| The Story of Iqbal Masih 伊克巴尔 . 马士的故事 Essay by David Parker 作者--大卫. 帕克 Each morning, six days a week, more than half a million children between the ages of four and fourteen rise before dawn and make their way along dark country roads leading to Pakistan’s carpet factories. Most of these children must be at 每天早上,一周六天,比一百万一半还要多的4岁到14岁的孩子们,在 黎明破晓前就起床,然后开始他们的方式,沿着黑暗的乡村道路,走向巴基斯 坦的地毯工厂.大多数孩子们必须早上6点钟上班. 5. Work by 6:00 AM. If they are late, they may be punished-hit with a wooden cane, or worse, hung upside down, their ankles tightly bound with rope. The carpet weavers work 14 hours a day, with only a 30-minute break for lunch. Iqbal Masih was one of these workers. He started 如果他们迟到了,将会有被木棍毒打的惩罚,或者更糟糕的是被倒挂起来,并 把其脚踝骨紧紧的捆绑起来.他们每天编织地毯要工作14个小时.而休息的 时间仅仅中午吃饭半个小时. 本文主人公伊克巴尔.马士是这些童工之中的 一个. 10. Working in a carpet factory when he was just four years old. His parents were poor farmers living near Lahore, the largest city in Pakistan. Because they did not have enough money to feed their children or buy them clothes, Iqbal’s parents made a very difficult choice. In exchange for a small sum of 他在仅仅4岁的时候,就开始在这个地毯工厂工作了.他的父母住在巴基斯 坦最大的城市拉合尔附近,是贫穷的农民.他们没有钱喂养孩子,没有钱给孩 子们买衣服.伊克巴尔的父母做出了非常痛苦的选择, 15. money, about $16, they agreed to send their son to work in a nearby carpet factory until he had earned enough money to pay back the loan. Iqbal was told he would be paid three cents a day for his work. A man named Arshad owned the factory. Inside, the only 他们同意收仅仅16元美金作为交换条件,让他们的儿子伊克巴尔到不远的 地毯工厂去做工,直到他儿子自己赚钱偿还16美金的借款.而伊克巴尔被告 知,他将每天做工收入是3分钱.工厂的老板是一个叫阿沙徳的男人. 20. light came from two bare light bulbs that hung in the middle of the room like dragon’s eyes. Only a few flecks of paint dotted the walls. The carpet looms looked as though they were a hundred years old. Two strong wooden beams ran across the top and bottom of each loom’s frame, which had been created 厂房里面只有两个光秃秃的小灯炮,挂在中间的房子中,如同悍妇的两只眼睛. 仅有的一堵墙上面,有些油漆的斑斑点点.这些织地毯的机器老旧得像有一百 年了。每台织毯机上，都有两束粗壮的横木在框架中,上下穿梭往来。被发 明的这种框架，是在进入地面的四根巨大的木柱子上面操作。 25. by driving four large stakes into the ground. In front of each loom sat a small child on a piece of wood scaffolding*. The young weaver would tie short lengths of brightly colored thread to a warp* of heavier white threads. To make just one carpet, workers had to tie 在每台织毯机前面，都坐着一个小孩子在一块木头脚手架上。这个 年轻的织工要把不长的明亮色彩的线，系扎在用桩支撑的巨大的白线上。 编织一块地毯，童工要系结 30. more than a million small knots into a colorful rhythm of circles, squares, and other intricate* designs. In the United States, hand-knotted carpets such as these sell for more than $2,000 each. 上百万个结，成为一块有色彩韵律环绕的、正方形的，设计非常复杂的地 毯。在美国，一块象这样的手工打结地毯，大约要卖2000多美金。 The scaffold bench could be moved up or down as the child 35. worked on the rug, so the rug did not have to be moved. Except for a rare and forbidden whisper, the children never spoke to one another. “If I let them talk, I know they will start making mistakes,” Iqbal’s boss said. “And when they make mistakes,
