VOASE0424_Explorations

24 April 2007

The Tuskegee Airmen: First African-Americans Trained As Fighter Pilots
The excellent work of the Tuskegee Airmen during the Second World War led to changes in the American military policy of racial separation.

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein with Explorations in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about the Tuskegee Airmen who served in World War Two. They were the first group of

The first class of Tuskegee cadets

African-Americans ever trained as fighter pilots.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

It was July second, nineteen forty-three. It was foggy near the ground. But the sky was clear. The airplanes flew upward, over the Mediterranean Sea. The water was calm and very blue. The planes were part of the United States Army Air Forces, the Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron. They were responsible for guarding bomber airplanes flying to Italy.

The pilots tested their guns. When they were satisfied that their weapons were in firing condition, they flew the planes into position to guard the bombers. The bombers began to unload their cargo at the target area. Clouds of smoke rose from the explosions on the ground.

VOICE TWO:

A group of enemy fighter planes immediately appeared. The pilots of the Ninety-Ninth attacked them. In the battle that followed, Lieutenant Charles Hall shot down a German plane. It was the first time a pilot from the Ninety-Ninth defeated an enemy aircraft. He was the first African-American fighter pilot in the United States armed forces to shoot down an enemy plane. Charles Hall and the other pilots of the Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron had come a long way from Tuskegee, Alabama to fight for their country during World War Two.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen forty, African-Americans made up about one and one-half percent of the United States army and navy. But they were not permitted to join the Army Air Forces and fly planes. They had begun campaigning for the right to be accepted into military pilot training during World War One. In nineteen seventeen, African-Americans who requested acceptance into military pilot training were told that black air groups were not being formed at the time.

Civil rights leaders denounced the belief expressed by many white people that black people could not fight. In nineteen thirty-one, Walter White and Robert Moton requested that the War Department accept blacks in the Army Air Corps for pilot training. Mister White was an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization. Mister Moton was president of a respected college for black students, the Tuskegee Institute.

The War Department refused. It said the Air Corps chose men with technical experience. The department also said that blacks were not interested in flying. And it said that so many educated white men wanted to enter the Air Corps that many of them had to be refused acceptance.

VOICE TWO:

The War Department’s refusal led many to feel that blacks would only be guaranteed acceptance into the Air Corps through legislation by Congress. Black leaders used the United States’ preparation for entry into World War Two to pressure Congress. They criticized the unfair treatment of African-Americans in the armed services.

In nineteen thirty-nine, Congress approved a bill guaranteeing blacks the right to be trained as military air pilots. It was proposed that a pilot training camp for blacks be established in Tuskegee, Alabama.

VOICE ONE:

Black leaders praised the signs of change within the military. Yet they continued to work against the military policy of racial separation. The War Department answered these critics by making plans to form several new black fighting groups.

It also promoted a black colonel, Benjamin O. Davis, Senior, to Brigadier General. And the War Department appointed a black judge, William Hastie, as civilian aide on African-American affairs. Judge Hastie was the head of Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Judge Hastie first opposed the establishment of a flight training school in Tuskegee. He wanted blacks to be trained along with whites, not separated from them. The Air Corps said there was no space in other programs. And it said establishing a school at Tuskegee would be the fastest way to start the training. So Judge Hastie withdrew his formal opposition, although he was not satisfied with the plan.

Fred Patterson was the president of the Tuskegee Institute. He also objected to separate training of black pilots. He said it was necessary to denounce forced racial separation. But he finally accepted the program at Tuskegee. He recognized that blacks would be trained separately from whites any place in the United States. He saw Tuskegee as a beginning. At least blacks would now become military pilots.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The Civilian Pilot Training Program at Tuskegee trained black pilots for difficult and dangerous flying. The first group of African-Americans completed the training as fighter pilots in March, nineteen forty-two.

General Davis’s son, Benjamin O. Davis, Junior, was among the first graduates. Blacks finally had won the right to fly with the Army Air Corps, now known as the Army Air Forces. After the war, the Army Air Forces would become the United States Air Force.

Many of the men trained at Tuskegee served in Europe with the Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron. It was organized in October, nineteen forty-two. Its commander was Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Junior.

VOICE ONE:

The Ninety-Ninth was sent to the Mediterranean area in April, nineteen forty-three. The pilots gained fighting experience flying over Sicily and Italy. In June of that year, the fighter pilots successfully attacked the Sicilian island of Pantelleria. It was the first time air power alone completely destroyed all enemy resistance.

The Tuskegee Airmen took part in the most famous battles in Italy. These included the battles over the Monte Cassino monastery between Rome and Naples and the invasions of Salerno and Anzio. At Anzio, in the first months of nineteen forty-four, the pilots of the Ninety-Ninth shot down eighteen enemy airplanes. Later, in July, they shot down thirty-six enemy planes. Their record led the Army Air Forces to decide to use more black pilots in the war.

VOICE TWO:

Pilots with the 332nd Fighter Group in Ramitelli, Italy

In September, nineteen forty-three, Colonel Davis became commander of the Three Hundred Thirty-Second Fighter Group. The Ninety-Ninth Squadron became a part of that group. Four hundred fifty black pilots were in the group. They flew more than fifteen thousand five hundred flights in Europe.

The Tuskegee Airmen guarded bomber airplanes. They destroyed more than one hundred enemy airplanes in the air, including German fighter planes. And two of the Tuskegee Airmen each shot down four enemy planes.

VOICE ONE:

Nine hundred ninety-six black pilots were trained at Tuskegee Airfield before World War Two ended. For black Americans during World War Two, the Tuskegee Airmen represented both honor and inequality. Members of the group received almost one thousand military awards during the war. Yet their separation from white troops was a powerful sign of the military’s racial policy.

