VOA常速英语2105--不惧艰险的索马里失明记者

不惧艰险的索马里失明记者

MOGADISHU— Despite improving security in the last few years, Somalia remains¹ one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist — even more so for someone who cannot see. Journalist Abdifatah Hassan Kalgacal has been reporting from the Somali capital for the last decade, despite being blind.

The visually impaired² reporter has defied the odds³ in a country ranked among the deadliest for journalists. He works at one of Mogadishu's leading radio stations.

在这个对记者来说最危险的国家，这位视力受损的记者仍不惧困难，他在摩加迪沙著名的广播电台工作。

His friends and colleagues call him Kalgacal.

他的朋友和同事们称他Kalgacal。

“I had an eye illness at a very young age. But I couldn’t get proper medical treatment due to the situation in Somalia. After the civil war started, I lost all hope of ever seeing again and had no medical support,” he said.

“我年幼时患过眼疾，但因为索马里的局势，我无法得到适当的治疗。内战开始后，我就失去了再次看到东西的希望，也得不到医疗帮助。”

Despite the massive challenges, Kalgacal persevered⁴ and now works at Goobjoog Radio Station as its senior reporter covering the Somali parliament.

尽管面临重重困难，Kalgacal仍坚韧不拔，他目前在Goobjoog电台做高级记者，负责报道与索马里议会有关的新闻。

He also has a weekly program for disabled people called State of the Disabled. The live call-in show is popular, focusing on empowering the disabled by educating them on their basic rights.

他还有一个专为残疾人开设的每周节目“残疾人国度”，这个现场电话交谈节目很受欢迎，它通过教育残疾人最基本的权利来赋权他们。

“I hope to use my position in the media to be a voice of the people and improve the humanitarian⁵ situation,” he said.

“我希望利用自己在媒体的地位来为人们发声，并改善人道主义局面。”

And he said he hopes his message will resonate beyond Somalia’s borders.

他说希望自己的信号能在索马里之外发出回音。

Speaking two years ago at a Technology, Entertainment and Design event — a global non-profit group to promote cultural understanding — Kalgacal described his journey from being born to a poor family in southern Somalia to becoming a husband, a father and journalist despite his visual impairment.

两年前Kalgacal在TED大会上发表过演讲，这是一个促进文化理解的全球非盈利组织，Kalgacal描述了自己出生于索马里南部一个贫困家庭，尽管失明，却成为一位丈夫、父亲和记者的历程。

He said many people advised him against pursuing such a dangerous career. He said it was his childhood dream, though, and being sightless doesn’t make him any more — or any less — vulnerable than other journalists.

他说很多人建议他不要做这么危险的事业，他说这是自己童年的梦想，失明并不意味着自己比其他记者更脆弱或不那么脆弱。

 

The key to overcoming his challenges, he said, is a belief in himself, the support of his friends and family — and bosses willing to employ him for his skills and overlook his disability.

他说，克服这些困难的关键是对自己的信念以及来自朋友和家人的支持，以及因其技能愿意雇佣他而无视其残疾的老板的支持。

1 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。

2 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 persevered   

v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
• Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。