VOA常速英语2008年-Kenya Post-Electoral Violence Wipes Out Busines

By Scott Bobb
Kisumu, Kenya
26 February 2008

The violence that swept across Kenya following December's disputed elections severely¹ affected² the Kenyan economy, wiping out hundreds of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Kenya's third largest city, Kisumu, was particularly hard hit. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from the western city.

Abdul Omar steps through his empty mobile telephone shop in downtown Kisumu. It was sacked in riots that erupted after Kenya's disputed elections.

More than 70 businesses were destroyed in Kisumu alone and many were set on fire causing millions of dollars worth of damage in one of the least wealthy regions of the country. Omar, who lost $70,000 worth of phones and air-time cards, is bitter.

"It is the worst thing that has ever happened to this town and personally it has really hurt me because this is one place I was intending to live the rest of my life," he said. "This is one place I really had hopes for."

Kisumu is a provincial³ capital of Nyanza Province of about 700,000 people on the edge of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. It is in the traditional homeland of the Luo ethnic⁴ group, which supported opposition⁵ leader and favorite son Raila Odinga.

The Luo since independence in 1963 have felt marginalized by the central government in Nairobi. They feel politics and business in the country have been dominated by the Kikuyu ethnic group, traditionally from central Kenya, which tended to support President Mwai Kibaki.

When Mr. Kibaki was declared the winner of the elections, which many believe were rigged, mobs marched into the Kisumu city center, looting businesses and sacking government buildings.

Omar, one of the victims, supports Odinga. He says some businesses were targeted because their owners were Kikuyu, but most were looted simply because they contained desirable commodities, like electronic goods, clothes and food.

Up the street on a busy corner stand the remains⁶ of one of the city's largest supermarkets, Ukwala.

The multi-storied building nearly the size of football field, is now a gutted⁷ cement shell whose twisted gates are rusting⁸ in the equatorial sun. A second store down the street was also partially⁹ looted.

Store director Hitesh Dhanani says he lost $20 million worth of goods, but that was not all.

"We have lost a lot of things, not just the value [of the looted goods] itself, but in terms of employment and in terms of our commitment to this area, in terms that we had been helping¹⁰ the underprivileged on a monthly basis," he said.

Dhanani says his company was supporting several charities in town, but because of its losses it had to suspend the aid. Before the riots, the company earned $1 million per month and employed more than 200 workers. Now it is operating at 35 percent of capacity and has laid off all but 55 employees.

Business leaders say the unrest nationwide caused business losses of nearly $4 billion and about 400,000 jobs. As a result, economic growth, projected to reach eight percent this year, has been downgraded by as much as four percentage points.

A trade officer with Kenya's National Chamber¹¹ of Industry, John Ngeri, says small and medium businesses like shop owners and market traders were hardest-hit. And these he says are the least likely to have the capital needed to rebuild.

"There are places whereby what we faced will take such a long time for it actually to recover," he said. "If you look at Kisumu, the kind of destruction that we see today may take another 10 to 15 years to get back to where it was."

He says the chamber tries to help businessmen with counseling for their trauma¹² and sources of possible financing to help them start over.

Dhanani's insurance company covered the losses at his supermarket, but the day after the riots it canceled coverage¹³ for losses due to civil unrest. Nevertheless, he remains optimistic.

"The future is still bright, but it all depends on the political climate," he said. "If that settles down believe me the dust will settle down the next day. If those people settle down, Kenya is still a place were people can invest."

Abdul Omar, who did not have insurance on his cell phone shop, does not plan to re-open this business. Although he has two other businesses, he is not eager to stay.

"If I can get someone who can buy me out right now, believe you me I am not staying behind," he said. "What we have seen in Kenya, many people did not expect. The face of democracy [in Kenya] is being turned completely into an ugly creature."

Most agree the scars from the violence will take a long time to heal. But they say if the reconciliation¹⁴ talks in Nairobi succeed, then business eventually will recover and the long-term effects will be less severe. If the talks do not succeed, then they say the future of Kenya is too bleak¹⁵ to contemplate¹⁶.

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 rusting   

n.生锈v.（使）生锈( rust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There was an old rusting bolt on the door. 门上有一个生锈的旧门闩。 来自辞典例句
• Zinc can be used to cover other metals to stop them rusting. 锌可用来涂在其他金属表面以防锈。 来自辞典例句

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 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。

11 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

12 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。

13 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

14 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

15 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

16 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。