美國矽谷黑暗的一面 (2)

22號旅館：

HOTEL 22: The Dark Side Of Silicon Valley美國矽谷黑暗的一面 (2)

She is not the only woman, Sandra Pena spends one night a week on Hotel 22.

她並非唯一的婦女，珊卓拉彼娜每周要搭一次22路公車。

A well-spoken, well-educated and strikingly beautiful woman of 52, she is not the average night passenger.

她並非一般的夜間乘客，她是52歲風姿綽約，美麗、談吐高雅與受過好教育的婦女。

She spent nine years working as a technician for Arantech - which was at one time one of the bigger tech firms in Silicon Valley, until she was made redundant in 1989.

她曾在一家名叫Arantech的高科技公司工作九年，此公司一度是矽谷較大的公司之一，直到1989她被裁員。

Shortly after, she decided to start up her own construction business, which enjoyed some success.

不久，她決定創立她自己建築工程事業，此事業也成功過。

But at the height of the recession in 2009 she lost it all and had her home repossessed.

但在2009年經濟蕭條的高峰期，她損失一切與她的家。

She started living out of her truck, doing odd job for neighbours, until she could no longer afford that either.

她開始過著失去常軌的生活，為鄰居作零工，直到她也做不去為止。

“I was hit by everything at once, and sometimes you just can’t pick yourself up from that, “ says Sandra, who is wearing pristine blue jeans and a button-down blouse. “Never, ever, would I have imagined myself in this situation.”

穿著純樸的牛仔褲與保守上衣的珊卓拉說，『我立即遭受一切打擊，而且有時承受不了』。『我從未想到會落魄到如此地步』。

When there are no free beds at the local shelter, Sandra sleeps on the bus.

在當地的庇護所找不到免費的床位時，她就睡在公車上。

“I get the day pass for $6 - which if you buy at the right time can last you all through the night to the next morning,” she says. “I like it for the quiet …. and the alone time.

她說，『我度過一晚要花6塊錢-如果恰當時間買到票，就可以度過一晚直到次晨』，『我喜歡這段安靜與獨處的時間』。

“The only downside is that you get woken up at the end of the line and are made to wait 15 minutes to get on the next one,” she says.

『唯一不便的是，得在公車路線終止時醒來，等15分鐘再搭另一路的公車』，她說。

As a native of Santa Clara she has seen the area change beyond recognition.

由於出生在聖他克拉拉市，她已看到整個矽谷地區改變得認不出來。

It was once known for its orchids, earning it the nickname the Valley of Heart’s Delight. Until the 1960s, it was the largest fruit production region in the world and Del Monte was the biggest employer in town.

此區曾一度以種蘭花出名，嬴得『賞心悅目的山谷』的美譽。直到1960年代成為世界最大的水果產地，而Del Monte是城內最大的僱主。

Then the tech companies started moving in, growing outward from Stanford University, which had begun nurturing start-ups with grants and academic support.

然後高科技公司開始搬進來，從史丹福大學外圍開始發展，當時史大己開始用補助金及學術支援來培養創投公司。

“Growing up here it was all ranches and orchids, I was a cowgirl. You had everything you could want, and great weather all year round. I don’t blame them all for coming here, but they offer the people who live here nothing,” says Sandra, who is currently completing a building course at an employment centre, which she hopes will lead to a job.

『當時我是位女牛仔，成長在這一片滿是農莊與果園的地區。在此地應有盡有，整年好天氣。我不怪遷入本地的高科技行業，但他們未帶給當地人什麼好處』，珊卓拉說。她最近在職業輔導所修完建築課程，並希望這項課程能使他找到工作。

Chris Richardson, director of programme operations at the homeless organisation Downtown Streets, which has been helping Sandra, said: “Hotel 22 is an open secret in the homeless trade - for a couple of bucks people can get a relatively undisturbed night’s sleep.”

擔任市區無家可歸人士組織計劃運作處主任的Chris Richardson說，(該組織也幫助過珊卓拉) 『22路公車旅館的存在對無家可歸者是一項公開的祕密，因為花幾塊錢他們就能享受到相當安靜的睡眠』。

He says the problem has become so out of control there are twice as many homeless as there are available beds.

他說此地無家可歸的難題已經如此地失去控制，以致於目前可供應的床舖僅達需要者的一半 (供不應求) 。

“You see camps of people sleeping rough just two miles from Sergey Brin’s (Google co-founder) house,” he says. “And the irony is, not even his engineers get paid enough to live here.

『你可以看到許多帳篷從Sergy Brin (Google副創辦人) 的家綿延兩浬之長』，他說，『諷刺的是，甚至他的工程師們的待遇也不夠住在那裡』。

“We are trying to get tech billionaires involved in what we’re doing. They donate millions to good causes, but almost nothing to the local community they are helping destroy.

『我們正試圖要億萬富翁們參與我們正從事的救助計劃。他們捐出數百萬元作善事，但卻對他們正在幫助毀滅的當地社區無所助益』。

“It’s not necessarily their fault, but they are stakeholders in the homelessness problem and have the power and brains to change it.”

『這未必是他們之過，但是在無家可歸的難題中，他們是風險共同承擔者，也具有力量與智慧來改變它』。

Eileen Richardson, Downtown Street’s founder, is a venture capitalist and former tech CEO herself, previously heading up the online music site Napster. She volunteered with the homeless on a sabbatical leave 10 years ago and was so shocked by what she saw she started up her own organisation to help.

市區街頭創辦人-愛玲，理查遜小姐，她是位創投者 (V.C.) ，也是前某科技業的執行長，前曾經領導網路音樂網站-Nepster。10年前在休假期間，她志願為無家可歸者服務，然後很吃驚地看到她自己創立的公司能幫得上忙。

At their weekly meeting, the team leader makes an announcement to the some-100 guests gathered - Google is hiring. The company is holding a jobs fair in a few weeks’ time and they are looking for chefs, cooks and cleaners.

在他們每周的例行會議中，團隊領袖對約100名出席的賓客宣佈- Google正招募員工。在幾個禮拜後，Google舉辦徵募會，他們要請主廚、廚師與清潔工。

Some groan, but most are keenly listening and a group stay behind after to sign up. In desperate times you cannot be too proud to “make a deal with the devil”, one guest says.

在場的人有人呻吟者，但大多數人聚精會神地聽者，有一群人留下來報名應徵。畢竟人在窮困潦倒時，總不能太驕傲而不『跟魔鬼打交道吧』，一位客人說。

全文完

12/09/2014