VOA标准英语2009年-Kidnappings Plague Kenyan Capital

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
05 November 2009
 
Child kidnapping in Kenya. A parent's worse nightmare.
Kidnapping has become a serious problem in Kenya's capital, with children being the most common targets. Experts say criminals consider kidnapping to be easy money. But a security firm has come up with a device that monitors the movements of children and raises an alarm when their routes are disrupted.

A parent's worst nightmare.

Victims are typically abducted¹ in middle-class areas. Kidnappers² demand ransoms³ of anywhere from about $640,000 - $1million shillings - usually issued through mobile telephone text messages.

Most of the victims are children.

Fifteen-year-old Eugene Mandela Ochieng' was abducted at gunpoint on his way to school in late June and held for three days before being rescued by police.

"When I lied down, after they had already shot my neighbor, they came and immediately picked me up and told my father, 'Bring one million [shillings] so that you can be with your son again,'" he recalled.

 
Billy Michael Omondi
Police say there are no official statistics on the number of kidnappings that spiked⁴ in the middle of this year. They say more than 40 people in the capital have been arrested and charged with kidnapping within the past year.

The government has set up a Special Crimes Unit that is supposed to report to Parliament next year on how to deal with the kidnappings.

But that is small comfort to Billy Michael Omondi, who now accompanies 15-year-old Ochieng' everywhere he goes.

"He is scared. He cannot walk alone. We actually need to change him from that school because they know where his school is because it was highlighted," he said."Nowadays we have to pick him, drop him to school because we cannot just change him out of school in the middle of the term - he has to do the exams."

Omondi and Ochieng' are among many Kenyans who are increasingly fearful of kidnapping and other pervasive⁵ crime. Many are turning to security companies to allay⁶ their fears of becoming victims.

 
Dennis Ndwiga
One such company in Kenya called G4S Security Services has come up with a device with a panic button that can be carried in a child's school bag.

The company relies on a sophisticated network of computers and satellites to follow the tracking device, even automatically.

"Portatrak also has what you would call an 'invisible' GPS shield. If you know the actual route that the vehicle follows or that the baby goes to school with, you can actually be able to draw what you would call 'invisible shields,' Dennis Ndwiga explained. Ndwiga is with G4S Security Services. "If the child is veered⁷ off that, or if the car goes off that, then it sends you signals to let you know that, hey, there is a problem here."

Ndwiga and his colleagues aim to stop the kidnappers in their tracks before it is too late.

1 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

2 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ransoms   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
• Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。

4 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

5 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

6 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

7 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》