I lose money.” 一个脚手架的长椅子被挪上挪下的，作为孩子们在上面工作的垫子， 却不需要移动。除非必须，这里是禁止交头接耳小声说话的。孩子们从来都 不和别人谈话。 “如果我容许他们谈话，我知道他们将开始出错。” 伊克 巴尔的老板说，“一旦他们出了错，我就会损失了钱财。” ( *Scaffolding, A kind of support, usually made of wood ) （* warp. Pile） （ * in-tri-cate(in tri ket) a. very complicated.) 40. If the children complained about how they were treated, they were beaten. Over the years. Iqbal received many cuts and bruises from Arshad’s punishments. And Iqbal found out what would happen if he talked back or tried to force Arshad to stop treating the workers so badly. 如果孩子们抱怨他们如何被折磨，因为他们遭遇了挫败。多年后， 伊克巴尔被老板阿沙徳的多次惩罚后，留有许多切口和瘀伤。伊克巴尔 发现，如果他说服或用武力制止阿沙徳，可以让他停止虐待童工。 45. One night, when Iqbal was 10 years old, Arshad pulled him out of bed at 3:00 AM and ordered him to repair some carpets. Iqbal went to local police to complain. He told them that his boss had beat him up and showed them the bruises on his arms. One of the police officers glared at Iqbal. He told him had no 一个夜晚，当时伊克巴尔才10岁，阿沙徳在半夜3：00的时候把 他从床上拖下来，命令他去修补一些地毯。伊克巴尔跑到警察局去控诉。 他告诉他们，他的老板曾毒打他，并给他们看被打伤的胳膊。一个警察 对伊克巴尔怒目而视，并告诉伊克巴尔说，他没有权利控诉， 50. right to complain—he’s better stick to his work and do what he was told. The officer grabbed Iqbal by his sore arm and led him back to the factory. “If he tries this again, chain him to his loom,” the officer told Arshad. 最好回去坚持工作，做他被通知的去修补地毯。这个警察抓着伊克巴尔受 伤的胳膊，把他带回了工厂。并告诉阿沙徳说，如果伊克巴尔再来警察局， 就把他用链条栓在织地毯机器上。 Arshad did chain Iqbal to his loom. Even when Iqbal hurt 55. so much he could hardly move, he fought back. He believed that what Arshad was doing was wrong. 阿沙徳真的把伊克巴尔用链子栓在织地毯机器上.即使伊克巴尔被深 刻的伤害使他几乎都不能动了,伊克巴尔依然在反抗。伊克巴尔相信，阿沙 徳老板这样做是错误的。 At 10 years old, Iqbal was just under 4 feet tall, the normal size of a child who is two or three years younger. He weighed less than 60 pounds. From years of sitting hunched in front of 10岁的伊克巴尔还不到4尺高，这才是2至3岁大的正常孩子的高度。 他的体重甚至少于60英磅。在织地毯机前的这些年来,他的脊柱慢慢隆起 并变成弧形,就像一个老年人. 60. the loom, his spine curved like that of an old man. When Iqbal walked, his feet shuffled slowly, and though he were wearing slippers that were too big. Arshad told Iqbal that the harder he worked, the faster the loan made to his parents would be paid off. But no matter what Iqbal did, loan just got 当伊克巴尔行走的时候,他感觉自己快要死了.虽然他穿着一双拖鞋,但是拖 鞋很大.阿沙德告诉他,他工作很努力,会很快还清他的父母的借款.但是这都 没有用.借款只是越来越多. 65. bigger and bigger. Iqbal’s father left home, and his mother was forced to borrow more money from Arshad. By the time Iqbal was 11 years old, his loan had increased to $419-more than 25 times the original amount. When Iqbal heard this, he knew he would be trapped forever unless he found a way to escape. 伊克巴尔的父亲离开了家,他的母亲被迫向阿沙德借钱.这时候, 伊克巴尔 才11岁.他欠的款已经增加到419美元,比25次原来的借款总和还要多. 当伊克巴尔听到这些,他知道自己将永远无法翻身,除非发现一条逃跑的路. 70. In the summer of 1992, Iqbal heard about a meeting to be held in a nearby town. A man named Essan Ulla Khan was going to speak about a new law forbidding carpet factories to employ children. Iqbal decided he must go to this meeting. 在1992年的夏天, 伊克巴尔听说有一个会议将在附近的城镇举行.演 讲人的名字叫做伊三 阿拉 喀汗,演讲是关于一个新的法规对于冷酷的地毯 工厂里的童工的.伊克巴尔决定必须去参加这个会议. On the day of the meeting, Iqbal had worked almost 75. 10 hours. In Arshad’s factory there were no fans and no open windows. In the summer, the heat climbed to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. When Iqbal finally made it to the meeting, he was exhausted and very hot. He managed to push his way through the crowd to the front. He sat on the floor below the platform 在开会的那天, 伊克巴尔工作了将近10个钟头了.在阿沙德的工厂里,没有 风扇和窗户.夏天,高温会升到华氏120度.当伊克巴尔最终要去开会的时候, 他已经筋疲力尽和非常热.他想方设法使自己穿过了拥挤的人群.坐在正在 演讲的喀汗讲台前面的地上. 80. where Khan was speaking. Khan talked about an organization called the Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF). Its goal was to free Pakistan’s bonded Laborers. Like Iqbal, they were treated as slaves. The companies They worked for owned them just owned property 喀汗讨论的是关于一个名称是抵押劳工解放战线的组织.