新冠疫情期间 菲律宾出现“以物易物”热潮 Will trade for food: online bartering soars in virus-hit Philippines

新冠疫情期间，数百万菲律宾人失去工作，很多人被迫“以物易物”，用最古老的办法填饱肚子。人们不惜把家电、玩具甚至是名牌包拿来交换食物，比如一双鞋可以换一整只加工好的鸡，一件衣服可以换几斤大米。

Struggling to make ends meet, Lorraine Imperio swapped a pair of Nike slip-on shoes for a whole dressed chicken on an online bartering site, one of dozens that have sprouted up during the Philippines' virus lockdowns.

为了维持生计，洛林·因佩里奥在一个易货网站上用一双耐克便鞋换了一整只加工好的鸡，这个网站是菲律宾疫情封锁期间出现的几十个易货网站之一。

With millions stripped of their jobs and many forced to stay home to slow the coronavirus spread, Filipinos have flocked to Facebook groups to exchange their possessions, including kitchen appliances, children's toys and designer handbags -- mostly for food.

由于数百万人失去了工作，许多人被迫呆在家里以减缓新冠病毒的传播，菲律宾人纷纷涌向脸书群组，用他们的厨房电器、儿童玩具和名牌手袋等财物做交换，其中大部分用来换取食物。

"It's so difficult nowadays. You don't know where you'll get the money to settle the bills for groceries," said Imperio, a mother of two whose husband works part-time at a doughnut shop in Manila.

因佩里奥是两个孩子的母亲，她的丈夫在马尼拉一家油炸圈饼店做兼职。她说：“现在太难了。你不知道从哪儿能弄到钱去买百货。”

His hours have been slashed because of the pandemic and he now only earns about 9,000 pesos  a month, half of which is used to pay the rent for the family's apartment.

由于新冠疫情，因佩里奥丈夫的工作时间减少了，现在他的月薪只有大约9000比索（约合人民币1267元），其中一半用来支付家庭公寓的租金。

Online bartering groups have provided a lifeline to the Imperios and other Filipinos hit hard by the country's months-long virus restrictions that started in March and have sent the economy plunging into a deep recession.

网上易货群组为因佩里奥一家和其他菲律宾人带来了希望。菲律宾从三月开始实行长达数月的疫情限制措施，令民众生活受到影响，也令经济陷入严重衰退。

At least 98 groups, some with tens of thousands of members, are operating across the archipelago, according to an AFP tally.

据法新社统计，整个菲律宾至少有98个易货群组，其中一些有数万名成员。

Nearly all of them started during the pandemic as many Filipinos resorted to the ancient trading practice to feed their families.

几乎所有的易货群组都是在疫情期间出现的，许多菲律宾人用古老的交易方式来养活家人。

Google search volume in the Philippines for the keywords "barter food" soared 300 percent in May from April, iPrice Group found in a recent study, as lockdowns squeezed household budgets and made travelling about difficult.

网购数据分析网站iPrice Group近日通过调查发现，在菲律宾，谷歌搜索关键词“易货食品”的搜索量5月份比4月份增长了300%，原因是封锁令家庭预算吃紧，出行困难。

Its analysis of 85 popular Facebook barter groups, with more than two million members in total, found food and other groceries were among the most sought-after items.

该网站对脸书上85个热门易货群组进行了分析，发现食品和其他百货是最受欢迎的商品。这些易货群组共有200多万名成员。

People post photos and specifications of the goods they want to swap, indicate what they want in return and then negotiate via the comments section.

人们发布他们想要交换的商品的照片和详细描述，说明他们想要换取的物品，然后通过评论区协商。

After successfully bartering baby bottles that she no longer needed, Imperio swapped a baby's down jacket and a Ralph Lauren hoodie for six kilogrammes of rice.

