VOA标准英语2010年-Global Financial Crisis Affects Remitt

Africans in the Diaspora send less money to families at home

Jackson Mvunganyi 25 January 2010

The global economic downturn is hurting Africans in the Diaspora.  It’s harder for them to send money home, and that leads to problems for those who depend on the funds.

Remittances¹ to developing countries are expected to fall from $305 billion in 2008 to $208 billion for 2009, according to the World Bank.  The severity of the problem is seen in the fact that in many developing countries, remittances are reported to bring in even more money than direct aid.

Millions of Africans depend on their relatives in the Diaspora to send them funds for their daily livelihood², including food and other essential commodities. 

Many of them do not know about the intricacies of global finance.  “They are not aware of global financial trends and how they impact them,” says Nassi Agaba, a young African woman living in the United States.  She is sending less money back home after being laid off from her job as a consultant³ with a local firm.

Few African economists⁴ foresaw the downturn.  A few months into the financial crisis, Rwandan finance minister James Musoni said he was optimistic that his country and indeed the whole East African economic bloc⁵ were sheltered from the pitfalls⁶ of any global crisis.

Among those having trouble supporting family members at home is Robert Kayinamura, the legal advisor⁷ and public relations officer for the Rwanda International Network Association (RNIA), based in Washington, DC.  He has had to cut back on the amount of money he sends to support his extended family in East Africa.

“The prices of commodities in the USA have gone up.  If you used to purchase groceries at $100, but today it is $200, that means it has affected⁸ how much you can send home,” he says.  It means, he says,  that “in one way or the other it is affecting you here, but at the same time it is affecting people back home.”

“New immigrants from Africa usually work for small- and medium-sized companies, which are closing today or are laying off employees,” Kayinamura says.  Many recent arrivals work in these small companies and “if these small companies lay off or close, guess who is affected first?  It is the immigrants,”  he says.

And it’s especially hard for them, he says, because most don’t qualify for unemployment benefits. 

It’s also difficult for college or university graduates. Thousands of African students graduate each year from American colleges. They expect to enter the job market locally or return home to their countries to find work readily available.  But statistics show the jobless rate among college graduates has more than doubled from a year ago to 4.3 percent.

The job applications of many African students are rejected even by the few companies that are willing to hire new college graduates.  Most companies are reluctant to hire an African graduate because of the H1-B, (temporary worker) visa requirement.  The process is often long and costly⁹ to the company, so they prefer to hire Americans in order to avoid the process.

In Africa itself, many young people depend on relatives abroad to fund their education, and they, too, are taking a hit.

Reports show that in 2007 sub-Saharan Africa received almost $12 billion from Africans in the Diaspora.  Remittances usually make up a significant chunk¹⁰ of the local economy. 

1 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

2 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

3 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 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。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。