南苏丹独立日喜忧参半

AS IT IS 2015-07-10 South Sudan Marks Independence Day With Joy and Worries 南苏丹独立日喜忧参半

South Sudan marked four years of independence Thursday. But for most citizens, there was little to celebrate. The country is suffering from a civil war and a deepening humanitarian¹ crisis.

South Sudanese civilians² have paid the greatest price for the war. The conflict began in December 2013. It resulted from a dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former vice³ president, Riek Machar. Their disagreement fueled ethnic⁴ violence.

Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed across the country. The fighting has forced more than two million others from their homes. Millions more are facing food insecurity. They do not have enough to eat.

Nhial Tiitmamer is a policy expert with the Sudd Institute in Juba. He says there are understandably mixed feelings on the anniversary of its hard-fought independence from Sudan.

“You know, the people on the one hand are happy to mark the fourth independence anniversary of South Sudan. And then on the other hand, they are worried about tomorrow because of the ongoing⁵ conflict.”

Tough economic troubles

South Sudan’s economy is dependent on oil exports. The collapse⁶ of oil prices worldwide and the civil war have caused serious economic damage.

Nhial Tiitmamer says the weak economy has affected⁷ people in Juba, the capital.

In his words, “to import goods, you need to get hard currency, and this has made living standards really hard for the people because the price of major goods is skyrocketing.”

Both sides have been accused of rights violations⁸ during the conflict. They were also accused of sexually abusing children and forcing some to become soldiers.

About 150,000 people have sought shelter in United Nations camps across the country.

Hope 'in short supply'

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said “hope is in short supply” in South Sudan. He called on President Kiir and Mr. Machar to “prove their leadership by investing in a political solution.”

Susan Rice once served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations. She now works as the National Security Advisor⁹ to President Barack Obama.

Ms. Rice recorded a message to the South Sudanese people. She said that it breaks her heart to see what South Sudan has become. She placed the blame on the country’s leaders.

“President Kiir and Riek Machar and their cronies are personally responsible for this new war and self-inflicted disaster. And only leaders on both sides can end this violence.”

The two sides have been taking part in lengthy¹⁰ peace negotiations¹¹. The East African group IGAD is assisting with the talks. But they have failed to produce a lasting¹² agreement.

The competing sides blame each other for delays in the negotiations. They have yet to agree about a proposed power-sharing agreement and reunification of the armed forces.

On Wednesday, President Kiir began a new three-year term in office after lawmakers voted to extend his rule.  

Words in This Story

ongoing – adj. continuing to exist or happen

currency – n. a system of money

standards – n. rules; a level of quality that is considered acceptable

skyrocketing – adj. going up or rising very quickly

cronies – n. close friends or assistants

1 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。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。