美国国家公共电台 NPR--A new kind of climate refugee is emerging

A new kind of climate refugee is emerging

Transcript¹

Haoua Ali Beta is a new kind of refugee.

She left her home in northeastern Cameroon because of a conflict, like many other refugees, but the conflict in question was driven by climatic changes, not geopolitics.

Haoua's family had reared cattle for generations, but over the past couple of decades, the landscape around her had grown increasingly inhospitable.

"During our grandparents' time, the harvest was good," she explains from the Guilmay refugee camp in southwestern Chad. "These days farming is not good. You know when you overexploit the land for many years, the land's fertility is depleted³."

A lack of regular rainfall made the day-to-day task of finding enough water for her family's animals increasingly difficult. "The cattle cannot survive without water," explains the 50-year-old, peeling vegetables into a pot on a mat outside her temporary brick home. "The cattle had to move further away to get water."

That movement of cattle brought the community to which Haoua belongs, known as Choua Arabs, into direct competition with another local group, called the Mousgoum, who relied on the region's rivers and streams to catch fish. The Choua Arabs drove their cattle to streams in which Mousgoum fishermen had dug channels to encourage fish to congregate⁴, and those channels often caused accidents with the animals as they tried to drink. Disputes between the two sides began as simple name-calling then escalated⁵ into occasional physical altercations⁶, Haoua says.

Pressures and tensions mounted until last December when they exploded into a conflagration⁷ of unprecedented⁸ intra-communal violence centered around the Cameroonian town of Kousseri.

And that's when Haoua packed up whatever meager⁹ possessions she could carry and set out for Cameroon's border with Chad, where she was months later housed in the Guilmay camp.

There are tens of thousands of other refugees like Haoua who fled climate-triggered violence scattered¹⁰ across the vast scrubland to the south of the Sahara desert. It's a region known as the Sahel, encompassing¹¹ almost a dozen countries. Given the widespread poverty and subsistence farming and livestock¹² rearing that characterizes much of the region, it is more vulnerable to climate change than almost any other region on earth.

Conflicts driven by the changing climate — amid growing competition for natural resources — are increasingly common in the Sahel. Not only are they causing large numbers of people to cross inhospitable territories, but they are starting to reshape the way communities access food and water in the wider region.

The violence that Haoua witnessed was devastating¹³. "Men start killing¹⁴ each other," she recalls. "Villages and houses were burned, People were killed and burned. People were decapitated," she concludes, making a chopping motion with one hand on top of another. "Women and children were killed."

Cameroonian authorities say that the death toll¹⁵ topped 150, and authorities in neighboring Chad announced that some 30,000 people from both communities had over several days fled across the international border to relative safety. More than 3,000 Choua Arabs, like Haoua, have since settled in the Guilmay refugee camp, a collection of homes with sun-baked brick walls and corrugated¹⁶ metal roofs that Chad's officials raced to build from scratch over several months with help from partners like the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

Almost overnight Haoua's greatest challenge became feeding herself and her family members through a combination of foraging¹⁷, barter¹⁸ and handouts¹⁹ from the UN's World Food Program — or WFP.

"Of course there are difficulties," says Haoua of her new circumstances. "When you leave your own home and come as a guest to another place, you should expect things to be different. You obviously have to accept whatever you are given."

Refugees in limbo²⁰

Brahim Sakine, who was a college student in Cameroon, left during a same spasm²¹ of violence prompted by the impact of a changing climate. Fearing for his life, he headed to a refugee camp in Chad. "Here is less food – less food than Cameroon," he says of his new situation.

Seid Mahamat Adam

Competition for resources has become an increasingly common reason for people to abandon their homes in the vast swathe of the African continent to the south of the Sahara desert, known as the Sahel, according to Brice Degla, head of the UNHCR's efforts to support the Cameroonian communities in Chad. "Climate change is not a reason to grant refugee status" under the current U.N. definition, he acknowledges, but still he has seen a "growing situation where climate change is the root cause of the clashes between communities." And that's why Haoua has refugee status.

The U.N. estimates there are more than half a million refugees in Chad this year, who have crossed over the landlocked country's borders from several neighboring nations for a variety of reasons.

"You have displaced populations who are moving because of armed conflict," says Degla. "But we have also people moving within the country, because they have lack of water, they can no longer crop in the area they used to crop, because actually conflict forced them to move" – or because the reality of the climate meant they could not provide for their families from the small parcels of land where they once were able to grow crops.

A college student who feared for his life

Brahim Sakine also lives in Guilmay, about an hour west of the Chadian capital, N'Djamena, along water-logged dirt tracks that run from the nearest asphalt road. The tracks can become impassable after heavy rainfall. A Cameroonian college student in his early 20s who remains²² eager to complete his education, he too is a Choua Arab who left northeastern Cameroon during the same spasm of violence. He had to abandon his studies and his parents in Kousseri, out of fear for his life, and is now living on his own for the first time.

