Syria’s warring sides trade wheat for flour 敘利亞交戰雙方以小麥換麵粉

Syria’s warring sides trade wheat for flour
敘利亞交戰雙方以小麥換麵粉
2013-08-03◎陳成良


Away from the battlefield, some Syrian rebels are doing business with the same government they are trying to topple.
在戰場之外，一些敘利亞反抗軍和他們試圖推翻的政府做起了生意。


Both sides want to keep providing basics like bread, fuel and water in the areas they control. When shifting front lines split up supply chains, they started to trade.
雙方都希望在自己控制的區域內維持麵包、燃料和水等基本必需品的供應。當前線的變化切斷了供應鏈時，他們開始進行交易。


In the northwestern Idlib province, rebels control most of the wheat fields but have no way to grind the grain into flour. The government has the flour mill, but can’t get enough wheat to supply it.
在西北部的伊德利卜省，反抗軍控制著大多數麥田，但是無法將小麥磨成麵粉。敘利亞政府控制著麵粉廠，卻得不到足夠的小麥供應。


The two worked out a deal. Every week, the rebels deliver tens of thousands of tons of wheat to the mill in Idlib city. The government grinds it down, takes a cut, and sends it back.
雙方達成一項協議。反抗軍每週向伊德利卜市的麵粉廠運送數萬噸小麥，政府將小麥磨成麵粉，留下自己的部分，將剩下的部分還給反抗軍。


"Wheat is not something to do with the government, it’s something to do with the people," said Abu Hassan, an opposition figure who works in a bakery in Salqin, a town in Idlib province.
「小麥和政府無關，與人民有關。」在伊德利卜省塞爾金鎮一家麵包店工作的反對派人員哈山表示。（路透）



新聞辭典
warring：形容詞，交戰的；相爭的；敵對的。例句：There are signs of （a）rapprochement between the warring factions.（交戰派系之間出現了和解跡象。）
split：動詞，劃分，分開。例句：He split up with me.（他跟我分手了。）
figure：名詞，人物，名人。例句：Williams became a figure in politics.（威廉斯成了政界要角。）