【305-307】Life as a Spy in Communist Romania

Original littleflute 漂泊者乐园 2021-10-05

漂泊者乐园微信公众号在线英语学习资料
提示：
1. 回复  president  可收听查看所有《美国总统》文章。
2. 回复  park          可收听查看所有《美国国家公园》文章。
3. 回复  zjmgyy      可收听查看所有《中级美国英语》文章。
4. 回复  bztl           可收听查看所有《VOA标准听力》。

*【305】

AS IT IS

Life as a Spy in Communist Romania

August 09, 2018

In this March 10, 2005, file photo, Romanian military staff prepare to unload files of Romania's former communist regime's Securitate secret police from a truck at the headquarters of the National Council for Studying the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) in Leordeni, Romania. Some 70 informants and spies secretly recorded the life of Katherine Verdery. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

Romanian secret police agents watched her and persuaded friends to report on her activities. The agents took pictures of her when she was in her underwear.

About 70 informants and spies watched Katherine Verdery when she visited Romania in the 1970s and 1980s. At the time, the country was under Communist Party rule.

Verdery went to Romania for postgraduate research on village life. She is now an anthropology professor at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

After the collapse of communism in 1989, Verdery was given a copy of the once secret records about her activities. The documentation covered 2,781 pages. She used them for her book, which is called “My Life as a Spy.”

Verdery wrote the book in English. It was recently published in the Romanian language, a move that has opened old wounds. Her story is forcing Romanians to face a dark period in their history.

An American Spy?

Verdery admits being a young and innocent American when she first went to Eastern Europe. She failed to understand what her questions and efforts to become part of Romanian society looked like to other people.

Under Communist rule, Romanians considered Americans sent to Romania for study programs to be Western spies. Verdery did nothing to stop the idea. Once she mistakenly rode her motorcycle onto a military base.

By the end of her research, the officer responsible for her case decided she was not a spy.

When Verdery first learned of the existence of the secret police records, she was “absolutely stunned... I couldn’t believe my eyes, the level of surveillance was so much greater than anything I had…imagined.”

Romanian Securitate agents reported on her movements, sometimes up to 16 hours a day. Hotel employees reported where she went, others looked at her belongings to read her research notes. She was filmed and recorded everywhere and friends reported on her.

Romanian officials feared she would present Romania badly or could affect the country’s Most Favored Nation position. Under international rules, a Most Favored Nation can openly trade with other nations.

The secret police had a number of names for Verdery. They included “Vera,” ″Vanesa” and “Folklorista.”

Trying to understand

Angry and sad, Verdery returned to Romania to understand why she had been a target for the secret police.

“(They assumed) that I was a spy,” she told The Associated Press by telephone from Massachusetts. “Finding out my friends were involved working with the secret police...was an unwelcome surprise.”

Back in Romania, she met and discussed events with former close friends and co-workers.

Some people denied watching her. Others had died. One woman blamed Verdery for making her become an informer. Only one person apologized. Verdery forgave everyone.

Verdery believes spying is a product of culture. She understands why people might think she was a spy. She took notes and kept copies. Later, she sent them to the United States, mail that was shipped directly from the U.S. embassy in Bucharest.

Verdery does not name the friends who spied on her, but records that have appeared in Romanian media show they included two former government ministers.

Memories of the Securitate

Unlike other former communist countries, Romania has yet to deal with the destructive effect its secret police had on the country. Everyone was watched. Nearly everyone was an informer. People lived without trust.

Observers say the old system continues to operate.

“It’s as alive as it was before, and we haven’t healed yet,” said Armand Gosu, a teacher at the University of Bucharest.

But the publication of “My Life as a Spy” in Romanian last month seems to be having an effect. The book has sold out as Romanians seem prepared to discuss their past.

Silvia Colfescu heads the publishing house Vremea. Colfescu was one of Verdery’s few friends who did not spy on her.

“She was a foreign researcher from America, of course, they had their eyes on her,” Colfescu told The Associated Press. “All foreigners were naive, all of them,” she said. “We had foreign friends and I told them.”

Why did so many people spy on others? The secret police used threats.

“Your children won’t get into university, your wife won’t get cancer treatment,” Colfescu said.

Armand Gosu calls the book “sensational.” He said it is unusual that an American understands the time of Nicolae Ceausescu better than Romanians.

I’m Susan Shand.

Alison Mutler reported this story for the Associated Press. Susan Shand adapted her story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

naïve – adj. uninformed, childish

surveillance – n. the act of watching someone very closely all the time

stun - v. to shock; to make senseless

page – n. pieces of paper in a book or publication

postgraduate – adj. of or relating to studies done after one completes a study program at a college or university

*【306】

AS IT IS

Russia Condemns New US Sanctions as ‘Unlawful’

August 09, 2018

FILE - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova speaks to the media in Moscow, March 29, 2018.