History experts say the Tuskegee airmen proved that black men could fly military airplanes in highly successful combat operations. And the group’s success helped end the separate racial policy of the American military. In nineteen forty-eight, President Harry Truman ordered the armed forces to provide equal treatment for black servicemen. The next year, the Air Force announced that black and white airmen no longer would be separated.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In civilian life, many of the Tuskegee airmen became lawyers, doctors, judges, congressmen and mayors. Their fighting spirit had helped them survive battles and unequal treatment. At home, their spirit helped lead the way to civil rights progress in the United States.

In March, two thousand seven, the United States Congress honored the Tuskegee Airmen at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The group received the country's highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal.

President Bush with Tuskegee airmen Roscoe Brown, center, and Alexander Jefferson during the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony

President Bush spoke to the surviving airmen and their families. He praised their bravery to fight in the face of the unequal treatment they suffered at home. Retired Army general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell also spoke to the group. He thanked them for leading the way to equal racial treatment in the United States. He said the Tuskegee Airmen showed America that there was nothing a black person could not do.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Nancy Steinbach. It was produced by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

Winner of Disputed Nigerian Presidential Election Denies Fraud

By Nico Colombant Abuja 23 April 2007

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Nigeria's ruling party, whose candidate won the deeply flawed presidential election on Saturday, denied the ballot was rigged. The opposition candidates, however, have rejected the results of the election, which many outside observers said fell short of fairness. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Abuja.

President-Elect Yar'Adua denies he won flawed vote, 23 Apr 2007

Before a champagne celebration at his campaign headquarters in the capital, President-elect Umaru Yar'Adua said the fairness of the elections cannot be judged by outsiders' measures.

He was responding to the State Department which called Saturday's election flawed.

"It is in respect to which reference point? Is it with respect to the reference point of American elections? Or is it with respect to the 1999 elections or is it in respect to the 1983 elections in Nigeria or to the 2003 elections? So when people make statements, or even organizations, or even the U.S. State Department, they should qualify such statements and we know the reference point from which they are making their statement against," said Umaru Yar'Adua. "Once you know the reference point, then it will actually make sense."

Many Nigerians had cards, but could not vote

Earlier, he rejected accusations by national Nigerian observers and opposition parties that the ruling party had rigged the vote in its favor.

"That is a conclusion which I think is a sweeping conclusion and an allegation which I do not think is based on facts," he said.

International observers have said the vote fell short of regional standards and that election authorities had failed Nigerians.

Earlier Monday, the election commission awarded the ruling party candidate over 24 million votes, nearly four times more than for his nearest rival, former military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari. No number for voter turnout was reported, nor any precise breakdown of the voting.

Women voting in Abuja, one of the rare places voting went well

In many opposition areas, voting never got under way or when it did ballot papers were insufficient for the number of voters.

In areas where voting took place, observers and journalists were witnesses to a number of irregularities, including underage voting, ballot box stuffing and mass thumb printing of unused ballot papers by ruling party supporters.

The party for the third place candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, issued a statement late Monday, saying the results will not stand, but did not give details of how this would happen.

Some have suggested public protests, others court challenges, while some say the national assembly should reconvene and call for new elections. In the northern city of Kano, protesters lit bonfires as mark of their discontent.

Outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo who was prevented from changing the constitution to seek a third elected term is to hand over power to his successor on May 29.

Yeltsin Leaves Behind Mixed Legacy

By Andre de Nesnera Washington 23 April 2007

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Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin has died in Moscow at the age of 76. In this report from Washington, Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at the Russian leader's legacy.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin waves as he arrives at Helsinki airport (File photo - 20 Mar 1997)

Western experts on Russia use one word to describe Boris Yeltsin's presidency from 1991 to 1999 - "contradictory."

Marshal Goldman is a Russia expert at Harvard University.

"The positive side, he helped bring about the collapse of the Soviet system, of communism - he brought in democracy, he brought in the market system," said Marshal Goldman. "But the negative side, from a Russian point of view, if you were Russian - under his administration, Russia lost its status as a superpower."

Few can forget the sight of Yeltsin - newly elected president of Russia - standing atop a tank in

Boris Yeltsin atop a tank (Aug 1991

, declaring illegal an attempted hardline coup against Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.

Several months later - in December - Gorbachev resigned, bringing to an end the existence of the Soviet Union.

But in October 1993, President Yeltsin stunned the world by ordering the army to shell the parliament building occupied by anti-Yeltsin forces, including lawmakers.

Dale Herspring, a Russia expert with Kansas State University, says Yeltsin had no choice.

"He was working with a parliament that was pretty-much communist dominated and what he did was completely illegal but he felt that he had to destroy them in order to get communism out," said Dale Herspring.

Boris Yeltsin (file photo)

Experts say Yeltsin did introduce many aspects of democracy such as multi-party elections, private property and the right to free speech. But they point out that the single military action against the parliament tarnished his image as a democratic leader.

Analysts say on the economic front, Yeltsin's record was also mixed.

Robert Legvold, a Russia expert with Columbia University, says the Russian president wanted to introduce economic reforms to break with the Soviet past.

"But it was not well-designed and the West was not terribly effective, including the United States, in providing sound advice to him on how he might go about something that he didn't understand," said Legvold. "And so in effect he did smash the soviet economic machinery, but he put in its place a kind of ruthless, even crony - and in the public mind - discredited form of capitalism which has since then created basic problems of legitimacy for the economic system that the Russians have."

Legvold says corruption was not a new phenomenon either in the Soviet Union or in Russia. But he says it reached unprecedented heights in the Yeltsin era because of the nature of the reforms - privatization of state-owned enterprises.

"He continually said that his regime needs to fight against it [corruption], just as the Putin regime has said they must fight against it - but they've never found an effective way to do it," he said.

Experts say history will remember Boris Yeltsin as a leader who fluctuated between democratic tendencies and authoritarian actions. They say Russia under his watch was a far more open place than it was under soviet times. But they also say Yeltsin's hand-picked successor - Vladimir Putin - is reverting back to authoritarian rule to correct what the current Russian government believes was the chaos and uncertainty of the Yeltsin years.

