2007年VOA标准英语-Kashmir's Mothers of the Disappeared Struggle t

By Raymond Thibodeaux
Srinagar
03 July 2007

Thousands of young, military-age men in Kashmir have vanished during Kashmir's 18-year conflict. Estimates of the number missing range from 3,000 to as many as 10,000. But for one Kashmiri mother, one is too many. Raymond Thibodeaux reports from Srinagar, the capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

 

Parveena Ahangar, 47, (far left), in Srinagar

This is Parveena Ahangar, who is 47 years old and the mother of Javeid, one of thousands of young Kashmiri men who disappeared after being arrested or detained by Indian security forces in Kashmir. Javeid was 16 when Indian security agents arrested him in August of 1990. She has not seen him since.

As Parveena speaks, even the translator is moved to tears.

"She says when a mother raises her child, it is she who holds his hand when he is young," said the translator. "When she will be old it will be the son who will hold her hand. But in my case it was different, I could hold my son's hand when he was young, but he's not there when my hand needs to be held. She says, bring me back my children."

Parveena does not know why her son was arrested, or even whether he is alive. In her grief, she started a group called the Association of Parents of the Disappeared more than 10 years ago. Since then she has filled a thick green folder¹ with hundreds of letters and sun-faded photographs from families with husbands and sons who have vanished.

Their story shows a darker side of Kashmir, a region that is famed for its scenic² mountains, alpine³ lakes and Mughal gardens.

The region, which has a mostly Muslim population, is divided between Pakistani and Indian control, and both claim Kashmir entirely⁴. For nearly two decades, Indian-controlled Kashmir has been racked by a separatist insurgency⁵.

Many Kashmiris feel squeezed between two opposing forces: the 500,000-strong Indian security force and an untold⁶ number of armed separatists allegedly backed by Pakistani fighters.

At least 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since it started in 1989. Since then, Kashmiris have become fed up with what they say is a litany of human rights abuses by Indian security forces, including extrajudicial killings⁷, torture and rape⁸.

But it is the fate of the missing that has led many Kashmiri activists⁹ to petition India's government for answers.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq leads the All Parties Freedom Conference, an umbrella group of Kashmir's separatist leaders.

"We have written so many times to the United Nations. We have written so many times to Amnesty International, Asia Watch - so have the parents - even to the National Human Rights Commission in Delhi. But there has been no response," he said. "The fear is that the number of people missing is in the thousands. And the fear is that maybe most of them have been killed, whether killed by the army or whether killed in fake encounters, or whether they are missing."

 

He and other political leaders are calling for a truth and reconciliation¹⁰ commission similar to those in South Africa and Rwanda, to investigate human rights abuses and to solve the disappearances¹¹.

Colonel Sudhir Sakhuja, an Indian army spokesman, says the number of missing is far less than the 8,000  to 10,000 often quoted by international human rights groups. Still, he says the Indian army routinely investigates cases of missing Kashmiris.

"Even if one person is missing, the mother would feel bad for him. We are concerned about it. … It's unfortunate that some people are still reported missing - not necessarily because anything has been done to them by the Indian army or any of the security forces. Possibly they may have gone across the line of control and not got back, or gone into hiding because they had a background of militancy," said Colonel Sakhuja.

Peace talks between India and Pakistan have eased tensions between the two countries, and the fighting has eased in Kashmir. But the two governments have made little progress in permanently¹² resolving the conflict, and there still are violent incidents between the Indian military and Kashmiris nearly every day.

For Parveena and thousands of other Kashmiris who have lost family members in this conflict, the political wrangling¹³ between India and Pakistan is irrelevant¹⁴. For Parveena, there is only the one recurring¹⁵ question: Where is my son?

1 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

2 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

3 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

6 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

11 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

12 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

13 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

14 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

15 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。