心脏病药物和其它各种药物已经从黎巴嫩各地的药店中消失。药品短缺是该国一系列问题中最新的一种，这个国家曾经是医疗服务、银行和房地产的中心。
Rita Harb works as a nurse at a hospital in Beirut, the capital. She cannot find heart drugs for her 85-year-old grandfather.
丽塔·哈伯在首都贝鲁特的一家医院做护士。她无法给自己85岁的祖父找到心脏病药物。
She has searched Lebanese drug stores and called friends overseas. Not even doctors she knew could get the drugs from pharmacies or other providers.
她找遍了黎巴嫩的药店，并打电话给海外朋友求助。甚至她认识的医生都没法从药店或其它渠道获取这种药物。
Harb’s story is becoming increasingly common in Lebanon.
哈伯的经历在黎巴嫩变得越来越普遍。
Officials and pharmacists say the drug shortage was made worse by panic buying and hoarding after an announcement by the country’s Central Bank governor. He said that with the supply of foreign money running low, the government would not be able to keep up subsidies, including subsidies on drugs.
有关官员和药剂师表示，在该国央行行长宣布一个消息之后，由于恐慌性购买和囤积，使得药品短缺情况变得更加严重。该行长表示，由于外国资金供应不足，政府将无法维持包括药品在内的各种补贴。
That announcement “caused a storm, an earthquake,” said Ghassan al-Amin, head of the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon.
黎巴嫩药剂师协会负责人加桑·阿明表示：“这一消息引发了一场巨大风暴、一场地震。”
Many Lebanese now search the country and beyond for necessary drugs. Older adults ask religious organizations and aid groups for help.
现在许多黎巴嫩人开始在国内外寻找必要的药物。老年人向宗教组织和援助机构寻求帮助。
In the country’s economic crisis, more than half the population has been pushed into poverty. Lebanon’s money has lost nearly 80 percent of its value. People’s savings also have dropped in value.
在该国的经济危机中，超过一半人口陷入了贫困。黎巴嫩的货币贬值了80%。人们的存款也贬值了。
Lebanon imports nearly everything, including 85 percent of its drugs.
黎巴嫩几乎所有物品依赖进口，其中包括85%的药品。
Lifting subsidies is a likely step for the government. This is expected to increase prices and inflation. Fixed at 1,500 to the U.S. dollar for many years, the Lebanese pound is now worth around 7,000 for $1 on the black market.
政府可能会取消补贴。预计这会提高物价和通胀。黎巴嫩货币兑换美元的汇率多年来一直维持在1500:1，现在黑市的汇率为7000兑1美元。
The difference between the official and black-market dollar rate has fueled smuggling. In other words, subsidized Lebanese drugs were secretly taken to neighboring countries.
官方和黑市的汇率差加剧了走私活动。换句话说，有补贴的黎巴嫩药品被走私到邻国。
In the chaos, six out of every 10 brand drugs have become unavailable, notes Malak Khiami, the pharmacist at Amel Association, an aid group.
援助机构阿梅尔协会的药剂师麦莱凯·希亚米指出，在这种混乱中，60%的药品已经变得不可得。
For years, around 20 importers have controlled Lebanon’s drug market. Lebanese law awards rights to some drug importers, giving them power to resist reforms and keep out competitors.
多年来，大约有20个进口商控制着黎巴嫩的药品市场。黎巴嫩法律授权了某些进口商，让他们有能力抵制改革并排斥竞争者。
The import rights are part of Lebanon’s economic order, which after the civil war’s end became controlled by militia chiefs, wealthy traders and real estate owners.
这种进口权是黎巴嫩经济秩序的一部分，内战结束后，黎巴嫩的经济秩序就由民兵首领、富商以及房产老板掌控。
As that economic order falls apart, the market for foreign drugs will likely become smaller, says Viviane Akiki, an economic reporter. “The dollar shortage will impose new solutions.”
经济记者维维安·阿吉吉表示，随着经济秩序的崩溃，外国药品的市场可能会变小。“美元短缺将会带来新的出路。”
In the Zoukaq al-Blat neighborhood of Beirut, Mahmoud Mahmoud’s pharmacy was quiet. Except for painkillers and other products, the store’s shelves were empty.
在贝鲁特的Zoukaq al-Blat街区，马哈茂德·马哈茂德的药店非常安静。除了止痛药等产品，药店的货架上空空荡荡。
Mahmoud believes suppliers are holding back drugs because they are waiting for higher prices — or smuggling them out of the country. One gout drug, he said, was found in Iraq, selling for $7, more than five times its price in Lebanon.
马哈茂德认为，供应商在囤积药品等着涨价，或是将其走私到国外。他说，人们发现一种痛风药在伊拉克卖7美元，是黎巴嫩售价的5倍以上。
“They are destroying the profession,” said Mahmoud. “With the way the country is going, the profession is collapsing.”
马哈茂德表示：“他们正在摧毁这个行业。随着国家的发展，这个行业正在崩溃。”
I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·罗素。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)