摘要：妮可·诺拉特（Nicole Naurath）是阿布扎比的 盖洛普中心（Gallup Center）亚洲区域主任。她负责监督世界民意调查在亚洲的数据收集工作，并通过与当地合作伙伴保持密切联系、频繁访问其所负责区域的国家、培训访问员以及观察试点研究等方式，亲自管理
妮可·诺拉特（Nicole Naurath）是阿布扎比的 盖洛普中心（Gallup Center）亚洲区域主任。她负责监督世界民意调查在亚洲的数据收集工作，并通过与当地合作伙伴保持密切联系、频繁访问其所负责区域的国家、培训访问员以及观察试点研究等方式，亲自管理实地工作的各个方面。她全身心投入研究成果的收集，不断评估数据集的质量和一致性，监测趋势，并通过演示文稿和文章分享研究成果。
4月25日，尼泊尔遭遇地震，重创了这个脆弱的国家。该国人口密度高、贫困加剧、建筑老旧且质量低劣，腐败现象猖獗，这些因素加在一起，使得国家岌岌可危。看来，重建之路依然漫长。
早在四月份发生致命地震之前，尼泊尔就已面临食物、住所以及通往农村地区道路畅通的问题。而绝大多数尼泊尔人（72%）认为政府腐败猖獗，这无疑成为救灾工作的又一障碍。地震发生以来，已有报道称，尼泊尔在印度边境和该国唯一的国际机场延误了救灾物资的运送。另有报道称，政府正在对这些物资征收进口关税。此外，捐款除非直接进入尼泊尔政府的救灾基金，否则无法在该国境内分配。这让一些潜在捐助者对这些资金的最终去向心生疑虑。
长期以来，满足基本需求一直是这个欠发达国家许多人面临的挑战。过去十年来，尼泊尔人越来越多地表示难以负担食物和足够的住所，这一挑战也因此愈发严峻。地震发生前，超过四成的尼泊尔人表示，在过去12个月中，他们或家人有时无力负担食物。这一数字几乎是盖洛普2006年首次调查尼泊尔时的五倍，凸显了当地局势的严峻性，而地震只会加剧这一局势。
（超过40%的尼泊尔人难以负担食物费用 *在过去12个月中无法负担食物费用的民众占比）
尼泊尔农村居民比城市居民更有可能遭遇食物短缺问题，而加德满都谷地的农村地区是此次灾难的重灾区，面临着最大的危机。
（在过去一年中无法负担食物费用的尼泊尔人占比 *城市人口 *乡村人口）
地震夷平了加德满都谷地大片地区的建筑，夷平了整座村庄，许多本已缺乏足够住所的人们无家可归。联合国报告称，超过13万所房屋被毁。据正在尼泊尔参与救援工作的美国海军陆战队准将保罗·肯尼迪称，目前人们最需要的是住所。
随着时间的推移，充足的住房对尼泊尔人来说也变得越来越困难。全国有25%的人表示，在过去12个月里，他们有时无力为自己或家人提供足够的住所。这一比例自2006年的4%以来一直在稳步上升。
（2014年，1/4的尼泊尔人难以负担住房费用 *在过去一年中，无法负担住所的尼泊尔人占比）
在尼泊尔，运送救援物资将是一项非凡的挑战，因为这个多山的国家的道路和高速公路从来都不容易通行。在正常情况下，仅仅200公里的车程就需要五个小时甚至更长时间，而且很多地方甚至没有公路通行。在2011年对尼泊尔的一次实地考察中，我亲身体验了这种交通不便。我们选定的观察村只能步行，步行到村子需要几个小时的山路。这种情况在尼泊尔并不少见，因为尼泊尔拥有世界最高峰珠穆朗玛峰。
交通最不便的农村地区也是地震灾情最严重的地区，许多村庄自地震以来仍未恢复通行。多年来，大多数尼泊尔人对其居住地区的道路和高速公路表示满意，但农村尼泊尔人的不满情绪一直高于城市尼泊尔人。2014年，58%的尼泊尔农村人对道路和高速公路感到满意，而城市尼泊尔人则为74%。
由于尼泊尔位于断层线上，科学家们长期以来一直推测，一场毁灭性的地震将袭击该地区；上一次地震发生在1934年，科学家们知道该地区将再次遭受地震。此次地震之所以如此具有破坏性，并非因为尼泊尔位于断层线上，而是因为人为造成的环境条件：腐败、人口过剩、建筑质量低劣且老旧，以及当地民众本已饱受食物和住所匮乏以及物资运输基础设施匮乏的困扰。所有这些因素在地震前就已存在，但地震过后，其影响更加显著。这意味着尼泊尔的恢复之路将异常漫长。
The earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25 devastated a fragile country that was already vulnerable from a combination of a high population density, poverty, old and poorly constructed buildings and extensive corruption. The road to recovery appears to be a long one.
