赔款内容包括哪些？

 

What Constitutes Reparations?

Challiss McDonough

Durban, South Africa

3 Sep 2001 

 

One of the most 1)contentious issues at the World Conference Against Racism¹ is 2)reparations for slavery and 3)colonialism. Part of the problem is defining what exactly Western nations might have to do to make 4)amends².

Reparations for slavery and colonialism: it means different things to different people and different nations. For some, it means money. For others, reparations could be as simple as an apology.

Congressman³ John Conyers has introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on reparations every year since 1989, and every year it has died in committee. His proposal would not commit the United States to pay reparations to its own citizens or anyone else, just to study the idea and determine how to handle it. "Let me begin by telling you that many people who support reparations do not have the vaguest idea precisely⁴ what they want," he says. "Reparations carries with it the concept of an apology, of 5)redemption, of 6)compensation, of restoration of things that were deprived. There may be dozens, if not hundreds, of proposals about what reparations is."

In the United States, the Caribbean region, and South America, the word reparations is largely used to describe making amends to the 7)descendants of slaves brought from Africa. They would be compensated⁶ not only for their 8)ancestors' suffering, but for the continuing inequality suffered by those of African descent.

Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree is putting together a 9)lawsuit⁷, trying to force the U.S. government to make reparations to African-Americans. "The problem is this: The individuals who were promised 40 10)acres and a mule⁸ in the 1860s had a firm promise that 'we will compensate⁵ you'," he says. "That was never paid. So you cannot say, 'it is too late because we 11)violated your rights and we decided⁹ not to pay you then.' It is not too late. The time is really right."

Mr. Ogletree's lawsuit aims to set up a trust fund that will improve educational and job opportunities for the poorest, most disadvantaged African-Americans.

But many nations in Africa have a different idea about what reparations are. Some African countries want the mainly Western nations who benefited from the slave trade to apologize.

But the West, and particularly the United States, is afraid that apologizing for slavery, or even admitting it was a crime against 12)humanity, would leave it 13)vulnerable to lawsuits¹⁰ over their past policies - lawsuits just like the one Mr. Ogletree wants to file.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo says money is not the 14)core issue. "Apology closes the door against 15)bitterness and anger in the heart of the victim, and does not connote any 16)reprisal or 17)litigation, nor should it lead to one," he says. "I must however 18)disabuse the minds of those who believe that every apology must be followed by 19)monetary¹¹ compensation for the victims. For us in Africa, an apology is a deep feeling of 20)remorse, expressed with the 21)avowed commitment that never again will the individual who offered the apology have recourse to such a reprehensible¹² act. And the recipient¹³ of the apology forgives."

Mr. Obasanjo says a monetary award could further hurt the 22)dignity of Africans, and he says it could widen what he calls the division between Africans on the continent and Africans elsewhere. However, the African plans for reparations do include some sort of monetary compensation, mainly in the form of debt forgiveness and development aid.

Both sides admit there are significant differences between African and African-American ideas about reparations for slavery; but both sides also 23)downplay the significance of the 24)gap.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan acknowledges the Durban racism conference is not likely to produce a final solution to the problem. He says the question of reparations is very complicated. And, he says, "I do not think this conference alone can settle it. The question is not going to disappear."

 

 

(1)      contentious[kEn5tenFEs]adj.好争吵的, 争论的, 有异议的

(2)      reparations n.赔款

(3)      colonialism[kE5lEJnIElIz(E)m]n.殖民主义

(4)      amend[E5mend]v.修正, 改进, 改正

(5)      redemption[rI5dempF(E)n]n.赎回, 偿还, 拯救, 履行

(6)      compensation[kRmpen5seIF(E)n]n.补偿, 赔偿

(7)      descendant[dI5send(E)nt]n.子孙, 后裔, 后代

(8)      ancestor[5AnsEstE(r)]n.祖先, 祖宗

(9)      lawsuit[5lC:su:t, 5lC:sju:t]n.诉讼(尤指非刑事案件)

(10)      acre[5eIkE(r)]n.英亩, (pl.)地产, 大片田地

(11)      violate[5vaIEleIt]vt.违犯, 亵渎(圣物), 冒犯, 干扰, 违反

(12)      humanity[hju:5mAnItI]n.人性, 人类, 博爱, 仁慈

(13)      vulnerable[5vQlnErEb(E)l]adj.易受攻击的, 易受...的攻击

(14)      core[ kR:(r)]n.果核, 中心, 核心

(15)      bitterness[5bItEnIs]n.苦味, 辛酸, 苦难

(16)      reprisal[rI5praIz(E)l]n.报复

(17)      litigation[9lItI`^eIFEn]n.诉讼, 起诉

(18)      disabuse[dIsE5bju:z]vt.解惑, 释疑, 使省悟

(19)      monetary[5mQnItErI; (?@) -terI]adj.货币的, 金钱的

(20)      remorse[rI5mC:s]n.懊悔, 自责, 同情, 怜悯

(21)      avowed[E5vaJd]adj.自认的, 公开宣布的

(22)      dignity[5dI^nItI]n.尊严, 高贵

(23)      downplay[`daJnpleI]vt.不予重视

(24)      gap[^Ap]n.缺口, 裂口, 间隙,隔阂

 

 

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

5 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

6 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

8 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

11 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 reprehensible   

adj.该受责备的

参考例句：

• Lying is not seen as being morally reprehensible in any strong way.人们并不把撒谎当作一件应该大加谴责的事儿。
• It was reprehensible of him to be so disloyal.他如此不忠，应受谴责。

13 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。