VOA常速英语2007年-Indonesia's Sea Gypsies Struggle to Survive

By Marianne Kearney
Kandari, Sulawesi, Indonesia
27 December 2007

The Orang Bajau or sea gypsies of Sulawesi in Indonesia have roamed the seas for generations, using their renowned¹ sea-faring skills and simple implements² to make a living. But their traditional lifestyle is under threat as they compete for catch with illegal fishing boats from Taiwan and the Philippines, and with Indonesian fisherman who use cyanide bombs. Marianne Kearney reports from the Kendari coastal³ district in Sulawesi province, Indonesia.

The news is broadcast in Bahasa Bajau, the language of the ethnic⁴ Bajau or sea gypsies.

Every Wednesday night a group of Kendari's sea gypsies broadcast to their community, which stretches all the way from Aceh in the west of Indonesia to Papua in the east.

Historically the Bajau used their seafaring skills to protect the southern Sulawesi kingdom. They lived in small groups moving from fishing ground to fishing ground.

But today, in southeast Sulawesi, they mostly live in small villages built over the water, and have abandoned their wooden canoes called Leppa.

Asman Junaidi, head of a Bajau family, says he makes just two to three dollars a day, which is barely enough to feed his family. He says one problem is that the waters are heavily fished, with boats coming in from other areas.

"Now, there are lots of people who come from outside to look for fish. For example, there are people from Makassar, who come here just to look for fish," he said. "So for us people here - it makes it difficult for us, because the outsiders come to these waters."

In Junaidi's village of Mekar, in southeast Sulawesi, most of the fishing families are scraping by, despite trading in their tough mobile existence for a more settled life.

When they moved here 20 years ago as part of a government plan, many hoped they would get the benefits of modern life, such as access to schooling⁵, water and sanitation⁶.

But the village is remote and facilities fall into disrepair. While the Bajau enjoy some rudimentary facilities, such as electricity and basic education, they are still poorer than other ethnic groups here.

Many Bajau still use their traditional methods of fishing - using nets and spears to haul in their catch. Parmen is from LEPDES, an environmental group active in the Bajau areas. He notes that the Bajau's competitors use fish bombs or dragnets.

"It's because fisherman from outside have sophisticated equipment, but the Bajau fisherman here only have traditional tools. There are even some boats from foreign countries," he said. "We see the boats from Philippines, Taiwan. With their modern equipment they take all the good fish, and just leave the small ones."

Parmen says another problem is that the Bajau are poorly educated and do not understand how to market their fish or get good prices.

Many adult Bajau have only minimal⁷ schooling. They would like to see their children better educated. But they struggle to pay the transport costs to educate their children beyond primary school.

Ambo Lewa, one of the radio presenters⁸, says this is part of the idea behind the Bajau radio program. He said his programs try to communicate to listeners the need to improve Bajau knowledge and use of technology, so that Bajau are not left behind. He stresses the need for Bajau to go to school to build their future. He broadcasts programs about how technology can be used to cope with the processes of globalization that are already affecting their daily lives. He wants his programs to spread skills and information to help the Bajau cope with modern problems.

Lewa says he also tries to instill pride in the Bajau, their history and their language, so that the Bajau will not be ashamed of their traditional ways.

The environmental group LEPDES is trying to educate the Bajau about the advantages of using Bajau traditions of respecting the environment to ensure that future generations can still survive from fishing.

Parmen, from LEPDES, says the protection of coral reefs and rehabilitation⁹ of mangroves is key.

"We help them to find ways to preservation¹¹ of their life, how can preserve the life of the sea, the coral, to plant mangrove¹⁰ to rehabilitate¹² the coast which has been damaged," he said. "People here now understand the importance of coral, if they increase coral then there will be more fish."

Parmen admits that despite the environmental benefits of some traditional methods, other aspects of Bajau life need to be modernized¹³. Many Bajau do not have toilets or access to running water.

The Bajau are not alone in their struggles. They trace their roots and their language back to Johor in Malaysia, believing they originated from Johor, moving to Sulawesi in the 17th century.

Other sea-borne communities exist in the waters around Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Burma.

All of them face competition from large-scale fishing trawler operations, arriving from more developed northern Asian countries or elsewhere.

The Bajau are trying to adjust - with the help of radio programs and some education.

1 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

2 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

6 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

7 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

8 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

9 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

10 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

11 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

12 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

13 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。