2007年VOA标准英语-20 Percent of East Timorese Urgently Need Food

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Dili, East Timor
02 July 2007

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East Timorese workers carry sacks of rice at a WFP warehouse in Dili(File Photo)

At least 20 percent of East Timor's people need food aid and are severely² malnourished while 40 percent of the population is chronically³ malnourished. Aid organizations say donors⁴ must respond soon to avoid a crisis in the nation. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in the capital Dili has this report.

East Timor is suffering from food shortages caused by floods and plagues of locusts⁵ that cut the harvest of the country's most important crop, corn, by 30 percent this year.

Rice, cassava, and other cereal crops have also been hard hit. Aid officials fear the situation will worsen as heavy rains continue to cause floods in parts of the country.

The United Nation's World Food Program and the Food and Agricultural Organization say at least 15,000 tons of emergency food assistance is needed to avoid a crisis.

Tarek Elguindi, the WFP country director in Dili, says the situation is grave.

"About 200 to 220,000 people will be required to [be] assist[ed] October to March 2008. This is in addition to displaced people in Dili and other places, so it's a grim picture we have to face," he said.

Officials estimate around 10 percent of East Timor's one million people still live in refugee camps more than a year after fighting between security forces forced them to flee their homes.

Although around three thousand international peacekeepers have restored order, many of the displaced are either still too afraid to return home or had their homes destroyed in the violence.

All of this worries the WFP's Elguindi. He says donors must respond quickly or the situation will likely worsen.

"It is food, it is not like bank transfer you transfer in 48 hours. It is food to come here, [it takes] from three to five months to reach here," h' added. "So really we need it immediately, immediately."

The country's June 30 parliamentary elections could slow the government's response. Elguindi says political leaders will be busy forming a new government and will not focus on the issue of hunger.

"So we're talking about the end of the year and nobody will be around to take care of it and nobody will be experienced to deal with it and this is a concern," he said.

The head of the U.N.'s Mission in East Timor, Atul Khare, says there are concerns the food crisis could cause more violence in the country.

"If there is a shortage of food, it can on occasion lead to a lot of disenchantment and corresponding security challenges for this young nation. So we are concerned about it," said Khare.

East Timor, which became fully⁷ independent in 2002, is desperately⁸ poor and more than half the population is unemployed⁹.

President Jose Ramos Horta, who was elected last month, says there is enough food for the next few months, but agrees more is needed to stave off starvation.

"We believe we have enough at the moment for the immediate⁶ needs for the next few months, but the same time as new needs arise because of the unexpected rains and floods, we are going to order more," said Mr. Horta. "We have our own resources, but also we have some significant resources from the consolidated¹⁰ appeal that we launched a few months ago together with the United Nations."

Last year's violence shattered the young nation. But the peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections over the past three months have raised hopes the country may finally be on the path to stability.

Most people here hope that will translate into a future where everyone will have enough to eat.

1 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。