VOA标准英语2014--难民促进当地经济

 

Refugees Boost Local Economy 难民促进当地经济

A new study says refugees do not have to be a burden on a host country’s resources. In fact, they can actually help boost the local economy if given the chance. The findings were released June 20th, World refugee Day.

Professor Alexander Betts says prior to the study, not much was known about the economic lives of refugees.

“There’s been very little academic research or policy work focused on the economic activities of refugees. Generally the approaches that have been taken have been more sociological in orientation¹ and have come from the position of really seeing refugees as humanitarian² subjects.”

Betts, author of the report and professor of refugee and forced migration³ studies at Oxford⁴ University, said, “There have been some studies looking at refugee livelihoods⁵ and to some extent looking at the impact of refugees on host states. But what they’ve generally failed to do is see refugees as part of economic systems and to understand the process of exchange, production, consumption, the financial market. Look more holistically⁶ at their economic activities.”

He said that his interest in refugee economic contributions began in Europe.

“What struck me most is that there were people with skills, talents and aspirations⁷ – in many cases very entrepreneurial – who in many countries around the world are deprived of the right to work. They have a lot to offer, but they’re not given that opportunity. So I’ve always, in seeing those talents, wanted to think about what refugees could offer. What they could contribute – rather than being seen as necessarily dependent on international humanitarian assistance,” he said.

The research was done in Uganda, which has given asylum⁸, to about 350,000 refugees from the DRC, Somalia, and South Sudan.

Betts said, “Uganda offers a relatively⁹ unique context. Around the world generally host countries deny refugees the right to work. They deny them freedom of movement and the refugee camp is the normal response. Uganda’s taken a different path. While its refugee policies are by no means perfect, it’s adopted a policy called the self-reliance strategy. And that’s meant refugees are given the right to work and they have a degree of freedom of movement.”

The study focused on about 1,600 refugees in Uganda.

“We looked at both an urban context – the capital Kampala – but also two long-standing refugee settlements called Nakivale and Kyangwali. Those two settlements at the time we began the research had the largest number of refugees of all the settlements in Uganda,” he said.

Professor Betts said that refugees have often been seen as a drain on the host country. But that’s not the case in Uganda.

“We found that actually many refugees don’t just contribute from buying and selling goods or being even employees of Ugandan hosts. But actually in some cases what was really surprising was they create jobs in many cases in Kampala. The people who are entrepreneurial are employing Ugandan nationals.”

And there was a lot of diverse entrepreneurship. 

“There’s often an assumption that refugees, even in the best case where they’re given access to land, will engage in agricultural or farming activities. But we found hugely innovative¹⁰ and creative income generating activities, including cinemas, transportation companies, even a guy in the Nakivale settlement, who sets up a computer games parlor¹¹ where he gets recycled game consoles, old televisions and charges a nominal¹² fee for refugee use to come and play computer games,” he said.

However, the Oxford professor said this is not typical of many refugee populations, adding what’s happening in Uganda is rare.

“In Africa, the context I know best, there are really only a couple of countries that have pioneered giving refugees the chance to work and a degree of freedom of movement. Uganda’s one, Zambia is another -- to some extent South Africa. But they’re relatively exceptional cases because in other contexts, like Kenya and Tanzania, refugees are denied the right to work, which limits their economic activities,” said Betts.

Kenya has launched a crackdown on refugees as a result of terrorist attacks. The focus is usually on Somali refugees with the idea that some may be supporters of the Somali militant¹³ group al-Shabab. Kenyan troops have waged offensives against al-Shabab.

Betts said, “What’s important to recognize is that even where there are political constraints¹⁴ there is opportunity to transform how we talk about refugees -- to recognize that they’re not an inevitable¹⁵ burden. They can also be a benefit. They can contribute.”

Betts said refugees by their very nature must adapt to their new surroundings. He recommends that humanitarian agencies and NGOs do more to support the entrepreneurial spirit. This can be done through education, microcredit and advice on starting new businesses.

He added that, historically, the humanitarian response to refugees has been emergency and long-term assistance that has often led to dependency.

1 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

6 holistically   

adv.holistic（整体的，全盘的）的副词形式

参考例句：

• Menu items and dialogs, when they are translated, to be considered holistically. 在翻译菜单项和对话框时，需要全盘考虑，确保翻译的界面保持整体的一致性很重要。 来自互联网
• If we examine this entity holistically, we can discover how incredible it really is. 如果我们整体检查这实体，我们可以发现它真的是多么让人难以置信。 来自互联网

7 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

8 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

11 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

12 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

13 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

14 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。