VOA慢速英语--缅甸童工随经济发展增多

AS IT IS 2016-04-26 Economic Growth Could Increase Child Labor¹ in Myanmar 缅甸童工随经济发展增多

After 50 years of economic isolation², observers fear that Myanmar children might be forced to work before they can complete schooling³ in a booming economy.

The Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, has one of the worst records for child labor of any country. Many children work every day to earn money for their families.

Tun Min is 16 years old. He uses his boat to deliver fish to a market near Yangon. He earns about $8 a day. He hopes his life will one day be better.

“My wish is to become a trader in the fish market. I need some money to become a fish trader. Then, I can earn more money.”

Tun Min left school when he was 12 because his mother was sick and his family needed money. Experts say about twenty percent of children in Myanmar between the ages of 10 and 17 work instead of going to school. They work in factories, tourism and many other businesses. They work in cities and in rural areas.

Foreign investors⁴ are helping⁵ Myanmar’s economic growth. And with a growing economy there is an increase in the need for workers. Some rights activists⁶ say they are worried that children will be forced to work to help keep the economy strong.

May Win Myint works for the National League for Democracy, the country’s leading political party.

“If we cannot solve this problem, there will not be any development in our country because the children will be the people serving the country in the future. They need to be educated to do that.”

Children younger than age 13 are not permitted to work in shops or factories in Myanmar. If they do work, they may only do so for up to four hours a day. But experts say businesses do not obey the law, and the government does not punish them for ignoring it.

Human rights groups and child protection activists want the country to put in place stronger laws and work harder to keep children in school.

Michael Slingsby works for the UN Development Program.

“I think it should be a priority area, but needs to be combined with positive policies. If you try to ban child labor, there's a danger that you drive it underground and people (will) still continue to work very young, but do it in a less open way.”

At the San Pya fish market in Yangon, Reuters news agency observed girls and boys as young as nine cleaning fish and loading trucks during the 12-hour long overnight shifts recently.

Hla Myint has a 15-year-old son working at the market. He said, “I don’t want my son to do this kind of hard labor.”

From the bamboo hut close to the river that he called home, he added, “Whatever they say they would do, or give us, it will never reach here.”

Words in This Story

underground – adv. in or into a place that is hidden or secret;  out of the view of the public

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 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。

3 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》