DEVELOPMENT REPORT - U.S. Group Fights to Free Modern-Day Sl

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - U.S. Group Fights to Free Modern-Day Slaves
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, March 08, 2004

This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

American officials estimate that at least 800,000 people a year are brought across borders, into slavery. But they admit this estimate is probably low. Last June, the International Labor² Organization estimated that at least 1,200,000 children a year are victims of trafficking. Slavery involves the sex trade, as well as other kinds of forced labor and military service.

One of the groups fighting to end the slave trade is the International Justice Mission. This non-profit group in the United States helps nations enforce laws against slavery.

Gary Haugen started the group in 1997. He was a trial lawyer for the United States Justice Department. He fought cases of police wrongdoing. He also assisted the United Nations. He directed the investigation³ into the 1994 killings⁴ in Rwanda.

The International Justice Mission receives information from aid and religious workers about possible cases of slavery. IJM lawyers then build legal cases against those responsible. Investigators⁵ secretly gather evidence. They use tape recorders and video cameras. The group intervenes⁶ once it has enough information to support a case. Members go to local officials to seek legal charges.

IJM estimates that it helps free several hundred people a year from slavery. Its Web site includes the story of a boy named Sridhar in southern India. It says his parents sold him to a local moneylender to pay for food. He was 10 years old at the time. His parents owed the moneylender $31.

So, for six days a week, the boy made cigarettes to pay off the debt. The amount he earned each day would have kept him in slavery until he was an adult. IJM investigators say they helped the boy appeal to the local government. They say he is now free and attending school.

Another job of the group is education. IJM officials say have a religious duty to fight slavery. The group says it provides people of faith with the training, tools and resources to become active.

Gary Haugen says international treaties are important. But he says sometimes the best way to fight slavery is to attack it at the local level.

The International Justice Mission Web site is ijm.org. The mailing address is post office box 58147, Washington, D-C, 20037, USA.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. This is Robert Cohen.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 intervenes   

阻碍( intervene的第三人称单数 )； 出面； 插嘴； 介于…之间

参考例句：

• A week intervenes between Xmas and New Year's Day. 圣诞节与元旦之间相距一周。
• A week intervenes between Christmas and New Year's Day. 圣诞节和元旦相隔一周。