2007年VOA标准英语-UNHCR Gains Access to Displaced in North Kivu

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
22 September 2007

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says it is distributing desperately¹ needed relief supplies to thousands of people displaced by fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern province of North Kivu.  It says access to some of the internally displaced has improved in a few areas due to a lull² in the fighting among government, renegade and rebel forces.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

The U.N. refugee agency says the situation in North Kivu province has been going from bad to worse since the beginning of the year.  It says fighting in recent weeks has caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

It says many people have fled to more secure areas in the North Kivu region, while others sought refuge in neighboring Uganda and Rwanda. 

The U.N. refugee spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, says security is very bad.  And, until a few days ago, aid agencies were unable to reach the newly displaced.   Now, that access has somewhat improved, he says, aid workers have been able to assess the extent of the displacement³. 

"According to the latest assessments⁴ carried out by several U.N. agencies and NGOs, there are now some 65,000 displaced Congolese in Muganga area, out of almost 90,000 newly displaced in Kivu just in September," said Mahecic. "Overall, since the beginning of the year, we see that this is basically the worst displacement situation over a period of three years, with some 300,000 Congolese being uprooted⁵ since the beginning of the year." 

Aid workers on the ground report that the refugees are living under very difficult conditions in makeshift settlements that lack latrines, health care and other essentials.

Mahecic says aid agencies have seized on the temporary lull in the fighting to distribute food and other relief supplies, including plastic sheets, kitchen sets, blankets and soap to nearly eight thousand people at Bulengo, a site in North Kivu.

He says this site, which was established by the UNHCR, now hosts more than 1,500 families.  He says it has grown over the past week, as more displaced people arrive from villages and makeshift camps in the surrounding areas.

"And, at the moment, we are expanding the site to cope with the new arrivals and transfers from the other locations," he added.  "Once they get there, each family is allocated⁶ a small plot where they can set up a shelter, and then they start constructing from materials they are given." 

Now that the situation has calmed down, Mahecic says most of the thousands of refugees who fled to Uganda have gone home.  He says the UNHCR is planning to close its transit⁷ center in that country once the people remaining there are moved to another settlement.

But, he says the UNHCR will keep the latrines and water tanks in place as a precautionary measure.  He says another upsurge of fighting could cause a new influx⁸ of refugees.

1 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。

2 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

3 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

4 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

5 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

7 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

8 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。