How is the U.S. helping the victims of last week's quake in Turkey and Syria?

 

How is the U.S. helping¹ the victims of last week's quake in Turkey and Syria?

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez speaks to U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake³ about American aid for Turkey and Syria following the devastating⁴ earthquake that hit the region a week ago.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Rescue crews in Turkey and Syria are racing⁵ against time, as hope to find survivors⁶ fades by the hour. It's been a week since a major earthquake hit the region. And the death toll⁷ has surpassed 35,000. A U.N. official predicts that number will rise to 50,000. Hundreds of thousands are in temporary shelters - the Turkish government says over a million - some in freezing temperatures with no real idea of what comes next. The international community, though, is stepping up to help. Joining us now to talk about the U.S. government, how they're supporting its NATO ally is Jeff Flake, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey. Ambassador, the U.S. has pledged to provide $85 million in humanitarian⁸ aid. How far do you think that money can go, given the great need?

JEFF FLAKE: Well, there is a great need, obviously. But that will go for food and shelter and winter supplies, health care services, drinking water, hygiene⁹, sanitation¹⁰ supplies. So it's a good initial response. And we already have two USAID-supported urban search and rescue teams that have been here for the past few days, the past several days, assistant in - assisting in some of these miraculous¹¹ rescues that you've probably seen.

MART?NEZ: And from your talks, Ambassador, with the Turkish government, what's most needed right now?

FLAKE: Well, it's shelter. Now that we're going to be moving quickly from the - kind of the search and rescue phase to the recovery phase, you still have so many people without shelter. In the affected¹² area, there are about 21 million people living. And even if their buildings didn't collapse¹³, many of them are unsafe. And people are afraid to go back into their accommodations, so a lot of tents and winter supplies because it is cold here. I'm down at Incirlik Air Base right now, if you can - may be able to hear the helicopters in the background loading up supplies to take to the affected areas.

MART?NEZ: Does it look at all like it might be warming up anytime soon? Have you heard anything like that?

FLAKE: It is warmer today than it has been. But it's still cold. And obviously, there's snow-capped mountains all around us here in Adana. And some of the other areas, Adiyaman, where our crews are working with - alongside their Turkish counterparts is even colder.

MART?NEZ: Because the weather changing would be one amazing way to help if that could be somehow possible, right? I mean, it's so cold that it's making rescue efforts difficult.

FLAKE: You bet. It makes everything more difficult. So it's been much below the edge here. And so that's just one more difficult thing to overcome.

MART?NEZ: And I know that with only one recognized border crossing, the aid is not necessarily getting to the rebel-held northwest part of Syria. And the U.S. is urging the U.N. Security Council to vote immediately to authorize¹⁴ two more crossings. Ambassador, how does the United States make sure that the aid actually gets to the places and people that need it, considering how shaky the security situation can be there?

FLAKE: It is far more difficult in - particularly in northwest Syria, where you have a mix of regime-controlled areas and rebel-controlled areas or opposition¹⁵ areas. And - but we have humanitarian partners that are working there for a while that are providing relief irrespective of who controls the area. We just want to provide humanitarian relief. Obviously, it's more difficult given the situation. Turkey is in a better place there because you have a very functioning government, capable and experienced, just kind of overwhelmed - everyone is - by this tragedy.

MART?NEZ: In these kinds of situations, do troops get involved when it comes to getting the aid to where it needs to go?

FLAKE: We have - I mentioned I'm at Incirlik Air Base now. And military is involved in terms of coordination¹⁶. We're only acting¹⁷, you know, at the request of our Turkish counterparts. But we have flown a number of missions with Black Hawks¹⁸, for example, to get needed relief workers and supplies to these certain areas. We're standing¹⁹ up some field hospitals, our military is, as well as - we're doing that in partnership²⁰ with Samaritan's Purse and other nonprofit organizations.

MART?NEZ: That is U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 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。

3 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

4 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。

5 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 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。

8 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。

9 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

10 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

11 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

17 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

18 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

19 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。

20 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。