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VOA慢速英语2013 叙利亚难民在黎巴嫩的遭遇

时间:2013-08-07 12:13:56

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AS IT IS 2013-08-02 In Lebanon, Syrian Refugees Forced into 'Survival Sex' 叙利亚难民在黎巴嫩的遭遇

From VOA Learning English, welcome to As It Is! I’m Caty Weaver1.

The United Nations says an estimated 1.8 million Syrians have fled their country since the Syrian conflict started two years ago. The largest number of refugees is in Lebanon. Most are women and children. Today we talk about some of the dangers they face.

Refugee Women Look to the Sex Trade

About 75 percent of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are women and children. The economic difficulty they face there is forcing an increasing number of Syrian women and girls to consider involvement in the sex trade. Some aid workers describe it as “survival sex.” Avi Arditti reports.

Rima ZaaZaa is with the Lebanese aid group Solidarity2 and Development. She is concerned about the extreme poverty faced by many refugees from Syria. She says the number of women forced to trade sex for money and food will continue to rise as the refugee population grows.

“There are certain shelters that are known that the prostitution percentage is very high in these shelters, whether in Ain Helweh camp or in Sadaya, in different areas they are known.”

More than 600,000 Syrians have registered with the United Nations in Lebanon as refugees. But, the Lebanese government says it believes there are more than one million in the country. By the end of 2013 that number could reach two million. So many refugees would place terrible pressure on a small country that already faces economic problems.

Unlike Jordan and Turkey, Lebanon has refused to build new refugee camps to shelter Syrian refugees. Syrian women and girls are instead spread throughout Lebanon in empty buildings, low-cost housing and other places. Aid groups say the female refugees often face threats, including demands for sex from building owners, store owners and Lebanese officials.

Afana is a 26 year-old Syrian woman with two young children. She says it is not uncommon3 even for male aid workers to ask for sex. She explained through a translator what happened to her at one charity.

“In one of the NGOs he told her that if you accept to sleep with me, if we can have the sexual relation, every time I have any kind of access to assistance it will be yours. I will have your name on it. So she started crying and went out of the NGO.”

Lebanese officials describe reports of increased prostitution as false. They note evidence from the Internal Security Forces that shows no increase in the number of trafficked women.

But aid workers agree that organized sex trafficking is not the problem in Lebanon. They say it is individual women or girls being forced by their poverty to offer sex for money or other help. And, the aid workers say many men are accepting the exchange.

Qassem Saad works for the Lebanese office of the aid organization Developmental Action Without Borders. He says Syrian women and girls are in such urgent need that they sell themselves for very little. He says that outside a Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon the price was low as 10,000 Lebanese pounds, or seven dollars.

“Here we have a lot of cases but also because of the taboo4 and because of the Islamist factions5 that we have inside the camp the people they are afraid to talk about these things but if you go outside the camp you will see those Palestinian and Syrian girls or women who they suffer from the poverty, they are going outside the camp and they practice these sexual activities.”

Qassem Saad’s group is working to train the Lebanese police to see these women and children as victims, instead of law breakers.

I’m Avi Arditti.

Refugee Family Life Holds Danger Also

Aid workers say the threats faced by Syrian women and children in Lebanon do not always come from strangers. Reports of abuse by Syrian husbands and fathers are said to be increasing. Syrian women say jobless men are worried and humiliated6 about living as refugees.

Aid workers in Lebanon say it is hard to learn how widespread violence and abuse is among refugee families. But, they say more women are seeking help and advice on how to deal with violent husbands and male relatives. The aid workers say the simple fact that women are coming forward is notable. Arab culture teaches women to avoid discussing such problems with strangers.

The non-governmental group Developmental Action Without Borders operates seven centers for women and children in Lebanon. Qassem Saad says all of the centers are seeing more Syrian women reporting examples of abuse.

“We have discovered a lot of girls particularly they suffer from sexual abuse inside their houses, particularly from the uncles, the brothers. But you know in this community, it is a Muslim community and the people, the Muslim people, they have their own problems. But they don’t want to see it. They don’t want to admit they have the problems.”

Syrian refugee families often live in extremely overcrowded conditions, in old, empty buildings or poorly-made shelters. Aid workers say there is deep anger over the living situation. They say men often express this anger though violence against the women closest to them.

Maryam is a 31-year-old mother of five. She fled with her family from their home in Damascus. She says her husband has changed toward her and their children since they arrived in Lebanon. She explains through a translator.

“Her husband himself never used to hit any of the children. Now he will hit the children. He will scream at her. He will shout at her.”

A social worker says Maryam has also been beaten by her husband. But the worker says she does not want to admit this to a male stranger.

Many refugees are suffering from stress disorders7 as a result of what they experienced in Syria, including witnessing violent deaths of relatives and friends. Qassem Saad says sexual abuse and family violence is adding to the suffering of refugee women.

“We are doing a lot of psycho-social work with them. We try to provide them by techniques how they can defend themselves and how to cope with the situation that they are living inside their houses. In some cases we are in contact with the Lebanese security because sometimes you have to protect them, to protect them by law.”

However, the law can help only protect to a point. Lebanese law does not recognize rape8 within marriage.

And that’s AS IT IS for today. I’m Caty Weaver. Thanks for joining us.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
2 solidarity ww9wa     
n.团结;休戚相关
参考例句:
  • They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
  • The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。
3 uncommon AlPwO     
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的
参考例句:
  • Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
  • Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。
4 taboo aqBwg     
n.禁忌,禁止接近,禁止使用;adj.禁忌的;v.禁忌,禁制,禁止
参考例句:
  • The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
  • Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里,婚前的性行为犯禁吗?
5 factions 4b94ab431d5bc8729c89bd040e9ab892     
组织中的小派别,派系( faction的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
  • rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别
6 humiliated 97211aab9c3dcd4f7c74e1101d555362     
感到羞愧的
参考例句:
  • Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当,父母也失体面。
  • He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻,丢尽了面子。
7 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 rape PAQzh     
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸
参考例句:
  • The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
  • He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

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