VOA标准英语2013--Mexico Authorities Free 275 Trapped In Forced Lab

 

Mexico Authorities Free 275 Trapped In Forced Lab

Bioparques de Occidente is a tomato sorting and packing company in the municipality of Toliman in the western state of Jalisco.  The management finds workers to get the tomatoes ready for export in nearby rural areas.

Promise of work, wages, food

Regional prosecutor¹ Salvador Gonzales said people are lured² to the plant by offers of reasonable wages, accommodation and schools for their children.  "They [workers] were offered jobs in Ciudad Guzman where they were offered 100 pesos [$7.85] per day, schools, accommodation. The offer was attractive. But when they [workers] arrived here they realized it was a different reality. They [Bioparques de Occidente] made them work more than eight hours and didn't pay them 100 pesos,'' he said.

Officials said the victims were mainly paid in vouchers³ redeemable⁴ at the company store, where items were sold at overinflated prices.  The living conditions were crowded and dirty.  But the workers were not permitted to leave. 

Alejandro Acosta said they were treated cruelly. "We are badly treated here. It's not fair. They should pay us what they owe us in any case. Scoldings in the morning when one has a sick baby. They go to your room, kick the door open and tell you: 'Go to work, now!' If one does not go to work in the field you are not given any food, no food and apart from that you have to work here, sweep the floor, clean toilets, collect rubbish," Acosta explained. "It's not fair.''

But one man managed to escape and alert authorities in the state capital, Guadalajara.

Violators arrested

Five foremen were arrested on charges of "grave violations⁵ and crimes, including the illegal privation of liberty and human trafficking.  

In 2007, Mauritania became the last country to ban slavery officially, but rights groups said that global slave trade in various forms continues, generating an estimated $32 billion a year.

A recent study, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, estimated that 880,000 people are trapped in forced labor⁶ in nine European countries alone: France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

3 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

4 redeemable   

可赎回的，可补救的

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• The bonds are redeemable by annual drawings. 公债每年抽签偿还。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

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。