VOA慢速英语2013 Indonesian Prison Inmates Buy Special Privileges

 

AS IT IS 2013-08-13 Indonesian Prison Inmates¹ Buy Special Privileges

Hello and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

Today we tell about how some prisoners in Indonesian jails use their money to get special privileges and services. 

We hear concerns that women in Afghanistan may lose some of the human rights they have gained when international troops withdraw. 

Finally, we note the anniversary of the start of construction on this date in 1961 of what was to become the Berlin Wall.

Indonesian Prison Inmates Buy Special Privileges

Media reports say prisoners in Indonesia can buy house cleaning services, illegal drugs and even sex for the right price. Indonesia is again debating favoritism for wealthy Indonesian prisoners

This time, the issue came to the country’s attention when a young woman said she and her boyfriend had sex and used illegal drugs in a private room in prison. The boyfriend of 22-year-old model Vanny Rossyane was sentenced to death this July. Freddy Budiman had been found guilty of trying to import illegal drugs from China.

Budiman was already in Jakarta’s Cipinang prison on separate drug charges. He was said to operate his illegal drug business from prison using cell phones.

Leopold Sudaryono is the law coordinator² at the Asia Foundation in Jakarta. He says that prisoners pay for everything in jail, from luxuries to necessary things such as food, soap and a bed.

“Since the resources are scarce here, they [inmates] need to pay for the resources like food, even for the mattresses…” 

He says prisoners who can’t pay for these things and who don’t have family support need to work inside prison serving other prisoners.

Indonesian prisons suffer from corruption³, overcrowding, poor operations and a lack of resources. Prison guards earn about $300 a month. They can also make money by letting prisoners have cell phones and other banned goods.

Mister Sudaryono says this illegal system can actually help bring calm to extremely crowded jails.

Today there are around 160,000 prisoners across the country.  Indonesian jails struggle to provide housing and food. Prison officials are not able to offer rehabilitation⁴ services like education or counseling.   

Mr. Sudaryono says there is only one guard for every 900 prisoners in the most crowded prisons.

“Overcrowding is not only unique to Indonesia or other developing countries. Actually countries like the U.S. and Australia also have problems with overcrowding, but the problem is in Indonesia, the rate is just so extraordinary. I mean we can have rates like 600-700 percent overcrowding in a number of prisons.”

This month more than 200 prisoners escaped after rioting in an overcrowded prison in Sumatra.

I’m Steve Ember, and you’re listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

Concerns over Loss of Afghan Women’s Rights when International Troops Withdraw

The planned withdrawal⁵ of international forces from Afghanistan is only 18 months away.  A new United Nations report says gains for women could be lost in those months.  Milagros Ardin tells us more. 

Enforcement of the rights of women has greatly increased since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Afghan women now go to school, work, and hold government positions. But that progress could be threatened.

Nicole Ameline heads the U.N Committee on the Elimination⁶ of Discrimination Against Women.  She says Afghan officials have told her that women’s rights will be defended after international troops leave.

“I have the official commitment of the (U.N.) delegation⁷ of Afghanistan.  Before us they said, “We agree with you, women’s rights are not negotiable.”

Ms. Ameline calls that good news.  But, she says other nations must work hard to keep women’s rights an important issue in Afghanistan.  A recent U.N. study on equal rights finds conditions for women in Afghanistan are among the worst in the world.

The report says there is much violence against Afghan women, including stoning, rape⁸ and abuse in the family.  It notes increasing attacks on girls’ schools by Taliban groups. These attacks include the suspected poisoning of girls. 

Ms. Ameline says she is afraid women’s rights could be lost during peace negotiations⁹ with the Taliban. Only nine women serve on the 70-member High Peace Council. The group was established to negotiate an end to conflict with the Islamic group.

“The situation is absolutely fragile. We know that the next 18 months will be totally crucial for women’s rights.”

In 2009, President Karzai signed an order to end violence against women but the national assembly has not yet approved it.  Two months ago, strong criticism stopped debate on the law after only 15 minutes.   I’m Milagros Ardin

It’s As It Is from VOA Learning English.

Remembering a Grim Symbol of the Cold War 

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” [Crowd cheers]

That was U.S. President Ronald Reagan, standing¹⁰ at the Brandenburg Gate, in what was then West Berlin. He was addressing the Soviet¹¹ Premier¹², Mikhail Gorbachev. The year was  1987.

The “wall” he was talking about was an ugly symbol of the Cold War – the Berlin Wall.

Berlin had been a divided city since the end of World War Two, when the victorious¹³ Allied¹⁴ powers, which included the Soviet Union, partitioned it. Indeed Germany had been a divided country. East Germany was under communist control, and Berlin was a part of East Germany.

West Berlin was a prosperous western-style democracy. East Berlin was under the control of a communist government with strong ties to the Soviet Union. But people could travel freely between the eastern and western sectors¹⁶.

Many chose to leave the communist area for a better life. The outflow included professionals, who were hard to replace.

On August l3, 1961, East Germany closed the border between East and West Berlin and put up a fence, guarded by soldiers, to divide the two areas. Some people thought it would disappear.  But the fence quickly grew into a wall, with guard towers and barbed wire.  

Over time, many people tried to cross to the Western sector¹⁵. Many were captured and sent to prison or killed for their attempts to get around, over, or under the wall.

For 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a sign of the severe tension between Western nations and the Soviet Union.  Finally, in November of l989, the East German government opened the Berlin Wall, to great celebrations on both sides.

[Horns and people cheering as Berlin Wall is opened]

In the days that followed, citizens of Berlin and East German troops with bulldozers began tearing it down.

[Song “Freiheit” (Freedom) being sung as Berlin Wall is opened]

And that’s our program for today. I’m Steve Ember. Thanks for joining us. 

1 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 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。

4 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 rape   

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。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

13 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

14 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》