2006年VOA标准英语-Riot-Torn French Towns Wait for Change

By Lisa Bryant
Aulnay-sous-Bois, France
11 January 2006

Two months after the worst riots in nearly 40 years swept across France, life is back to normal. There are few traces of the rioting and arson¹ attacks that exploded in poor, immigrant-heavy suburban² housing projects. On Wednesday, French ministers considered a new bill that aims to offer greater opportunities for France's disadvantaged - many of whom are ethnic³ immigrants. But it is unclear whether the country will address what many consider the root causes of the violence: A decades-long failure to integrate its ethnic minorities.

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Ruins of a Renault car dealership⁴ in Aulnay-sous-Bois, east of Paris (Nov. 3, 2005)  
  

The boulevards surrounding this town's drab housing projects carry inspiring names: Auguste Renoir, after the celebrated⁵ French painter, or the Crossroads of Europe. The reality is much more ordinary: Squat⁶, look-alike apartment buildings - some shedding paint, others flecked with graffiti - where laundry hangs to dry in the icy air.

Two months ago, Aulnay-sous-Bois briefly⁷ captured international media attention as one of the epicenters of three weeks of nationwide violence.

The unrest was touched off in a nearby suburb, after two African youngsters were accidentally electrocuted as they tried to hide from police. Police say they were not persuing the teenagers. Roughly 10,000 vehicles were burned in the ensuing mayhem, and hundreds of buildings were damaged.

Police largely blame the violence on ethnic-immigrant youths. Hundreds were arrested, and some spent time in jail.

But the only sounds piercing a recent afternoon were those of children playing soccer at Trois Mille, one of the toughest neighborhoods at Aulnay-sous-Bois. Aissa Diarra, a 45-year-old cleaning woman from Mali, waits for a bus, rubbing her arms to stay warm.

Diarra says calm has returned to this working class housing project, home to many Africans and other ethnic immigrants like herself. She says the youngsters have stopped doing stupid things. But Diarra can not think of anything else that has changed for the better.
 
 
Jacques Chirac (file photo) 
  
Last week, French President Jacques Chirac lifted a state of emergency imposed during the rioting. France's center-right government has mixed get tough strategies to end the violence with promises to address some of its causes: soaring unemployment, dilapidated housing and a general sense of despair and exclusion⁸ hanging over housing projects like this one.

But so far, most of the proposals - for better education and job training, for more social services and fairer hiring practices for ethnic minorities - have yet to be realized. And at Aulnay-sous-Bois and elsewhere, people are divided over whether life will really improve.

At Trois Mille, local activist⁹ Aissa Diawara is optimistic. Diawara heads a neighborhood association that helps Aulnay's immigrants find jobs and housing. Last November, she was among a group of activists¹⁰ who aired their grievances¹¹ to French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. She believes he will address them.

Diawara says there may not be any tangible¹² improvements - yet. But she says people are meeting and talking about problems, which they did not do before.

There are signs of change at Trois Mille. A bulldozer chews into a concrete tower - one of several slated¹³ for demolition¹⁴ as part of an urban renewal¹⁵ project begun before the riots.

Aulnay's deputy mayor, Frank Canarozzo, also argues life in projects like Trois Mille is getting better - even if people do not yet realize it.

Canarozzo says youngsters here say the town does not offer enough training and other social services. But he notes the rioters destroyed some of the structures that existed. He says the riots sent a bad message.

Many French agree. Recent polls show the majority supported the government's tough crackdown on the rioters. And one survey published last month found that one in six respondents believe there are too many immigrants in France.

France's economic doldrums are another barrier to a better life for ethnic immigrants here. The French government has urged public and private sector¹⁶ employers to hire more minorities. But unemployment in France is nearly 10 percent - and more than double that figure in low-income neighborhoods like Trois Mille.

Djamel Balarbi is associate director at a job placement agency. Since the riots, he says, young people looking for work face an additional obstacle.

Belarbi says prospective¹⁷ employers are even more wary¹⁸ of job applicants¹⁹ from places like Trois Mille than they were before. Since the riots, he says, they see local youngsters as the ones who burn and destroy - even if many did not participate in the violence.

Twenty-five-year-old Mamadou Kamara agrees. Kamara is an ethnic Mauritanian who has been out of work for a year. Sitting on his motorcycle at Trois Mille, Kamara describes a recent interview for a job as a sound engineer at a music studio. He was asked if he participated in the riots. Kamara said no. But he has heard nothing from the studio since then.

But Salem Bessad is more hopeful about the future of Aulnay-sous-Bois - and of its residents. The 34-year-old Algerian owns a small computer business. He acts as a mentor²⁰ to some young ethnic immigrants.

Bessad says it will take time to improve life in neighborhoods like Trois Mille, but he says he is optimistic. He lives and works in a town which is dynamic - and which is doing more than just talking about the problems it faces.

1 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

2 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

13 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

14 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

15 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

16 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。

17 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

18 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

19 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

20 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。