VOA标准英语2008年-EU Meeting Addresses Discrimination Against Rom

The European Union is hosting its first meeting to address the problems of the Roma community, which suffers from discrimination and poverty. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris that rights groups hope it will lead to a more inclusive policy for these peoples who are also known as gypsies.

The summit is expected to include European Union foreign ministers, government representatives of the 27 EU member states, along with rights advocates and members of the Roma community. It is the first such high-level meeting to address the problems of Roma in the bloc¹ as a whole.
　
A Romanian Gypsy child wears an adult's jacket to keep warm in Bucharest, Romania (file photo)

Most of the estimated seven to nine million members of the Roma community are concentrated in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. But Amnesty international's European Union office spokeswoman Joana Cardoso says Roma, and discrimination against them, are common across Europe.

"These are problems related to very basic rights," she said. "The right to access of education, the right to access to health. In some countries, for example, there are Roma-only schools. We are speaking of serious, almost apartheid-style discrimination, where Roma children are not allowed to go to normal schools, they are put in special schools for only Roma."

The Roma have been a top issue in Italy this year, where the conservative government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has cracked down on the community following several criminal incidents, and deported² some members.

Rights groups like Amnesty International have sharply criticized plans by the Italian government to fingerprint³ Roma, which the government says is aimed at identifying the population. The European Commission has recently approved those plans, after the government agreed to make some changes.

France has also razed⁴ squatter⁵ Roma camps and the government has offered money for eastern-European Roma to return to their countries. Rights groups claim many simply return after the money has been spent.

Europe's Roma community is very diverse and speaks different languages. What they have in common, Amnesty's Cardoso says, is that they are poor and discriminated⁶ against.

"It is very important that the European Union is sending this very strong signal by creating the first-ever Roma summit," she said. "In terms of the summit, we are concerned that it does not limit itself in terms of words because we have had plenty of those."

Rights groups are calling for the European Union to come up with concrete answers for the Roma community, notably⁷ ensuring they have access to employment and basic rights, and that EU members establish policies that include Roma communities in their societies rather than exclusionary⁸, punitive⁹ approaches.

 

1 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

2 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

4 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 squatter   

n.擅自占地者

参考例句：

• The squatter settlements originally came into being through illegal land invasions. 违章建筑区最初是通过非法的土地占有而形成的。
• Squatter control is maintained by regular patrols and hut-to-hut checks. 当局定期逐户视察所有寮屋，以收管制之效。

6 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

7 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

8 exclusionary   

adj.排斥（性）的，排除在外的

参考例句：

• Play not finish, uncle fidgeting, cut exclusionary. 戏未演完，叔父坐立不安，仓皇退席。 来自互联网
• Procecutor: I am asking you to recognize the absurdity of the exclusionary rule. 检察官：我是在请求您认识到这个排除规则的荒谬性。 来自互联网

9 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。