倫敦格倫費爾大樓火災後政府應對不力

Five days after a deadly blaze devastated a 24-storey West London tower block, local authorities have been sidelined after their relief effort was widely lambasted for failing to provide proper support to those affected by the fire.

在一場致命火災毀掉倫敦西部一棟24層的公寓樓5天之後，地方當局已遭邊緣化，因爲他們的救援努力被廣泛批評沒能爲火災受害者提供適當的支持。

A person involved in the emergency response told the Financial Times that Kensington and Chelsea Council would no longer be in charge of operations to help survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire. Gold Command, a hierarchy to organise the emergency response, will now be led by a group of chief executives from councils across London. It has also been renamed the Grenfell Fire Response Team.

一名瞭解緊急救援情況的人士告訴英國《金融時報》，肯辛頓-切爾西區(Kensington and Chelsea)議會將不再負責幫助格倫費爾大樓(Grenfell Tower)火災倖存者的行動。組織緊急救援的領導團隊Gold Command，現在將由一羣來自全倫敦各區議會的行政長官組成，並已更名爲格倫費爾火災反應小組(Grenfell Fire Response Team)。

“This new team is now leading the recovery and response to the Grenfell Tower fire,” Eleanor Kelly, chief executive of Southwark council, said in a statement released on Sunday evening on behalf of the new group.

“現在，這個新小組領導着格倫費爾大樓火災恢復與響應工作，”薩瑟克(Southwark)議會行政長官埃莉諾?凱利(Eleanor Kelly)於週日晚代表這個新小組發表聲明稱。

As part of the shake-up, the British Red Cross will also be expanding its role in the relief effort “at the request of the authorities,” according to a Red Cross spokesperson.

英國紅十字會(British Red Cross)一名發言人稱，作爲此次大改組的一部分，該會“應當局要求”也將擴大自己在救援行動中的角色。

At least 58 people who were in Grenfell Tower are missing and presumed dead, the Metropolitan Police said on Saturday.

倫敦警察廳(Metropolitan Police)週六表示，火災時在格倫費爾大樓裏面的人中，至少58人失蹤，估計已經死亡。

Stuart Cundy, Metropolitan Police commander, warned families of those still unaccounted for that operations to recover and identify bodies were hampered by difficult conditions inside the burnt-out building.

倫敦警察廳高級警官斯圖爾特?坎迪(Stuart Cundy)提醒仍下落不明者的家屬，被焚燬大樓內的狀況很糟糕，影響了找回並確認屍體的行動。

Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been criticised for a lacklustre response to the tragedy, admitted on Saturday that the support provided was “not good enough”.

週六，被批評對這場災難反應無力的英國首相特里薩?梅(Theresa May)承認，所提供的支持“不夠充分”。

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn stepped up calls for the government to take stronger action, including by requisitioning empty houses for the use of those made homeless by the fire.

同時，工黨領袖傑里米?科爾賓(Jeremy Corbyn)提高調門呼籲政府採取更強力措施，包括徵用空屋供因火災而無家可歸者使用。

“Occupy it, compulsory purchase it, requisition it — there's a lot of things you can do,” he told ITV’s Robert Peston.

“佔有，強制購買，徵用——你可以做很多事情，”他對英國獨立電視臺(ITV)的羅伯特?佩斯頓(Robert Peston)說。

The tragedy has laid bare divisions in a London borough where extraordinary wealth exists in proximity to public housing estates, and brought scrutiny to a local council long dominated by the Conservatives.

這場災難暴露出倫敦肯辛頓-切爾西區內的分化（這裏廉價公共房屋與鉅富比鄰而居），並讓長期由保守黨人主導的該區議會受到審視。

Volunteers and community organisers involved in the Grenfell response have repeatedly voiced frustration at the lack of official support from the council and the central government.

參加了格倫費爾火災響應行動的志願者和社區組織者，多次對該區議會和中央政府官方支持缺位表示了失望。

Several residents and volunteers have complained that government officials have been virtually invisible in the area — in spite of claims to the contrary.

