A new report says the worst places to be a refugee last year were Thailand, South Africa and the Gaza Strip. In its annual report on worldwide refugees, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants lists Brazil, Ecuador and Costa Rica among the best countries for refugees. The private group lobbies for refugee rights.
一份新的报导指出，对难民来说，去年情况最糟的区域是泰国、南非、以及加沙地带。在这份关于世界难民的年度报告中，美国难民与移民委员会将巴西、厄瓜多尔以及哥斯达黎加列为对难民最友善的国家。这个私人机构是为难民争取权益的组织。
The report criticizes Thailand for deporting thousands of political refugees from Burma back to their homeland. Many have been living and working illegally in Thailand. The Thai government considers them economic migrants. Merrill Smith, editor of the report, says when Burmese refugees in boats tried to land in Thailand, the navy intercepted them.
这份有关难民的报告批评泰国把几千名政治难民遣返到缅甸。这些难民中很多人在泰国境内非法生活以及工作。泰国政府认为他们是经济移民。这份报告的编辑史密斯表示，当船上的缅甸难民试图在泰国登岸时，泰国海军拦截了他们。
"They towed them back out to sea with disabled engines, inadequate food and water, at least a thousand of them. Some 400 were rescued in Indonesia or found later and nearly died," Smith said. "Hundreds more were missing and presumed drowned."
他说：“他们把难民拖回海中，而难民在海上只有不堪使用的引擎，不充足的水和食物。这样的难民至少有一千名。大约400名在印尼获救，或是之后被发现时已在垂死边缘。另外几百名难民目前依然失踪，估计已经被淹死了。”
The survey says more than two million Palestinian refugees live in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West bank and neighboring Lebanon. It says violent clashes in 2008 between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have made the Gaza Strip one of the worst places to be a refugee. Last December, about 1,400 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
这份调查显示，超过两百万巴勒斯坦难民生活在加沙地带、被占据的约旦河西岸以及临近的黎巴嫩。报告指出，2008年，以色列和巴勒斯坦激进组织哈马斯之间出现的暴力冲突使得加沙地带变成了对难民来说最糟糕的地区之一。去年12月，在以色列入侵加沙地带时，大约1400名巴勒斯坦人丧生。
The U.S. group has also documented the suffering of immigrants in South Africa. Last year, mobs in South Africa's slums viciously attacked African immigrants from nearby countries who were seeking refuge and jobs. As many as 10,000 fled north to Zambia.
美国难民与移民委员会同时也记录了南非移民的困境。去年，一群暴徒在南非贫民窟凶恶地攻击来自临近国家的非洲难民，这些非洲难民在南非寻求避难所以及工作。有多达一万人向北逃到了赞比亚。
The largest number of people who fled their country last year were from Somalia. 60,000 Somalis crossed the border into Kenya. Merrill says Kenya forced hundreds of them back to Somalia, where government forces and opposition Islamic factions have been fighting for years.
去年，索马里有最大量的难民逃离了他们的国家。六万名索马里人民穿越边界进入肯尼亚。史密斯说，肯尼亚逼迫数以百计的难民回到索马里。而索马里的政府军和反政府伊斯兰不同派系已经在当地交战多年。
"There was harassment and arrests and beatings of refugees as they attempted to enter," Smith said.
史密斯说：“在这些难民试图入境时，发生了骚扰、拘捕和殴打难民的事件。”
He also says African refugees living in Egypt, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, have been shot or arrested trying to cross into Israel, seeking jobs.
他还说，住在埃及的非洲难民多半来自厄立特里亚和苏丹，他们在试图越境进入以色列找工作时，也遭到了殴打和拘捕。
The survey criticizes Turkey for deporting hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, all seeking asylum. It says immigration officials in Malaysia are selling Burmese asylum seekers to human traffickers at the Malaysia-Thai border.
这次调查批评土耳其遣返好几百名来自阿富汗、伊拉克和伊朗寻求庇护的难民。调查报告说，马来西亚的移民官员把寻求庇护的缅甸人贩卖给在马来西亚和泰国边境的人口贩子。
The report says Brazil, Ecuador and Costa Rica are among the best countries for refugees who are mostly from Colombia. Costa Rica even gives refugees small loans to start businesses.
报告说，巴西、厄瓜多尔和哥斯达黎加在处理难民问题最为妥善的国家之列。他说，这些国家接纳的难民多半来自哥伦比亚。哥斯达黎加甚至向难民发放小额贷款作为他们的谋生之本。
"Brazil actually resettled 100 Palestinians from one of the camps on the Iraqi border, who were in a very dire situation and very few other countries will take them," Smith said.
梅里尔说：“巴西实际上让来自伊拉克边境一个难民营的100名巴勒斯坦人安家落户，这些人原来处境悲惨，几乎没有其它国家愿意接纳他们。”
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants says the number of refugees last year declined slightly to about 13.5 million. Despite the fighting in Afghanistan, Merrill says nearly a quarter million Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland from Pakistan.
美国难民和移民委员会说，去年难民人数略有减少，下降到约一千三百五十万人。梅里尔说，尽管阿富汗发生冲突，有近二十五万阿富汗难民从巴基斯坦返回家园。
"The situation is Pakistan also deteriorated last year, including the serious fighting between the authorities and the Taliban in many of the areas where the Afghan refugees continue to dwell in Pakistan," Smith said. "So many of them were fleeing insecurity in Pakistan that they actually found to be even worse than what they feared in Afghanistan."
梅里尔说：“去年巴基斯坦的形势也恶化了，在阿富汗难民居住的许多巴基斯坦地区，当局和塔利班发生了严重的冲突。于是许多阿富汗难民逃离巴基斯坦的动乱，他们实际上发现那里的局面比阿富汗的情况更为糟糕。”
The report says the flow of refugees from Iraq has dropped significantly but nearly two million people remain out of the country.
报告说，来自伊拉克的难民也大量减少，但是还有两百万伊拉克难民寄居国外。 |