When the fire spread through the building, this happened.

當火勢在樓內蔓延時，就發生了這種情況。

The fire detonated about 2700 metric tons of ammonium nitrate; a highly explosive material

大火引爆了約2 700公噸硝酸銨，這是一種高爆炸性材料。

that was stored here in the Port of Beirut.

儲存在貝魯特港這裡的。

The explosion leveled the port and left a zone of destruction 6 miles wide, killing

爆炸將港口夷為平地，並留下了一個6英里寬的破壞區，造成死亡。

nearly 200 people, and wounding thousands.

近200人，傷數千人。

Long before the explosion, Lebanon's economy was in a deep crisis.

早在爆炸之前，黎巴嫩的經濟就陷入了深深的危機。

Unemployment and poverty were on the rise.

失業率和貧困率都在上升。

And people flooded the streets in outrage over and over again.

而人們一次又一次地湧上街頭，憤憤不平。

For many, the explosion was the last straw.

對許多人來說，爆炸是最後一根稻草。

So, how did Lebanon fall so far… and what can be done to fix it?

那麼，黎巴嫩怎麼會淪落到如此地步.又該如何補救呢？

The first thing to understand is the make up of Lebanon's population.

首先要了解的是黎巴嫩人口的構成。

For centuries, it's been home to both Christians and Muslims.

幾個世紀以來，這裡一直是基督徒和穆斯林的家園。

Both communities are further divided into religious subgroups or sects; the largest

這兩個社區又被進一步劃分為宗教小團體或教派；最大的是

being Maronite Christians and Sunni and Shia Muslims.

是馬龍派基督徒和遜尼派及什葉派穆斯林；

In the mid-20th century, these three sects shared power, but there was tension between

20世紀中葉，這三個教派共同執掌權力，但彼此之間的關係緊張。

them.

他們。

In 1975, Maronite and Muslim militias sparked a civil war.

1975年，馬龍派和穆斯林民兵引發內戰。

In Lebanon, a country now torn in two by the vicious battle for supremacy

在黎巴嫩，這個國家現在被爭奪霸權的惡戰撕成兩半。

between Christians and Muslims.

基督徒和穆斯林之間。

Two dozen ceasefires have been agreed and broken.

已有二十幾項停火協議被達成，並被打破。

Soon other sects formed militias and joined the conflict.

不久，其他教派組成民兵，加入衝突。

In 1976, Syria invaded and in 1982 Israel followed, fueling more violence.

1976年，敘利亞入侵，1982年以色列跟進，加劇了更多的暴力。

Fighting was particularly brutal in Beirut, which was divided among

在貝魯特，戰鬥尤其殘酷。

the militias.

民兵。

The Muslims control West Beirut.

穆斯林控制了西貝魯特。

The Christians are entrenched in the east.

基督徒在東方根深蒂固。

The toll of human life is horrifying.

人類生命的代價是可怕的。

Over the course of 15 years, more than 120,000 people died.

在15年的時間裡，有12萬多人死亡。

Finally, in 1989, representatives of Lebanon's sects came together with other international

最後，1989年，黎巴嫩各教派的代表與其他國際組織的代表走到了一起。

leaders to end the war.

領導人結束戰爭。

They signed the Taif Agreement which divided the government among the sects.

他們簽署了《塔伊夫協議》，在各教派之間劃分政府。

In parliament, each group received a set number of seats and specific positions.

在議會中，每個集團都獲得一定數量的席位和具體職位。

The President would be a Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni, and the Speaker of the Parliament

總統為馬龍派，總理為遜尼派，議長為議會。

a Shia.

a Shia。

Shortly after signing the agreement, most of the militias disbanded but many of their

簽署協議後不久，大多數民兵解散，但他們中的許多人都是 "不服輸 "的。

leaders found a place in government.

領導人在政府中找到了一席之地。

In this system, political parties were formed along religious lines and each sect claimed

在這一制度下，政黨是按照宗教路線組成的，每個教派都宣稱自己是 "教主"。

different government ministries.

政府各部委。

But this system wasn't designed to be permanent.

但這個系統並不是設計成永久性的。

Instead, the politicians separated their portions of the government and turned them into fiefdoms.

相反，政客們把他們在政府中的部分分離出來，變成了封地。

Using them to enrich themselves and their sects.