在成功地用她不再需要的奶瓶进行交换后，因佩里奥还用一件婴儿的羽绒服和一件拉夫·劳伦的连帽衫换了6公斤大米。

down jacket [daʊn ˈdʒækɪt]：羽绒服

While the Nike slip-on shoes were traded for a chicken, a second pair has not had any takers after three weeks.

虽然那双耐克便鞋换到了一只鸡，但第二双耐克便鞋的信息挂了三周，依然无人问津。

"Old items are more difficult to sell," the 28-year-old said. "With bartering, it's easier to convert them into food."

28岁的因佩里奥说：“旧物品更难卖。通过物物交换，更容易用旧货换食物。”

Jocelle Batapa Sigue launched Bacolod Barter Community four months ago out of frustration at not being able to go shopping and a desire to help others.

四个月前，出于无法购物的沮丧和帮助他人的愿望，乔瑟·巴塔帕·斯古创立了巴科洛德易货社区。

Her husband held the family's only quarantine travel pass, which people were required to carry when they left their homes during the lockdown.

她的丈夫持有她们家唯一的一张检疫通行证，这是在封锁期间人们离开家时必须携带的证件。

"It's difficult for me to get what I want when I tell my husband to buy it," said Sigue, who is a lawyer in the central city of Bacolod.

斯古是菲律宾中部城市巴科洛德的一名律师，她说：“让我丈夫把我想要的东西买回来是件难事。”

The group has more than 230,000 members with more joining every day, she said.

她说，这个群组已经有超过23万名成员，而且每天都有更多的人加入。

Sigue estimates thousands of items -- from shampoo and birthday cakes to mobile phones and eyeliner -- change hands on her site daily.

斯古估计每天有成千上万的商品在她的网站上易手，包括洗发水、生日蛋糕、手机和眼线笔等。

"Without the pandemic, I don't think the barter community would be popular," she said.

她说：“如果没有新冠疫情，我觉得易货社区不会这么受欢迎。”

An estimated 5.2 million Filipino families had experienced "hunger due to lack of food to eat" at least once in the previous three months -- the highest in nearly six years, a survey in early July by pollster Social Weather Stations showed.

菲律宾民调机构“社会气象站”7月初的一项调查显示，大约520万菲律宾家庭在过去3个月至少有过一次“因为缺乏食物而挨饿”的经历，创下近6年来最高纪录。。

But it is not just cash-strapped people bartering their belongings.

但参与以物易物的不仅仅是缺钱的人们。

Others are taking the chance to dispose of goods they no longer need after quarantine measures upended normal life.

在检疫措施颠覆了正常生活后，其他人则抓住这个机会处理掉他们不再需要的物品。

Chona de Vega, 57, traded her hair-straighter and electric kettle for a bag of groceries and now plans to dispose of her iron.

57岁的乔纳·德维加用她的直发器和电水壶换了一袋百货，现在她打算处理掉熨斗。

"I have no use for it," said de Vega, who lives in Manila and spends most of her time at home because of travel restrictions.

“熨斗对我没用了，”德维加说。她住在马尼拉，由于出行限制，大部分时间都呆在家里。

Charles Ramirez, who runs a 14,000-member bartering site in the capital, said a "big percentage" of his group live in poverty and mostly ask for groceries.

查尔斯·拉米雷斯在马尼拉经营着一个有1.4万名会员的易货网站，他说他的群组中有“很大一部分人”生活在贫困之中，他们大多要求交换百货。

"People are realising that while they have no money, they have accumulated a lot of material things (they can swap)," said Ramirez, who set up his group in May after losing his job as a grocery wholesaler.

拉米雷斯说：“人们意识到，虽然他们没有钱，但他们积累了很多（可以交换的）物品。”他在失去了百货批发商的工作后，于今年5月成立了自己的易货群组。

"It's a depressing feeling, of course, having to let go of things you have accumulated just to be able to survive."

“当然，这是一种令人沮丧的感觉，为了生存而不得不放弃你攒下来的东西。”

英文来源：法新社

翻译&编辑：yaning