Hong Kong food banks see rise in business 香港食物銀行

美國近年來不景氣
食物銀行的業務大增
了解:
http://www.answers.com/topic/food-bank-2
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香港為何出現食物銀行？
Hong Kong food banks see rise in business
作者：英國《金融時報》 徐曉瑜香港報導


Late afternoon is the busiest time at the food bank in the Shek Kip Mei public housing estate. That is when mothers, having collected their children from school, drop by on the way home to pick up ingredients for dinner – rice, tinned fish in black bean sauce, fresh pork if there is any, spam if there isn't.


在香港石硤尾公屋地區的這家食物銀行(food bank)，傍晚時分最為繁忙。這個時候，從學校接孩子的媽媽們順路來到這裡，領取晚餐所需的食物——米飯、豆豉魚罐頭以及新鮮豬肉（如果有的話）或火腿（如果沒有豬肉的話）。

Mrs Chow, a widow with a son and daughter aged nine and 11, is among an increasing number of low-income earners who have started using the service in one of Hong Kong's poorest neighbourhoods because rising inflation has stretched her already meagre income to the limit .


喪偶的周太太有一雙兒女，分別為9歲和11歲。居住在這個香港最貧困社區之一的她，是越來越多開始利用食物銀行服務的低收入者之一，因為通脹的不斷抬頭，讓她本自微薄的收入捉襟見肘。

“We eat less now because everything from fish to rice has gone up in price. We never eat out. In fact, we hardly ever do anything apart from going to work and school. As our one special treat this summer, I took them to the botanical and zoological garden, which is free,” the part-time domestic helper says sheepishly.


她有些窘迫地說道：“我們現在吃的少了，因為從魚到大米，所有東西都在漲價。我們從不在外面吃飯。實際上，除了上班和上學，我們幾乎什麼都不做。而今年夏季難得的一次活動，是帶孩子們去了一趟免費的香港動植物公園。”周太太兼職做一些家政工作。

Food banks like the one in Shek Kip Mei, which is run by the local St James' Settlement charity, are reporting growing demand – it has seen a 25 per cent increase in the number of people to around 1,500 a month collecting food handouts since the start of the year. There are now around 16 non-government organisations running food banks. Yet, the economy is booming. Gross domestic product is growing annually at more than 6 per cent and unemployment is at 3.2 per cent, the lowest level since 1998 . Hong Kong saw the world's fastest growth in the number of US dollar millionaires last year.


石硤尾食物銀行由當地慈善機構聖雅各福群會(St James' Settlement)經營，從此類銀行的反饋看，人們對它們的需求正日益升溫。今年年初以來，從食物銀行領取食品救濟的人數增加了25%，達到約1500人。目前香港有大約16家非政府機構運營的食物銀行。而另一方面，香港經濟正蓬勃發展。當地生產總值(GDP)每年增長逾6%，失業率為3.2%，為1998年以來的最低水平。去年，香港百萬美元富翁數量的增長速度位居全球首位。

But the bulk of that wealth is in the hands of a few. Hong Kong has the highest income inequality among developed economies, based on a 2009 report by the United Nations Development Programme. One in five – or around 1.5m people – live below the poverty line as defined by households earning less than half the median income and that ratio is not expected to come down.


然而，大部分財富落入了少數人手中。根據聯合國開發計劃署(UNDP) 2009年的一份報告，香港的收入不平等程度在發達經濟體中最高。按照貧困線的定義，家庭收入不及收入中值一半的家庭為貧困家庭。而香港有五分之一的人口（約150萬人）生活在貧困線以下，預計這一比例不會下降。

“The gulf between the rich and the poor is likely to get worse as the cost of doing business in Hong Kong has forced many businesses to move out. As a result, many back-office jobs, for example, have been relocated to mainland China . What's left is mainly a range of high-end services such as finance and luxury retail – where mainland China has no advantage over Hong Kong, yet.


東亞銀行(Bank of East Asia)經濟學家鄧世安(Paul Tang)表示：“貧富差距可能​​會擴大，因為香港的經商成本已迫使很多企業遷出。例如，很多後台職位因此轉移到了中國內地。留給香港的主要是一系列高端服務，比如金融和奢侈品零售，在這些行業，內地尚不具備相對於香港的優勢。”

“Unemployment may be low, but many people who are not suited for those service industries have been forced to take up poorly paid, menial jobs,” says Paul Tang, Hong Kong economist at the Bank of East Asia.