Legislators Agree on Iraq Funding Bill; Vote Later this Week

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 23 April 2007

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House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a military funding bill containing a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, approval of a conference report for the Iraq-Afghanistan measure moves it to the full House and later the Senate for approval, but the legislation still faces a certain veto by President Bush.

From left: Representatives David Obey, Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi, 23 Apr 2007

The meeting in a basement room of the U.S. Capitol was relatively short, mainly because the fate of the legislation, under the veto threat of the president, has already been assured.

With $95 billion of the $120 billion in the bill going for military needs and the rest for various domestic purposes, the legislation now goes to the House floor, and then to the Senate, and from there to the president.

Congressman David Obey began Monday's meeting by addressing the president's threat of a veto, saying that the real significance will be in sending a clear message about the scrutiny the president's war funding requests will get from the Democratic-controlled Congress:

"What is important is not so much the exact language of whatever instrument it is we send to the president," said David Obey. "What is important is the unity that we express in doing so, so that people understand that we are going to be coming back at this issue again and again."

Republicans focused mainly on the need to approve final bill quickly, and get it to the president so he can veto it, returning the measure to Capitol Hill where it will have to be revised.

Congressman Jerry Lewis also conveyed the Republican contention that Democrats are attempting to tie the hands of the president and military commanders:

"This legislation ought to focus on our troops," said Jerry Lewis. "It ought to focus on providing those in harm's way with the resources they need to complete their mission successfully. It ought to respect, not micro-manage our combatant commanders in whom we place the ultimate responsibility for prosecuting military actions."

The measure that goes to the president, probably by week's end, would set a goal of a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops to begin no later than October 1 of this year, with a non-mandatory goal of removing all combat forces from Iraq by April 1 of 2008.

House Democrats agreed to adopt Senate language that is softer than a bill the House approved many weeks ago that proposed a mandatory withdrawal by October 2008.

The Democratic plan would largely limit U.S. troops to training Iraqi security forces, protecting remaining U.S. forces, and conducting targeted counter-terrorism operations.

President Bush makes a statement on the war in Iraq in White House, 23 Apr 2007. With him is Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the multinational force in Iraq

President Bush met Monday at the White House with the commander of the Iraq war, General David Petraeus, and repeated his contention that setting a withdrawal timetable would be disastrous for both nations.

"An artificial timetable of withdrawal would say to an enemy, 'just wait them out.' It would say to the Iraqis, 'do not do hard things necessary to achieve our objectives,' and it would be discouraging for our troops," said President Bush.

The president acknowledged that Iraq continues to be plagued by violence, including what he termed "horrific bombings," but asserts that the military build-up of U.S. forces referred to many as a surge, is showing some signs of progress.

Harry Reid

But in a Washington speech Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the president is wrong, and reserved some of his sharpest criticism for the Iraqi government:

"Despite our surge in troops, and spending, they have failed to take meaningful steps toward achieving them [benchmarks for progress]," noted Harry Reid. "Militias have not disbanded and continue to cause terror and now the Iraqi government, once the Bush administration's greatest pride, stands on the brink of chaos."

Without enough support to override a veto, Democrats will have to recraft the measure to make it acceptable for the president, and ensure that funds can move to military forces on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition to setting the goal of withdrawing from Iraq, the legislation in its current form also limits the amount of time troops can be deployed to Iraq, and requires that military units be fully battle-ready, but allows the president to waive these requirements if he provides justifications to Congress.

VOASE0423_Science In the News

23 April 2007

Tuberculosis Can Be Cured, But It Must Be Treated the Right Way
If TB is not handled correctly, it can become resistant to drugs -- a serious problem in many countries. Second of two reports.

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. On our program this week, we tell about the disease tuberculosis. It is one of the world's leading infectious diseases. We also tell about efforts to fight tuberculosis in several countries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

A nurse attends to a TB patient at a government hospital in Gauhati, India

The World Health Organization says one-third of the world’s population is infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. That is about two billion people. One in ten people infected with the TB bacteria will become sick with tuberculosis at some time during their life. The WHO says almost nine million people became sick with the disease in two thousand five. About one million six hundred thousand people died of the disease that year. However, the WHO also says almost sixty percent of TB cases around the world are discovered. A large majority of them are cured.

VOICE TWO:

Most people infected with the bacteria never develop active TB. However, people with weak body defense systems often develop the disease. TB can damage a person’s lungs or other parts of the body and cause serious sickness.

The disease is spread by people who have active, untreated TB bacteria in their throat or lungs. The bacteria are spread into the air when infected people talk or expel air suddenly.

Most TB cases can be cured with medicines. Successful treatment of TB requires close cooperation among patients, doctors and other health care workers. The World Health Organization has a five-step program to guarantee that TB patients take their medicine correctly. The program is called Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course, or DOTS. Directly observed means that patients must go to local health centers every day or several times a week to take their medicines. Health care workers watch to make sure patients take their medicine every day. Full treatment usually lasts from six to nine months to destroy all signs of the bacteria.

VOICE ONE:

It is very important for patients to be educated about the disease and its treatment. Sometimes patients fail to finish taking the medicine ordered by their doctors. Experts say this is because some patients feel better after only two to four weeks of treatment and stop taking their medicine. This can lead to the TB bacteria becoming stronger, resistant to drugs, and more difficult to treat.

This kind of TB is called multi-drug resistant tuberculosis or MDR-TB. The World Health Organization says MDR-TB is one hundred times more costly to treat than the other form of the disease.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The World Health Organization says most deaths from tuberculosis are in developing countries. More than half of all deaths from TB are in Asia. And half of all new cases are in six Asian countries. They are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.

More than twenty-five percent of the world's multi-drug resistant tuberculosis cases are in Asia. Patients with MDR-TB must take more powerful and costly drugs for more than two years. Some patients experience side effects from the drugs.

VOICE ONE:

Experts say the fight against TB and drug resistance has been successful in Hong Kong. In the past fifty years, Hong Kong has reduced cases of TB by almost ninety-eight percent. In the nineteen fifties, the British colonial government built TB hospitals and began giving vaccines to children. The government also replaced poor, unclean housing with modern public housing.

