美國矽谷黑暗的一面 (1)

Justin Lai 譯述文集

HOTEL 22『22號旅館』

The Dark Side Of Silicon Valley美國矽谷黑暗的一面 (1)

【譯者按】：

·        美國矽谷位在加州-是聖塔克拉山谷( Santa Clara Valley)的綽號，又以舊金山南灣地區聞名，是美國許多高科技及創投公司 (startup)的所在地，如Google, Yahoo, Apple, IBM, HP, Facebook等，其所包含地區另有如San Jose (聖荷西) 、Sunnyvalle (大陽谷) 等地。

·        矽谷每年所創造與累積的財富為世界之冠，全美有三分之一的創投資金 (Venture Capital) 投資在此地。這地區是美國極富與極貧之所在地。

·        本文為英國記者深入採討，鮮為人知的貧窮的一面。

Jimmy hands $2 worth of dimes to the conductor and finds a seat at the back of the bus.
吉美遞交2元的一角硬幣給車掌(司機) ，然後在公車內後邊找一個位置坐下。

He settles himself in for what is going to be a long night - taking off his scuffed leather shoes and resting his head against a window opaque with condensation.
他坐好準備度過一個長夜- 脫下拖著走路的皮鞋，頭部縮合地靠著不透明的車窗。

Jimmy, 47, has had the same routine for the last three years since losing his job as a chef at Microsoft.

吉米今年47歲，自從失去微軟公司的主廚以來，三年來一直例行這麼做(深夜搭公車)。

He gets on the bus at midnight and rides the same 35-mile journey between San Jose and Palo Alto, California, until sunrise. He can spend up to $8 (£5) a night just trying to keep warm and off the streets - money he can ill afford.

他在午夜上車，乘坐35哩長的路程-從加州聖荷西到柏洛阿圖 (美國富人區，有全加州最好的公立高中)直到天亮。他有能力花到8塊錢 (五英鎊) 一晚，在車上取暖並避免露宿街頭及保暖。

The 22 bus is the only route that runs 24 hours in Silicon Valley and it has become something of an unofficial shelter for the homeless.

22路線公車是在矽谷地區內24小時行駛的唯一的一條。而它多少成為無家可歸者非正式的避難所。

They call it Hotel 22.

他們取名它為22號旅館。

This small pocket of The Golden State has become the most extreme example in the US of the growing schism between the haves and have nots.

這個金山州(加州) 的小口袋已成為美國最極端的例子，它劃分有錢人與窮人。

Santa Clara - the county which encompasses Silicon Valley - has the highest percentage of homeless in America, according to the latest Department of Housing report.

依最近住都部統計，涵蓋矽谷的聖克拉拉縣，具全美國最高百分比的無家可歸的人數。

Yet it also has the nation’s highest average household income and some of the most expensive homes in the country - all down to the high-tech economy on its doorstep.

但它也有最高的平均家庭收入，與全國一些最昂貴的住屋-這些全因附近擁有高科技的經濟。

Silicon Valley is enjoying the most sustained period of wealth creation in history, but the area is crippled by income disparity. Where once a robust middle-class thrived, there exist only the super-rich and the extreme poor.

矽谷正享有歷史上歷久不衰的財富創造，但此區也因收入的懸殊而癱瘓。從前是強而有力中等階級興盛之地，而今存在的僅是超富與赤貧。

The 22 bus drives past Jimmy’s old employer Microsoft, as well as the headquarters of Google, Facebook and Apple.

22公車行經吉美從前任職的微軟、與谷歌、臉書及蘋果的總部。

On our journey, we pass a “Google bus” going in the opposite direction towards San Francisco. Employees are ferried to and from work in their own private blacked-out coaches dubbed “Gbuses”, which have themselves come to be a symbol of the inequality.

在行程中，我們超車經過一台『谷歌』公車-它駛向反方向，前往舊金山。員工們上下班搭乘的是私家黑頭車，又稱『大型車』，這些車已成為不平等的象徵。

“It’s a tale of two cities,” Jimmy says. “At least that’s the poetic way people describe what’s going on here.

『這是一部雙城記』，吉普說。『至少這是用詩情方式來描述此地發生的事』。

“What these techies don’t realize though is that we’re no different to them - they’re just one misstep, one paycheck away from being us.”

『可是這些科技界人士不瞭解的是，我們和他們沒有不同-他們不過是走錯一步，拿到一分我們拿不到的薪水，使得我們與他們不同。

Jimmy, who moved from Chicago to California in the early 1990s for work, is wearing a slightly mottled suit and tie, as he does most days, in the hope it will help him find a job. He sends off a dozen applications a day from the local library, but he rarely even hears back.

吉美於1990年代初期由芝加哥搬來加州，他老穿著一套有輕微斑點的西裝、打領帶，如同他經常那樣，希望這樣打扮有助他找到一份工作。他從當地圖書館發出12封應徵信，但幾乎沒有回音。

He keeps a length of rope wrapped round his ankle, hidden under his trouser leg, “just in case one day I decide I’ve had enough.”

他把一條長繩子綁在足踝上，然後隱藏在褲管的腿下，『以防有一天我決定我受夠了』(用以自我解脫?)

According to the most recent census data, as many as 20,000 people will experience homelessness in the county this year.

依最近人口普查資料，本年度本縣有高達2萬人會體驗到無家可歸的味道。

Those who are not sleeping on the streets here are sleeping in what is known as The Jungle - the largest homeless encampment in the US. Hundreds of makeshift tents and tree houses go on for miles in a lawless sprawl.

凡是未露宿街頭者就睡在所謂的『叢林』- 美國最大的無家可歸者的野營地。有成千成百的臨時帳篷與樹屋綿延數哩又毫無規則地散漫著。

Ray Bramson, the City of San Jose’s homelessness response manager, says: “There’s 5,000 sleeping rough on any given night - we just can’t deal with that.”

聖荷西市對付無家可歸者處理處經理的Ray Branson說，『任何夜晚都有5仟人隨處睡覺，我們毫無對策。』

Over the last few years rent in the area has skyrocketed, in some cases up to 300% of the national average.

最近若干年來此地的房租飛漲，有些案例達到全國標準的三倍。

 “When you think homeless, you think of someone on the streets with no money, no job,” he says. “That’s changed. Being employed no longer guarantees you can afford to rent here. People simply lack the sustainable wages they need to survive.”

『當你們以為無家可歸，你們想到的是流浪街道與失業，』他說。『可是現在情形不同了。有工作並不保證付得起房租。他們就是缺乏需要存活，可持續的工資』。

The state’s minimum wage was recently increased from $8 to $10 an hour. “It’s a step in the right direction,” Mr. Bramson says, “but unfortunately the self-sufficiency standard is around $15.”

州政府規定最近每小時工資是8至10元 (按有些州是$10-15元)。勃朗生先生說，『這是走對的正確一步，但可惜自給自足的標準是大約15元』。

Our bus jolts to a stop as the driver spots someone waiting in the dark at the side of the road. It is now 2 am. He lays down the ramp for the woman, who has a large cart full of her worldly belongings.

當司機看到有人在黑漆漆的路邊等車時，我們的公車顛簸地停下。現在是凌晨2點。他放下汽車扶手，給婦女上車，她有滿滿一個大推車的家當。

(未完)

12/07/2014