美国国家公共电台 NPR--Qatar, a tiny country in the Middle East, is a controversial host for the World Cup

Qatar, a tiny country in the Middle East, is a controversial host for the World Cup

Transcript¹

The soccer tournament is being played in the Middle East for the first time. Qatar's role in the region, aspirations² and human rights record are in the spotlight³ as it hosts the World Cup.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The World Cup is being played in the Middle East for the first time. Qatar, a tiny country with an outsize role in the region, was a controversial choice as host. Our co-host Leila Fadel spoke⁴ to NPR's Middle East reporter Aya Batrawy.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

So, Aya, you've been covering Qatar for years. Let's take a step back before we get into the controversies⁵ of today and the games. How did Qatar end up being the host of the World Cup in the first place?

AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE⁶: Well, Qatar is a very small but very wealthy country. It has vast gas reserves. And it's really used that money to project its power and itself onto the global stage. And so this has been a huge moment of national pride for this country of just 300,000 citizens. They have spent $200 billion over the last decade on infrastructure⁷, most of it for the games - highways, a new airport, hotels, beautiful new stadiums. So for this small country where 10 times as many foreigners live there than actual citizens, it's a very big moment. And most of those foreigners are there to really build this infrastructure, migrant workers. So it's a chance to showcase Qatar, a chance for people to look at Qatar and to look at it differently in a way that doesn't have to do with Mideast politics, oil and gas, its relationship with Iran and all the other issues in the region.

FADEL: So you mentioned migrant workers, and that's actually been a huge topic in the lead-up because they've built the stadiums, but there's a lot of concern about the human rights situation for migrant workers. If you could just talk about where all the criticisms are coming from - because a lot of people don't want the tournament in Qatar at all.

BATRAWY: You're absolutely right. Migrant workers have built this infrastructure that you see in Qatar today. And they've worked in really harsh, difficult conditions in extreme heat.

FADEL: Yeah.

BATRAWY: So this is a country where migrant workers for many years didn't really have rights. They were tied to their employers. They couldn't switch jobs or quit or even leave the country without a permission from their employer. A lot of that has been dismantled⁸ over the years, especially with scrutiny⁹ and attention on Qatar since they've won the bid to host the World Cup. But there still remain a lot of challenges with being paid on time and severance¹⁰ and, of course, just the extreme, harsh conditions that they work in.

FADEL: Right.

BATRAWY: But there are wider concerns about human rights in Qatar. This is an insular¹¹ country where the amir inherited the throne from his father and a country where there is very limited political freedoms and speech. Homosexuality is criminalized. But Qataris are saying, look. We are welcoming everybody without discrimination. But there are concerns around that, of course. And that's something that people have raised.

FADEL: And then if you could just explain the reason that Qatar has such an outsized role in the region.

BATRAWY: Right. First of all, it hosts a massive U.S. airbase. It's a close U.S. ally. This airbase has been used to launch operations against extremists in Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan. It played a huge critical role in helping¹² the U.S. during that chaotic¹³ evacuation out of Afghanistan last year through that air base and through its relationships with the Taliban and other groups. It's used its money to back Islamist groups like that short-lived Muslim Brotherhood¹⁴ government in Egypt, Syrian opposition¹⁵ fighters and others. That has caused tensions and, actually, a whole diplomatic fallout with its neighbors, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for years. But really, the crown jewel in the way that Qatar continues to project its power and its soft power is through the Al Jazeera news network, which is based in Qatar and was founded by the amir's father.

FADEL: NPR's Aya Batrawy, thank you so much for your time.

BATRAWY: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

9 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

10 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

11 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

14 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。