反全球化示威游行到德班

 

Anti-Globalization Protesters Descend¹ On Durban

Challiss McDonough

Durban

31 Aug 2001 21:11 UTC

 

Thousands of anti-globalization protesters have descended² on almost every international conference or summit that has been held over the past year. Now, the racism³ conference under way in South Africa is 1)attracting its own share of demonstrators. Most of the protesters are South Africans. But the issues are international.

Security officials say roughly 18,000 protesters marched Friday through downtown Durban to the conference 2)venue. A large part of the group consisted of South African Muslims, who turned out to voice their anger at Israel and show support for the Palestinians. Abdurahman Brennan traveled for more than a day to get to Durban from Cape⁴ Town. "We are fighting for the liberation of Palestine, because our Muslims, our brothers and our sisters are oppressed in Israel," he said. "And we want to liberate⁵ Palestine today. We want to let the world know that we are fighting for the liberation of Palestine."

Unlike earlier conferences in Genoa and Seattle, most of the demonstrators had a message not for the United Nations officials and foreign 3)dignitaries inside, but for South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The largest group came to protest South Africa's plans to 4)privatize state-owned industries. This followed a two-day national strike over the same issue. But at times the marchers seemed to be protesting just 5)for the sake of protesting. One woman admitted to VOA that she did not even know what she was demonstrating for.

Another marcher, Sello Marumo, was selling anti-capitalist 6)pamphlets for about 50 cents each. He summed up the protesters' mixed bag of issues. "We will not allow the leaders of the whole world to meet without challenge," he said. "They must stop privatization, 7)capitalism, blah blah blah."

Some of the protesters were there for a very specific reason. University student Sethelembi Nyati wants South Africa to treat all 11 official languages equally. "Because here in South Africa the most language they use is English," she siad. "So we do not want to be oppressed by this English."

Other groups were there to demand land for the landless. And some even carried signs calling for an end to racism - a goal shared by 8)delegates at the conference inside.

Not all of the marchers were local. Some represented international organizations that are in Durban for the racism conference. New York City resident Ramona Ortega heads the Urban Justice Center's Human Rights Project. She says disadvantaged people around the world are dealing⁶ with very similar issues. "What we have seen throughout the conference is that there are actually a lot of global things that are similar," she said. "Whether we're in the United States and perhaps are affected⁷ a little bit differently... I mean, affordable⁸ housing, a living wage, all these things are the same kinds of things, just in a different context. What we're finding are some real similarities 9)in terms of the problems that are affecting all of us, especially 10)globalization."

A brief scuffle broke out between police and protesters as the some members of the crowd tried to get past a strict security 11)cordon around the conference center. But otherwise, Friday's march was generally peaceful. The crowd 12)dispersed quietly as a gentle rain started to fall.

Security officials say other protests are 13)scheduled just about every day of the conference, on issues ranging from 14)gay and 15)lesbian rights to the civil war in Sri Lanka.

 

 

(1)      attract[E5trAkt]vt.吸引vi.有吸引力, 引起注意

(2)      venue[5venjJ]n.犯罪地点, 审判地, 集合地点, 会议地点

(3)      dignitary[5dI^nItErI; (?@) 5dI^nIterI]n.权贵, 高官, 高僧

(4)      privatize vt. 使归私有，使私人化

(5)      for the sake of 为了

(6)      pamphlet[`pAmflIt]n.小册子

(7)      capitalism[5kApItElIz(E)m]n.资本主义

(8)      delegate[5delI^Et]n.代表vt.委派...为代表

(9)      in terms of adv.根据, 按照, 用...的话, 在...方面

(10)      globalization[9^lEJbElaI`zeIFEn;-lI`z-]n.全球化,全球性

(11)      cordon[5kC:d(E)n]n.哨兵线, 警戒线, 饰带vt.用警戒线围住

(12)      disperse[dI5sp:s]v.(使)分散, (使)散开, 疏散

(13)      scheduled[`FedjU:Lld]adj.预定的

(14)      gay[^eI]adj.同性恋的n.同性恋者, 尤指男性同性者

(15)      lesbian[5lezbIEn]adj.（女性）同性恋的n.同性恋的女性

 

 

1 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

5 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。