【940-942】阿拉斯加土著人因秘密通讯工作而获奖&美国工人压力的原因&总统辞职后，阿尔及利亚官员计划下一步
AS IT IS
Alaska Natives Honored for Secret Communications Work
April 03, 2019
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Alaska's Tlingit tribe in 2013 for the World War II efforts of five Tlingit servicemen.
American Richard Bean, Sr., died with a secret. He was a war hero, but nobody knew about it for years.
Bean and four other Alaska Natives were recently honored in their home state for saving the lives of many soldiers during World War II.
As young men, Bean and the others served in the United States military. During the war, they made good use of their mother tongue, the Tlingit language. As children, they could not speak Tlingit at schools in their southeast Alaska villages. But in the U.S. military, their officers asked them to use their native language to help the military. When they spoke in a code that used Tlingit, the Japanese could not understand them. They did the same thing as other, more famous American soldiers: the Navajo Code Talkers.
Rosita Worl is president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, a nonprofit group set up to protect and strengthen the cultures of Alaska's Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes.
Worl told the Associated Press that, when the Tlingit soldiers were children, teachers and religious workers suppressed their language. Punishments for students who spoke their language included having their mouths washed out with soap and their hands struck by sticks, she said.
Until recent years, however, most people did not know what the Alaska Natives had done. The U.S. military for a time kept the unbroken codes secret in case they were needed in future wars.
"Their orders were not to talk about it," said Ozzie Sheakley, a Tlingit leader who once served in the U.S. Army. "They took those orders seriously."
Their families had no idea that the five men were heroes. All of them were from small towns on Alaska's Panhandle: soldiers Richard Bean, Sr. of Hoonah, and Robert "Jeff" David, Sr. of Haines; Sitka brothers and Navy men Mark Jacobs, Jr. and Harvey Jacobs; and George Lewis Jr., who was also from Sitka and is believed to have served in the Army.
Ron Williams never knew either, even though he and Richard Bean were extremely close. Bean was his uncle.
Williams said there was only one small piece of evidence. His uncle told him a platoon commander heard him speaking Tlingit with fellow Code Talker Jeff David while the two were fighting in the Philippines together. The commander asked if the men would like to work on communications, then gave each a small radio. But that was the end of Bean's story, and Williams never asked for more, because it seemed his uncle did not want to talk about it. Richard Bean died in 1985.
"Even the guys that knew him all his life, you know, they didn't know what he did either because he never said anything about it," Williams said.
David never said anything about it to his son, Jeff David, Jr., either.
"He just said he was in special services, and that was as far as he put it," the son said. "And he was stationed in the Philippines for a while."
The military released information about the Navajo Code Talker program in 1968. But it would be many more years before the U.S. government recognized the work of Tlingit servicemen.
In 2013, Congress recognized the Code Talkers from 33 tribes, including the Tlingit men, who were awarded silver medals after their deaths.
Thinking of the national honors, former Alaska state representative and Tlingit military veteran Bill Thomas decided it was time for state recognition. Alaska lawmakers agreed when Thomas pushed for the idea along with the help of the Sealaska Heritage Institute. In March, legislators passed an official order honoring the Tlingit Code Talkers.
Learning about the important part these men played in history was a big surprise for the family of George Lewis Jr.
His son, Ray Lewis, was born after the war and never even knew his father was in the military. There are no military records in the family to even tell what part of the military his father served in, he said.
It was a great honor to learn his father was part of such important work.
“I’m very proud of it,” Ray Lewis said. “My father was instrumental in saving a lot of lives out there.”
I’m Jill Robbins.
Rachel D'Oro reported on this story for the Associated Press. Dr. Jill Robbins adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Does your town have a war hero? Tell us about her or him. Write to us in the comments section.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
tongue – n. a spoken language
code – n. a system of signals for communication
soap – n. a cleansing agent
panhandle - n. a part of a land area that is narrow and sticks out from a larger area
uncle – n. the brother of one’s father or mother
platoon - n. a group or team of soldiers
proud – adj. very pleased
AS IT IS
Why US Workers Are Stressed
April 03, 2019
More than half of American workers say they are stressed because their employers do not give them the information they need to do their jobs.
This information comes from a company called Dynamic Signal. It sells communications systems that enable businesses to send messages to workers’ mobile devices.
The Dynamic Signal study involved 1,001 people who work in the United States. They answered a series of questions online at the beginning of 2019.
The study found that 80 percent of the workers reported feeling stressed, or under pressure, because of poor communication by their employers.
The same study showed that more than 60 percent of those asked said they are ready to leave their companies.
And, it said the most unsatisfied workers are those who cannot look at work email regularly. They include workers in stores, hotels, restaurants, hospitals and buildings where products are stored, as well as delivery drivers. These workers are more likely to say that their companies communicate better with employees who work in offices.
