2007年VOA标准英语-Analysts Debate Mauritanian Anti-Slavery Propos

By Phuong Tran
Nema, Mauritania
01 August 2007

In the West African country Mauritania, the newly elected government is debating a proposed law that would criminalize slavery by up to 10 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. Even though it is already illegal to own a slave, activists¹ say some blacks are still victims of slavery-like practices. But analysts² say criminalizing slavery is not enough to end it.  Phuong Tran has more from the east Mauritanian village, Nema.

Last month Hadouma traveled almost 1,500 kilometers from the capital to her home village, Bassikinu.  She says since childhood she worked for a family that abused her.  She says she fled seven years ago. 

She says her mother and grandmother also worked as slaves for this family.

Hadouma

"I ran away because I was so tired of doing all the work for my master and his neighbors. My daughters were taken from me and split up to work for different family members," she said.

Hadouma does not say who the father of her four girls is.  But she adds she had sex with, as she calls him, her master. She says he kept her apart from her daughters.

"I sometimes saw my daughters when I went to collect water, but I could not talk to them," she recalled.

Hadouma says she had been too scared to confront the man to ask for her daughters, but she says the national presidential campaign, earlier this year, made her realize she had the right.

Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi

A number of the candidates, including current President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh
Abdallahi, promised to end slavery.

President Abdallahi says the proposed law that would criminalize slavery practices plus previous legislation is the most the government can do through lawmaking to fight slavery.

But Boubacar Messaoud, director of the Mauritanian slave abolition³ group SOS Esclaves, says this is not enough.

Boubacar Messaoud

Messaoud says the current proposal does not specify⁴ contemporary aspects of slavery, such as forced marriage, indentured⁵ labor⁶ or debt bondage⁷. He says 10 years of prison is inadequate⁸. 

Last month, Messaoud accompanied Hadouma while she looked for her daughters.

He says village police helped her find one daughter, before they ran out of gas.

Messaoud says the daughter they found says the family she works for does not treat her badly and she will remain there.

He says the woman is still looking for her other three daughters.

Bernard Freamon, an Islamic legal researcher at Yale University, says slavery will continue even with the new law if there is no strict enforcement.

"The legitimacy⁹ of a law like that is going to be undermined, if the people charged with enforcing the law perceive it as something just designed to make people in the human rights community feel better," he noted¹⁰.

Freamon says some Muslims wrongly interpret the Koran to justify¹¹ slavery. He says slavery will end only when religious leaders publicly denounce slavery.

"It will disappear because each of the scholars will go back to their mosques¹², their local imams [local religious leaders]," he added.  "They will issue an edict that will be very persuasive¹³ and authoritative¹⁴ in terms of the local Muslims in that community."

Freamon adds modern day slavery will also exist as long as there are people desperate for food, health care and housing.

President Abdallahi says his government wants to single out people who have been victims of slavery for special economic help.  He does not specify how the government will pursue what he calls positive discrimination.

Mauritania's lawmakers are expected to vote soon on the anti-slavery legislation.

1 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》

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

4 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

5 indentured   

v.以契约束缚（学徒）( indenture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Africans became indentured servants, trading labor for shelter and eventual freedom. 非洲人成为契约上的仆人，以劳力交换庇护及最终的自由。 来自互联网
• They are descendants of indentured importees. 他们是契约外来工的后代。 来自互联网

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 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

8 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

9 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

13 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

14 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。