Today, the Chinese government gives anti-TB drugs free of cost in public health centers. Health workers visit patients who fail to go to health centers to get their medicines. So Hong Kong has very low levels of drug-resistant TB.

VOICE TWO:

The World Health Organization is improving its efforts against TB in China. Almost one million four hundred thousand people there develop active TB each year. Almost twenty-five percent of the world's multi-drug resistant cases are in China. The WHO says the situation is now improving. It says half of China's provinces have put the DOTS treatment method into effect. This has resulted in about a fifty percent reduction in deaths from TB.

The WHO has also set a goal for nations in the Western Pacific area. They are being urged to cut by half infection rates and deaths from TB within three years. Doctors say this goal may not be possible because the disease AIDS is a serious problem in the Western Pacific. Other problems are poverty and lack of money for public health.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In Africa, more than three million people are living with TB. Five hundred thousand people there die each year from the disease. The number of TB victims is rising quickly in Africa. This is mainly because of the virus that causes AIDS. The virus weakens the body's ability to fight disease.

Drug-resistant TB is a serious problem in South Africa. Sizwe Hospital in the city of Johannesburg treats only people with MDR-TB. Three thousand new cases of MDR-TB were identified in Johannesburg alone last year. People with this kind of TB have only a fifty percent chance of being cured. Patients must take one painful injection of medicine and as many as twenty-four pills each day. Treatment can take up to two years. The drugs have serious side effects.

VOICE TWO:

Few people survive a new kind of TB, called Extreme Drug-Resistant TB. This disease is resistant to just about every drug known to science.

The National Health Laboratory in Johannesburg tests for drug-resistant TB. Its workers test five hundred samples from patients from all over southern Africa every day. The testing often last several weeks because each bacterium must be tested in several ways. Almost one-fourth of the bacteria tested are found to be drug-resistant. These have to be tested again to show which drugs they resist.

During this time, the patient may be infecting other people. So it is important to find ways to test for the disease more quickly. The laboratory is now carrying out experiments with tests that identify drug-resistant bacteria within two days. This helps health workers quickly identify an infected person and begin treatment.

VOICE ONE:

Patients being treated for MDR-TB are separated from their families, sometimes for years. This causes economic and social problems for patients and family members. The head doctor at Sizwe Hospital says most patients accept treatment and separation. Health workers believe patients with drug-resistant TB should be separated to protect their communities. But human rights activists say this would be a violation of their rights.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Tuberculosis is a health emergency in Russia. In February, the Russian parliament approved almost three billion dollars to fight infectious diseases such as TB.

Russian studies show that eighty-three of every one hundred thousand people in Russia are infected with TB. Thirty thousand people die of the disease every year. However, the number of people infected is not fully known because officials say not all cases are reported. The WHO official for TB control in Central Asia says education about tuberculosis is lacking. The population does not know much about the disease or how it is treated.

VOICE ONE:

The United Nations says the highest rates of reported infection in Russia are among men between thirty-five and sixty-four years of age. Many of these men are unemployed and drink too much alcohol. Many are former prisoners who are also homeless. So treating these men is difficult. Health experts say tuberculosis spreads easily in prisons. The infection rate in prisons is about twenty times higher than the general population. Drug-resistant TB is also a problem there.

VOICE TWO:

World Health Organization officials say fighting TB in Russia is not just a medical problem but also one of economics and organization. They say government money is now available for health care workers to visit treatment centers to study the care and progress of the disease. There is also more money to train workers and provide equipment for laboratories. Health officials say there is now hope in the fight against TB.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Shelley Gollust. Brianna Blake was our producer. I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

VOASE0423_Agriculture Report

23 April 2007

Officials Hunt for an Explanation of Pet Food Scare
One theory is that ingredients contained a chemical to create appearance of higher protein levels.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Melamine is an industrial chemical. So how and why did it get into pet food that caused kidney failure in cats and dogs? And what might be the risk to the human food supply? These are questions that food safety investigators in the United States are trying to answer.

Larry Klimes of Idaho holds a photo of his dog, Joey, who died after eating pet food

Tests found melamine in wheat gluten imported from China and used in pet foods. The United States Food and Drug Administration says Chinese officials said the wheat gluten was not meant for pet food. They said it was meant for industrial use.

But an F.D.A. official noted that melamine can make products appear to contain more protein than they truly do. So one theory is that it may have been added to the wheat gluten on purpose.

In addition, the agency says melamine has been found in some pet food products in rice protein concentrate from China. Those products have been withdrawn from market.

And, in another development, the Royal Canin operation in South Africa has recalled products made in its factory in Johannesburg. The company acted on reports of animals dying after eating food made with corn gluten that contained melamine. Royal Canin USA has announced it will no longer use Chinese suppliers for any of its vegetable proteins.

In the United States, pet foods marketed under more than one hundred different names have been withdrawn, since March.

Melamine has also been identified in the urine of pigs at a California farm. State health officials say the melamine is believed to have come from rice protein concentrate in pet food added to animal feed.

Operations at the farm have been halted while further testing is done. But officials said the evidence so far suggested no serious health risk to anyone who ate meat from the pigs.

The F.D.A. says it is looking for any threat to the human food supply. The agency says it is now testing samples from all shipments of rice protein concentrate from China. The agency says it is also testing all shipments of wheat gluten from China.

The pet food scare as well as recent cases of people getting sick from bad food led a subcommittee in the House of Representatives to call a hearing Tuesday. The lawmakers have questions about the ability of the Food and Drug Administration to protect the safety and security of the nation's food supply.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. Transcripts and audio files of our reports are available at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

UN Secretary-General Counsels Patience on Darfur

By Lisa Schlein Geneva 22 April 2007

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (file photo)

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is appealing to the Security Council to give him more time to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Darfur before imposing economic and military sanctions on the Sudanese government of President Omar al-Bashir. The secretary-general's appeal was made Sunday at a news conference in Geneva. Lisa Schlein has details.

