VOA双语新闻 UN Reports on World's 'Invisible' Children(在线收听) |
A new U.N. report says hundreds of millions of children are excluded from essential services and denied protection around the world, leaving them open to exploitation and discrimination. 一份刚刚在伦敦公布的联合国报告指出,全世界有上亿的儿童得不到必要的服务,而且无法得到保护,使得他们成为剥削和歧视的受害者。 The findings of the United Nations Children's Fund make for grim reading. 联合国儿童基金会的研究发现了这个残酷现像。 More than 50 million child births go unregistered each year, exposing those children to denial of access to essential services such as education and health care. One in every 13 children in developing countries are orphans. The AIDS epidemic alone has orphaned 15 million children. 全世界每年有5000万以上的儿童没有进行出生登记,这使他们无法接受教育和医疗等必要的服务。在发展中国家,每13个孩子当中就有一个是孤儿。光是艾滋病就造成了1500万孤儿。 About 250,000 youngsters are serving as child soldiers in conflicts around the world, and an estimated 171 million children are working in hazardous jobs around dangerous machinery, in mines or on farms. 有大约25万名儿童在世界上的战乱地区成为儿童兵。估计有1亿7千100万儿童在不安全的机械附近、矿坑和农场里从事危险工作。 UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman says societies tend to ignore these children. "They are the world's most vulnerable children, trapped in circumstances that push them to the margins and shadows of society," she said. "They are children who are not registered at birth and grow up without an identity. They are the children who suffer the death of one or both parents. They are children who are forced into adult roles when they should be at school or at play. " 联合国儿童基金会执行主任维尼曼说,社会倾向于忽视这些孩子。她说:“他们是世界上最脆弱的孩子。他们受到环境的限制,被迫走向社会的边缘和阴影。这些孩子没有出生证明,成长过程中没有身份。这些孩子承受失去双亲的痛苦。这些孩子原本应该上学和游戏,但是他们被迫扮演成人的角色,” Appearing with Ms. Veneman at a London news conference was Corina Panaite, a 20-year-old Romanian woman who told a tale of the sexual exploitation of children that is going on in Europe. 和维尼曼女士一同出席伦敦记者会的帕纳特伊是位20岁的罗马尼亚妇女。她讲述了儿童在欧洲遭到性剥削的故事。 Ms. Panaite says that when she was 17, a friend enticed her to travel to Ireland to work in a restaurant. But when they arrived, after traveling on false passports, they were taken to an apartment and forced to work as prostitutes. 帕纳特伊女士说,在她17岁时,一个朋友怂恿她到爱尔兰一家餐厅工作。她们用假护照旅行。抵达之后,她们被带到一个公寓里,被迫卖淫。 Ms. Panaite hopes other girls learn from her example. "When I left home, my dream was to have a better life abroad," she said. "Now I realize my future is in my country. I have a message for all the girls who have dreams like me: Please be more careful when somebody helps you to go abroad and promises you a faster way to achieve your dreams." 帕纳特伊女士希望其他女孩能够记取她的教训。她说:“我离开家的时候,我的梦想是在国外过更好的生活。现在我知道,我的未来在我自己的国家。我要奉劝和当时的我有类似幻想的女孩们:如果有人帮助你出国,并且承诺一个帮你快速完成梦想的方法,请格外小心。” The UNICEF chief, Ms. Veneman, says the agency hopes to raise public awareness of what is happening to exploited children, which could lead to more pressure on governments to act. 联合国儿童基金会执行主任维尼曼女士说,他们希望提高公众对遭到剥削的儿童的关注,希望能够对政府造成更大压力,继而采取行动。 She said many of the issues, such as combating child trafficking, will require stricter law enforcement and regional cooperation. 她说,打击走私儿童等许多问题,都需要更严格的执法和地区间的合作。 |
原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/voabe/113466.html |