Access to food and shelter and passable roads to rural areas were already problems in Nepal before the deadly earthquake in April, but the corruption that a strong majority of Nepali (72%) say is widespread in their government is proving to be yet another barrier to relief efforts. To that point, since the quake, reports have surfaced about relief goods being delayed by Nepal at the Indian border and at the country's only international airport. It's also been reported that the government is collecting import duties on these goods. Furthermore, donated monies cannot be distributed in the country unless they go directly into a Nepali government relief fund. This has made some potential donors skeptical about the ultimate destination for these funds.
Meeting basic needs has long been a challenge for many in this underdeveloped country. This challenge has only become more difficult as Nepali have increasingly reported struggling to afford food and adequate shelter over the past decade. Before the earthquake, more than four in 10 Nepali said they had been unable to afford the food that they or their family needed at times during the past 12 months. This is nearly five times higher than it was when Gallup first surveyed Nepal in 2006, underscoring the dire nature of the situation that has only been exacerbated by the earthquake.
Rural Nepali are more likely than urban Nepali to report problems affording food, and it is the rural areas of the Kathmandu Valley that have been hardest hit by this disaster. They face the biggest crisis.
The quake leveled buildings in a large area of the Kathmandu Valley, flattening entire villages, and leaving many people who already lacked adequate shelter completely homeless. The United Nations reports that more than 130,000 homes have been destroyed, and according to U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. Paul Kennedy, who is working on relief efforts in Nepal, shelter right now is what the people immediately need most.
Adequate shelter has also become more of a challenge for Nepali over time, as 25% nationwide now report being unable to afford adequate shelter for themselves or their families at times in the last 12 months. This percentage has been increasing steadily from only 4% in 2006.
Transporting relief supplies will be an exceptional challenge in Nepal as the roads and highways have never been easy to navigate and maneuver in this mountainous country. A drive of just 200 kilometers can take five hours or more to complete under normal conditions, and many places are not even accessible by roads. On a 2011 fieldwork visit to Nepal, I experienced this inaccessibility firsthand. The selected village we were going to for observation was only accessible by foot, and the walk to the village took several hours over mountainous trails. This is not uncommon in Nepal, which is home to the tallest peak in the world, Mount Everest.
The least accessible rural areas are also the most devastated by the earthquake, with many villages yet to be reached since the quake. Over the years, majorities of Nepali have expressed satisfaction with the roads and highways in the areas where they live, but rural Nepali have consistently expressed greater dissatisfaction than urban Nepali. In 2014, 58% of rural Nepali were satisfied with roads and highways compared with 74% of urban Nepali.
Scientists have long been speculating that a devastating quake would hit this region of the world due to its location on a fault line; with the last quake happening in 1934, scientists knew the area was due for another one. What makes this quake so devastating is not Nepal's location on the fault line, but rather the man-made conditions of corruption, overcrowding, poorly constructed and old buildings, and a population already challenged by a lack of food and shelter and the lack of infrastructure to deliver needed supplies. All of this was in place before the quake, but the effects are being felt even more so now afterwards. What this means for Nepal is a very long road to recovery.
来源：非常道
