2006年VOA标准英语-UN Tsunami Envoy Chides Sri Lankans, Prais

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
08 March 2006

UN special Envoy¹ for tsunami² recovery Eric Schwartz, talked with a tsunami victim during his visit to Banda Aceh Province, Indonesia, February 23, 2006  
  
A United Nations tsunami recovery envoy calls it "unfortunate" that Sri Lankan leaders did not rise above their political differences to seize the opportunity for peace after the December 2004 tragedy ravaged³ the country. But, Eric Shwartz praised India's government for its efforts to rebuild following the disaster.

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When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck on December 26, 2004, Sri Lanka had been mired⁴ in more than 20 years of fighting between the government and the Tamil Tiger guerrilla group, which wants greater rights for the country's ethnic⁵ Tamil minority. Peace talks supervised by Norwegian mediators had ground to a virtual halt.

The deadly waters killed more than 30,000 people in Sri Lanka and devastated⁶ thousands of towns and villages. But within days of the disaster, attention shifted to the question of whether some good could come of the tragedy.

The international community pledged some $5 billion in assistance to Sri Lanka alone, raising hopes that talks between the government and the rebels over aid distribution could restart the stalled peace process.

That did not happen.

Eric Schwartz is the United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, working alongside former President Bill Clinton. He says it was a mistake to think that money alone could override⁷ Sri Lankan antagonisms⁸.

"Recovery assistance can improve the climate somewhat, but it's not going to drive politics. What the tsunami did do - the tsunami itself, not the assistance - the tsunami did provide a window for governments and opposition⁹ movements to recalibrate their priorities, recognize what was really important, and make some very difficult but important decisions about how to move forward," said Schwartz.

He points to the northern Indonesian province of Aceh, which had also been locked in years of fighting between separatist insurgents¹⁰ and the government. After the tsunami devastated the province, the two sides finally signed a peace accord.

In Sri Lanka, Norwegian mediators, the government and the rebels agreed to the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure, or PTOMS. The mechanism¹¹ was meant to ensure the fair distribution of tsunami aid across ethnic and geographic¹² lines, including devastated rebel-held areas, and to serve as the framework for future peace talks.

But analysts¹³ say political differences between the government and the rebels, plus opposition to the PTOMS agreement within the government, prevented the Sri Lankans from achieving the same success as the Indonesians.

"In Sri Lanka, we saw a similar dynamic, which I think played a role in the development of the PTOMS agreement, but the opportunity, for a variety of reasons, was not completely seized," he continued. "And that's very unfortunate."

Last month, the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels held an emergency meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting reaffirmed the two sides' commitment to a ceasefire, but it did little to advance the stalled peace talks.

Schwartz was in India to visit the tsunami-affected¹⁴ southern coast, where he praised officials for assistance provided to the thousands affected by the disaster.

The U.N. says that nearly 230,000 people died or disappeared in the 12 countries around the Indian Ocean hit by the deadly waves - making international assistance necessary for years to come. The vast bulk of the casualties came in Aceh, Sri Lanka and India.

So far, Schwartz says, tsunami-affected countries have not been affected by donor¹⁵-fatigue, because pledged funds are earmarked to be spent over a number of years. Still, he says, President Clinton, whose visits to crisis zones generate huge publicity¹⁶, remains¹⁷ committed to the recovery effort.

"One of his major objectives is to ensure that well after the media has departed the tsunami-affected region and has moved on to other crises, the international donor community, affected governments and others stay the course in the recovery effort. We have to demonstrate that the process of recovery assistance is not a hit-and-run affair, because you have to persevere," he noted¹⁸.

Schwartz says the focus of tsunami assistance now is to provide livelihoods¹⁹ and promote entrepreneurial activity among people who lost everything in the disaster.
 
 

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

4 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

7 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

8 antagonisms   

对抗，敌对( antagonism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fundamental antagonisms in such an arrangement were obvious. 在这样一种安排中，基本矛盾很明显。
• The antagonisms between the two empires and systems were mortal. 这两个帝国和两种制度之间，有着不共戴天的仇恨。

9 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。

10 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

11 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

12 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 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。

15 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

16 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

17 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。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。