VOA慢速英语--叙利亚孩子在黎巴嫩工作养活自己的家庭

Syrian Children in Lebanon Work to Feed Their Families

Child labor¹ was a problem in Lebanon before the arrival of Syrian refugees Now, it's worse.

As money for humanitarian² aid begins to run out, some observers fear child labor could become even more widespread in Lebanon. Refugee families often depend on the money their children earn. So there are no easy answers.

Non-governmental organizations are working to bring children into the Lebanese education system. And the United Nations has developed guidance that it hopes will help young people reclaim³ their childhood.

Children are often paid just three or four dollars for a day of work. Yasmine Deeb is a refugee from Syria.

"Why should mama work on her own? I’d get upset. I wanted to help my mother, also sometime when she’s ill, she also can’t work.”

The 12-year-old girl and her family are preparing garlic for restaurants because they need the money. Before that, they did very physical work: gathering⁴ potatoes from the ground.

Kalima Deeb, Yasmine’s mother, says that before the war in Syria, her family worked in farming. Back then, she remembers, she and her husband earned enough money to send their children to school.

“You know every child has their own dreams and ambitions. I didn’t imagine that they would come out of school and be subjected to such work and fatigue⁵.”

Thousands of Lebanese and Syrian children are working in the agriculture and on the streets. Many people fear the problem will worsen.

Syrian refugees are receiving less humanitarian aid now compared to one or two years ago. They are being forced to pay fees for living in Lebanon, and the government restricts what jobs they can take.

Two UN organizations -- the International Labor Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization -- have launched campaigns to help tell about the danger of some jobs for children.

Dr. Rana al-Barati Tabbana is a public health specialist.

“Child labor affects all those facets⁷ in growth and development of children, and has very serious detrimental⁸ effects on their quality of life, health and well-being⁹ -- both in the short term and in the long term.”

A local non-governmental organization called Beyond Association is helping¹⁰ Yasmine and her three sisters.

They are among 450 children in the area who are being educated in the morning before they go to work. The organization hopes the children will one day attend school and not be part of the workforce¹¹.

Layla Assi works at Beyond Association.

“We’re trying to work with those children step-by-step to let them go out from work, and when they come here, their dream is to have education. Now they dream to be a lawyer, to be a doctor..."

Because some children work to provide food for their families, ending child labor is not easy. The young people in the Beyond Association program are just a small percentage of those who are working. But as they return to their home, Yasmine and her sisters are given the chance to see a better future.

I’m Caty Weaver¹².

Words in This Story

upset – adj. angry or unhappy

ill – adj. not well or healthy; sick or unhealthy

ambition – n. a particular goal or aim; something that a person hopes to do or achieve

fatigue – n. the state of being very tired; extreme weariness

facet⁶ – n. a part or element of something

detrimental – adj. causing damage or injury

impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect

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 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

6 facet   

n.(问题等的)一个方面；(多面体的)面

参考例句：

• He has perfected himself in every facet of his job.他已使自己对工作的各个方面都得心应手。
• Every facet of college life is fascinating.大学生活的每个方面都令人兴奋。

7 facets   

n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面

参考例句：

• The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

9 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

10 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。

11 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。

12 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。