震區紀實: 賑災志願者帶來的挑戰

Standing in the middle of a yard bustling with soldiers, Luo Ming, a haggard 31-year-old team leader with the Sichuan Emergency Response Volunteer Group, sees a threat nearly as grave as the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Western China’s mountainous area on Saturday: too many volunteers.

四川應急志願服務總隊的一名隊長羅明（音譯）站在一個有很多軍人在忙碌的院子中間，臉色憔悴，他看出有一個威脅幾乎與上週六降臨中國西南部山區的7級地震一樣嚴重：志願者太多了。

“The volunteers have created a certain kind of disaster themselves,” he says, speaking with the rapid speech of someone who has not slept in 48 hours. “There are more volunteers than there are earthquake victims. They have no place to sleep, and nothing to eat, and most of them have no experience or training.”

“志願者本身就製造了某種災難，”他說。羅現年31歲，由於48小時沒有睡覺，他語速很快。“志願者比地震受害者還要多。他們沒有地方睡覺，也沒有吃的，而且他們當中多數人沒有經驗，也沒有受過訓練。”

Mr Luo is manning the volunteer registration tent at the centre of Longmen township, where the earthquake has left thousands of people without shelter, food and water for three days. He has registered more than 500 volunteers, but he has turned even more than that away. “For some people, the biggest help that they can do for disaster areas is go back where they came from safely,” he says.

羅明正在龍門鄉中心的一個帳篷安排志願者登記工作。地震已使當地數千人3天沒有居所、食物和飲用水。他登記了500多個志願者，但被他打發回家的志願者人數更多。“對有些人來說，他們能對災區做出的最大貢獻，就是平平安安地從哪裏來，回哪裏去，”他表示。

Frustrations like his are partly why Beijing announced on Sunday a controversial ban on private volunteers and civil society groups entering the disaster area for the time being. But it was criticised by activists and academics, who say the state is blocking an important source of assistance.

他的這種受挫感，在一定程度上正是北京方面爲什麼在週日頒佈一項有爭議的禁令，暫時禁止私人志願者和民間社會團體進入災區。但活動人士和學者批評此舉，認爲政府堵住了一個重要的救援來源。

But the very need to go to such lengths to keep volunteers away reflects a shift in Chinese society, where civic involvement and philanthropy are rising. “There is for sure an increase in volunteerism in China,” says Shen Hongguo, associate professor at the Northwest University of Politics and Law. He adds that the trend presents a challenge to the government, which can no longer control situations in the same way.

但是，政府需要花這麼大功夫來勸退志願者，本身就反映了中國社會的一個轉變：公民參與和慈善行爲正在興起。“中國的志願服務行爲肯定在增加，”西北政法大學副教授沈宏國（音譯）表示。他補充說，這種趨勢給政府帶來一個挑戰，因爲政府再也不能以老方式掌控局面了。

Some of the people volunteering are youths such as Wang Xiaojun, 22, a student at a vocational school for ethnic minorities in the Tibetan part of SichuanSichuan’s Tibetan area. “We got out of an exam on Saturday morning, saw the news, and decided to go help,” he says.

志願者中包括王曉軍（音譯）這樣的年輕人。他現年22歲，是四川藏區一所少數民族職校的學生。“我們在上週六上午考試結束後看到新聞，就決定來參加救援，”他表示。

He and seven classmates arrived on Sunday and unloaded trucks in Longmen. Although they spent the night sleeping on the street, the group was bright-eyed yesterday, as they tried to hitch rides back home. “As volunteers, you feel so united,” Mr Wang explains.

他和7個同學在週日抵達災區，在龍門鄉幫着從卡車上卸貨。雖然他們晚上就睡在街上，但這羣人昨日看上去精神不錯。他們正試圖搭車回家。“作爲志願者，你感受到團結的氣氛，”王曉軍解釋說。

However, authorities are trying to make sure that no more volunteers such as Mr Wang and his band of classmates show up. In addition to the State Council announcement, several universities in Sichuan issued notices to their students asking them not to travel to the earthquake areas, encouraging them to donate blood instead.

不過，當局正試圖確保不再有王曉軍和他的同學這樣的志願者進入災區。除了國務院發出的公告外，四川多所大學也向學生髮出通知，要求他們不要動身前往災區，同時鼓勵他們以獻血的方式做出貢獻。

One of the reasons for the government’s harsh attitude is transportation logistics: most of the affected villages are accessible only on narrow mountain roads with precipitous drops on one side and cliffs on the other. The roads are so narrow that cars can pass by only at a crawl, tucking in their mirrors, and squeezing past each other inch by inch. Large rescue vehicles and heavy car traffic makes the roads impassable.

政府態度嚴厲的原因之一是交通物流問題：受地震影響的多數村子只能通過狹窄的山路進入，這些路一邊是陡坡，另一邊是懸崖。由於路面狹窄，相對而行的汽車只能在收起反光鏡後緩慢地交錯而過。大型救援車輛和大量車流使這些路嚴重堵塞。

On one stretch between Longmen and Taiping, traffic was so bad on Sunday morning that an injured woman was taken out of her ambulance, which was stuck in traffic, and piggybacked by her husband to seek medical attention.

在龍門鄉與太平鎮之間的一段公路上，週日上午交通堵塞嚴重，以至於一名受傷的婦女從進退不得的救護車上被擡下來，由她丈夫揹着去就醫。

The traffic seemed to be improving yesterday, with certain roads designated as “medical lifelines” to be used only by ambulances taking patients out. Rescue workers have also adapted to the narrow roads by shifting relief supplies to smaller vehicles.

昨日交通狀況似乎有所改善，某些道路被指定爲“救援專用通道”，確保救護車及時將傷員運出災區。救援人員也開始把救災物資轉移到較小的車輛上，以適應狹窄的道路。

But, even after transportation improves, Beijing will be faced with the challenge of managing the civil society groups that are so eager to help out.

但是，即便在交通好轉之後，北京方面仍將面臨一個挑戰：應付急切想要出力救災的民間社會團體。