古巴与斯里兰卡遭遇物资短缺

Tens of thousands of Cubans are leaving their nation.

数以万计的古巴人正在离开他们的国家。

It's currently dealing with runaway inflation, prices around 70 percent higher at the end of last year than they were the year before.

目前该国正在应对失控的通货膨胀，去年年底的价格比前年高出约70%。

And the communist country is seeing its worst shortages of food and medicine in decades.

这个共产主义国家正经历着几十年来最严重的食品和药品短缺。

The COVID pandemic hurt Cuba's tourism industry.

新冠疫情损害了古巴的旅游业。

The country's getting less oil from its ally Venezuela, which is having trouble producing enough oil for itself.

该国从其盟友委内瑞拉获得的石油正在减少，委内瑞拉难以为自己生产足够的石油。

And for years, the U.S. has imposed sanctions, economic penalties on Cuba to pressure its government to make changes.

多年来，美国一直对古巴实施制裁和经济惩罚，以迫使其政府做出改变。

As Cubans protested last year over shortages, power outages and a lack of freedoms, their government blamed the United States for trying to overturn Cuba's communist rule.

当古巴人去年抗议物资短缺、停电以及缺乏自由时，古巴政府指责美国试图推翻古巴的共产主义统治。

But critics of Cuba's leaders say they try to take advantage of their country's economic problems and exodus of migrants to pressure the U.S. government.

但批评古巴领导人的人士表示，他们试图利用古巴的经济问题和大批移民离开向美国政府施压。

American officials say the number of Cubans trying to enter the U.S. is increasing exponentially.

美国官员表示，试图进入美国的古巴人数量呈指数级增长。

Meanwhile the island nation of Sri Lanka is also dealing with shortages of fuel and food.

与此同时，岛国斯里兰卡也在应对燃料和食物短缺的问题。

The inflation rate in this presidential republic is more than 33 percent higher than it was last year at this time.

这个总统制共和国的通货膨胀率比去年同期高出33%以上。

If you drive through Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, you'll spot hundreds of people standing in multiple queues hoping to take home fuel and gas from collection points.

如果你开车经过斯里兰卡首都科伦坡，你会看到数百人排着长队，希望从收集点把燃料和汽油带回家。

For months, there's been an acute shortage of essential commodities.

几个月来，基本商品一直严重短缺。

In a new low for the country, Sri Lanka defaulted on its debts Thursday.

斯里兰卡周四出现债务违约，创下该国历史新低。

We speak to people in Colombo about the impact the country's worst economic crisis has had on their lives.

我们采访了科伦坡的人们，谈到该国最严重的经济危机对他们生活的影响。

Thirty-six-year-old Thuban, an auto rickshaw driver, has spent two nights at this gas station in central Colombo.

36岁的苏班是一名自动三轮车司机，他已经在科伦坡市中心的这个加油站呆了两个晚上。

It's been an endless way to refuel his three-wheeler. Petrol pumps are all but dry across the city.

给他的三轮车加油需要无休止的等待。全市的加油站几乎都是干涸的。

About five kilometers or three miles away from Thuban's home, Sagarika Samanthi can barely sit in this 30-inch-wide balcony where she cooks the day's meals.

萨加里卡·萨曼蒂离苏班的家大约五公里(三英里)远，她几乎不能坐在这个30英寸宽的阳台上，她每天都在这里做饭。

She uses coconut husk paper and kerosene to get the firewood stove started.

她用椰子壳纸和煤油把这个柴火炉烧起来。

Since the 30th of April, there's been no cooking gas. We're now using a firewood stove.

从4月30日开始，就再也没有煤气供应了。我们现在用的是柴火炉。

Earlier, Sagarika would cook three meals a day on a gas stove. It's now down to one.

早些时候，萨加里卡每天用煤气炉做三餐饭。现在减少到一顿了。

Weeks of protests forced all the Rajapaksas except the president to step down from senior government posts.

持续数周的抗议活动迫使除总统以外的所有拉贾帕克萨家族的人辞去政府高级职位。

On Monday, Sri Lanka's new prime minister Wickremesinghe warned that things will only get worse before getting any better.

周一，斯里兰卡新总理维克勒马辛哈警告称，在情况好转之前，情况只会变得更糟。

Four days later, and for the first time in its history, the country defaulted on its debt.

四天后，该国历史上第一次出现债务违约。