2007年VOA标准英语-UN: Death Toll Mounts Among Somalis, Ethiopians

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
28 September 2007

The U.N. refugee agency says the death toll¹ continues to mount among Somalis and Ethiopians who put their lives in the hands of smugglers ferrying them to Yemen across the Gulf² of Aden. The UNHCR reports at least 89 people have been confirmed dead and 154 missing and presumed dead so far this month. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

The U.N. refugee agency says desperate people resort to desperate measures to improve their lives. And, in the case of Somalis, the UNHCR says many of them are gambling³ with their lives to find a place where they can be safe from the intensifying⁴ fighting in their country.

It says many Somalis and Ethiopians are paying high prices for smugglers to sail them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. But, it says the trip usually ends up being a nightmare and often fatal.

U.N. refugee spokeswoman, Jennifer Pagonis, says five boats arrived in Yemen on Wednesday, carrying 600 Somalis and Ethiopians. She says one person was confirmed dead, while 22 remain missing and are presumed dead.

She says surviving passengers recount numerous horror stories of life at sea.

"Survivors⁵ of a recent boat arrival told us that they had been violently treated by smugglers who had beaten them with iron bars, belts and plastic tubes and stabbed them with daggers," she said. "You know people are dying as a result of asphyxiation⁶, people are drowning as they try to reach the shore from deep water. Several new arrivals reported that Yemeni armed forces had opened fire when they spotted⁷ boats."

Pagonis says the UNHCR brought this up with the Yemeni authorities, expressing concern for the well being of civilians⁸. She says the authorities explain many of the smugglers arrive with weapons and drugs and they have to protect themselves from that.

Since the beginning of September, the UNHCR reports 50 smuggling⁹ boats, nearly two a day, have arrived at the Yemen shores from Somalia. It says they carried more than 4,700 people - mostly Somalis and Ethiopians. It notes that is an increase of 70 percent over last year.

The agency says it is strengthening its operations to deal with this ongoing¹⁰ crisis. It says it is planning to set up a second reception and registration¹¹ center in Ahwar along the Yemeni coast. This should speed up the process of transferring the new arrivals to places where they can apply for asylum¹².

Pagonis says the UNHCR also is looking to expand its monitoring presence along the coast. Although, she acknowledges it is very difficult to effectively monitor a coastline that is 600-kilometers-long.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

4 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 asphyxiation   

n. 窒息

参考例句：

• Objective Inquiry into the heavy asphyxiation rescues measure of the new born. 摘要目的探讨新生儿重度窒息抢救的措施。
• Self-contained breathing apparatus(SCBA) may be required to prevent asphyxiation of rescue personnel. 可能要求有自给式呼吸器(SCBA)，以防止救援人员窒息。

7 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

12 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

13 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

14 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。