VOA标准英语2013--贫困迫使巴基斯坦儿童非法工作

 

Poverty Forces Children to Work Illegally in Pakistan 贫困迫使巴基斯坦儿童非法工作

KARACHI, PAKISTAN — Despite laws in Pakistan that prohibit child labor¹ in hazardous² jobs, millions of children continue to work in order to put food on the table. According to the International Labor Organization, many of these children work in harsh and often dangerous conditions.

巴基斯坦花生省—尽管巴基斯坦的法律禁止童工从事危险工作，但仍有上百万儿童为了餐桌上能有食物仍在工作。据国际劳工组织报道，这些孩子大部分是在条件恶劣危险频发的环境下工作。

Like millions of other children in Pakistan, Mohsin left school at 13 to work to help feed his family. His father is paralyzed.

像巴基斯坦其他百万个孩子一样，Mohsin为了帮忙养家糊口，13岁时就辍学务工了，因为他爸爸瘫痪了。

“My father has been sick, and we had nothing to eat at home. So I had to work because of the problems we face at home,” said Mohsin.

"爸爸常年生病，家里一点吃的都没有。面对家里这样的境况，我只得去工作。"Mohsin说。

According to the latest U.S. Department of Labor report, Pakistan had made no advancement³ by 2011 in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.

据美国劳工部门最新报道，截至2011年巴基斯坦政府就努力消除最恶劣的童工形势方面没有取得任何进展。

Qadir Khan Mandokhail, who works for a non-profit human rights organization in Karachi, capital of southern Sindh province, said, “We are working for the implementation⁴ of the laws. The children, they should not work under 18. They should go to schools for educations. The reason is that the department of government of Sindh and Baluchistan and the federal government - they are not seriously working for these issues.”

Qadir Khan Mandokhail，一个Sindh省省会城市Karachi非盈利性人权机构的工作人员，说："我们负责法律的执行。从法律上来讲，那些未满18岁的孩子应该在学校接受教育，而不是去工作。造成这个局势的原因是Sindh和Baluchistan的政府部门以及联合政府并没有落实解决问题。”

While education is free and even compulsory⁵ to age 16, children as young as six in poorer areas need to work to help their families.

16岁以下的儿童可以享受免费义务制教育，但一些更贫困地区的孩子年仅六岁就得去工作帮着养家糊口。

“I want so very much to go to school, but I can’t study because of the situation in my home,” said Mohsin. He works in a local garment factory, loading bundles or doing embroidery⁶, and earning roughly $10 a week.

“我很想上学，但因为家中境况我不能去。”Mohsin说。Mohsin在当地一家服装厂搬运大捆的衣服有时也做刺绣，大约10$一星期。

Mohsin’s mother, Ruby⁷, said Mohsin’s older brother started working in the factory when he was 10, despite the dangerous conditions. A fire in a garment factory last year in Karachi killed 289 people, including children.

Mohsin的妈妈Ruby说Mohsin的哥哥十岁时就去Mohsin工作的服装厂工作了， 尽管工作环境不安全 。去年Karachi一家服装厂起火死了289人，其中也包括小孩。

“We got scared when that factory caught fire. Other people’s children got killed -and they were like our children. I’m so afraid of sending my children to work, but what can I do? I have to send them to work so that we can eat,” said Ruby.

“那家服装厂起火时我们都吓坏了。别人的孩子烧死了就像我们的孩子烧死了一样。我很怕让孩子去服装厂工作，但我又能怎么办呢？我只能让他们去，这样我们才不会饿死。”Ruby说。

With little law enforcement, increasing unemployment and widespread poverty, it is hard to see how Mohsin, and others like him, will have a different future. 

在法律执行力差，失业率不断增加，普遍贫困的形式下，我们很难预测其他像Mohsin这样的孩子将来会有什么不同的命运。

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

3 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

4 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。

5 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

6 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

7 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。