2006年VOA标准英语-Camps for Darfur Displaced Becoming Like H

By Noel King
El Fasher, Sudan
05 June 2006

Sudanese children collect water from a well in the village of Brikatouly in South Darfur, Sudan
  
  
The international community is pressing the parties in Sudan's Darfur conflict to implement¹ a peace deal signed last month, and end three years of conflict that has displaced millions. For some of the displaced, life in what were set up as temporary camps has taken on a sense of permanence.

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A dozen women are taking turns drawing water from a well, using a heavy hand pump. It is no easy task, but there is not one complaint.

Although they live in a camp for Darfuris displaced by a violent war, these women are comparatively lucky.

Foreign dollars have put this well in the ground, causing envy among residents of nearby El Fasher city, who complain that their water is not as good as the water from the well in the camp.

Aid workers here say it is not unusual for those in cities to envy the services that aid groups provide to displaced people.

But Khalil Tukras, a Sudanese aid worker, says the availability of those amenities² could have another, unintended consequence. Tukras says he is concerned that the facilities offered at the camp will entice³ the displaced to stay in the camps, even after peace has come.

"They come here, and after a long period of suffering, they find there is very good services in the camps, especially the women," he said.  "In the past, they [carry] water for a long distance. They are suffering a lot. They spend most of their time to bring water for six or seven hours distance. Now, they are in the camp, they find there is a lot of water, there is a good kind of health provided, there are fine schools."

Tukras says he estimates that 50 to 60 percent of the displaced will not return home from Abu Shouk camp.

This month marks two years since then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited the Abu Shouk camp and said security must be dealt with to allow the displaced to be able to return to their homes. Two years later, they are still waiting.

Abu Shouk, which houses about 40,000 displaced, is known as one of the best, in terms of facilities and security.

There are schools for the children, food is fairly regular and security is tight.

After three years of living in limbo⁴, people at Abu Shouk say they want nothing more than to return home.

But it is difficult to ignore the benefits of camp life.

Isaac Mohamed is a farmer, who has lived here for three years. He does not live in a shack⁵ like tens-of-thousands of more recently displaced Darfuris.

He lives in a sturdy brick house that he has built himself. He says it cannot replace his home, which was burned by militias⁶, known as janjaweed, but it will do for now.

Asked to name the biggest problem at Abu Shouk, he says, there are no problems.

"I swear, when my area is stable, I will go home," he said. "But, if it is not stable, I can't go. When the peace agreement is signed, I can return to my farm and start raising my cattle again."

A peace agreement has been signed by the government of Sudan and one faction⁷ of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army. But two other groups have refused to sign, and there has been a surge of violence, as rival factions⁸ battle for advantage, following the signing of the accord.

Many at Abu Shouk say they will only go home when the region is stable.

And if stability is long in coming?

One young mother told VOA, "Our children will inherit this camp."

1 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

2 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

4 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

5 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

8 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