VOA双语新闻 - 关湾狱囚迁往该州举行听证(在线收听

  While many residents in the area support the move because of the jobs they hope it will bring, many across the state oppose any plan to house detainees on U.S. soil. The hearing in the town of Sterling, Illinois, offered a chance for the public to hear from officials on the plan.
尽管很多当地居民因为希望能够给他们带来工作机会而支持这一计划,但是整个伊利诺伊州很多人都反对任何把在美国本土上关押这些在押人员的计划。
In mid-December, President Barack Obama directed the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to purchase the under-utilized Thomson Correctional Center in western Illinois from the state to house about 100 detainees from Guantanamo. The proposed sale touches on two major issues for residents in the area: providing jobs and money to an area suffering high unemployment during the recession, and concerns about security if terror suspects are housed there.
12月中旬,奥巴马总统指示美国监狱管理局从伊利诺伊州购置位于该州西部没有得到充分使用的汤姆森惩戒中心,以关押大约100名来自关塔那摩湾的在押人员。这项拟议中的出售计划与当地居民两个主要关心问题有关,一个是为当地带来工作机会以及经济衰退期间饱受高失业率之苦时所急需的资金,另外一个就是如果恐怖分子嫌疑人被关押在当地可能带来的安全问题。
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's Chief Operating Officer Jack Lavin said selling Thomson to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons would help create jobs.
伊利诺伊州州长帕特·奎恩的运营总监杰克·莱文表示,把汤姆森惩戒中心卖给美国监狱管理局有助于创造就业机会。
"The White House Counsel of Economic Advisors has estimated that up to 3,800 jobs and more than $1 billion of economic activity in Illinois will be generated in just its first four years of operation," Lavin said.
他说:“白宫的经济顾问团队估计,在惩戒中心被购买后的头4年内,将带来多达3千8百个就业机会以及为伊利诺伊州的经济活动带来10亿美元以上的收益。”
Lavin spoke before members of the State of Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability gathered at a high school auditorium in Sterling, about 30 kilometers from the Thomson prison, for the only public hearing on the proposal.
莱文是在斯特林镇一所高中的礼堂聚集,为此项计划举行的唯一一场公开听证会的伊利诺伊州政府预测问责委员会成员面前说这番话的。斯特林镇距离汤姆森惩戒中心有大约30公里的距离。
He also sought to allay concerns about security.
莱文还试图减轻人们对安全问题的担忧。
"No detainees transferred from Guantanamo to the United States will be released domestically," Lavin said. "No detainees transferred to Thomson will be tried in Illinois Federal Courts."
他说:“从关塔那摩转至美国本土的在押人员当中,没有人会在美国国内获释。转至汤姆森惩戒中心的在押人员当中,没有人会在伊利诺伊州联邦法庭受审。”
That did not convince many of the several hundred people - supporters and opponents - in attendance.
但是这番表态没有使听证会在场的数百名这项计划的支持者和反对者当中的很多人感到信服。
Though not an Illinois resident, Debbie Lee traveled from Arizona to attend the hearing. Her son, Marc, a U.S. Navy Seal, died in Iraq in 2006. She says she visited the military prison at Guantanamo Bay in 2008 and opposes bringing terror suspects to the United States.
戴比·李尽管不是伊利诺伊州居民,但是她从亚利桑那州赶来参加此次听证会。她的儿子马克,曾经是美国海军海豹突击队的一名成员,2006年在伊拉克丧生。她说,她2008年造访过关塔那摩的军事监狱,她反对把恐怖分子嫌犯带到美国。
"I'm here today to make sure that they hear my voice and hear what I personally saw down there," Lee said. "My son gave up his life fighting terrorists so that we wouldn't ever have them back here in this country again."
“我今天来这里,是为了确保他们听到我的声音,听到我本人在关塔那摩的所见所闻。我的儿子为了打击恐怖分子献出了自己的生命,因此,我们再不能让恐怖分子回到这个国家。”
Tom Brackemeyer, however, said he supports the sale of the prison. He said the benefit to the local community would go beyond jobs at the prison itself.
但是,汤姆·布莱克梅耶表示他支持出售这所监狱。他说,这项出售计划为当地带来的收益将超过监狱创造的就业计划本身。
"We've lost jobs, we need jobs," Brackemeyer said. "It's not only the jobs inside the prison. It's the jobs it will create outside the prison. There's going to be expanded jobs outside."
“我们失去了工作,我们需要工作。不仅只是监狱里的工作机会,监狱外也会创造出工作机会。这项计划在监狱外在会创造出就业机会。”
Todd Pustelnik, currently a prison guard at Thomson, worried the proposed sale could jeopardize his job because the federal and state prison systems have different requirements.
目前就在汤姆森监狱担任狱警的托德·帕斯特尼克,担心这项计划中德出售计划将危急自己的工作,因为联邦和州监狱系统有不同的要求。
"We don't have rights to slide over into the federal prison system," Pustelnik said. "We would have to go ahead and apply just like everyone else, and the requirements to work in a federal facility versus a state facility are a little difficult for me."
“我们没有权利自动转入联邦监狱系统。我们将不得不象所有人那样去申请,和在州监狱工作相比,在联邦监狱的工作要求对我来说有点难。”
The 12-member commission will deliver its findings to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. Even if the commission members oppose the sale of the prison, Governor Quinn is not obligated to follow their recommendations.
这个有12名成员的委员会将把自己听取的结果报告伊利诺伊州州长奎因。即使这个委员会成员反对出售这所监狱,奎因州长仍然可以做出自己的决定。

  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/voabn/2009/12/147908.html