他表示：“失業率或許比較低，但很多不適合這些服務行業的人，被迫從事薪資微薄、且不太體面的工作。”

The Hong Kong government, which overcame years of fierce opposition from the business lobby to introduce a minimum wage of HK$28 ($3.60) an hour this year, is planning to provide transport subsidie​​s to poor households and has set up its own food banks in recent months. It is also in the process of distributing HK$6,000 to every resident, including the wealthiest, to help offset the effects of inflation.


香港政府今年頂住了商業遊說機構多年來的強烈反對，推出了28港元(合3.60美元)最低時薪計劃。港府計劃向貧困家庭提供交通補貼，最近幾個月還建起了自己的食物銀行。此外，香港還正在向包括最富裕人士在內的所有香港居民每人發放6000港元，以幫助抵消通脹的影響。

However, people like Mrs Chow say the government –​​ which is sitting on a budget surplus estimated at more than HK$3.9bn – has not done enough for those literally at the end of the food chain.


然而，在像周太太這樣的人看來，政府沒有為那些真正生活在最底層的人採取足夠的措施。據估計，香港目前坐擁逾39億港元的預算盈餘。

What worries the authorities is the potential for unrest. Hong Kong has seen an increase in the number of protests against the wealth gap involving a younger and politically active generation.


讓香港政府擔憂的，是當地有可能出現騷亂。在香港，針對貧富差距的抗議活動有所增多，涉及到更為年輕、在政治上更為積極的一代人。

“They were born into an already wealthy city, and they feel strongly about the fact that many people live in dire conditions when there is so much money about the place,” says Mirana Szeto, an academic and activist. “These kids are articulate, educated and they have harnessed the power of the internet. They are well informed, and very angry.”


“他們出生在一個已然富庶的城市，他們強烈地感受到，很多人的生活條件十分糟糕，而這個城市卻那麼有錢。”學者、維權主義者司徒薇(Mirana Szeto)表示，“這些孩子有著很強的表達能力、受過教育，他們利用了互聯網的力量。他們信息靈通，對現狀感到非常憤慨。”

Hong Kong's reliance on food and commodities imports, its currency peg to the weak US dollar and the high level of rents in the city helped push inflation up to 7.9 per cent in July, the highest level since 1995. While the figure softened in August to 5.7 per cent, food prices are expected to stay high.


香港對於食品和大宗商品進口的依賴、港元匯率盯住疲弱的美元，以及高昂的房租，使得7月通脹率升至7.9%，為1995年以來的最高水平。儘管8月份通脹率降至5.7%，但預計食品價格仍將居高不下。

“Everything has become more expensive,” says Mrs Chan, another food bank user, aged 75. “My husband and I are both retired and our children are not in a position to help us,”


“什麼東西都在漲價，”另一位食物銀行的消費者、現年75歲的陳太太表示，“我和丈夫都已退休，孩子們也沒有條件幫助我們。”

Like many impoverished retirees in Hong Kong, she has not taken up her share of social security, which can bring in a few thousand Hong Kong dollars a month. For her to do that, she would have to ask her sons to sign an official declaration saying they are not supporting their parents. In a society where filial duty is seen as sacred, it is considered shameful to have to admit that you receive no help from your offspring.


與香港很多貧困的退休人員一樣，她沒有申請公共福利金，這本能給她帶來每月數千港元的收入。如果她要這麼做，必須讓自己的兒子們簽署一份官方聲明，表明他們無法贍養父母。在一個“百善孝為先”的社會裡，要被迫承認自己無法獲得子女的贍養，是一件丟臉的事情。

Younger people, too, avoid collecting government handouts. Mrs Chow says that while she has been forced to accept short-term help feeding her children she would never apply for social security.


年輕人也不願接受政府的施捨。周太太說，儘管自己為了養活孩子，被迫接受了短期救助，但她永遠不會申請公共福利金。

“There are others more needy than myself. I want to set a good example for my children. I want to be able to say: your mother is working very hard. So should you,” she says proudly.


她自尊地說：“還有其他人比我更窮。我希望給孩子們樹立一個好榜樣。我希望能告訴他們：你們的媽媽工作非常努力。所以你們也應該這樣。”



譯者/梁艷裳