2006年VOA标准英语-Foreign Journalists Inspired by Legacy of Slain

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
21 August 2006

A journalist from Pakistan and another from Nepal are completing a fellowship that commemorates¹ Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was abducted² and killed by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. The two journalists have spent time in American newsrooms, and say the experience, and the late reporter's example, have inspired them.

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Daniel Pearl   
  
Daniel Pearl began his career at the North Adams Transcript³ and Berkshire Eagle in Massachusetts, then moved on to The Wall Street Journal. The two reporters spent five months working for those papers.

Ghanashyam Ojha usually writes for The Kathmandu Post, covering politics, human rights and Nepal's Maoist insurgency⁴. This year, he entered a very different world in small-town Massachusetts, working for the North Adams Transcript and Berkshire Eagle, where the late Daniel Pearl began his career. Ojha says he developed an affection for the region and respect for the paper.

From left: Shahid Shah, Judea Pearl and Ghanashyam Ojha  
  
"Though it's a small newspaper, when we compare it with national dailies, I think the newspaper has done a great job in disseminating⁵ information to the community in Massachusetts," said Ghanashyam Ojha.

Journalists in Nepal have faced pressures in recent years, both from officials and Maoist insurgents⁶. Press freedoms were restricted after Nepal's King Gyanendra dissolved parliament and took control of the government early last year. Mass protests this year brought a violent response from officials and the jailing of a number of journalists. In the face of international censure⁷, the king allowed parliament to reconvene in late April. In May, parliament voted to curb⁸ Gyanendra's power, and Ojha says he understands that conditions at home have improved.

Pakistan journalist Shahid Shah of The News International newspaper in Karachi has been working in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal. He says journalists in Pakistan are ostensibly free to write as they please, but that they engage in self-censorship, out of fear of offending the powerful military.

"Self-censorship in Pakistan started when General Zia became president of Pakistan, and he remained the chief of the army," said Shahid Shah. "So, since then, we are living under self-imposed censorship, and although government has been claiming that there has been no censorship and press is free in Pakistan, but it is not."

The 11-year rule of General Zia-ul-Haq began in 1977, and was the longest in the country's history. Pakistan is again ruled by the army chief, President Pervez Musharraf, who staged a bloodless coup⁹ in 1999, overthrowing¹⁰ the civilian¹¹ leadership.

He has promised to return the nation to democracy, and says he values the role of the media as a watchdog on government. However, a number of human rights groups rank Pakistan poorly in press freedom. The organization, Freedom House, for example, cites harassment¹² of journalists and aggressive tactics by authorities to silence critics.

Shah says he is impressed by the emphasis on accurate reporting at The Wall Street Journal, and its focus on research. He has written stories on the Middle East and Pakistan, and says they go through a series of editors.

"And every editor has their questions, and they have written [sent] the story back to the reporters," he said. "And then, finally, a story is approved by the reporter himself, or herself. And, before it is approved, it won't be published."

Judea Pearl, the father of the late Wall Street Journal reporter, heads the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which promotes a legacy¹³ of objective reporting and communication between people of different regions. He says the Pearl Fellowships bring journalists from the Middle East and South Asia to see the United States, and understand its diversity of culture and opinion.

"Danny used to do it the other way around," said Judea Pearl. "He went to the East, and started reporting to us about his adventures with the people behind the news. And he reported, you know, from Tehran, Kosovo, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. And we saw through his writings the people behind the news. Now, it's time for the East to reciprocate¹⁴."

Both visiting reporters say they have honed their investigative skills, and will return to their homelands with a new commitment.

Shahid Shah says journalists in Pakistan face very real threats, and some, like Daniel Pearl, have been kidnapped and murdered.

"It's really dangerous to work in a country like Pakistan, but I'm not scared of that," said Shahid Shah. "I have got energy. I'm inspired by the work of Daniel Pearl, and I'm inspired by his family, and they wanted to spread a dialogue, to start a dialogue."

Ghanashyam Ojha says he is pleased to take part in that dialogue, and was also inspired by his time here.

"I'll be taking my experiences, not only of journalism¹⁵, but also Danny's message for humanity," he said. "So, when I stayed here, though for a very brief period, six months, I got to learn about American society, people, so it really helped me to know the actual views of Americans towards the outer world."

He says many in his country view the United States through a narrow prism of official statements from the White House or Pentagon. He hopes to broaden that perspective.

1 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

3 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。

4 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

5 disseminating   

散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our comrades in propaganda work have the task of disseminating Marxism. 我们作宣传工作的同志有一个宣传马克思主义的任务。
• Disseminating indecent photographs on the internet a distasteful act. 在因特网上发布不雅照片是卑劣的行径。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

8 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

9 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

10 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

13 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

14 reciprocate   

v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答

参考例句：

• Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。
• Some day I will reciprocate your kindness to me.总有一天我会报答你对我的恩德。

15 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。