利用他們來充實自己和門派。

While using public money for personal gain, the politicians neglected to spend money on

政客們在用公款謀取私利的同時，卻忽略了用錢在

the services they were supposed to provide, like garbage collection.

他們應該提供的服務，比如垃圾收集。

A report found that Lebanon was paying about $420 million a year for waste management.

一份報告發現，黎巴嫩每年為廢物管理支付約4.2億美元。

Despite that, in 2015, garbage piled up around the country while politicians argued over

儘管如此，2015年，全國各地的垃圾堆積如山，而政客們卻爭論不休。

a new contract.

新合同；

It was the same story across the government.

整個政府都是同樣的故事。

It spent $1 billion a year on electricity, a sector controlled by the Maronites, but

它每年在電力上花費10億美元，這是一個由馬龍派控制的部門，但。

there were blackouts multiple times a day.

每天都有多次停電。

Every household paid a fee for public water, but much of it was undrinkable.

每家每戶都交了公共用水的費用，但很多水是不能喝的。

By 2015, discontent against government corruption was on the rise.

到了2015年，人們對政府腐敗的不滿情緒不斷上升。

But nothing changed.

但沒有任何改變。

And that meant the same people stayed in power.

而這意味著同樣的人繼續掌權。

So government corruption continued to go unchecked.

於是，政府的腐敗繼續不受制約。

Over time, the government racked up dangerous amounts of debt.

隨著時間的推移，政府積累了大量危險的債務。

By 2015, it owed nearly $70 billion.

到2015年，其欠款近700億元。

More than the country's entire GDP.

超過了國家的全部GDP。

But instead of trying to fix the problem, the government turned its attention to Lebanon's

但政府並沒有試圖解決這個問題，而是將注意力轉向了黎巴嫩的。

most important industry.

最重要的產業。

Lebanon's businesses pay for imports with US dollars, which they get through the banks.

黎巴嫩的企業用美元支付進口貨款，他們通過銀行獲得美元。

And Lebanon's banks famously offer high interest rates, which attract deposits from

而黎巴嫩的銀行以高利率著稱，吸引了來自世界各地的存款。

clients all over the world.

世界各地的客戶。

Making it the most important sector in Lebanon.

使其成為黎巴嫩最重要的部門。

Most of the banks are owned by or have ties to the sectarian politicians. And together,

大多數銀行都是宗派政客所擁有的，或者與他們有關係。而一起。

they created a scheme to bring more money into the government.

他們創造了一個計劃，使更多的錢進入政府。

It started with the central bank, which funds the government, offering very high interest

它開始於為政府提供資金的中央銀行，提供非常高的利息。

rates as an incentive to commercial banks.

率作為對商業銀行的激勵。

So the banks deposited money there and made a huge profit from this interest.

於是，銀行把錢存到那裡，從這個利息中獲得了巨大的利潤。

In turn, the banks hiked their own interest rates even higher to attract deposits from

反過來，銀行為了吸引存款，將自己的利率提高得更高。

around the world.

世界各地的。

And then poured that money into the central bank.

然後把這些錢投入到央行。

But this was unsustainable, neither the banks nor the government could really cover all

但這是不可持續的，無論是銀行還是政府，都無法真正覆蓋所有的

this interest.

這種興趣。

"It's quite accepted that it's a bit of a Ponzi scheme."

"這有點像龐氏騙局，這是公認的。"

The only thing keeping this scheme together was the banks ability to attract more and

唯一能讓這個計劃維持下去的是銀行吸引更多和更多資金的能力。

more money.

更多的錢。

And that started to crack in 2011 when Lebanon's neighbor, Syria, collapsed into civil war.

而這種情況在2011年黎巴嫩的鄰國敘利亞陷入內戰時開始出現裂痕。

Worried about putting their money so close to the conflict, investors started pulling

擔心把資金投入到如此接近衝突的地方，投資人開始撤走

out of Lebanon's banks.

從黎巴嫩的銀行中取出。

But the scheme didn't fully unravel until 2017, when Lebanon's Prime minister disappeared.

但這個計劃直到2017年黎巴嫩總理失蹤後才完全解開。

I hereby announce my resignation as Prime Minister from Lebanon's government.

我在此宣佈辭去黎巴嫩政府總理職務。

Knowing that the will of the Lebanese is stronger and their determination is steadfast..

知道黎巴嫩人的意志更堅定，決心更堅定，

The Sunni Prime Minister, Saad Harari, resigned via a televised statement

遜尼派總理薩阿德-哈拉里通過電視聲明辭職。

from Saudi Arabia.

