VOA常速英语2007年-Senegal Temporarily Lifts Street-Selling Ban

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
23 November 2007

Senegalese street vendors¹ can once again sell their wares² on sidewalks after two days of riots in the capital, Dakar. The rioting vendors were protesting a government ban on their business. For VOA, Naomi Schwarz has more from Dakar.

The Senegalese government has agreed to temporarily lift its ban on street vendors, at least until the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha in late December, known locally as Tabaski.

Selling breakfast sandwiches and coffee at a makeshift stand of tables and benches on the side of a main road, Harouna Ba says this is not good enough.

He says Tabaski is not even two months away, and he does not have enough time to find another way to earn a living.

Ba has been selling breakfast as well and fruits and vegetables in this spot for years. He built a small shed and broad tables for his product and his customers.

But Ba says when he came to work early one morning last week, everything had been destroyed.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade³ had ordered police to evict⁴ street-sellers across the city, saying they were disrupting traffic and costing Dakar international business and millions of dollars. Police enforcing the ban chased vendors off the streets and tore down roadside stands.

On Wednesday and Thursday, thousands of street sellers angry over the ban, protested. They burned tires and ransacked⁵ government buildings. Wednesday also saw separate protests from hundreds of labor⁶ union members frustrated⁷ over rising food prices.

Thousands of Senegalese make their living as street sellers. Some. like Ba, have small kiosks. Others carry their wares in backpacks and on their heads, selling to people walking by or in cars caught in traffic jams.

Ba says he was not warned about the street selling ban and was not reimbursed⁸ for his destroyed stand. He says he had no choice but to start over.

He says, as well, that he had extended credit to many of his regular clients, and he needs to keep working at this spot so they will know where to come and repay him.

The government is in discussions with a delegation⁹ of street vendors to find a long-term solution.

More than 40 percent of Senegalese are estimated to be unemployed¹⁰. Nearly all the jobs that do exist are informal. The lack of employment has led tens of thousands of young Senegalese to try and emigrate illegally to Europe on flimsy boats that often capsize.

Momadou Korka Diallo, who sells phone cards at a busy intersection¹¹ near a gas station, says President Wade is right to try to keep streets orderly.

He says it is not good if vendors block traffic downtown and also leave the streets dirty.

But he says if they are acting¹² responsibly they should be allowed to keep working.

Senegal is one of West Africa's most stable democracies and protests and street violence are rare.

1 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

3 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

4 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

5 ransacked   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
• The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。