它的目的是 让巴基斯坦抵押工人得到自由.象伊克巴尔一样,他们被当作奴隶.这些公司 的工作是为了拥有他们,只是作为拥有财产或建筑物. 85. or buildings. The workers were not free to leave their jobs. Khan said that thousands of children worked in bondage in Pakistan’s textile and brick factories, tanneries,* and steelworks. Under the new law, bonded laborers did not have to work if They did not want to. 工人们不能自由地离开他们的工作.喀汗说,成千上万的孩子们在巴基斯坦 的纺织厂砖厂和皮革厂,还有炼钢厂的奴役中工作过.按照新的法规,抵押工 人如果不想工作,不必非得去工作. 90. When Khan finished speaking, several people jumped up to ask questions. Finally Khan noticed Iqbal’s small raised hand and told the audience to let the boy speak. After a pause, Iqbal asked quietly, “How can I stop working and go to school?” Khan explained that Iqbal had new rights under the law. He 当喀汗结束了演讲,几个人突然站起来向他提问.最后,喀汗注意到伊 克巴尔举起的小手.然后告诉听众们让这个男孩发言.停顿了一下,伊克巴尔 平静的问道:“我如何能停止工作,然后去上学?”喀汗向伊克巴尔解释说,在新 法规中你有了新的权力. 95. could show Arshad some legal papers and Arshad would have to let Iqbal go. Khan also told Iqbal about the schools that the BLLF sponsored for children who had been bonded laborers. 伊克巴尔应该给阿沙德老板看一些法律文件,阿沙德应该容许伊克巴尔 离开工厂.喀汗也告诉伊克巴尔,抵押劳工解放战线组织的一些学校,就是 为了曾经是抵押童工的孩子们而办的. (The next morning, when Iqbal returned to the carpet Factory, he took the legal papers with him. He told Arshad he 100. would no longer work, nor would he pay his debt, because bonded labor was illegal. Arshad’s face grew red with anger. He cursed at Iqbal and beat him. But Iqbal escaped and ran out of the factory.) 第二天早上,当伊克巴尔回到地毯工厂,他拿来这些法律文件,告诉阿沙 德他将不再工作,也不会付他的债款.因为抵押工是非法的.阿沙德气得脸渐 渐变红了.他打骂伊克巴尔.但伊克巴尔溜出去跑出了地毯工厂. Two days later, Arshad came to Iqbal’s home, demanding 105. that Iqbal return to the factory or pay the money he said the family owed. Iqbal stood his ground. He knew he could count on his new friend for help. (* tanneries. A place for making leather) 两天以后,阿沙德来到伊克巴尔的家,很费劲地劝说伊克巴尔回到工厂 或付清他的家庭欠的借款.伊克巴尔站在地上.他清楚的知道,他的新朋友 对他的帮助. Khan did help Iqbal get away from the factory. He threatened to have Arshad arrested if he protested. Khan greatly admired 110. Iqbal’s courage and perseverance . He found Iqbal a place in a BLLF primary school in Lahore. 喀汗成功的帮助伊克巴尔离开了工厂.他警告阿沙德,如果抗议将会被 逮捕.喀汗非常赞赏伊克巴尔的胆量和不屈不挠.他为伊克巴尔找到一所抵 押劳工解放战线的小学,在拉合尔. Iqbal told his teachers that he wanted to become a lawyer and fight for children’s rights. He did not want any child to suffer the way he had. Some of the other kids at school teased 115. him by calling him “Chief Justice,” but he didn’t care. He worked hard at school and was a good student. Every night after school, he brought a book to bed and read late into the night. 伊克巴尔告诉他的老师,他想当一名律师,为孩子们的权利而奋斗. 他不想让任何孩子遭受到他所遭受过的一切.而学校里的其他孩子却嘲笑他, 称呼他为 “首席法官”,但他并不在乎.他努力学习,在学校他是一名优秀的学 生.每天晚上,放学以后,他都会带一本书,在床上阅读到很晚. Other children were not as lucky. Many did not hear about the new law. Factory owners kept workers from talking to 120. people from the BLLF. The police did not enforce the labor law*, and factories just ignored it. 其他孩子就没伊克巴尔那么幸运了.许多孩子没有听过这个新法规.工厂 主们阻止工人们与抵押劳工解放战线组织的人交谈.警方没有执行这个劳工 法,厂方也不理会这个法. Iqbal and Khan started traveling together to talk about the new law and to free young bonded laborers. One day Khan took Iqbal to visit a carpet factory in a village called Kasur. Because Iqbal 125. was so small, the guards let him in the gate, thinking he was just another worker. But once he was inside, Iqbal started asking the children questions. How often were they beaten? How often did they have to work overtime? How were they treated? 