VOA标准英语2012--Burmese Migrants in Thailand Await Changes Back Home
时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(九月)
Burmese Migrants in Thailand Await Changes Back Home
In Thailand there are more than a million registered Burmese migrant workers. The number of unregistered is even greater, and many of them work jobs that Thai laborers 2 are often unwilling 3 to do.
Working without proper documentation can often lead to arrest and deportation 4. But many, like Ta Jandee, say they prefer that risk to returning to Burma.
“When I was living in Burma. I got arrested by Burmese soldiers and they forced me to be a porter. I had to carry supplies for them in the jungle. That was a hard part of my life. That’s why I fled to Thailand,” he said.
The reluctance 5 to go back home may be changing, with political reforms underway.
As migrants weigh a return, they are hungry for information about what is happening back home. Many turn to programs produced by the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP), based at a radio station in Chiang Mai, Thailand, just a few hours from the Burmese border.
MAP head Jackie Pollock says the reforms now underway in Burma will hopefully improve working conditions for migrants in Thailand.
“With Burma opening a little bit that is going to put pressure on Thailand because up until now there have been three million workers who had no choices and had no government to speak on their behalf or advocate for them,” Pollock said.
For years, Pollock and a team of Thai and Burmese legal advisers 6 have worked as migrant advocates.
“Now it seems that the Burmese government, the ministry 7 of labor 1 means to be taking up the issue of migrant workers and so hopefully they will start to put a little pressure on Thailand to improve the conditions here,” Pollock said.
Such groups have long been a critical safety net, but there are signs of new help from Burma's government.
Last month, the Burmese government offered to issue certificates of identity to migrant workers in Thailand who wanted to return home.
For expectant parents like Ta Jandee and his wife Lugao, having more legal options is hopefully a sign of good things to come.
“When my child starts school he will need a birth certificate. In the future, I want my child to have higher education. If we still live in Thailand, I want them to study Thai. If we go back to Burma, I want them to study Burmese,” he said.
In the meantime, Ta Jandee says Burma’s ongoing 8 armed conflicts that continue in several states still make him wary 9 of going back to Burma. For him and many others it could still be months or years before they feel safe enough to return to their home country.
- 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。
- Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
- The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
- His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。
- The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
- Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。
- The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
- He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。
- a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
- She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。
- They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
- We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
- The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
- The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。