Russ Fradin is the head of Dynamic Signal. He says that, over time, many businesses have stayed the same, but what workers expect has changed.
In the past, companies communicated with employees by putting up signs in the break room or on the factory floor. Or they might have used newsletters or magazines. But today, 77 percent of Americans own smartphones, and workers are used to getting information “pushed” to them immediately.
Their phones can show information about bank account balances, sporting events and possible love interests from a dating service, notes Fradin. So, he says, when workers receive information they need to know for their jobs an hour late, or three days late or two weeks late, they are likely to be angry.
“It’s really just about bringing the types of tools around your mobile phone that everyone is used to in their day-to-day life into the workplace," he adds.
Other studies
Other studies also show a growing dissatisfaction with how workplaces communicate to employees. A company called Staffbase produces software programs for workplace communication. It says that 74 percent of U.S. employees feel they are “missing out on company news and information.”
In addition, a 2017 Gallup survey found that just 13 percent of employers thought that company communications were effective.
The Harvard Business Review also published an article about how companies can use mobile phone applications to improve employee communication.
For example, the story said, businesses could send company announcements or information about payments and other assistance directly to workers on their phones.
Improving workplace communications can be good for a company’s profit. Gallup’s 2017 State of the American Workplace Report found that companies with more engaged workers keep employees longer and bring in more money.
I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
Dora Mekouar wrote this story for VOA. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
stressed - adj. feeling very worried or anxious
online - n. done over the Internet
regularly - adv. very often
AS IT IS
After President's Resignation, Algerian Officials Plot Next Steps
April 03, 2019
People celebrate on the streets after Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has submitted his resignation, in Algiers, Algeria April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Algeria’s Constitutional Council met Wednesday to confirm the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Constitutional Council president Tayeb Belaiz opened Wednesday’s meeting of the 12-member body. He said the reason for the meeting was to establish the “vacancy of the post of president of the republic.”
Bouteflika, who is 82, appeared Tuesday on national television to give his resignation letter to Belaiz. Bouteflika has not spoken publicly since he suffered a stroke in 2013. On television, he appeared very weak.
After Bouteflika’s televised resignation, protesters celebrated with songs and waving flags in the capital city, Algiers.
Bouteflika ruled the country for 20 years and was a major member of the Arab World’s political leadership.
Bouteflika’s ally, Abdelkader Bensalah, is expected to take over as a temporary leader while the cou ntry plans presidential elections. He is the president of the upper house of parliament. He will take over for 90 days, as called for in the Algerian Constitution.
The move may anger the protesters who demanded Bouteflika’s resignation. They want to change a system they consider to be secretive and corrupt.
Bensalah has run the upper house for the past 17 years, and has held high-ranking political positions for the past 25 years. But he has mostly stayed out of the public eye. He is known as a politician who works quietly to make compromises and solve problems.
Bensalah is also a big part of the country’s political elite. Protesters worry that those involved in the political changes are too close to the elite power structure, including Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. He has been accused of aiding in fraud during the last presidential election in 2014. He is also known for violently halting past protests.
New protests are already planned for Friday, April 5. There have been large, peaceful protests the past six Fridays. Such gatherings have surprised Algeria’s leadership.
The protesters, however, do not appear to have unifying political demands for the future. It is also not known what the military and Bouteflika’s supporters in the government will do next. Military chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah reportedly pushed for Bouteflika’s resignation.
Leaders from around the world are closely watching Algeria’s political crisis. Many are worried about the possibility that the crisis may interfere with gas and oil deliveries to Europe and Africa.
A Russian government spokesman warned against foreign interference in Algerian politics. Dmitry Peskov said that “we hope the…processes in that country ... will by no means affect the friendly nature of our relations.” Russia and Algeria have been economic and political allies since Soviet times.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he hoped Algeria would have a “democratic transition in the same spirit of calm and responsibility” that has marked the recent protests. France was once Algeria’s colonial ruler and is an important trading partner. French leadership was criticized early in the protest movement for appearing to support Bouteflika.
The U.S. State Department has expressed support for the peaceful protests. It says it is up to Algerians to decide what comes next.
Since fighting a violent Islamist uprising in the 1990s, Algeria has worked closely with the United States and Europe against terrorism.
I’m Susan Shand.
The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in this Story
vacancy - n. a job or position that is available to be taken
stroke - n. a serious illness caused when a blood vessel in your brain suddenly breaks or is blocked
elite - n. the people who have the most wealth and status in a society
fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person
transition - n. a change from one state or condition to another
spirit - n. the attitude or feeling that a person has about a particular job, activity, etc.