VOA常速英语2007-Humanitarian Groups Plead for Help in Somalia Cr

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
31 October 2007

About 40 international aid groups have issued a joint¹ appeal to the international community about the growing humanitarian² crisis in Somalia.  As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, the groups say that security has gotten so bad that their aid work has been all but frozen and some people are dying of starvation.

The appeal from aid groups around the world followed the U.N. refugee agency announcement that 35,000 people fled new fighting between Islamic insurgents³ and Ethiopian troops during the weekend in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.  Thousands more fled in subsequent days.

About 400,000 people were believed to have fled after three months of fighting that began when Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in December to back the weak Transitional Federal Government and oust⁴ the Union of Islamic Courts.

In their statement, the aid groups say that about 335,000 people in the Mogadishu and Shabelle areas are in immediate⁵ need of help just to survive.  But they say there is little they can do because security is getting worse as the displaced people's needs increase.

Tony Burns is the operations director of SAACID Australia, which joined the statement.  He said that his organization has been able to continue work through its local branch but that the situation is dire⁶.

"We can confirm cases in and around Mogadishu of deaths through starvation now, that is occurring," he said.  "The situation is only going to get worse.  The food that is coming in is inadequate⁷ to meet the needs at the moment.  The recent fighting has subsided⁸ momentarily, but the population within the city are very frightened and are very worried about the future."

Burns says there could be some relief in terms of food aid within weeks because the World Food Program and other agencies have asked the international community to send more food.  But he says the time lag between the request and the delivery of food aid is making people vulnerable.

Aid groups say the situation is getting to be nearly as bad as it was in the time of greatest chaos⁹ following dictator Mohammed Siad Barre's ouster in 1991.  They also warn that because of the continued instability, Somalia could see a full-blown clan¹⁰ civil war in the coming months.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 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。

3 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

4 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 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。

7 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

8 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。