2006年VOA标准英语-UN Report Calls on World to Protect Female Migr

By Gary Thomas
London
06 September 2006

The United Nations has issued a new report calling on governments to enact¹ stricter laws to protect women who leave their home countries.  The annual State of the World Population study focuses on the plight² of female migrants.  The report comes just ahead of a U.N. meeting on migration³ and development.

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Thoraya Ahmed Obaid  (file photo)

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, says this year's report highlights what she calls "the shortcomings and the dark side of globalization."

Obaid says female migrants all too often find themselves "ignored, disenfranchised, and abused."

"This report calls on governments and individuals to recognize and value the contributions of migrant women and promote and respect their human rights," she said. "There is an urgent need for stronger cooperation between countries to make migration more safe and fair. And there is a dire⁴ need for greater action to address the lack of opportunities and the human rights violations⁵ that lead many women to migrate in the first place."

Nearly one-half of the 191 million people who migrate annually⁶ are women, primarily from poor countries in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe.  Most women migrants go abroad in search of a better life.  The study shows that women tend to send more of their earnings⁷ back home than men do.  But, Obaid points out, many women find themselves trapped in prostitution or abused as domestic workers.

"The report shows that, while migration can open new doors to a world of greater equality and opportunity, it can also lead to terrible human rights violations, cases of migration gone bad, from the enslavement of trafficking victims to the exploitation and abuse of domestic workers, millions of female migrants face hazards that must be urgently addressed," she said.

Bibi Sattaur is the daughter of a Guyanese immigrant who moved to Suriname. She is studying to achieve her lifetime dream of becoming a nurse.  But she only earns $18 a month during her studies.  She says wages are so low that she and most of her fellow students will leave Suriname when they finish school.

"Over there it is like as soon as we get our certificates, everyone just leaves searching for a better life or better future over there.  So probably, maybe, I will also leave my country," Sattaur said. "It is sad to say that I want to leave it also to seek a better life because we really work hard over there and we can't meet our needs when it's the end of the month.  The bills are really high to pay over there also."

Population Fund director Obaid says the poorest countries are losing health care workers at a time when they most desperately⁸ need them.  Some 20,000 doctors and nurses leave Africa every year for better paying jobs even as the continent is being ravaged⁹ by diseases like AIDS and malaria¹⁰.

"In Europe and North America, aging populations and a shortage of nurses and doctors are driving the demand for health workers," she said. "In poorer countries, skilled women and men are increasingly turning to migration as a means to improve their own lives and those of their families. But their countries are facing a health-care crisis unprecedented¹¹ in the modern world."

Obaid says the report was designed to highlight the issue of female migration for world officials as they meet in New York next week for a special U.N. session on international migration and development.

1 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

2 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

7 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

8 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

9 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

10 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。