VOA标准英语2009-Human Trafficking Reaches to High Alert Arou

By Kane Farabaugh
Dayton, Ohio
13 November 2009

 
Like slaves on an auction¹ block waiting to be selected, victims of human trafficking have to perform as they are told or risk being beaten (2005 File)
The U.S. State Department estimates that 800,000 human trafficking victims cross international borders each year. The United States is often a destination for many of these victims, where they are held in what many human rights activists² consider modern day slavery. Some of those activists participated in the Human Rights Accords in Dayton Ohio, a two-day conference to help raise awareness³ about the problems victims face. The conference occurred this week as U.S. law enforcement agencies are engaged in a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking.

Sharla Musabih has watched the Emirate of Dubai transform from a small town into one of the largest and fastest growing cities in the Middle East.

Dubai's growth has made it an attractive destination for people from poorer areas looking for work. According to Musabih, it has also attracted criminals looking for victims in the dark underworld of human trafficking.

"A lot of women are coming in victims of agents that go out to rural areas and promise them wonderful jobs," said Musabih.

But according to Musabih, those wonderful jobs often lead these women into forced labor⁴ and prostitution.

Musabih has led a sometimes solitary⁵ effort to help fight for the rights of victims of human trafficking in Dubai. Her job became increasingly difficult as Dubai's population grew. Her work has recently attracted unwelcome attention in Dubai and she is now living in the United States.

"I think I was a very loud voice for the victims," said Musabih. "I was basically exposing things that were going on. I was kind of pushed out and then slandered⁶ in the media."

These are some of the experiences Musabih shared with U.S. law enforcement and social agencies gathered at the University of Dayton, Ohio for the Human Trafficking Accords. Director of the University's Human Rights Program Mark Ensalaco says one of the targets of the conference is to shed light on a growing problem in the United States.

"It would be a terrible misconception on the part of Americans to think that this crime of human trafficking, or modern day slavery, is confined to the Third World. It's everywhere, and it's in the United States as well," said ensalaco.

Polaris Project, one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the United States, estimates as many as 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. They also estimate as many as 244,000 American youth are vulnerable to exploitation.
 
To combat the growing problem, Ensalaco said in late October the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation⁷ (FBI) initiated⁸ Operation Cross Country IV, a nationwide crackdown on human trafficking.

"They arrested dozens of pimps and freed more than fifty sex slaves," he said. "Many of them children in Ohio, the youngest was 10."

Ensalaco says the recent arrests reinforce the reality that human trafficking is not just an international problem, but also a local one affecting every community in the United States. Ensalaco said he hopes the conference is the first of many would help educate the public as well as law enforcement to reach the goal of ending human trafficking.

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

4 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。

5 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

6 slandered   

造谣中伤( slander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She slandered him behind his back. 她在背地里对他造谣中伤。
• He was basely slandered by his enemies. 他受到仇敌卑鄙的诋毁。

7 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。

8 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。