VOA慢速英语2013 呼吁西方参与青年党对抗

 

AS IT IS 2013-10-08 Call for Western Involvement in Al-Shabab Fight 呼吁西方参与青年党对抗

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

I’m Avi Arditti.

Today we report on efforts by Somali-based al-Shabab to get people in the United States to join the group.

“So we’re not talking about the root cause -- what caused these people to go back, ostensibly to defend the dignity and the sovereignty of a nation that is being destroyed.”

But first, we report on efforts to persuade Western powers to become more-involved in the fight against al-Shabab.

“The level of support might increase, but I don’t think you’d see anything like American direct intervention¹ for example.”

Al-Shabab Attack Unlikely To Cause Western Intervention

Several Westerners were among the 67 people killed last month by al-Shabab gunmen in Kenya. The September 21st attack took place at a shopping center in the capital Nairobi.

Since the attack there have been calls for Western countries to get more involved in the fight against al-Shabab. The group is based in Somalia and linked to al-Qaida.

But experts say that is not likely to happen.

Caty Weaver² reports.

The victims of the Westgate Mall attack included citizens of Australia, Britain, Canada and other western nations. But Sajjan Gohel, the Security Director of the Asia-Pacific Foundation in London, says those deaths will not likely lead to direct Western action against al-Shabab.

“What we will probably see is more impetus³ by the international community, especially the United States, in trying to encourage Somalia’s neighbors in becoming more active, more involved, in trying to dismantle⁴ the infrastructure⁵ of al-Shabab.”

Shiraz Maher, of the Center for the Study of Radicalization, at Kings College in London, says Western nations are now more careful after their experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I think the West now favors having localized countries who are responding to regional crises taking the lead, and they will support from behind the scenes. The level of support might increase, but I don’t think you’d see anything like American direct intervention for example.”

Sajjan Gohel says ending the threat from al-Shabab will be difficult.

“This is a group that has splintered. Its factions⁶ are displaced in a number of countries, not just Somalia. They are recruiting from the refugee populations that exist throughout the Horn of Africa and East Africa. It’s a challenge, it’s a big challenge. And unfortunately they also are able to recruit from the West.”

There are now 17,000 African Union troops in Somalia. They are known as AMISOM. They will continue to take the lead in fighting al-Shabab, alongside Somali troops.

Nicholas Kay, the United Nations’ diplomat⁷ for Somalia, says the international community must increase their efforts against al-Shabab.

“Particularly extra resources for the military effort where the AMISOM are under-resourced, they have, for example, not a single military helicopter for a campaign in a country that is the size of Afghanistan."

Helmoed Romer Heitman is a military expert for Jane’s Defense⁸ Weekly. He says African Union forces need more equipment so they can react to threats across the continent.

“Outside powers coming into Africa to do it, well the Europeans aren’t that willing, and most of them no longer have the clout⁹ because they have had to scale down so much. Do we really want China or India or somebody else doing that? Because they are not going to do it in our interests, they’re going to do it in their interests. The U.N. takes too long, we have seen that. So there is a need for a continental¹⁰ force, and in fact regional forces in the continent.”

Experts say the shopping center attack in Nairobi shows that al-Shabab is alive and well, and that it is able to take action outside Somalia.

I’m Caty Weaver.

Al-Shabab Finds Fighters Among Somali Youth 

The American state of Minnesota has a large Somali community. There are concerns that the community is a good place for al-Shabab to find young men to become fighters. Many young Somali men in the United States are torn between two cultures -- Somali and American. This could leave them open to religious and

nationalist appeals from the group that attacked the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

Hashim Yonis is active in the community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is working with other young Somali men to help them deal with a sense of alienation¹¹ -- of feeling separate from both cultures.

“My generation, I call them the lost generation.  They are not part of the traditional Somalia. They are not part of, hundred percent, so they basically have their one foot on the America side, the Western side, and then the other one back home.”

In addition to working with young Somalis, Mr. Yonis is campaigning for local office. He is a candidate for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

Many young Somali men are the children of refugees who fled the long civil war in their country. Some of these young men are having difficulty with American life. Some drop out of school and cannot find a job, or they get involved with gangs. 

Nimco Ahmed is a Somali activist¹² who works for the Minneapolis City Council. She says the war and resettlement have broken up the traditional family structure.

“Most of our fathers are either not here or not in the country or dead pretty much. So not having a father figure for our boys has been a struggle for us. And it’s still a struggle for us.”

Al-Shabab has gotten at least 20 Somali-Americans to fight against foreign troops in Somalia. The Islamist militant¹³ group uses a mixture of religion, nationalism and what some say is deception¹⁴, or dishonesty.

Some people in the Somali community, including Hussein Egal, believe those who joined al-Shabab should not be criticized for wanting to help Somalia. 

“So we’re not talking about the root cause -- what caused these people to go back, ostensibly to defend the dignity and the sovereignty of a nation that is being destroyed.”

But the majority opinion in the Somali-American community is that al-Shabab tries to control emotionally conflicted young people.

Hashim Yonis and other leaders are trying to fight the appeal of terrorist groups by calling for improved education and opportunities for more Somalis to better mix into American society.

United States officials say they have no evidence that any Americans took part in the attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

And that’s As It Is for today.

1 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 impetus   

n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力

参考例句：

• This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。
• Her speech gave an impetus to my ideas.她的讲话激发了我的思绪。

4 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

10 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

11 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

14 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。