The Russian government has criticized the United States for ordering new sanctionsagainst Russia.

The government said Thursday it has begun working on ways to answer the measures. U.S. officials say the order is meant to answer the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain.

The State Department announced the sanctions on Wednesday. The Reuters news agency said they would restrict sensitive national security controlled goods to Russia.

The announcement said that Russia had broken international law by using a deadly nerve agent against its own nationals.

Former Russian military intelligence official Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury in March. British officials said they found evidence the substance used in the attack was Novichok, a nerve gas developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s.

Britain Poisoning Probe

Both Skripal and his daughter survived the attack, but spent weeks recovering in the hospital. Britain, the United States and other nations have accused Russia of ordering the poisonings. The Russian government has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday the new sanctions represent a fresh attempt to “demonize Russia.” She added that “ultimatums against Russia are useless,” and noted the government is considering ways to answer the U.S. restrictions.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin called the measures “unfriendly” and “unlawful.” The spokesman said the decision goes against a “constructive” process that began when Putin met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Helsinki last month.

Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to improve relations between the two countries. But he has faced criticism from U.S. lawmakers for not taking a stronger position against reported Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

In March, the United States joined European nations in expelling Russian diplomats to answer the poisonings. But U.S. officials had not yet confirmed the use of banned nerve agents in the attack.

This week, the State Department said Russia had “used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the decision. In a statement, she said the U.S. action sends a clear message to Russia that its “reckless” behavior will not go unanswered.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His story was based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

sanction – n. an order given to limit or stop trade under international law

demonize – v. try to make a person or group seem very bad

ultimatum – n. a statement that you will do something that will affect someone badly if they do not do what you want

constructive – adj. serving a helpful or useful purpose

alleged – adj. said or thought by some people to be true, but without specific proof

lethal – adj. able to cause or causing death

reckless – adj. showing a lack of care about risks or danger

AS IT IS

Argentina Lawmakers Reject Bill to Legalize Abortion

August 09, 2018

Demonstrators against the decriminalization of abortion gather outside Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug. 8, 2018.

Argentina’s Senate has rejected a measure that would have legalized ending a pregnancy during the first 14 weeks for any reason.

The Senate voted against the measure 38 to 31 on Thursday. The proposal narrowly passed Argentina’s lower house in July.

President Mauricio Macri had promised to sign the bill if it passed, although he is against abortion. Macri called the debate “a win for democracy.”

The vote followed intense debate in the Senate that ran into the early morning. Supporters and opponents spent hours outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires to follow the debate.

Demonstrations were mostly peaceful. After the vote, small groups of protesters threw firebombs and set barricades on fire, the Associated Press reported. Police used tear gas to break up the crowd, but no injuries were reported.

Women in support of decriminalizing abortion protest in the rain outside Congress where lawmakers are debating the issue in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. (AP)

The bill was supported by several women’s groups and a growing abortion rights movement. The Roman Catholic Church is still strong in Argentina – the home country of Pope Francis. The Catholic Church and other groups opposed the measure. They argued the bill violated an Argentine law that guarantees life from the moment of conception.

Abortion is only allowed in Argentina in cases of rape and risks to the mother’s health. Thousands of women, most of them poor, are hospitalized each year for problems linked to unsafe abortions. Supporters of the measure said legalizing abortion would save the lives of many women.

The Health Ministry estimated in 2016 that up to 500,000 secret abortions are performed each year, resulting in the deaths of many women. Activists have estimated about 3,000 women in Argentina have died from illegal abortions since 1983.

Jose Miguel Vivanco is director for the Americas for the rights group Human Rights Watch based in New York City. He had called on Argentine lawmakers to take a “historic” stand to protect the rights of women.

A pro-choice activist holds her face after lawmakers voted against a bill that would have legalized elective abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, outside Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, early Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018. (AP)

Rights group Amnesty International had told senators to keep in mind that “the world is watching” the vote.

Demonstrations in support of the measure were held in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Ecuador. Efforts to ease or strengthen abortion restrictions have happened in other nations across South and Central America in recent years.

Last year in Chile, the Constitutional Court approved a bill that eased that country’s complete ban on abortions. The law now permits abortions when a woman’s life is in danger, when a fetus is not viable and in cases of rape.

Chile had been the last country in South America to ban abortion in all cases. Several nations in Central America still have complete abortion bans.

Argentina has supported several social movements in recent years.

In this June 3, 2017 photo, Maira Maidana, bottom right, holds a banner with pictures of herself during a march organized by the movement "Ni Una Menos," or Not One Less, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

In 2010, it became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage.

More recently, the Ni Una Menos, or Not One Less, movement was created in Argentina. The movement aims to fight violence against women and has spread around the world.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters and the Associated Press. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________