U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says resolving the crisis in Darfur is one of his highest priorities. He says he believes he has made some progress. He points to a recent commitment from the Sudanese government to let the United Nations deploy several thousand peacekeepers to boost the African Union's 7,000-strong troop level in Darfur.

The secretary-general calls this the first positive signal in five months of serious negotiations with the Sudanese government and says he would like more time to build on this.

"I know that the patience level is going down on the part of the international community. There are some members of the Security Council, particularly the United States and United Kingdom, they have been discussing this - imposing sanctions against Sudan," he said. "But, my position is that when the moment of truth comes, they will know that they will not be faithful in implementing this commitment, then I would leave it to the Security Council members to take necessary measures against Sudan."

The Security Council already has imposed some limited restrictions on arms shipments to Sudan, the rebels and the Sudanese-backed janjaweed militia.

A recently leaked U.N. report describes serious violations of the arms embargo by the government of Omar al-Bashir. It accuses the government of painting a false U.N. insignia on an air force plane, which then was used to deliver bombs. The report calls for more sanctions to be applied and for the imposition of a no-flight zone over Darfur to protect villages from air attack.

Last year, the United Nations and Khartoum agreed on a three-phase stabilization plan for Darfur. Secretary-General Ban says the two parties are in the second phase, which involves the deployment of several thousand U.N. troops. He says he wants to see whether Sudan faithfully implements its part of this agreement before considering more drastic action.

"Since I am new as a Secretary-General, even though you may not have full confidence on President Bashir of Sudan," he added. "But, since he has given me commitment and he has given me for the first time a positive agreement, then let me have some more political space so that I can continue this political process and discussions on this peacekeeping operations in Darfur."

The third and final phase of the plan calls for the deployment of a joint African Union/United Nations force of 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers. Until now, the Sudanese government has rejected this hybrid unit and said it would only allow a larger A.U. force with logistical support from the United Nations.

The war in Darfur has killed an estimated 200,000 people, displaced more than 2.5 million people and caused well over 200,000 others to seek shelter in neighboring Chad.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls this unacceptable.

VOASE0422_This Is America

22 April 2007

White Sands National Monument: A Wonder of Nature, in New Mexico
Explore an extreme desert environment in the American Southwest.

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ANNOUNCER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA IN VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

White Sands National Monument

One of the world’s great natural wonders is in the state of New Mexico, in the American Southwest. Nature has created huge moving hills of pure white sand. These sand dunes cover more than seventy-thousand hectares of desert.

Now, Steve Ember and Mary Tillotson are your guides as we explore White Sands National Monument.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

It is one of the largest sand dune fields in the United States. The bright white sand dunes are always changing, always moving, like waves on the ocean. Driven by strong winds, the sand moves and covers everything in its path. It is like a huge sea of sand.

VOICE TWO:

The sand dunes have created an extreme environment. Plants and animals struggle to survive. A few kinds of plants grow quickly to survive burial by the moving sand dunes. Several kinds of small animals have become white in color in order to hide in the sand.

White Sands National Monument protects a large part of this dune field. It also protects the plants and animals that live there. More than five-hundred-thousand people visit White Sands National Monument each year. They climb on the dunes and observe the moving sea of sand.

VOICE ONE:

You may wonder how all this sand arrived in the area. To understand that, you would have to travel back in time two-hundred-fifty-million years. An inland ocean once covered the area. The minerals calcium and sulfur were at the bottom of the ocean. Over time, the water slowly disappeared. The calcium and sulfur remained. The minerals formed gypsum rock.

Then, seventy-million years ago, the Earth’s surface, or crust, pushed upward. The rocks formed two groups of mountains. Later, the crust pulled apart. The area between the mountains broke and fell down. It formed a half-circle shape of a bowl. This bowl of rock is known as the Tularosa Basin.

VOICE TWO:

About twenty-four-thousand years ago, it rained a great deal in the area. The rain filled the Tularosa Basin and formed Lake Otero. The rain and snow that washed down the mountains into Lake Otero carried gypsum with it.

Gypsum Dunes

Later, Lake Otero almost completely dried up. Gypsum remained. A strong wind moved into the area. It blew across the land for thousands of years. Pieces of gypsum broke off. The wind wore them away to a size small enough to pick up and carry for short distances. Wherever the wind dropped sand, dunes formed.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The sand dunes at White Sands National Monument are unusual because they are made of gypsum. Gypsum sand is different from common sand. Most sand is made of quartz, a hard silicon crystal. Gypsum sand is made of softer calcium sulfate. It dissolves easily in water. So it is rarely found in the form of sand dunes. Most gypsum would be carried away by rivers to the sea. But the Tularosa Basin is enclosed. No rivers flow out of it. So water with dissolved gypsum has nowhere to go.

Gypsum sand is being made all the time. The dunes continue to form and move under the influence of water and wind. Water continues to wash down from the mountains carrying dissolved gypsum into the Tularosa Basin. Wind continues to blow across the Basin carrying the gypsum.

The gypsum sand grains crash into each other. The crash creates tiny lines or scratches on the surface of the sand. These scratches change the way light shines off the surface. This makes the sand appear white. The sand dunes look like great masses of bright white snow. But they are not cold and wet. It only rains about eighteen centimeters each year.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

There are four kinds of sand dunes at White Sands National Monument. Some of the dunes are small and fast-moving. They are called dome dunes because they are shaped like a half-circle. Few if any plants grow on them. These dunes move the fastest, up to twelve meters a year.

Other dunes are called transverse dunes. They form in long lines across the dune field. They can grow to be one-hundred-twenty meters thick and eighteen meters high.

Another kind of dunes are barchan dunes. They form in areas with strong winds but a limited supply of sand. These dunes have sand in three parts, like a body in the center and two arms on the sides. The sand in the two arms moves faster than the sand in the center.

Parabolic dunes are the opposite of barchan dunes. They form when plants hold sand in the outer parts of the dune but the center of the dune continues to move.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You may wonder how anything can live in this extreme environment of a white sand desert. There is not much rain. The heat in summer is intense. The sand lacks nutrients.

