VOA常速英语2007年-US Pakistanis Keep Wary Eye On Events Back Home

By Greg Flakus
Houston
10 November 2007

The state of emergency and continuing violence in Pakistan are of special concern to the estimated half a million people of Pakistani descent living in the United States. Many of them are following events in their homeland through web-based news outlets¹ as well as international news programs. VOA's Greg Flakus has more on the story from Houston, Texas.

There are some 120,000 Pakistanis in the Houston metropolitan² area, making it the third largest Pakistani-American community in the United States. Houston is also home to the Pakistan Chronicle, a newspaper marketed to Pakistani immigrants all over the United States. It has a readership of almost 40,000. The paper also maintains a web site that registers around 100,000 visits a week. (http://www.pakistanchronicle.com)

Mohammed Danish, the Pakistan Chronicle's web site manager, says traffic on the site has increased in recent days because of the situation in Pakistan, but he says there have been relatively³ few e-mail messages sent to the site from people in Pakistan.

"Actually, it was more from the people in the United States and outside of Pakistan than from Pakistan. The people here in the United States, in particular, are a lot more concerned, from what I have noticed, than the people actually sitting in Pakistan. People over there, I do not believe, are letting this get on their life (interfere with their life) too much," he said.

He says he spoke⁴ with a relative in Pakistan by telephone following the announcement of a state of emergency and found him relaxed and talking about normal daily activities, such as going to the market.

As for Pakistanis here, Danish says age has a lot to do with how concerned people are about politics and turmoil⁵ back in Pakistan. "The population from the 20's to the 40's and maybe a bit higher than that is, of course, concerned about that,"

Flakus: "And the younger population?"

"They are drifting more towards their own personal life."

The publisher of the Pakistan Chronicle, Tariq Khan, says many people in the Pakistani-American community reacted with horror to recent suicide bombings in Pakistan, and this has caused them to be supportive of the country's president General Pervez Musharraf, even if they disapprove⁶ of his suspension of the constitution.

"These people, the suicide bombers⁷, they have no religion. What kind of people are they? They are a threat to the government. They are a threat to everybody, any political party, any religious party, because you do not know what they want," he said.

Khan estimates that 75 percent of the Pakistanis in Houston are willing to give Mr. Musharraf some leeway in dealing⁸ with militants⁹ and terrorists, but he says they also expect him to fulfill¹⁰ his promise to hold elections by mid-February and to take off his military uniform and rule as a civilian¹¹.

A much stronger condemnation¹² of the state of emergency is found on the web site of the Association of Pakistani-American Lawyers. The Seattle-based group calls for an immediate¹³ end of the state of emergency, the restoration of the Pakistani Supreme¹⁴ Court and respect for human rights. (http://www.apalnet.org/page6.html)

The president of the association, Khalil Ur-Rehman Khan, spoke to VOA by telephone about the situation in Pakistan.

"People are not happy all over the country. The vast majority of the people, not only the lawyers, but including the intellectuals, the media, no one is happy with the present situation. I think it is extremely important for lawyers and the civil society to take steps, non-violent actions, to make the government suspend the state of emergency, end it immediately," he said.

Khalil Rehman Khan says the state of emergency has damaged Pakistan's image as a nation of laws. He says he doubts that Mr. Musharraf's actions will accomplish anything in terms of fighting terrorism and radical¹⁵ movements.

"I think it is not going to solve the problems of Pakistan. It is not going to eliminate terrorists. No single individual should be above the law, and the constitution and basic human rights should be respected," he said.

Khalil Rehman Khan says his organization may have little influence on the Pakistani government, but he believes it is important to let the world know that there are many Pakistanis both in Pakistan and in other countries who believe in human rights and the rule of law.

1 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。