VOA标准英语2010年-UN Trust Fund Provides Hope for Indone

The United Nations has established a new multi-donor trust fund to aid victims of human trafficking around the world. Indonesian women remain among the most vulnerable to trafficking, despite the country's progress in passing laws to combat the problem.

Anita's story

In 2006, Elly Anita from East Java moved to Dubai to work as a secretary. After two months of sexual harassment¹ by her boss and having received no wages, she asked for a transfer. She was sent to Kurdistan, which she was told was a part of Italy.

When Anita stepped off the plane and called her agent, he refused to tell her where she was.

"I couldn't sleep that night. I was thinking, where am I? Oh my god. I was so afraid," Anita recalled.

It took her two weeks to figure out that she had been sent to war-torn Iraq.

Anita's story is not unique. In recent years, the number of reported cases of abuse has sharply increased.

Target areas

The vast majority of reports of violence last year occurred in the Middle East and Malaysia, comprising 63 percent and 33 percent, respectively, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry².

Gary Lewis, the East Asia and Pacific representative from the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime, says that although the number of reports has risen, the lack of data makes it difficult to measure the true extent of the problem.

"If we don't know that outcomes are resulting, if we don't know, for example, that there are fewer women being arrested for soliciting³ who have been victims, if we don't know that there are a greater number of brothel keepers and kingpins who are being arrested, prosecuted⁴ and convicted for these crimes, we won't know that our actions are leading to anything conclusive⁵ or useful at all," said Lewis. "So we need baseline data not only to see if the problem is growing, but we need it to see if our actions are actually having a proper impact."

Agency role

The UN agency will be responsible for administering a multi-donor trust find as part of the UN Global Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, launched last week. The money will strengthen support for trafficked victims.

Nora Murat, director of Amnesty International Malaysia, says the money should address victims' immediate⁶ needs.

"The urgent need right now is to build a center for them, for them to wait until their cases are heard in court," Murat  said. "Because right now, them being put into detention⁷ centers is not really helping⁸, both for the prosecution⁹ and also the victim. I would put the money there first, and also to look into their personal human rights - the right to food the right to health and access to water."

Lack of assistance

When Anita tried to escape Iraq, she had no such shelter to go to. She went back to her agent's office and found around 40 other women victims sleeping on the floor. Instead of helping her, Anita's agent confiscated¹⁰ her cellphone and refused to return her passport. She resorted to stealing the security guard's phone, and contacting the Indonesian Embassy in Jordan.

"When I talked to my government, nothing," said Anita. "They didn't even give me a small response. So no one. I just talked to my god and found a solution by myself, because I couldn't depend on anyone. Even my government."

Happy ending

Victims who do not get government help often rely on non-governmental organizations for support. Anita finally found help when she contacted Migrant Care, a local NGO for whom she now works. While still in Iraq, her story circulated on the internet. When her agent heard about the publicity¹¹, he and his workers beat Anita.

"The pulled my hair, they beat me, they kicked me also, they tried to strangle me," Anita added. "They wanted to kill me at that time, because they said all this damage was because of me."

With the help of Migrant Care, Anita found her way home to Indonesia.

Since her ordeal¹², Indonesia has made some progress on the issue, passing an anti-trafficking law and signing all U.N. conventions and protocols¹³ relating to human trafficking.

Implementation¹⁴ of these laws, however, remains¹⁵ poor and is subject to corrupt¹⁶ police and government systems, making additional U.N. funding to support Indonesian victims all the more welcome.
 

1 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。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

5 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

11 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

12 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

13 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。