VOA双语新闻：7、亚洲最大贫民区年产值超6亿美元（在线收听）

亚洲最大贫民区年产值超6亿美元

One of the world's largest slums is also a center of industrial production. A tour company is highlighting life in Dharavi, a mini-city within India's financial hub, Mumbai.

世界上最大的贫民区之一也是一个工业中心。达拉维是印度金融中心孟买的一座迷你小镇，镇上的旅游公司是全镇的生活重点。

With a million people crammed into less than three square kilometers - Dharavi is one of the world’s most densely populated slums.

达拉维的面积不到3平方公里，却居住着100万人口，这里是世界上人口密度最高的贫民区。

Life-long resident Niyamath Khan, 70, recalled the transformation of what was once a small fishing village.

70岁的妮雅玛斯?汗一辈子都居住在这里，她回忆起这个小渔村的演变。

"Fifty years ago, this was an open space - now there are so many people here," Khan remarked.

她说：“50年前，这里是一片空地，现在住了这么多人。”

One organization gives outsiders a glimpse of life inside this bustling Mumbai neighborhood, through walking tours aimed at dispelling negative stereotypes of slum life.

现实旅游公司带领游客漫步达拉维，让外界了解这个繁荣小镇的内部，消除人们对贫民区刻板的负面印象。

Reality Tours and Travel CEO Stephanie Hays said visitors are surprised at what they see.

现实旅游公司的首席执行官斯蒂芬妮?海斯说，游客对所见所闻很吃惊。

"That’s what people don’t understand, that there are hospitals, there are schools, and there are businesses. There is industry, there is everything in here, and I think people are shocked by that," she said. "They are shocked by major streets running through. I think for me, the industry is what sets Dharavi apart."

她说：“大家不知道，这里的人很好客，这里有学校，有工商业，什么都有。人们都很意外，他们惊讶地发现这里有大干道。我想，达拉维之所以不同是因为它的工业。”

Located within the heart of Mumbai, Dharavi is literally a city within a city, an industrial center that generates more than $650 million a year."

达拉维坐落在孟买市中心，是一座名副其实的城中城。它也是一个工业中心，每年的产值超过6亿5千万美元。

The slum is home to more than 10,000 single-room factories specializing in everything from handmade leather goods to recycled plastic.

贫民窟里有1万家单间小工厂，从手工皮革制品到回收塑料，应有尽有。

Malik Abdullah inherited his father’s business turning plastic scrap into polycarbonate granules.

马利克?阿卜杜拉子承父业，把塑料废品加工成聚碳酸酯颗粒。

"Whatever items are made in India, the raw materials are prepared here and sent out," he explained. "The raw materials go to big industry, which make items that are sold both in and outside of India."

马利克?阿卜杜拉说：“不管印度生产什么，原材料都是在这里加工和运出去的。不管是生产出口还是内销的印度大工厂，他们的原材料都来自这里。”

Abdullah’s spirit of entrepreneurship is typical of the businesses highlighted by Reality Tours.

阿卜杜拉的创业精神正是现实旅游公司重点推荐的企业典型。

The organization said it tries to show life in Dharavi without being intrusive, disruptive or exploitative.

这家旅游公司说，他们试图不触犯，不干扰，不利用地展示达拉维的生活。

The group also gives 80 percent of its profits back to the slum - money it said helps empower kids and teach residents English and computer skills.

这家公司还把百分之80的利润回馈给贫民区，用这些钱来帮助孩子、教居民学习英语和电脑技术。

Last year, 10,000 people, mostly foreigners, took the tour; but even Mumbai residents like Kiran Jadhav participate.

去年，有1万人，其中大多数是外国人参观了达拉维，不过像基兰?贾达夫这样的孟买居民也参加了旅游。

"For me, Dharavi was a place, just a place where people are very poor or below the poverty line are staying. I never thought it is a place with so much industry and work," Jadhav said. "And it is contributing to a lot of industrial work for Bombay and for India, so I was amazed with that."

他说：“对我来说，达拉维是一个贫民区，是非常穷的人和处在贫困线以下的人居住的地方，我从来没有想到这里有这么多工业和工作，这里为孟买和印度的工业做出了很大贡献，我很惊讶。”

Dharavi is set to be redeveloped into a more modern urban space in the coming years, with proper housing and retail areas. While the look of the slum will change, many hope its entrepreneurial spirit will remain.

今后几年里，达拉维将被改造成一个更加现代化的城市，会有不错的住房和商业区。虽然贫民区的外观会改变，不过很多人希望这里的创业精神不会变。