VOA标准英语2014--被遣返的埃塞俄比亚工人争取返回沙特

 

Ethiopian Workers Struggle After Repatriation¹ from Saudi Arabia 被遣返的埃塞俄比亚工人争取返回沙特

ADDIS ABABA— 

More than 160,000 Ethiopians working in Saudi Arabia were expelled last year and sent back home due to new stricter labor² regulations in the kingdom. Those forcibly repatriated³ are doing their best to adjust, but are having difficulty making ends meet.

Nine of the repatriated Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia are running a chicken business on the outskirts⁴ of Addis Ababa. The government provided them with poultry⁵ training and the premises⁶.

Almost a year later, returned Ethiopians such as Binyam Zerihun, who spent four years in Saudi Arabia as a truck driver, says he is optimistic despite his financial challenges.

“When I came back I didn’t have anything. Now there is a chance for a future,” says Zerihun.

Wenshjet Fantu spent 15 years in Saudi Arabia working as a maid.

“At this stage we don’t really have income from this, but at least we can cover the costs of feeding the chickens,” says Fantu.

Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians are working in the Middle East in manual labor jobs. A domestic worker abroad makes up to $400 a month, earning 10 times more than on a slimilar job in Ethiopia.   

So when Saudi Arabia introduced stricter labor laws, tens of thousands of undocumented and illegal immigrants came back to Ethiopia, where they were given $47 pocket money and sent to their home region where they could register for training and small loans.

Konjit Debele, deputy head of the Addis Ababa Micro and Small Development Bureau, says a lot was done for the thousands that needed to be reintegrated:

“So we gave them different trainings - regarding psychological development, and also business fields. For instance, in [the] manufacturing sector⁷, in [the] construction sector, [the] agricultural sector, trade and service sectors,” says Debele.

Fekadu Bekele, 25, spent almost two years in Saudi Arabia. When she came home, she and nine other women returnees set up a café and restaurant with a government loan. But she says it is not enough.

“We don’t have any salary, we just work here for nothing,” says Bekele.

Fekadu is not happy with life since she’s come back. In Saudi Arabia she earned $100 a month as a cook. She says the profit from the café is barely enough to pay back the loan.

“The government has given us jobs. But even though the government has given us work, there is no result from it,” says Bekele.

Fekadu says that if she had the opportunity, she would go back to Saudi Arabia.

1 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

6 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。