美国国家公共电台 NPR--In Haiti, gangs control supply lines — making food, water and fuel scarce

In Haiti, gangs control supply lines — making food, water and fuel scarce

Transcript¹

Haiti's government is pleading with the international community to send forces as the country's humanitarian² crisis deepens. NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald³.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Haiti's government is pleading with the international community to send foreign forces as the country faces a deepening humanitarian crisis.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

That's because food, fuel and water are scarce, and nearly half the population doesn't have enough to eat. Gangs control supply lines, and health care workers are battling an outbreak of cholera⁴ with limited medical supplies.

FADEL: Joining us now is Jacqueline Charles with the Miami Herald, who has reported on Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean for more than a decade. Thanks for being here, Jacqueline.

JACQUELINE CHARLES: Thanks for having me.

FADEL: So tell us what the situation on the ground is in Haiti.

CHARLES: We are currently in Week 6 of this gang blockade. The main fuel terminal roads, as well as the seaports⁵ - they remain blocked. Schools are still closed. People just really cannot get around. You have a situation where you mentioned cholera. We also have an outbreak in the prison system. Warehouses⁶ owned by World Food Programme charities - they've been looted. We still have sporadic⁷ anti-government protests where Haitians are demanding the resignation of the current prime minister. The situation is very volatile⁸, and there is a dire⁹ humanitarian crisis.

FADEL: So how did it get to this point? I mean, Haiti once had one of the fastest-growing economies in the Americas and now is one of the region's most volatile.

CHARLES: This is a country that has been struggling with democracy. I mean, 36 years after the fall of the dictatorship, we are seeing a country where all economic activity today has ground to a halt. You have gangs that have basically attacked state institutions - waves of violence, widespread reports of sexual violence by gangs. Every four years or five years, we've had elections, you see - you know, they always become controversial. We are currently in the transition. The president was assassinated¹⁰ last year. We still don't know who did it and the motivation. So this is really a situation where, you know, Haitians will tell you we didn't get here by ourselves.

FADEL: Yeah.

CHARLES: They often talk about, you know, international communities, particularly the United States, and their policies. But it really is a very sad situation today.

FADEL: Now, Haiti has called for international military assistance to combat gangs. The U.N. Security Council is weighing a U.S. and Mexican proposal to send such a force. How likely is that to happen? And what are the concerns, given the history of international interventions¹¹ in Haiti?

CHARLES: Well, this is a very sensitive issue in Haiti. The United States has said that they do not want to lead on such a force. So far, we don't see anybody in the international community, you know, raising their hands and saying, hey, we're going to go in. At the same time, you have a police force that is barely 12,000 for a population of 12.5 million. Just yesterday, there was a police commissioner¹² who was killed in a red zone that's had issues with gangs and continues to have issues with gangs. I mean, the police force is saying, hey, we need help. We are outmanned, outgunned. There's a U.S. arms embargo¹³, but yet Haiti is flooded with guns and ammunition¹⁴ that are coming from the U.S.

FADEL: In the few seconds we have left, how might this crisis spill over across the region, including here in the U.S.?

CHARLES: It is already spilling over. We're in the largest Haitian boat migration¹⁵ crisis since, you know, 2004. Just yesterday, more than 100 Haitian migrants were found on an uninhabited island in Puerto Rico. And, of course, Haitians continue to cross the southern border of the U.S.

FADEL: Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, thank you so much for your reporting.

CHARLES: Thanks for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

4 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

5 seaports   

n.海港( seaport的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visiting foreigner. 机场和海港一样成为来访的外国人的入境关口。 来自互联网
• Sanya has 16 seaports, 10 islands and 180km of coastline. 三亚有16个港口、10个海岛和180公里的海岸线。 来自互联网

6 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

7 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

10 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

11 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

12 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

13 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

14 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

15 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。