地下隧道經(jīng)濟(jì)：加沙地帶民眾的生命線

“七八年前，一個(gè)兩歲的孩子都會(huì)數(shù)數(shù)數(shù)到15，不是他聰明，而是養(yǎng)成了一有哈馬斯襲擊警報(bào)，就得在15秒內(nèi)跑到防空洞的習(xí)慣。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)傷害了我們的孩子。”以色列駐華大使安泰毅今年一月在接受《中國(guó)新聞周刊》記者的專訪中如是說。這是來自以色列的故事，但你也可以在加沙找到同樣的例子。

巴以沖突由來已久，加沙地帶的戰(zhàn)火硝煙似乎從未停止過。拋開政治、種族等是是非非的問題，我們應(yīng)該質(zhì)疑和反思的，是戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的本質(zhì)和其造成的嚴(yán)重后果。其實(shí)，對(duì)無辜的平民百姓來說，和平安寧的生活才是最重要的!也正因如此，地下隧道經(jīng)濟(jì)才成為封鎖之下的加沙地帶民眾通往外部世界的唯一生命線!

又到歲末了，虔誠(chéng)地許下第一個(gè)新年愿望:祈愿世界和平!人們幸福安康!

——Maisie

A 30-foot 2)drop was the only way into the dark， earthy 3)abyss， and the Palestinian tunnel workers were giggling nervously at the prospect of a foreign journalist going for a 4)plunge. It didn’t seem like a good idea. Apart from the descent， there had been Israeli air strikes for the past three days targeting the dense smuggling network that snakes beneath the 5)Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt. An Israeli F-16 was circling overhead at that very moment.

I took the ladder. Underground， the space was narrow and damp. Less than a kilometer at half-crawl and I could be in Egypt， popping out at someone’s house， shop or farm. Welcome to the highways of the economy of the Palestinians of Gaza. On the outside， on the 3-mile (5 km) 6)fringe of 7)Rafah town， are sandy hills dotted with tents， 8)tarps and 9)bulldozers. Underneath lies what passes for commerce， the 10)surreptitious journey of goods that help keep the territory running.

“There is only one economy—there’s a tunnel economy，” says John Ging， head of the 11)U.N. Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip. “You have zero exports and zero commercial imports through the (Israeli-controlled) crossing points. All that is allowed in is humanitarian aid and supplies... In terms of economic activity， there is no economic activity other than the tunnel economy.”

When the Islamist organization 12)Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007， Israel 13)all but shut the tiny coastal territory down， imposing a 14)suffocating blockade on Gaza’s land and sea borders that keeps the people in and the goods out. That’s when Gazans turned to the tunnels. “When the siege was first imposed and the Israelis started to ban entry of fuel， gasoline， etc.， the locals here were forced to look for another source，” says Khalid al-Hubi， a Rafah shopkeeper who deals mostly in smuggled generators. But， he adds， “The tunnel trade is expensive and the customers have to pay all the charges 15)incurred from Cairo until it reaches their hands in Gaza.”

If Gaza 16)runs off a tunnel economy， Rafah is its tunnel town. In Najma Square， in the center of Rafah， the fruits of tunnel labor meet their first customers. Encircling the square are tables of TV sets， fans， 17)blenders and generators; 18)stalls packed with refrigerators， washing machines and ovens—and this is just the electrical side of town. Moving west toward the border， you see more goods: boxes of cigarettes， giant19)sacks of potato chips and sacks of cement. Then you pass the warehouses that sell the tools used to physically shape the tunnel industry: shovels， rope， 20)pulleys and electrical 21)cords， plus 22)pickaxes， hammers， 23)nuts， 24)bolts and screws in all sizes. The industry of making the tunnels is a booming business on its own.

Rafah’s tunnels have been around since the 1980s， but they used to constitute a far more secretive trade. When the blockade started in 2007， a network that had been used primarily to smuggle the weapons of the Palestinian 25)intifadeh was quickly transformed into Gaza’s only lifeline to the outside world. Now， tunnel workers say， there are hundreds of tunnels—some weaving right over one another at different depths—that are mostly used to import commercial goods that range from food and 26)baby formula to computers and even cars.

Tunnels vary in size， shape and purpose and are built with varying levels of sophistication. Some are shallow， fragile-looking dirt 27)shafts， with narrow openings; others have wide， wood-enforced passageways. One tunnel， meant exclusively for livestock， descends gradually underground on both the Egyptian and Gazan sides. The workers say it’s easier on the cows and donkeys， which would otherwise have to be hauled out with a generator-operated pulley.

For Israel， the tunnels have always been a key political target， first for the weapons and now， perhaps， for their link to the Hamas government， which many people here say profits off the tunnel trade. Last winter， Israeli 28)forces destroyed most of the tunnel network， along with much of the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure， during its three-week offensive， 29)Operation Cast Lead.

But the tunnel workers got right back underground. “We are just trying to earn a living here. We have no other choice，” says Abu Obeida， a potato-chip and clothes smuggler who has been working in tunnels for a year and a half and says he used to be a 30)contractor. Says al-Hubi， the shopkeeper: “Even if Israel destroys all of the tunnels entirely， I’m quite sure that the tunnels will only be dug again and again.”

Rafah residents know the tunnel economy is dangerous. Aside from Israeli air strikes， tunnel collapses and accidents like 31)electrocution are regular occurrences. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 120 people have died in tunnel-related deaths since 2007. But desperation keeps most tunnel workers on the job. Under the blockade， Gaza’s unemployment rate has become the highest in the world.

If the crossings opened up， many say all that would change. “It’s accurate to say that the economy has been destroyed. All aspects of the commercial sector are in 32)tatters， including the 33)physical infrastructure，” says the U.N.’s Ging. “But what we have here is a phenomenal entrepreneurial spirit， and the only thing we need to revive the economy of Gaza is the creation of opportunity， which means 34)lifting the siege.”

一段30英尺(約9.1米)深的井穴是進(jìn)入這黑暗泥濘深淵的唯一途徑，看著一個(gè)外國(guó)記者要一探險(xiǎn)穴，那些巴勒斯坦的隧道工人們?cè)诟`笑。這看起來不像是個(gè)好主意。除了爬下去本身就有危險(xiǎn)之外，過去三天以來以色列一直在針對(duì)加沙地帶與埃及交界這段蜿蜒復(fù)雜的偷運(yùn)網(wǎng)絡(luò)進(jìn)行空襲。此時(shí)此刻，一架以色列F-16戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)正在我們頭頂上盤旋。

我爬梯子進(jìn)入隧道。地下空間狹窄而潮濕。連走帶爬不到一公里，我就可以到達(dá)埃及境內(nèi)，突然出現(xiàn)在某人的家里、商店里或農(nóng)場(chǎng)里。歡迎來到加沙地帶巴勒斯坦人的經(jīng)濟(jì)干線。在隧道外面，在距拉法鎮(zhèn)邊緣3英里(5公里)處的地方是一片沙丘，上面零星分布著一些帳篷、防水布棚和推土機(jī)。……