VOA慢速英语--孟加拉国出版商赢得美国勇气奖

AS IT IS 2016-05-22 Bangladeshi Publisher Wins US-based Award for Courage 孟加拉国出版商赢得美国勇气奖

A publisher from Dhaka, Bangladesh received an award for courage from a group of American publishers.

This week, the Shuddhashar Publishing House received the 2016 Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award from the Association of American Publishers International Freedom to Publish Committee (IFTPC).

The annual award is given to publishers outside the U.S. who have “demonstrated courage in the face of restrictions¹ on freedom of expression.”

Shuddhashar is the publisher of mostly secular² and scientific books. It received the award for producing books from writers facing threats and attacks by Islamic militants³.

Awarded for courage

Mahbub Leelen is the co-founder of Shuddhashar Publishing House. He received the award at the PEN Literary Gala in New York City.

He said the award honors all the writers and publishers who have died for their work in Bangladesh.

Shuddhashar has published books by Avijit Roy and Ananta Bijoy Das. These two Bangladeshi-American writers were killed in Bangladesh by the militants last year.

Geoff Shandler is the Chairman of the IFTPC. He praised the publisher’s “courage to publish in the face of horrific threats of violence against yourself and your family - especially when your government is not only unwilling⁴ to help, but actually siding with the killers⁵.”

Leelen told VOA the Freedom to Publish Award encourages “us to keep moving ahead" with "our mission.”

The government of Bangladesh did not comment on the publishing house winning the award. Efforts by VOA to reach Bangladeshi government officials for comment have been unsuccessful.

Secular and freethinking writers

Shuddhashar was started in Bangladesh in 2004. The publishing house became a place for progressive Bengali writers. It has been the starting point of careers for many writers.

Shuddhashar has published the first work of at least 1,000 writers. Today, Shuddhashar has more than 3,000 writers.

The Islamic militants began targeting the writers and activists⁶ in 2013. Shuddhashar Publishing House also began receiving threats.?

In 2015, a group of men with knives and guns attacked the office in Dhaka. One of the founders⁷, Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul, was in the office along with two writers. They managed to escape with only injuries. On the same day, the attackers killed another publisher of secular books in Dhaka.

Co-founders Leelen, Tutul and Zafir Setu have fled Bangladesh in fear for their lives. They have left Shuddhashar closed in recent months. The closing is only temporary.

Tutul said, “Shuddhashar has not been closed permanently⁸. Since we have still been receiving threats, for reasons related to the security of our employees, we have kept our regular work at the publishing house on hold.”

The publishers at Shuddhashar say they are in the process of publishing on the internet. Several e-book projects are currently being written.

Words in This Story

persecution⁹ – n. the act of treating someone cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

secular – adj. not spiritual - relating to the physical world and not the spiritual world

e-book – n. a book that is read on a computer or other electronic device

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

5 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。