He too is far hungrier than he is used to being. An ongoing²³ shortfall in funding for the local WFP projects forced staff to cut refugee rations² last June. By December, the UN agency expects only a tenth of Chad's refugees will receive any rations at all.

"Here is less food – less food than Cameroon," he explains as he walks between long rows of the camp's homes as children play loudly around him. "In Cameroon we eat three times per day but here two times."

A combination of climate change and conflict also constitutes a major challenge for those who do not cross international borders but have nonetheless fled their homes and fields to seek shelter from violence. These internally displaced people, as they're known by the United Nations, are recognized as being in need by their own governments but cannot usually access the kind of resources and support from UN agencies as international refugees can - so in some sense they can be even more desperate for food and water.

In the western Lac region of Chad, close to the border with Niger and Nigeria, water is absent in dusty bowls of land that were once lakes. Beside one such shrunken body of water sits another camp for internally displaced people, home to Gollé Madram, a former farmer who now says the only way she can earn money is by weaving mats from local reeds that she sells to other camp residents. While she works, she sits under a roof made from cardboard boxes. They are stamped with the logo of USAID, the United States' agency for international development, and offer little respite²⁴ from the raging heat.

The camp's local stream has run dry in the years since she arrived, making it impossible to develop any nearby land where she might grow vegetables or cereals as she did in her home village.

"Here there is no lake or river to fish," she says, "and we don't have an irrigation system for agriculture." But the violence back in the area where once lived, pitting the country's military against an insurgent²⁵ group, means she would prefer to stay where she is, "even if there is no water." She has, she admits, no good options.

Across the Sahel region, there are thousands of abandoned settlements, clusters of temporary shelters built from twigs²⁶ and tarpaulin²⁷ that house what the United Nations terms internally displaced people like Gollé. They often arrive looking for resources like water, struggle to survive and then move on elsewhere.

Seeking solutions to climate displacement²⁸

One effort to counter this kind of climate-driven displacement can be found in a village in Chad called Boulougou, where a local not-for-profit organization called IDEL helps residents stay on their land.

At the edge of the community, villagers have begun erecting²⁹ a barrier of palm tree branches against the encroaching sand, seeking to protect crops. In a dip in the desert, known as a wadi, where an underground water source had helped irrigate³⁰ crops for centuries, locals have recently restored farming production for the first time in 30 years. They learned to reinvigorate soil damaged by sand with a mixture of animal droppings and organic matter from plants, irrigated³¹ using water from new wells.

The recently concluded COP27 summit has accepted the need for wealthy countries to pass significant funds to the world's poorest nations, many of them in Africa, to help with the process of climate adaptation - such as this one in Boulougou.

Saleh Ibrahim Diker manages the soil resiliency project in Boulougou, where solar power helps operate pumps for irrigation. He says annual food supplies for the village have started to improve thanks to this kind of land adaptation. improved yield figures suggest success too.

"This year is a bit better than before," he says, standing³² beside thousands of young corn stalks. "With each year, the difficulty reduces." The Sahel region will need many more promising³³ data points like this, say U.N. officials if – in the coming years – it is to successfully confront the sometimes deadly challenges of climate change.

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 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

3 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

4 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。

5 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

6 altercations   

n.争辩，争吵( altercation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Have I been in physical altercations with men? 我有和男人们发生肢体上冲突么？ 来自互联网

7 conflagration   

n.建筑物或森林大火

参考例句：

• A conflagration in 1947 reduced 90 percent of the houses to ashes.1947年的一场大火，使90%的房屋化为灰烬。
• The light of that conflagration will fade away.这熊熊烈火会渐渐熄灭。

8 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

9 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

10 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

11 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网

12 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

13 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

16 corrugated   

adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• a corrugated iron roof 波纹铁屋顶
• His brow corrugated with the effort of thinking. 他皱着眉头用心地思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

18 barter   

n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• They have arranged food imports on a barter basis.他们以易货贸易的方式安排食品进口。

19 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

20 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

21 spasm   

n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作

参考例句：

• When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。
• He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

24 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

25 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

26 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

27 tarpaulin   

n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽

参考例句：

• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。
• The pool furniture was folded,stacked,and covered with a tarpaulin.游泳池的设备都已经折叠起来，堆在那里，还盖上了防水布。

28 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

29 erecting   

v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立

参考例句：

• Nations can restrict their foreign trade by erecting barriers to exports as well as imports. 象设置进口壁垒那样，各国可以通过设置出口壁垒来限制对外贸易。 来自辞典例句
• Could you tell me the specific lift-slab procedure for erecting buildings? 能否告之用升板法安装楼房的具体程序？ 来自互联网

30 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。

31 irrigated   

[医]冲洗的

参考例句：

• They irrigated their crops with water from this river. 他们用这条小河里的水浇庄稼。
• A crop can be sown, weeded, irrigated, and fertilized uniformly. 一种作物可以均匀一致地进行播种，除草，灌溉和施肥。

32 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

33 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。