VOA常速英语2007年-Georgia's Unemployed Silent About Predicament

By Peter Fedynsky
Tbilisi, Georgia
12 December 2007
 

During recent anti-government demonstrations¹ in Georgia, a pro-government member of parliament expressed surprise that protesters demanded electoral reforms rather than action on a bread-and-butter issue such as unemployment.  VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky recently visited Tbilisi, and has this report on Georgia's widespread joblessness and why it is not a political issue.

In a telephone interview with the VOA during recent anti-government protests in Tbilisi, the head of Georgia's Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, Elena Tevdoradze, expressed surprise by what she said were "sudden" opposition² demands for electoral reforms. Tevdoradze says the protests would not have surprised her had they involved social issues, such as widespread unemployment. 

Unemployed³ men hoping to get work for at least a single day gather near a Tblisi bridge each morning. The American Chamber⁴ of Commerce in Georgia estimates the unemployment rate in this city at 29 percent.  The government puts Georgia's nationwide jobless rate as high as 17 percent; though critics say it could be higher.

Tens of thousands of Georgians have lost jobs in the post Soviet⁵ era when inefficient⁶ factories were closed, and when reforms cut the size of government bureaucracy.  A Russian economic embargo⁷ has reduced demand for Georgian goods, especially wine and agricultural products.  Internal and external instability has made foreign companies hesitant to invest in Georgia.

Sandro Urushadze, the director of Georgia's Social Subsidy⁸ Agency, says even if jobs are available, many lack the training required by private companies. "These organizations are looking for new people to employ.  However, there is a gap between the ability of people to work there, and the need of organizations to employ qualified⁹ personnel."

Qualifications are a factor in Georgia's construction industry, which employs a substantial number of workers from Turkey.  Unemployed Georgians resent the foreign workers, who are accused of receiving preferential treatment from Turkish companies, which have won numerous building contracts in Tbilisi.  Georgian officials, however, say the Turks fill a need for skilled labor¹⁰.

Malkhaz Chutkerashvili lost his job as a TV cameraman two years ago.  He says finding a new position has been frustrating¹¹, but notes that getting angry at the political situation would only make things worse.

"We've had various elections – democratic and undemocratic – but there has been no movement,” he says. “But I know we need to somehow find a way out.  There is no time for pessimism¹².  There is no time to get angry and do something foolish.  No, the situation itself will determine what comes next."

Many Georgians say joblessness is a personal matter, which they prefer not to discuss publicly.

Soso Tsiskarishvili, Chairman of the European Integration¹³ Forum¹⁴ in Tbilisi, says the typical Georgian approach to solving the unemployment problem is more Russian than European.

"There was an 18th century [Irish]-English thinker, Oliver Goldsmith, who said that to overcome any kind of problem, you must, first of all, talk about it loudly," says Tsiskarishvili. "I would say that's a European approach. The Russians have a different approach:  'Don't wash your dirty linen¹⁵ in public’."

Tsiskarishvili says Georgians tend to demonstrate over reasons of fairness and honor, as they did in Soviet times when they felt their language or national identity were threatened.  And many who participated in Georgia's recent anti-government demonstrations say their demands involved a fair electoral process.

Meanwhile, the unemployed here quietly survive on meager¹⁶ welfare benefits, as low as $10 per month, and an occasional odd job. 

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

7 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

8 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

9 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

10 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。

11 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

13 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

14 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

15 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

16 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。