VOA慢速英语2018--伊朗农民抗议政府抗旱不力

Rivers Dry, Iranian Farmers Turn to Protest

A small group of Iranian farmers drove their tractors to the entrance to the town of Varzaneh.

The vehicles stopped next to a canal that once provided their crops, but has been dry for years.

The farmers appealed to government officials for help.

“We are the people,” shouted Mostafa Benvidi. “Help the people. At night they go to bed hungry!”

The demonstrators held signs with the names of officials they blame for their dried-up fields.

“How long will you eat your bread made with our blood?” one sign read.

Every day, farmers hold a small protest outside the Iranian town of Varzaneh. The demonstration¹ is a sign of the anger that has been growing over water shortages caused by years of little rainfall. But experts say the drought conditions have worsened because of mistakes by the government.

Protests have grown larger, with incidents of violence, at a time when economic problems have fueled unrest repeatedly over the past year.

In March, police clashed with farmers, who held a sit-in strike in Varzaneh. Mostafa Benvidi was wounded and lost sight in his left eye during the clashes. Today, he has more than 100 pellet shots in his body.

Earlier this month, in another part of southern Iran, 11 people were wounded when police broke up a protest in Khorramshahr. Those protesters said their drinking water is dirty.

“Officials just come and promise to deal with the crisis and then just leave,” said the 30-year-old Benvidi.

He and his family used to grow corn, cotton and other crops on their 3-hectare farm. But they have not been able to farm for years because of lack of water.

Now Benvidi is unemployed². His family earns money from the seasonal³ building work his brothers get in nearby towns. His sister makes carpets to sell.

Drought Conditions

Over the past 10 years, Iran has experienced its worst drought in more than 30 years, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Iran’s Meteorological Organization estimates that 97 percent of the country is affected⁴.

The dry conditions have affected Isfahan province, where Varzaneh is located, and other parts of central Iran. The Zayandeh Roud River once provided water to the area. The water came down from the Zagros Mountains, through the city of Isfahan and through farming towns, including Varzaneh.

But the river dried up years ago. The fields around Varzaneh are now dry dirt.

Around 90 percent of the farming activities have ended, said Reza Khalili, an environmental activist⁵.

Government policies have worsened the effects of the drought and growing population, Khalili and other observers say. The government is building more factories, taking large amounts of water. In July, officials opened a steel factory in Isfahan. Water has also been sent to other areas.

The normal water system has been destroyed and all the water has been set aside for businesses, explained Khalili.

Outside of Varzaneh, migrating birds once stopped at a wetlands. Now the area is an empty field of salt that causes sandstorms.

A proud history

The people of Varzaneh are proud of the town’s history. It sent of hundreds of its young men to fight in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. More than 100 were killed in the fighting, and their memory is still important.

Now young men leave the area in search of a better life.

“Many of my friends moved to near and far towns to find jobs,” said Ruhollah Sohrabi, a farmer who now works as builder in other cities.

In 2012, farmers in Varzaneh fought with police and broke a pipe that transports water from Isfahan to the neighboring province of Yazd.

Similar protests continued from 2016 to now. At one time, the government paid around $250 to each family affected by the crisis. But people want a real solution.

“More social conflict may be on the way. Officials do not have the necessary expertise⁶ to manage water resources,” said Hamid Safavi, a professor at Isfahan University of Technology.

Safavi said each province decides on its own how to use its water, without looking at the effect it has on the larger area.

Unless policies change, “we are heading from a water crisis to a disaster,” he added.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

pellet – n. a small metal object that is shot from a gu

migrate – v. to move from one place to the next

according – adv. as stated by or in

carpet – n. a thick floor covering

proud – adj. feeling extremely pleased or satisfied

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

3 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

4 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。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。