds of thousands of Tajiks have already done.
塔吉克已經有數十萬人這麼做了。
"Soon there will be no young people left here - just elderly and women. Everyone is going away. I want to save money for the ticket to Russia, so that I can feed my family from there," Ermokhmad says.
"不久，年輕人都會離開這裡，只剩下老人和女人。大家都準備離開了。我要存錢買到俄羅斯的車票，這樣我就可以在那裡賺錢養活我的家人，" Ermokhmad說。
A few minutes later, as he expands on his plans, he jokes that he may even marry a Russian woman. His own, Tajik, wife does not seem excited about the prospect. Yet she is willing to let him go.
片刻，當他正詳述自己的計畫時，他開玩笑的說他甚至還可以娶個俄羅斯女人。他自己的塔吉克妻子對這樣的前景看來並不高興。但她還是願意讓他去。
"We have to eat," she says.
"我們得填飽肚子，" 她說。
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7239279.stm
Published: 2008/02/11 19:17:26 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
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