VOA慢速英语:Europe's Economic Problems Linked to Rise in Suicides

A study says more people are killing themselves in Greece and other countries affected by economic troubles in Europe. David Stuckler, a sociologist at Britain’s University of Cambridge, co-wrote the report.
一项研究称，希腊和欧洲其他受经济问题影响的国家自杀人口有所增加。英国剑桥大学社会学家David Stuckler是这份报告的作者之一。

DAVID STUCKLER: "For the most part, the countries that have been more severely affected have experienced greater rises in suicides -- Ireland, Spain, the Baltics -- reaching up to sixteen percent in some of the worst affected countries, like Greece.”
David Stuckler：“在很大程度上，受经济危机影响越严重的国家——爱尔兰，西班牙，波罗的海诸国，自杀率上涨幅度越大。在受影响最严重的国家，自杀率上升了16%，例如希腊。”

Suicide rates in Europe had been decreasing. But then the international banking crisis hit in two thousand eight.
此前欧洲的自杀率一度出现下降。但是随后，2008年，国际金融危机袭击欧洲。

The study looked at reports from ten European countries from two thousand seven and two thousand nine. Nine of the ten countries had a five percent increase in suicide rates between two thousand seven and two thousand nine. In Ireland the increase was thirteen percent.
这份研究观察了2007年至2009年间十个欧洲国家的自杀率报告。2007年至2009年间，这十个国家中有九个国家的自杀率上升了5%，爱尔兰上升了13%。

The study found that suicide rates have not increased in countries where governments have helped get people back to work. Examples include Sweden and Finland.
研究发现，在政府承诺使人们重新就业的国家，自杀率并没有上升，例如瑞典和芬兰。

DAVUD STUCKLER: “We found that just giving money to people who have lost jobs to replace their income did not appear to help. Instead, giving people a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a hope in terms of searching for a good, meaningful job seemed to be the most beneficial to helping people cope.”
David Stuckler：“我们发现，为失业的人们提供补助来代替他们的收入似乎没有什么帮助。相反，给人们一个早上起床的理由，给他们追求更好的，更有意义的工作的希望似乎对人们来说是最有益的。”

The findings appeared last week in the Lancet medical journal.
研究结果发布在上周的《柳叶刀》医学杂志上。

Greece is suffering the costs of a huge public deficit. For over a year, the government has cut spending and increased taxes in an effort to improve its finances.
希腊正在承受巨大的公共赤字带来的考验。超过一年多的时间，政府不断削减支出，提高税收，试图改善财政状况。

Pavlos Tsimas is a journalist based in Greece. He recently made a documentary about the increase in suicides.
Pavlos Tsimas是希腊一位记者。他最近制作了关于自杀人数增加的一个纪录片。

PAVLOS TSIMAS: "We investigated the case of a small businessman from Herakleion in Crete, who took his car, loaded it with tins of petrol, and first shot himself and then put fire to the whole car."
Pavlos Tsimas：“我们调查了克里特岛依拉克里奥一位小企业主的案例。他把汽车装满汽油，首先开枪射自己，然后将整个汽车点燃。”

Pavlos Tsimas says some people commit suicide in a public way, like the businessman in Crete.
Pavlos Tsimas称，一些人选择以公开的方式自杀，就像克里特岛这位小企业主。

PAVLOS TSIMAS: "We found out that people killed themselves in a very dramatic and sometimes a very violent way, which maybe means that they are trying to make their suicide a statement, want the whole world to understand how badly they feel, how hopeless they have felt."
Pavlos Tsimas：“我们发现，人们以非常引人注目，有时非常暴力的方式来自杀，这意味着他们试图将自己的自杀变成一份声明，希望整个世界理解他们的感受有多么糟糕，他们感到多么无助。”

He says Greeks who kill themselves are mostly men. And he says the number has gone up most on the island of Crete.
他表示，自杀的希腊人大部分是男性。他同时表示，自杀率上升的地方主要是克里特岛。

PAVLOS TSIMAS: " ... where social and family life is more traditional, more patriarchic. The father of the family has to be respected as a figure of great strength. And when the economic problems arise, when jobs are lost and businesses are closed down, it is this despair because of the loss of respect, the loss of self-esteem, and the fact that the person feels that his life no longer has meaning, that drives them to this kind of act."
Pavlos Tsimas：“这里的社会和家庭生活更加传统，更加家族化。一个家庭的父亲必须是非常有能力的值得尊敬的人。经济问题凸显，失业，企业关闭之后，由于失去别人的尊敬，失去自尊，他们会感觉到生活不再有意义，这种绝望的感受使他们自杀。”