2007年VOA标准英语-Guineans Return to Work After Costly General St

By Nico Colombant & Tatiana Mossot
Conakry, Guinea
05 February 2007
 
watch Guinea Strike Aftermath

 
Lansana Conte (file)
Last month's general strike in the mineral-rich West African nation of Guinea became a popular movement demanding the resignation of President Lansana Conte, in power for 23 years.  Security forces killed scores of protesters, but the 18-day strike ended January 27th after Mr. Conte promised to name a prime minister with decision-making powers to fight corruption¹ and ease grinding poverty.  The country's bauxite² mines are back in operation now, but there is widespread concern about possible further unrest.  VOA's Nico Colombant updates the situation, with reporting by Tatiana Mossot in Guinea's capital.

Guinea's capital is busy again, but after last month's deadly protests, some things will never again be the same.

In markets, the price of rice has gone up, and will probably never go back to pre-strike levels. Instead of bringing prices down, the protest action worsened inflation. The price of gasoline also nearly doubled.

 
A grieving mother holds a picture of her family
In the slums of Conakry, families are mourning the dead.

Amadou Oury Diallo was killed by a soldier's bullet to the head.  His brother remains³ defiant⁴: "I have a right to defend myself.  I have a right to defend Guinea.  We must all fight for change.  I am not afraid to die.  I have suffered too much."

A few streets down, a father mourns his son, who was killed by security forces on the deadliest day of the strike. The father remembers how his son's friend came to break the news. "He said, 'I need your help with Adramane.'  I said, 'Why can't you help him?'  He said, 'They shot him down.'  I said, 'Did you leave him in the streets?'  He said, 'Yes.'  I asked him, 'Is that his blood on your shoes?'  He said, 'Yes.'  I knew then that my son was dead.  His friend would have never left him behind alive."

Guineans, who used to be afraid to speak out -- afraid they would be arrested, now gather in courtyards talking about politics. One protester says, "Change is still needed.  And this change needs to happen on all levels: economic, social, and cultural.  Everything is oppressive here.  Before, we were too afraid to even talk.  But now we are really determined⁵.  If they don't want real change, they will have to kill us all."

Guineans are waiting to see if the changes to end the strike will go far enough, or if they will have to return to the streets for more protests.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。

3 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。

4 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。