來自沙特阿拉伯的。

Then reports claimed the Saudis forced him to resign and were keeping him there.

然後有報道稱沙特逼迫他辭職，並將他留在那裡。

Nothing has justified the apparent detention of Hariri by Saudi Arabia.

沙特阿拉伯對哈里里的明顯拘留是毫無道理的。

Saad Hariri and his family are hostages in the Kingdom.

薩阿德-哈里里及其家人在沙特王國被扣為人質。

After ten days the Prime Minister returned to Lebanon and took back his office but the

十天後，總理返回黎巴嫩，並收回了他的辦公室，但他的妻子和兒子卻沒有回來。

damage was done.

損壞了。

This time international investors lost faith in Lebanon and deposits plummeted.

這一次，國際投資者對黎巴嫩失去了信心，存款驟減。

Even Lebanese residents rushed to pull their money out of the banks.

就連黎巴嫩居民也趕緊把錢從銀行取出來。

Without new deposits, government and bank debt skyrocketed.

沒有了新的存款，政府和銀行的債務急劇上升。

In 2019, the banks ran out of money and froze accounts, limiting what people could withdraw.

2019年，銀行沒錢了，凍結了賬戶，限制了人們的提款。

Leaving Lebanon's people with a catastrophic problem.

給黎巴嫩人民留下了一個災難性的問題。

To cover its debt, the government announced a new tax, sparking a revolution.

為了彌補債務，政府宣佈徵收新稅，引發了一場革命。

Lebanon is in the grip of unprecedented protest.

黎巴嫩正處於前所未有的抗議之中。

The anger was sparked by a government's announcement of a daily tax of 20 cents a

政府宣佈每天徵收2角錢的稅款，引發了人們的憤怒。

day on messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

日在WhatsApp等消息應用上。

To many, it was evidence that the whole system was corrupt.

對許多人來說，這是整個系統腐敗的證據。

And people from all sects flooded the streets in some of the biggest protests Lebanon had

所有教派的人都湧上街頭，這是黎巴嫩最大規模的抗議活動。

seen in decades.

數十年來所見。

It was enough to force Prime Minister Hariri to finally step down, but the political parties

這足以迫使哈里里總理最終下臺，但各政黨

stayed in power.

留下來的權力。

Meanwhile, other countries and international organizations offered economic aid to Lebanon

同時，其他國家和國際組織向黎巴嫩提供經濟援助。

if the government could reform itself.

如果政府能夠自我改革。

But the politicians couldn't agree and the economy kept falling apart.

但政客們無法達成一致，經濟不斷崩潰。

In one year, Lebanon's currency lost more than 80% of its value.

一年內，黎巴嫩貨幣貶值超過80%。

And unemployment has reportedly surged.

而據報道，失業率也急劇上升。

This was the state of the country when an explosion rocked Beirut.

這就是貝魯特發生爆炸時的國情。

While at first the explosion appeared to be an accident, it turned out to be the result

雖然最初的爆炸似乎是一個意外，但它原來是一個結果。

of this dysfunctional system.

這個不健全的系統的。

According to reports, the ammonium nitrate sat in the port for seven years while government

據報道，這些硝酸銨在港口靜置了7年，而政府的

officials bickered over who was responsible for it.

官員們為誰負責而爭吵不休。

It's criminal negligence at best.

這頂多是刑事過失。

Prime minister Hassan Diab and several ministry leaders resigned, but the power-sharing agreement

哈桑-迪亞卜總理和幾位部級領導人辭職，但權力分享協議已經達成。

remains intact.

依然完好無損。

It's why many in Lebanon feel the country can't recover until this system is abolished.

這也是為什麼黎巴嫩的許多人認為，在這個制度被廢除之前，國家無法恢復的原因。

To make matters worse, there's been a spike in coronavirus cases since the blast.

更糟糕的是，自從爆炸發生後，冠狀病毒病例激增。

And now with its only major port destroyed in the explosion, Lebanon is struggling to

現在，由於其唯一的主要港口在爆炸中被毀，黎巴嫩正在努力尋找新的機會。

import what its people need to survive.

進口其人民生存所需的東西。

It's left the Lebanese people to simultaneously demand for change and pick up the pieces.

這讓黎巴嫩人民不得不同時要求變革和收拾殘局。