Yet almost four-hundred kinds of animals live in White Sands National Monument. Many of them are birds or insects. There are also twenty-six kinds of reptiles, including rattlesnakes and lizards. And there are more than forty kinds of mammals. They include rabbits, foxes and coyotes.

Scientists know that plants and animals often change to be able to live in extreme environments. For example, they change color to protect themselves from enemies. Many of the animals that live in the sand dunes have become white. So it is difficult to see the animals in the sand.

There is another reason why you may not be able to see the animals. Many of them remain underground during the day when it is very hot. They come out at night when it is cooler. You may be able to see their footprints.

VOICE TWO:

Plants do grow in the White Sands dune field. But even plants that grow in most deserts have trouble surviving. A major reason is that the dunes bury any plants in their way as they move across the desert. Yet, a few plants have developed techniques to avoid being buried by moving sand.

For example, some plants grow taller and their roots grow deeper into the sand. The soaptree yucca plant can make its stem grow longer to keep its leaves above the sand. The plant grows up to thirty centimeters a year.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

White Sands National Monument is about twenty-four kilometers southeast of the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico. In the visitor center at the entrance of the park, you can find out about special activities and guided walks. From the visitor center, you can drive about thirteen kilometers into the center of the dunes. It is like driving on a lonely white planet. Along the way there is information that tells about the natural history of the white sands.

White Sands National Monument

You can also explore the dunes on foot. There are four marked trails. Signs along the trail tell about the plants growing in the sand. You can see some unusual and beautiful plants and flowers growing in the sand dunes. But you may not remove or destroy any plants or animals at White Sands.

You can even camp there overnight. But you must be careful. It is easy to get lost in the waves of moving sand especially during sandstorms. There is no water to drink. The temperature can rise to thirty-eight degrees Celsius in summer. There is no shelter from the sun’s rays.

VOICE TWO:

There is another reason to be careful at White Sands National Monument. The White Sands Missile Range completely surrounds the park. It covers one-million hectares. The missile range was first used as a military weapons testing area after World War Two. It was used to test rockets that were captured from the German armed forces. The missile range continues to be an important testing area for experimental weapons and space technology.

These tests take place about two times a week. For safety reasons, both the park and the road from it south to Las Cruces, New Mexico may be closed for an hour or two while tests are taking place.

VOICE ONE:

White Sands National Monument is part of America’s National Parks System. The park system includes more than three-hundred-seventy protected areas. White Sands National Monument is just one of the more unusual examples of America’s natural and cultural treasures.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and read by Steve Ember and Mary Tillotson. I'm Faith Lapidus. Internet users can find our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. We hope you join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

VOASE0422_Development Report

22 April 2007

Newest Warnings on Climate Change Present It as a Security Threat
A study warns of risk to US. Also, the UN Security Council discusses climate change for the first time, though with dissent from some developing nations.

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

American officials have been warned that climate change presents a serious threat to national security. The warning came from a group of former military leaders from all of the United States armed services.

They released a study, published by a research organization. The nonprofit CNA Corporation brought together eleven retired admirals and generals. Among them was retired Marine General Anthony Zinni, who commanded American forces in the Middle East.

March 5, 2007: US soldier with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan's Farah province

They say effects of climate change should be considered in national security and defense planning. They also say the United States should take a stronger part in helping to limit climate changes at levels that will avoid conflicts.

The study describes climate change as a "threat multiplier." Changes in the weather could lead, for example, to fights over water or other resources in areas already at risk of conflict.

A worsening of conditions can lead to failed states, it says, and that can create fertile grounds for extremism and terrorism. The report warns of a danger of added tensions even in politically secure areas of the world.

Sherri Goodman headed the project. She says two senators have already proposed legislation to further some of the ideas in the study. The two are Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Dick Durban of Illinois.

The report came out last Monday, one day before the United Nations Security Council met to discuss the issue of energy, security and the climate. This was the first time the council has debated climate-related security threats. British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett led the debate. Britain holds the council presidency this month.

More than fifty U.N. delegations attended the day-long meeting in New York. Some delegates questioned if the council was going outside its main responsibility to prevent wars and protect world peace. Many of these delegates were from developing countries. They said climate change is an economic and social development issue for the General Assembly to consider.

China’s representative noted the importance of existing international agreements to deal with climate change.

But delegates from mostly small island nations welcomed the debate. The representative from Papua New Guinea spoke for the Pacific Islands Forum. He said the effects of climate change for small island populations are similar to any refugee crisis in larger nations in conflict.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE Print Edition Release!!!

网友Big Bug为了学习VOA，很是认真阿。
他把PoEnglish做的PDF都整和了起来，重新排了个A4的打印版，打印下来做成小册子，这样随时捧读VOA，学习劲头更足。

本来编个打印版我是可以做的，可本人实在太懒了，所以就直接跟Big Bug要了，想借花献佛，我想总有人需要的吧。
Big Bug很爽快地答应了共享他的劳动成果。
那我就在这摆个摊，有打印方面需求的VOA Listeners，可以下载这里提供的链接。
让我们给Big Bug一点掌声，谢谢他的劳动给大家带来学习VOA的乐趣与快感！

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Ivory Coast Rebels, "Patriots" Meet As Symbol of Unity

By Kari Barber Dakar 21 April 2007

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In Ivory Coast Saturday, rebels met with supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo to show they are united in backing a peace deal signed last month. The meeting, which took place in Abidjan, is the first of its kind since rebels and the army faced off in a conflict that has divided the nation since 2002. Kari Barber has more from VOA's West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar.

People wave Ivorian flags reading 'Peace' 21 April 2007 at Youpougon sport complex, in Abidjan during a jonit "patriots" and rebels peace meeting

New Forces rebel Cisse Sindou, now a member of the cabinet of Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, the rebel leader, says the meeting is about looking forward. "One of the key words of the peace process - yesterday we were enemies, today we are all together to bring peace to the Ivory Coast. This is this picture we want everybody, at the national level and the international level, to see," he said.