伊克巴尔和喀汗开始一块儿旅行,告诉人们这个新法规让抵押童工们 获得自由.一天,喀汗带着伊克巴尔去访问一个乡间地毯工厂,那里叫做卡索. 由于伊克巴尔个子太小,门卫没让他入门.还以为伊克巴尔是另一个工人.但是 他已经进门了.伊克巴尔开始问童工们问题.你们经常挨打吗?你们经常加班吗? 他们怎么对待你们的? Khan used the information that Iqbal gathered to write an 130. investigative report*. Because of the report, police raided the factory and found 300 children who had been tortured and beaten. They were all between the ages of four and ten. 喀汗把这些情况和伊克巴尔一块儿写成了一份调查报告.由于这份报告, 警察突击搜查,发现有300个童工被拷打和挨揍.他们都是4至10岁的孩子. When Iqbal was 12 years old, he began speaking to huge demand better working conditions. People in Europe and the United States heard about Iqbal and invited him to come speak in their countries. He told audiences that the colorful carpets some of them had in their homes were made by children who 140. lived as slaves. In the United States, Iqbal was featured on ABC news as Person of the Week.” The Reebok Corporation honored him with an award for his work. 当伊克巴尔12岁的时候,他开始在巨大的现场直播演讲.欧洲和美国听 到了伊克巴尔的声音,都邀请他到他们的国家演讲.他告诉听众们,那些在你们家 里的五颜六色的地毯,是由奴隶般生活的童工们做的.在美国,伊克巴尔被作为 ABC美国电视广播公司的每周人物访谈节目中的人物;短角羚公司为他正义的呼 呼和行为授予了他奖品和奖金. (* labor law. A law that covers people who are working * investigative report. A document that provides information about a controversial topic * masters. The people servants work for) When people learned how their carpets were being made, they did not want to buy any more. In 1992, factories 145. in Pakistan sold fewer carpets to foreign countries than in previous years. At first, the decline was slight, but two years later sales fell sharply. 当人们知道了他们的地毯是怎样被做成的,他们都不想再买了.在 1992年,巴基斯坦工厂卖出了比以前较少的地毯到国外的一些国家.起初, 这种减少是轻微的,但是两年后,销量锐减. Carpet factory owners and managers were furious. The 150. blamed “subversive organizations” and “the child revolutionary.” Threats were made on Iqbal’s life. 地毯工厂的老板和经理们非常暴怒.责备颠覆破坏的组织和儿童 革命的伊克巴尔威胁了他们. On Easter Sunday in 1995*, Iqbal went to visit relatives in a rural village. After spending some time with his aunt, he and two cousins rode their bicycles to see Iqbal’s uncle, who was 155. working in a nearby field. As the boys bounced along the dirt path, someone suddenly fired a shotgun at them from a short distance. Iqbal was instantly killed. He was 12 years old. 在1995年星期六的复活节那天, 伊克巴尔到乡下看望他的亲戚们. 看完他的姨妈后,就和两个堂兄骑自行车去看望伊克巴尔的姨父.有谁在附 近的田地里工作.当男孩子们沿着泥泞的小路,上上下下的骑车赶路时,有人 突然出现,近距离的向他们射击. 伊克巴尔马上中弹身亡,当时年仅12岁. No one knows exactly what happened or who killed Iqbal. Some people say it was an accident. Others say it was a murder 160. arranged by the carpet manufacturers. The real facts may never be known. Many human rights groups accused the police of failing to investigate the crime thoroughly. 没有人知道到底发生了什么?谁杀害了伊克巴尔.一些人说这是一次 事故.另一些人说这是一次地毯制造商安排的谋杀.没人知道事实真相,许多 人权组织控告警察没能仔细的调查犯罪. At Iqbal’s funeral, 800 mourners crowed into the small village cemetery. A week later, 3,000 protesters—half of them 165. under the age of 12-marched through the streets of Lahore. For many children working under harsh conditions, Iqbal Masih provided a voice. He gave them the courage to follow him out of bondage. His story brought attention to the plight of the world’s working children. 在伊克巴尔的葬礼上,有800送塟人拥挤在小型的乡间墓地.一周后, 3千抗议者有一半人是12岁以下的.他们在拉合尔的街道上游行.为了在严 酷工作条件下工作的童工,伊克巴尔发出了一个声音.他给予他们勇气和胆 量,跟着他离开奴役的束缚.他的故事引起了人们对世界上的童工的关注. (*Easter Sunday. A Christian holiday) | 