幾位居民和志願者抱怨稱，在該地區幾乎見不到政府官員，儘管後者的說法恰好相反。

One of the volunteers, who lives locally and asked not to be named, called the response “abysmal” and said she was left struggling to manage a growing mountain of physical donations — enough, she thought, to last “30 years”.

其中一名不願具名的本地誌願者稱政府的響應“糟糕透頂”，她稱只有她自己奮力管理越積越多的捐贈物資——她認爲這些物資足以用“30年”。

“We're the wealthiest borough in the country. We’re sitting on nearly ￡300m. We couldn't spend a little of it to get one or two emergency people in?” she said. “Of all the boroughs in this country, this one should be operating at the highest standards.”

“我們是英國最富裕的區。我們坐擁將近3億英鎊。我們不能花一點錢聘請一兩位應急人員嗎？”她說，“在全國各區裏，我們區應該是以最高標準運作的。”

Nicholas Paget-Brown, leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, refuted claims that council officials have been absent, saying they “have been working around the clock since Wednesday” to organise support.

肯辛頓-切爾西區議會領導人尼古拉斯?佩吉特-布朗(Nicholas Paget-Brown)反駁了外界對該區議會官員缺席救災行動的說法，他稱他們“自從上週三以來一直夜以繼日地”組織支援行動。

Nevertheless, even some fellow councillors from Kensington and Chelsea expressed concern that the body had failed to co-ordinate relief efforts, or keep them informed.

儘管如此，就連肯辛頓-切爾西區的一些議員也表示憂心，稱區議會未能協調救災行動，也沒有對他們通報情況。

Linda Wade, a Liberal Democrat councillor, said: “The communication has been appalling. You can understand for the first few hours, but for the last few days no communication has gone out to councillors. We don't know how to inform residents.”

自由民主黨(Liberal Democrat)議員琳達?韋德(Linda Wade)表示：“溝通情況令人震驚。最初幾個小時這樣你可以理解，但最近幾天議員沒有收到任何消息。我們不知道如何通知居民。”

Public anger boiled over on Friday afternoon, with hundreds of protesters occupying the council building. That led to the building’s closure on Saturday, and forced officials to work from other sites, according to a statement issued by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council. It also confirmed that “officers from other boroughs have also been helping”.

上週五下午，公衆的憤怒爆發了，數百名抗議者佔據了區議會大樓。根據肯辛頓-切爾西區議會發表的聲明，這導致該大樓在週六關閉，迫使官員在其他地點辦公。該聲明也證實了“其他區官員也在幫忙”。

The disaster has raised concerns about the safety of thousands of UK tower blocks, with senior opposition politicians calling for preventive measures to be taken. In an interview with Sky News, shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for sprinkler systems to be fitted to high-rise buildings to avoid similar incidents.

此次火災引發了人們對英國數千棟塔樓的安全性的擔憂，反對黨資深政客呼籲政府採取預防措施。影子財相約翰?麥克唐奈(John McDonnell)在接受天空新聞電視臺(Sky News)採訪時呼籲在高層建築裏安裝自動噴水滅火系統，以避免類似事件再次發生。

But Philip Hammond, chancellor, said the government would only consider retro-fitting sprinklers if a “proper technical evaluation” recommended it.

但財政大臣菲利普?哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)表示，只有在“適當的技術評估”推薦這麼做時，政府纔會考慮加裝自動噴水裝置。

Mr Hammond said a criminal investigation and public inquiry will scrutinise whether building regulations were breached in a recent ￡8.6m refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. Some have blamed insulating material that was fitted to the tower’s exterior in the refit for the fire’s rapid spread.

哈蒙德稱，刑事調查和公開調查將仔細審查不久前對格倫費爾大樓進行的耗資860萬英鎊的翻新作業是否違反了建築條例。一些人認爲此次火災迅速蔓延的罪魁禍首是翻新中外牆包層所用的隔熱材料。