Charles Ble Goude, leader of the Young Patriots, as the forces loyal to President Gbagbo are known, says the display of unity is important to instill confidence that the peace deal will last where other attempts have failed. "This is very, very important because a meeting between the loyalists and the rebels in the same stadium. For us, this is to show to the African world that there are no more rebels in this country, we are all brothers. In the past time we used to quarrel, but the quarrel is over," he said.

Prime Minister Soro and President Gbagbo took the first steps in the peace process, agreeing to share power and unify their military forces.

Ble Goude says what remains to be done is bridge the divide between north and south. In the civil war that began in 2002, rebels held the northern part of the country and government forces controlled the south. "The past is the past. The past is over. Now let us work for the future. No more Ivorians for the north, no more Ivorians for the south. Let us work for Africa, let us work for Cote D'Ivoire," he said.

Government spokesman Lambert Bahi says the new power-sharing government is happy to see the effects of the peace deal begin to take shape. "They want to want to work hand in hand in order to strengthen, to consolidate the peace process and I am very optimistic and everybody is," he said.

Earlier this week, authorities began dismantling the buffer zone, a U.N. and French-patrolled area that stretches across the country, dividing north from south.

The new government will also need to organize presidential elections, which have been delayed several times, and agree on a system to issue national identification papers.

Voting Ends in Nigeria's Presidential Election

By Gilbert da Costa Abuja 21 April 2007

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Voting has officially ended across Nigeria in a presidential vote dogged by violence, charges of fraud and logistical problems. Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja that election officials say results are expected in a few hours.

Electoral officials count ballots at a polling station in Lagos, Nigeria

Electoral Commission Chairman Maurice Iwu spoke to reporters shortly after the polls officially closed.

He said the exercise had been reasonably successful. "So far, I will say, so good. We had a late start in the southeast, because their plane came in late. We anticipated such things could happen. The critical message is that our people are interested in casting their vote, the commission is determined to make sure that their votes count," he said.

But voting is continuing beyond the official closing time. The Independent National Electoral Commission, known as INEC, has authorized flexible voting hours due to delays in distributing 65 million ballots across the vast country of 150 million.

Turnout was generally satisfactory across the country, although a few voting centers were virtually empty.

At Mpape, a sprawling settlement outside Abuja, only about 60 voters, out of 500 who were registered, turned up. An electoral officer who gave his name as Kingsley explained. "Those who registered here are mostly civil servants. The reason for their registration was that, maybe, the government might require them to present it before they are paid their salary. But, they said they will not vote. We've registered about 60 people," he said.

As with state elections last weekend, a number of candidates for the federal parliament were shocked to find their names missing from the ballot.

Progressive Action Congress Chairman Agade Nwodo was upset that his party's senate candidate from Abuja did not appear on the ballot. "We discovered that on the ballot paper, the Progressive Action Congress, one of the political parties contesting elections in the FCT [Federal Capital Territory], is omitted. It is a big shock to us. He underwent all the processes for screening and documentation and was listed. He has been campaigning seriously and spending money and mobilizing people. At the end, he is frustrated on this particular day," he said.

The government says it is investigating an attack on the electoral commission's headquarters on Saturday, shortly before voting began.

Seven police officers on election duty were killed in an ambush outside Abuja late Friday night.

The opposition Action Congress says Saturday's elections were rigged. The other opposition parties have yet to comment.

The election is expected to produce the first handover from one civilian president to another since Nigeria's independence from Britain in 1960.

ICRC to Keep Villagers in Darfur From Fleeing to Camps

By Lisa Schlein Geneva 21 April 2007

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the security situation in Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur continues to worsen and getting access to people in remote villages is getting harder. An ICRC delegate, who has just completed a one-year mission in Sudan, tells VOA the Red Cross is trying to make life in the villages sustainable so people do not feel they have to flee to the camps. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from ICRC headquarters in Geneva.

Darfur refugees in this derelict section of Es Sallam camp say they have been waiting nine months to be relocated to decent shelters, 25 Mar 2007

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only international aid agency working in the rural areas of Darfur. The main focus of its work is to get help and provide protection to people living in remote villages that are vulnerable to attack.

ICRC communications officer Jessica Barry has just completed a one-year mission in Sudan. She tells VOA that Red Cross aid workers regularly talk to all the various warring factions to try to make them understand that civilians must be protected. Unfortunately, she says, the message does not always get across.

"What is the real concern is that the more that this very difficult security situation continues and the more people are not able to return to their villages, finally, of course, they will have no choice but to migrate to the camps," she said. "Now the camps are already very full and this is a big concern."

About 2 million internally displaced people are living in UN-run camps. Barry notes the camps are well organized and peoples' basic needs for food, water, health and education are being met. But, she says camp life is a poor life compared to being able to live safely at home.

Although the Red Cross wants to focus on the rural villages exclusively, Barry says this is not always possible. She says the ICRC has been managing Gareida, one of the biggest camps in southern Sudan, since it was set up in 2004 because no other aid agencies were working there.

Over time, she says, private aid agencies arrived to provide services to the displaced people. The ICRC began to make plans to withdraw from the camp and focus more attention on the villages. But, at the end of last year, she says the camp and the aid workers came under severe attack. After that, she says, all aid agencies withdrew, leaving the ICRC as the only organization remaining.

"The ICRC immediately, when this incident happened, had contact with all the different sides and all the different parties and asked for security guarantees and ensured the security guarantees to be able to allow us to remain in the camp," she added. "And, of course, we had to assess the needs of the people against the risks to us to stay and we believed that we should stay and this was why we stayed."

But, Barry says, the Red Cross presence in the camp is not unconditional. If the security guarantees break down and something terrible was to happen, she says Red Cross workers might be forced to leave. She says she does not like to think of what would happen to the more than 100,000 displaced people in the camp if no one were there to look after them.

VOASE0421_People In America

21 April 2007

Barbara Jordan, 1936-1996: A Powerful Voice for Justice and Social Change
Jordan was the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress to represent Texas.

