2006年VOA标准英语-Small Loans Help Pave Way for Better Lives in I

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil
08 December 2006

In Iraq, where ethnic¹ and sectarian conflict is killing² dozens of people daily, small business loans are cutting across ethnic and religious lines to help people move forward with their lives. As VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from northern Iraq, while U.S. AID-funded programs hope to reduce poverty by giving the poor more opportunity, they are not a cure-all for a country rocked by violence.

In Majid's neighborhood, and in many others in Iraq, electricity is in short supply. Here, the government provides residents only about two hours daily, and most rely on a large neighborhood generator³ to provide them with enough power, so they can cook, wash and watch television.

But 29-year-old Majid has recognized a business opportunity in the power vacuum, and taken a $3,500 loan to purchase a new generator, which he says will provide more than 100 houses in his neighborhood with electricity.

Historically, a society with a strong merchant class, Iraq's private sector⁴ was devastated⁵ by decades of mismanagement under Sadaam Hussein's Ba'athist party, sanctions and conflict. Coupled with the current daily violence, Iraq seems ripe for the help microfinance institutions can offer.

Under its umbrella program, known as Izdihar - or "Prosperity" in Arabic - the U.S. aid agency has invested more than $30 million in Iraq's nascent⁶ microfinance industry since Sadaam was toppled in 2003.

Microfinance loans are usually given to people who would not otherwise qualify for a loan from a regular bank, because the amount is too small, or they are too poor.

But USAID's Greg Howell cautions that such programs are not intended to be a magic cure for Iraq's violence.

"In a conflict situation, microfinance is not necessarily a panacea⁷, but it is certainly a way to promote small business development at the poorest of the poor level," he said.

Magdy Ismail runs a U.S.-based non-governmental organization's office in the northern city of Irbil. He says the goal is not just to help Iraqis in the short term, but to create something that will become self-sustaining and permanent.

"Our vision is to build an Iraqi institution, to continue providing small loans to the people and to benefit the community," he said.

Loans average between $1,200 and $2,500, but can go as high as $10,000, or in some instances even $25,000.

Borrowers can apply for money to make home improvements, to enhance their small businesses, or to buy a taxi or small pick-up truck.

Despite the security situation, Ismail says, the rate of repayment⁸ on the loans remains⁹ very high.

"The repayment rate is 94 percent, and, sometimes, according to the security and stability situation, it does not go less than 90 percent," he said.

The standard interest rate in Iraq is about 15 percent, and most loans must be repaid within one year.

Some microfinance critics argue that such high interest rates can eventually make the poor poorer.

But the interest rate has not deterred¹⁰ 20-year-old Dilkhwaz. She owns a small hair-dressing salon¹¹, which, she says, desperately¹² needs renovation¹³ and new equipment in order to succeed.

She says the $1,300 she is borrowing is much more than any of her relatives could ever have loaned her.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

7 panacea   

n.万灵药；治百病的灵药

参考例句：

• Western aid may help but will not be a panacea. 西方援助可能会有所帮助，但并非灵丹妙药。
• There's no single panacea for the country's economic ills. 国家经济弊病百出,并无万灵药可以医治。

8 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

9 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。

10 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

11 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

12 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

13 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。