VOA常速英语2007年-British Police Crack Down on Human Trafficking

By Mandy Clark
London
13 November 2007
 

Britain is cracking down on human trafficking. In their latest drive to stop the crime, police say they are targeting gang leaders and their trade routes. Authorities say Britain is a main destination in the international human trafficking market and many victims get trapped in it with the promise of a good job. VOA's Mandy Clark reports from London.

 

Joanne is not her real name. She wants to remain anonymous¹. She says she thought that when she left the war in Rwanda, her life would get better. "It felt like a new chapter, a new life, a new beginning and I was desperate for that."

The man who smuggled² her into Britain had other plans. Joanne recalls the events. "He forced himself on me, then he started bringing different people to gang rape³ (me). He'll be paid in the process."

Joanne says her entire family died in Rwanda and she did not have anyone to help her. "My first thought was to escape, but to where? I wanted to kill myself but didn't have the means to do that. I wish I had died with my family."

The Helen Bamber Foundation is an anti-trafficking organization that is helping⁴ Joanne come to terms with her trauma⁵.

A video plays: "Elena used to cry. Maria doesn't feel anything anymore." To raise public awareness⁶, the trust has come out with a powerful campaign featuring actress Emma Thompson.

British government research suggests that 4,000 women involved in the illegal sex trade may have been brought to the country for that purpose -- and the number may be twice that. Authorities call their new crackdown Pentameter Two and plan to surpass the results of a previous crackdown. That operation last year freed 84 women and teenage girls from brothels and massage⁷ parlors⁸ and led to 232 arrests.

Detective Chief Superintendent⁹ Nick Kinsella runs Britain's Human Trafficking Center. He says, "We need to make this, the U.K., a hostile environment for traffickers where, if they are involved in trafficking activity, it's a high-risk, low-profit crime."

 

Joanne says she was freed after 11 months because her health began to fail and she was no longer of use to her trafficker. She says he let her go, but gave her devastating¹⁰ news. "He said, 'I have HIV and I'm pretty sure I have infected you.' I went to a clinic and found out I was HIV positive which leads to AIDS and I totally lost my mind."

Sister Patricia Mulhall is a Roman Catholic nun¹¹ who works with the United Nations in developing legislation to stop the trade in humans. "It's 21st century human slavery. A drug is sold -- it's gone. But a woman and a girl can be sold over and over and over again,'" she said.

 

Sister Mulhall says the message has to get to the men who pay for sex. "I think we have to tackle the situation head-on. Look at the demanders and challenge the social behavior."

 

She says if the demand stops, the trade could cease to exist, but Joanne says she is not hopeful. "It's happening, it's still happening and it's not going to end with me," Joanne said.

1 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

2 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

8 parlors   

客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店

参考例句：

• It had been a firm specializing in funeral parlors and parking lots. 它曾经是一个专门经营殡仪馆和停车场的公司。
• I walked, my eyes focused into the endless succession of barbershops, beauty parlors, confectioneries. 我走着，眼睛注视着那看不到头的、鳞次栉比的理发店、美容院、糖果店。

9 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。