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Sarah Long with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about a woman who worked to make a difference in people’s lives, Barbara Jordan.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, educator and member of Congress. She was well known

Barbara Jordan

for her powerful, thoughtful speeches. During her long political career, Barbara Jordan worked for social change. She sought to use her political influence to make a difference for all Americans.

Barbara Jordan became the first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress to represent Texas. In nineteen seventy-four, she gained national recognition as a member of the congressional committee investigating President Richard Nixon.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Barbara Charline Jordan was born in the southern city of Houston, Texas in nineteen thirty-six. She was the youngest of three daughters. Her father was a Baptist minister. He taught her a love of family, faith, music and language. As a child, Barbara’s parents pushed her to succeed.

Barbara Jordan said her parents would criticize her for not speaking correct English. They urged her to become a music teacher, because they said that was the only good job for a black woman at that time. Her sisters did become music teachers. Barbara Jordan, however, explained later that she wanted to be something unusual. At first she thought about being a pharmacist, a scientist who is an expert in medicines. But, she noted, she never heard of an important pharmacist.

VOICE ONE:

In high school, Barbara heard a black woman lawyer speak. Miz Jordan decided to become a lawyer. She attended the all-black college, Texas Southern University in Houston. She led a championship debating team and became known for her speaking skills. She finished at the top of her class. Then she went onto Boston University law school in Boston, Massachusetts.

After she finished law school, Miz Jordan returned to Texas. She began to work as a lawyer. She also discovered she was interested in politics. Her interest began when she helped in a presidential campaign. She worked to help get Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kennedy elected in nineteen sixty.

VOICE TWO:

Soon, Miz Jordan decided to become a politician herself. She first campaigned for public office in nineteen-sixty-two. She wanted to become a member of the Texas House of Representatives. She lost that election, and another election two years later.

In nineteen sixty-six, she decided to seek a seat in the Texas Senate. She won. Barbara Jordan became the first black person to serve in the Texas Senate since eighteen eighty-three.

During her years as a Texas lawmaker, Miz Jordan proposed and helped pass legislation dealing with social change. She helped reform public assistance programs and protect workers' wages. She also opposed legislation that would have made it harder for blacks and Latin Americans to vote.

VOICE ONE:

After eight years in the Texas Senate, Miz Jordan campaigned for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. She won easily. She was the first woman and first black to be elected to Congress to represent Texas.

In Congress, Miz Jordan spoke for the poor, for women, for African-Americans and Latin Americans. She believed strongly, however, in being loyal to her state and her political party. She considered the interests of the people of Texas before those of any other group.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen seventy-four, Congresswoman Jordan was a member of the House Judiciary committee. The committee was investigating evidence of wrongdoing by then President Richard Nixon. The Congressional hearings into the situation known as Watergate were broadcast on national television.

During the Watergate hearings, Miz Jordan declared her strong belief in the United

Barbara Jordan speaking at the Watergate hearings

States Constitution. She denounced President Nixon for violating it. She is remembered still for her commanding presentation at the hearing and deep knowledge of constitutional issues. The Watergate hearings that led to President Nixon’s resignation made Barbara Jordan known around the nation.

VOICE ONE:

Following the Watergate hearings, Barbara Jordan went on to other firsts. In nineteen seventy-six, she was asked to speak at the Democratic National Convention which nominated Jimmy Carter.

Miz Jordan was the first black woman to give an opening speech at the Democratic Convention. She said members of the Democratic Party believe that the people are the basis of all governmental power. Democrats believe, she continued, that the power of the people is to be extended, not restricted. In her speech, Miz Jordan also urged Americans to work for the common good:

BARBARA JORDAN

"Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private wants, to satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America faces -- that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups, each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good?"

VOICE TWO:

The fact she was black and a woman did not seem to slow Barbara Jordan's rise. Her future seemed limitless. Then, in nineteen seventy-seven, Miz Jordan suddenly announced she was retiring from Congress and returning to Texas. She later said she felt she was not making enough difference.

BARBARA JORDAN

"If I felt that I could have been increasingly effective in that job, I suppose I would have continued to do it. But politics is (takes) a long, long time to make any significant, long-lasting difference."

VOICE ONE:

After returning to Texas, Barbara Jordan began teaching about political values at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. Her two classes were so popular, students had to be chosen from a long list.

At the time that Miz Jordan left Congress, there were widespread reports that failing health was the cause for her decision. Later, it was announced that she had the disease called multiple sclerosis that affects the muscles. She had to move about in a wheelchair. But, she said, the disease did not lessen her thinking or the quality of her mind. Nor did it affect her ability to speak.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the years after she retired from Congress, Miz Jordan made two more appearances at Democratic National Conventions. She announced her support for the vice-presidential nomination of Lloyd Bentsen at the nineteen eighty-eight convention in Atlanta. She spoke from a wheelchair. Her powerful voice was heard once again at the nineteen ninety-two Democratic convention, which nominated Bill Clinton for president. In her speech, she called for national unity:

BARBARA JORDAN

"We are one, we Americans, we're one, and we reject any intruder who seeks to divide us on the basis of race and color. We honor cultural identity--we always have, we always will. But, separatism is not allowed (applause)--separatism is not the American way. We must not allow ideas like political correctness to divide us and cause us to reverse hard-won achievements in human rights and civil rights."

VOICE ONE:

Barbara Jordan considered herself a teacher first, above all else. By her example, she taught all Americans about the importance of one's beliefs and the power of truth. She developed pneumonia caused by the blood cancer, leukemia, and died January eighteenth, nineteen ninety-six. She was fifty-nine.

VOICE TWO:

Barbara Jordan was buried wearing the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is the highest non-military honor given to Americans. President Clinton presented it to her in nineteen ninety-four. At the funeral ceremony, former Texas Governor Ann Richards said: "There was simply something about her that made you proud to be part of the country that produced her."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Cynthia Kirk and produced by Paul Thompson. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another People in America program in VOA Special English.