VOA常速英语2008年-Economic Impact of Election Violence on Display

By Cathy Majtenyi
Kisumu, Kenya
04 March 2008
  

In Kenya, post-election violence has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 600,000 others. The mayhem has had a major impact on the country's economy which has been one of Africa's strongest. Business leaders report huge losses and many predict that Kenya will be unable to meet projected growth targets. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from the western Kenya city of Kisumu on the country's post-election economy.

Abdul Omar gazes dejectedly at the hollow shell that used to be his cell phone shop in the western Kenyan city of Kisumu.

He describes his reaction to having his once thriving business with four employees literally¹ smashed to bits, "I just got very (upset) and I didn't even want anything to do with this place for the time being because everything that was here went - the furniture; there is nothing. All the investment that was here is gone. I had not insured it, so, that is that," he said. 

This Kisumu branch of a supermarket called Ukwala employed 110 people before being razed² to the ground in the violence following the election results.

In the days following Kenya's disputed December 27th elections, hundreds of businesses in Kisumu and other places across Kenya were looted, burned, or smashed by crowds enraged³ by the election results, which many say were rigged in favor of Mwai Kibaki and his Party of National Unity⁴ at the expense of Raila Odinga, who heads the Orange Democratic Movement party.

The conflict also involved an ethnic⁵ dimension, with certain groups burning and destroying the homes and businesses of other groups in tensions that date back to colonial times.

At the Ol-Njorowa flower farm in Naivasha about an hours' drive northwest of the capital Nairobi, production stopped for several days in late January.

No workers reported for duty during the thick of the crisis. In mid-February, all but 60 of the 400 employees were back on the job.

Weeks after the fighting, thousands of flower farm workers still live in a displaced persons' camp, while up to 10,000 have fled the area.

Peter Otieno, Naivasha secretary of Kenya Plantations⁶ and Agricultural Workers' union, explains that clashes between ethnic groups in late January have divided the remaining workforce⁷ and may affect the flower industry's bottom line.

"The trust that had been there is now lost, and without that trust, the production of these employees have been diminished. Some of them are just going there (the workplace) because they do not have (any)where (else) to go, so that is the only place they can go. But their inner heart of working had been lost," Otieno said. 

Flower farm worker Judith Atieno, who lives in a camp, describes her experience, "Some of the people who were my colleagues told attackers where we stayed. Then the attackers came to our home and attacked us. So we cannot work with these colleagues anymore because they may do the same thing in the future."

The cumulative⁸ effects of the post-election violence have dealt a severe blow to the economy.

In a January 19th report, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers estimated that the Kenyan economy stands to lose more than $3.7 billion (U.S.) in the first half of this year and as many as 400,000 jobs could be at risk.

The Central Bank of Kenya says it is unlikely that the country will achieve the eight percent growth expected for 2008.

Among the hardest hit has been Kenya's $1 billion (U.S.) a-year tourist industry. The Kenya Touist Board calculates losses of nearly $80 million (U.S.) per month for the first quarter, a decline in revenue of about 78 percent.

Business leaders say now that a power-sharing deal has been reached to end Kenya's political crisis, it will take the economy 12 to 18 months to bounce back and restore Kenya's reputation as a strong and dynamic business hub in the region.

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 enraged   

使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤

参考例句：

• I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令，我极为恼火。
• The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 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。

6 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

7 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

8 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。