2007年VOA标准英语-Some 25 Million People Internally Displaced Thr

By Sean Maroney
Washington
23 February 2007
 
watch International Migration¹ report

Millions of people flee their homes each year to escape war, famine or disaster. The international community helps many of them when they end up as refugees in foreign countries. But when these same people are adrift within their home countries, assistance is harder to provide.  VOA's Sean Maroney reports on the debate to better help internally displaced persons.

Refugee camps are the result of four years of fighting in Sudan between Darfur rebels and government-backed militias². The United Nations estimates the violence has killed at least 200,000 people and forced millions more from their homes.

 
UN camp 
The U.N. has set up camps like this one in an effort to provide food, water and shelter for the internally displaced.  But aid officials say they can only help a fraction of those who actually need it.

There are an estimated 25 million people internally displaced in some 50 countries.  The U.N. says it helps only one in four.

There are no international laws that protect internally displaced persons, or "IDPs" for short.  The U.N. says it is up to individual countries to care for their own.

 
Khalid Koser
But Khalid Koser says this is not a solution.  He monitors the IDP problem for The Brookings Institution in Washington.  He says in many cases countries often persecute³ their own displaced citizens. "It seems to me there's something of a paradox⁴ or a contradiction or a problem in saying to states, 'You are the people who have to develop laws and policies to protect IDPs, even (though) often you're the people who are perpetrating ethnic⁵ cleansing⁶, who are trying to persecute these people out of existence'."

Uganda is among those countries that have passed specific laws to protect IDPs.   But Koser says poor sanitation⁷; food shortages and overcrowding are still problems there. "There are acts and there are facts.  And the fact that countries like Uganda and Sri Lanka have developed laws is great, but there are still two million people displaced within those countries.  So it seems to me there's a real gap between national laws and policies and actually making a difference to the people on the ground."

He says it is up to the international community to make a difference in these people's lives.

1 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。

2 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

3 persecute   

vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰

参考例句：

• They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.他们迫害那些不信奉他们思想的人。
• Hitler's undisguised effort to persecute the Jews met with worldwide condemnation.希特勒对犹太人的露骨迫害行为遭到世界人民的谴责。

4 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

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 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

7 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。