VOA标准英语2014--Pakistan's Bonded Laborers Trapped in Cycle of Debt 巴基斯坦契约劳工陷入债务圈套

 

Pakistan's Bonded¹ Laborers³ Trapped in Cycle of Debt 巴基斯坦契约劳工陷入债务圈套

ISLAMABAD — In Pakistan today, more than 2 million people, including children, work as bonded laborers, a system the United Nations describes as modern-day slavery.

An example of bonded labor² can be seen in the life of brick-makers who use their children as collateral⁴ for debts to their employers.

Mohammad Ali has been making bricks since he was a child. Like his father before him, Ali’s entire family works to repay money he has borrowed from the factory owner.

They get paid roughly $6 per thousand bricks.

“They take a third of what we earn," he said. "They give us some, and they take some for themselves. But this debt never ends, because sometimes we get sick. Sometimes we need it for electricity. Sometimes we take a day off. Then we have to borrow more money. So it never gets paid off.”

Modern-day slaves

Ali has tuberculosis⁵. If he dies early, his children will spend their lives working off his loan.

The United Nations says these are modern-day slaves, trapped in a cycle of debt they barely understand.

Francesco d’Ovidio, head of the U.N.’s International Labor Organization in Islamabad, says international companies are threatening to leave Pakistan if this practice of bonded labor is not abolished.

“So, in addition to the human rights angle, there is also an economic reason to improve the compliance⁶ with these standards, and I must say that Pakistan in particular is feeling this threat very seriously, is taking this threat very seriously,” he said.

Zareena Bibi has been working in different brick kilns⁸ since she was eight. Extreme poverty means all her children work too.

“My children were small, and I beat them in order to make them work harder to earn money to feed ourselves," she said. "Then, one day, I cut my foot and bled a lot, but I had many children and I thanked God that at least we would have food that way.”

Cheap labor

Until recently, these workers and families did not even have birth or death certificates, or identification cards. Technically⁹, they didn’t even exist.

Choudhry Faiz Rasoul is one of the rare factory owners getting his workers social security cards, giving them access to state welfare programs. But he says the workers' inability to budget is part of the problem.

“The government wants us to write off their existing loans. This will destroy everything," he said. "You write off their loans today, and tomorrow they will again start borrowing. They will leave me, go to another kiln⁷, borrow more money, then come back to me, and borrow again, and the whole industry will be destroyed.”

 

Pakistan’s economy relies heavily on cheap labor. Extreme poverty, illiteracy¹⁰ and a lack of skills guarantee that workers and their families readily provide such labor, even if that means they are bonded for life.

1 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

2 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。

3 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

4 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

5 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

6 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

7 kiln   

n.（砖、石灰等）窑，炉；v.烧窑

参考例句：

• That morning we fired our first kiln of charcoal.那天上午，我们烧了我们的第一窑木炭。
• Bricks are baked in a kiln.砖是在窑里烧成的。

8 kilns   

n.窑( kiln的名词复数 )；烧窑工人

参考例句：

• Bricks and earthware articles are baked in kilns. 砖和陶器都是在窑中烧成的。 来自辞典例句
• The bricks are baking in the kilns. ？里正在烧砖。 来自辞典例句

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。