VOA慢速英语--生活在地狱的精神病人

Mentally Ill Indonesians 'Living in Hell' 生活在地狱的精神病人

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

A new report from Human Rights Watch details the treatment of mentally sick people in Indonesia. The report is titled "Living in Hell.” It documents the practice of “pasung.”

Pasung is the isolation¹ of a person suffering from some sort of mental health problem. They might be held separate from others, either inside or outside their homes or at a health care center. Sometimes they are held in place with tied ropes or chains. The situation forces the person in pasung to eat, sleep and release waste in one small place.

The report says about 18,000 people currently live in pasung in Indonesia.

The report also cites one case in which a man was trapped in a room for 15 years. Another case involved a 24-year old woman suffering from depression after her husband left her and her small child. Photos show her chained to a wooden platform that serves as a bed.

Shantha Rau Barriga is the director of the disability rights division at Human Rights Watch in Jakarta. She spoke² to VOA by phone.

Barriga says that Human Rights Watch has documented rights abuses against the mentally sick in many countries. These abuses often include chaining or tying people in place.

She adds that such cases can be found at mental health centers in Ghana, Russia, Croatia, as well as in prisons in the United States.

Barriga warns that abuse is widespread. She says the victims seem "invisible" because they are held in isolation.

The expert says stigma³ connected to mental health problems worsens the situation. She also said that there are not enough community-based mental health care and support services.

Barriga said there "is so much misinformation and misperception about mental health.” In her words, “people in Indonesia, and in many other countries, see it not as a medical condition, but as a curse, or that the person is possessed⁴ by evil spirits."

As a result, people may turn to spiritual healers or prayer for a "cure.” They may choose not to use medical care even if it is available.

Superstitions⁶: “She’s a witch”

Barriga traveled to Ghana in 2014 to study conditions at so-called "prayer camps."

Christian⁷ organizations own the camps. The camp leaders often declare themselves to be “prophets.”

People go to the camps for help, she explains, during difficult times in their lives, after a death in the family, for example, or the loss of a job.

But the camps also contain separate areas for people with mental and intellectual problems. They are often brought to the camp against their will and left for long periods of time. A 2012 Human Rights Watch report described a man tied to a tree for five years.

Barriga was interviewing the head of one such camp when she heard a child crying. She asked who it was. The man told her the child crying was a “witch.” He took Barriga to see her. Barriga said she was a five-year-old girl chained to a tree.

According to Barriga, the camp leader told her about 95 percent of the so-called witches at the camp are girls. Barriga then claimed that the man pointed⁸ to a group of girls, from about ages five to 11, saying, “She's a witch. She's a witch. She's a witch."

Multiple treaties violated

The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in late 2006. It calls on countries to support, protect and guarantee full human rights and freedoms for all persons with long-term disabilities.

More than 160 countries have signed the treaty. Barriga said shackling⁹ and other abuse of the mentally ill violates this treaty and others.

Indonesia banned the use of pasung almost 40 years ago. However, Barriga says the government needs to do more to stop pasung.

Human Rights Watch is calling on Indonesia to enforce the ban by closely watching centers where it takes place. The organization is also urging Indonesia to work toward changing opinions about mental sickness among communities.

Shantha Rau Barriga said the long-term goal is for governments all around the world to change how they treat the mentally ill.

She said she hopes governments turn toward a “system of community-based mental health care, where people can live independently, make decisions for themselves and get the care services they might want."

Studies have shown that in any given year, as much as a third of the world's population suffers some form of a mental disorder¹⁰. Two-thirds of them do not get the care they need and are at risk of abuse.

Words in This Story

isolation – n. the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others

shackle¹¹ – n. one of two rings that are placed around a person's wrists or ankles and that are connected by a chain

invisible – adj. incapable¹² by nature of being seen

stigma – n. a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something

superstition⁵ – n. a belief or way of behaving that is based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck

witch – n. one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers

1 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

6 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 shackling   

给（某人）带上手铐或脚镣( shackle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

10 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

11 shackle   

n.桎梏，束缚物；v.加桎梏，加枷锁，束缚

参考例句：

• He's too young to shackle himself with the responsibilities of a family.他还太年轻，不能用家庭责任来束缚自己。
• This issue always is a shackle which confines the brand building of industry product.这个问题一直是限制工业品品牌塑造的桎梏。

12 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。