熱浪侵襲巴基斯坦致數百人死亡

KARACHI, Pakistan — Karachi’s poor have long learned to cope with the many adversities that afflict Pakistan’s most crowded and chaotic city, including flooding, street violence and political crises. But since a suffocating heat wave descended on Karachi three days ago, killing at least 650 people, they have found no respite and no escape.

巴基斯坦卡拉奇——對於困擾這座巴基斯坦最擁擠、最混亂的城市的各種災難，比如洪水、街頭暴力和政治危機，卡拉奇的窮人們早就學會了如何應對。然而，一股令人窒息的熱浪在三天前襲來，至今已導致至少650人死亡。這一狀況沒有得到任何緩解，令他們無路可逃。

“It’s so hot,” said a security guard, Shamim ur-Rehman, 34, as he sat on a cot, beleaguered. “There is no fan, there is nothing. I can’t sleep at night or during the day.”

“太熱了，”34歲的保安沙米姆·拉赫曼(Shamim ur-Rehman)說。他坐在一張行軍牀上，備受炎熱困擾。“沒有風扇，什麼都沒有，白天晚上都睡不着。”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared an emergency on Tuesday as the death toll from the heat wave soared, with overwhelmed hospitals struggling to treat a surge of casualties and morgues filling to capacity. The army set up emergency treatment centers in the streets and the provincial government closed schools and city offices.

高溫引發的死亡人數在急劇上升，各大醫院疲於應對大批涌入的傷員，太平間也已經達到人數上限。在這樣的形勢下，巴基斯坦總理納瓦茲·謝里夫(Nawaz Sharif)於週二宣佈進入緊急狀態。軍隊在街道上搭建急救場所，當地的省級政府下令學校停課，市政辦公場所停業。

The Edhi foundation, which runs an ambulance service and Karachi’s largest morgue, said it had collected over 600 bodies in recent days.

擁有卡拉奇最大的停屍房、並提供救護車服務的艾德希基金會(Edhi foundation)表示，他們在最近幾天已經接收了600多具屍體。

“The first to die were the people on the streets — heroin addicts, beggars, the homeless,” said Anwar Kazmi, a spokesman for the service. “Then it was the elderly, particularly those who didn’t have anyone to take care of them.”

基金會的發言人安瓦爾·卡茲米(Anwar Kazmi)表示，“最早死亡的是在街頭生活的人——海洛因成癮者、乞丐和無家可歸的人。然後是老年人，尤其是那些沒人照顧的。”

In many ways, the emergency is the product of a perfect storm of meteorological, political and religious factors in Karachi.

從許多方面講，這場危機是卡拉奇的氣象、政治和宗教因素共同促成的一場完美風暴帶來的後果。

Chronic shortages of water and electricity have exacerbated the impact of the heat wave, which has brought temperatures up to 45 Celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit, in a crowded city of 20 million people that is normally ventilated by a seabreeze.

熱浪使得氣溫最高達到攝氏45度，而長期缺水缺電加劇了這種天氣的影響。在這座人口達2000萬的擁擠城市裏，通風基本只能靠海風吹。

The health dangers are further exacerbated by the demands of the annual Ramadan fast, when most Muslims abstain from eating or drinking water during daylight hours.

此時正值一年一度的齋月期間，大部分穆斯林會在白天戒食禁水。這也加重了高溫天氣帶來的健康威脅。

In Karachi, that means about 15 hours with no source of hydration — a factor that has particularly affected manual laborers and street vendors, who work outside under the sun.

在卡拉奇，齋月意味着15小時沒有任何水源補充。這尤其影響到在戶外日頭下工作的體力勞動者和街頭商販。

Dr. Seemin Jamali, head of the Jinnah hospital’s emergency wing, said 272 people had died there from heat-related conditions, including dehydration. The smaller Abbasi Shaheed Hospital said 56 bodies had been brought in since Monday night.

真納(Jinnah)醫院急診部主任思敏·賈馬裏(Seemin Jamali)表示，該院有272名病人死於與高溫有關的狀況，其中包括脫水。規模較小的阿巴西·沙希德醫院(Abbasi Shaheed Hospital)則表示，自週一晚上以來該院已收入56具屍體。

Officials said the majority of the victims were men over the age of 50, especially day laborers from lower-income groups.

卡拉奇官員表示，大部分受害者是50歲以上的男性，尤其是來自低收入羣體的日間勞工。

Although Karachi residents are used to dealing with other emergencies — stockpiling groceries, for example, during bouts of street violence — they seemed at a loss for how to manage the extended heat wave.

儘管卡拉奇居民習慣於應對其他各種緊急情況——比如他們會在時常出現的街頭暴亂期間囤積日常用品——但是面對不斷加劇的高溫，他們似乎有些不知所措。

The electricity shortages are the product of decades-long mismanagement of Pakistan’s national grid, and are often worse at dusk when many people are cooking in preparation for the end of the fast.

缺電是巴基斯坦國家電網幾十年來管理不善的後果，而且通常在傍晚時分，很多人結束齋戒開始做飯的時候會更加嚴重。

Not only do the power cuts make air-conditioning units and ceiling fans useless, they also reduce the water supply by shutting down pumps. Ice is in short supply and being sold for a premium in many neighborhoods.

停電不僅會使空調設備和電扇癱瘓，還會因爲電泵無法工作而導致供水減少。在很多社區，冰塊因爲短缺都會被加價出售。

“We try and sit in the shade,” said Mohammad Yusuf, 32, a laborer who works on a moving crew with a pickup truck. “We went all the way near the port today and sat under a tree for three hours.”

“我們儘量坐在陰涼裏，”32歲的穆罕默德·優素福(Mohammad Yusuf)說，他跟隨一個搬運隊乘皮卡車四處做活。“我們今天一路開到港口附近，在一棵樹下坐了三個小時。”

At the Jinnah hospital, Dr. Jamali said her staff had treated over 5,000 patients between Saturday and Monday. The heat, not the fasting, was the principal factor in the deaths, she said.

在真納醫院，賈馬裏表示，從週六到週一，她的員工已經接治了5000多名患者。她說，最重要的致死因素是這一波熱浪，而不是齋戒。

Although many continued to fast, others quietly admitted that they were unable to cope with the demands of their faith. Subah Sadiq, a fruit vendor and father of seven, said it was impossible to stand in the street all day without drinking anything.

儘管有很多人繼續禁食，但其他一些人暗地裏承認，他們無法承受信仰的要求。蘇巴·薩迪克(Subah Sadiq)是一名賣水果的攤販，也是七個孩子的父親。他說，一整天都站在街上卻什麼都不喝是不可能的。

“This is the only way to survive,” he said.

“這是唯一的活路，”他說。

Even for those not fasting, staying hydrated is a challenge: under Pakistani law, eating and drinking in public places are illegal during Ramadan, although some clerics said their followers could break the fast if their health was in danger.

即便是對那些不禁食的人來說，保持不脫水也是一個挑戰：按照巴基斯坦的法律，齋月期間在公共場所吃喝是違法的，不過一些神職人員稱，如果健康存在危險，信徒可以違反齋戒的規定。

Mr. Rehman, the building watchman, was refusing to give up.

大樓保安拉赫曼不願放棄齋戒。

“As long as I have some life in me, and strong intentions, I will fast,” he said.

“只要還有些力氣和強烈的意願，我就會齋戒，”他說。