VOA慢速英语2017--UN Officials: Libyan Unrest Harming Children

 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says more than 500,000 children in Libya are in need of some kind of humanitarian¹ assistance.

The UN agency notes that migrant children passing through Libya are especially at risk of abuse.

Competing governments have sought to control the North African country since the fall of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in October of 2011. There is no sign the fighting, displacement² of people and economic problems will end anytime soon.

Libya is a stopping point for African migrants on their way to Europe. Many go there in hopes of finding a boat to take them across the Mediterranean³ Sea.

But UN officials say the crisis in Libya has affected⁴ a large number of children. Geert Cappelaere is UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“In Libya, we estimate today a third of the population is under the age of 18,” he said. “Two million children do live in Libya of which a quarter — 500,000 — are estimated by UNICEF to be facing dire⁵ humanitarian need.”

Cappelelaere says conditions in Libya have affected children in many ways.

“The access to schools has been hampered⁶. But (this) also, definitely, has affected the quality of the education children are having,” he says. “We have important numbers of children usually in conflict situations that have been suffering of a type of social consequences of the conflict. Children that have been separated from their families.”

UNICEF says 315,000 children in Libya need help getting an education. In addition, the group says 200,000 need access to safe drinking water.

Adding to the difficulties are tens of thousands of migrants from countries south of the Sahara desert. They are fleeing conflict, drought and poor economic conditions. Many have crossed the desert with the goal of reaching Europe.

However, crossing the Mediterranean usually involves working with smugglers, who often put too many people into small, weak boats.

The International Organization for Migration⁹ reports that about 117,000 migrants have arrived in Europe this year. However, the group also notes that more than 2,400 have died trying to get there.

Cappelaere says migrant children face many dangers.

“We see an important number of these children arriving in Libya separated from their families,” says Cappelaere. “Being unaccompanied. We know that several hundred of these children have ended up and are ending in detention¹⁰ facilities.”

The aid group Oxfam is made up of many charitable organizations. On August 9, Oxfam released a report about the problems facing migrants leaving Libya. The report presents migrant stories of killings¹¹, rape¹², torture and detention in Libya.

In one example, a Senegalese teenager was reported to have said he was kept in a room that was full of dead bodies.

Cappelaere says the children of migrants often face abuse.

“Children are, of course, very much exposed to violence and exploitation by those who are trying to make big money out of the migration crisis. So, children who are affected by migration are indeed particularly vulnerable,” he said.

However, the UNICEF official says there have been some successes in Libya. About 1.4 million children have been vaccinated¹³ against polio by UNICEF and its partners, including some Libyan national groups.

Cappelaere praises the health workers in Libya, especially those who continue working after their medical centers have been attacked.

UNICEF plans to have all its international staff working full-time¹⁴ in Libya by October. The crisis had forced many workers to leave or operate out of Tunisia.

Cappelaere says the increase in workers would permit UNICEF to assist 1.5 million children. But, he notes, the agency needs additional money to carry on its work. He says UNICEF has asked for $15 million for Libya this year, but remains¹⁵ about six million dollars away from that goal.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

migrant – n. people who move from place to place, usually for economic reasons

dire – adj. causing fear or worry

hamper⁷ – v. to interfere¹⁶ with, to slow down

access – n. permission or ability to enter or use something

consequences – n. results of some action

smuggler⁸ – n. someone who takes things or people from one country to another secretly or illegally

unaccompanied – adj. not with anyone else, alone

facilities – n. building or equipment used for a specific purpose

vulnerable -adj. easily hurt emotionally or physically¹⁷

staff – n. the workers responsible for the operations of an agency or business

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 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。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 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。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

7 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

8 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

9 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

10 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

13 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

14 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

15 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。

16 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

17 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。