Sri Lanka's prime minister recently said his nation's debt-stricken economy has "collapsed." The South Asian island country is running out of money to pay for food and fuel. It is seeking help from neighboring India and China and from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
斯里兰卡总理最近表示，该国负债累累的经济已经崩溃。这个南亚岛国已经没钱购买食品和燃料。它正向邻国印度和中国以及国际货币基金组织寻求帮助。
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took office in May. He described the difficult task he faces in turning around an economy that he said is heading for "rock bottom."
拉尼尔·维克勒马辛哈总理于5月份上任。他称自己面临的艰巨任务是扭转他所说的正走向谷底的经济。
People suffering
受苦群众
The United Nations World Food Program says nearly nine of 10 families in Sri Lanka are going without some meals or otherwise decreasing how much they eat. Three million of the country's 23 million people are receiving emergency humanitarian aid.
联合国世界粮食计划署表示，斯里兰卡近90%的家庭三餐不继，或是减少了饮食量。该国2300万人口中，有300万人正在接受紧急人道主义援助。
Doctors are using social media to try and get important supplies of equipment and medicine. Growing numbers of Sri Lankans are seeking passports to go overseas in search of work.
医生正利用社交媒体尝试获取重要的设备和药品供应。越来越多斯里兰卡人开始寻求出国打工。
Failing economy
经济不景气
Economists say the crisis comes from in-country causes such as years of poor leadership and corruption. They also say it comes from other troubles, such as growing debt, the effects of the pandemic and terror attacks that hurt the tourism industry.
经济学家表示，这场危机源于国内原因，例如多年的领导不力和腐败。他们也称这还有其它原因，例如不断增长的债务，大流行的影响以及伤害了旅游业的恐怖主义。
Much of the public's anger has been directed at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned after weeks of anti-government protests that turned violent.
公众的大部分怒火都指向戈塔巴亚·拉贾帕克萨总统和他的兄弟、前总理马欣达·拉贾帕克萨。总理马欣达·拉贾帕克萨在数周的反政府抗议演变成暴力事件后辞职。
The government needed to increase its income as foreign debt for large projects increased. But instead, Rajapaksa pushed through the largest tax cuts in Sri Lankan history, which recently were undone. Creditors decreased Sri Lanka's ratings, which blocked the country from borrowing more money as its foreign reserves fell sharply.
随着大型项目的外债增加，政府需要提高收入。但相反，拉贾帕克萨推动了斯里兰卡历史上最大规模的减税措施，最近这些措施被取消了。债权人降低了斯里兰卡的评级，这让该国在外汇储备急剧下降之际无法借入更多资金。
In April 2021, Rajapaksa suddenly banned imports of chemical fertilizers. That move decreased the amount of rice produced and drove prices higher.
2021年4月，拉贾帕克萨突然禁止进口化肥。这一举措减少了大米的产量并推高了价格。
This year, the war in Ukraine has pushed prices of food and oil higher. Inflation was close to 40 percent and food prices were up nearly 60 percent in May.
今年，乌克兰战争推高了食品和石油价格。5 月份的通货膨胀率接近 40%，食品价格上涨了近 60%。
Lack of financial ability
财力不济
The Finance Ministry says Sri Lanka has only $25 million in usable foreign reserves. That has left it without the ability to pay for imports or repay billions in debt.
财政部表示，斯里兰卡的可用外汇储备只有2500万美元。这使它没有能力支付进口或偿还数十亿美元的债务。
The local money, the Sri Lankan rupee, has weakened in value by nearly 80 percent. That makes costs of imports even higher.
当地货币斯里兰卡卢比贬值了近80%。这使得进口成本更高。
Current efforts
现有措施
So far, Sri Lanka has gotten through mainly by $4 billion in credit lines from neighboring India. But Wickremesinghe warned against expecting India to keep supporting Sri Lanka.
到目前为止，斯里兰卡主要从邻国印度获得了40亿美元的信贷额度。但是维克勒马辛哈警告不要指望印度继续支持斯里兰卡。
The government is in negotiations with the IMF on a bailout plan. Wickremesinghe said Wednesday he expects to have some agreement with the IMF by late July.
政府正在跟国际货币基金组织就救助计划进行谈判。维克勒马辛哈周三表示，他预计将在7月底前与国际货币基金组织达成一些协议。
The government also is seeking more help from China. Other governments like the U.S., Japan, and Australia have provided a few hundred million dollars in extra support.
政府也在寻求中国提供更多帮助。美国、日本和澳大利亚等政府也提供了数亿美元的额外支持。
Earlier this month, the United Nations began asking countries around the world to help. So far, the estimated financial help is not close to the $6 billion the country needs to keep running over the next six months.
本月早些时候，联合国开始要求世界各国提供帮助。到目前为止，估算的财政援助还未能接近该国未来6个月维持运转所需的60亿美元。
I'm Gregory Stachel.
我是格雷戈里·斯塔切尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)