VOA标准英语2009年-UN: More People Seeking Asylum in Industrialize

A new report by the U.N. refugee agency finds the number of asylum¹ seekers in industrialized countries increased in 2008 for the second consecutive² year. It says asylum requests have been rising in part because of the higher number of applications from Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries in turmoil³ or conflict.
　
UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond (file photo)

The U.N. refugee agency says more than 380,000 new asylum applications were submitted last year in the 51 industrialized countries. This is 12 percent more than in 2007 and represents the second consecutive annual increase in the number of asylum seekers.

The report says the number of Iraqi asylum seekers declined by 10 percent in 2008. Despite this, Iraqis continue to be the largest nationality seeking asylum in the industrialized world. Somalia is in second place.

UNHCR Spokesman, Ron Redmond, says the number of Somali asylum seekers has gone up to 21,800 and reflects their increasing desperation. He says tens of thousands flee across the Gulf⁴ of Aden seeking a better life.

"Others flee up through Africa towards the Mediterranean⁵ Coast and then across the Mediterranean. So, in Somalia, it is ongoing⁶ conflict over a wide area, lack of economic opportunities. People cannot feed their families," Redmond said.

Redmond says the growing number of Afghans seeking asylum is a worrying sign. He notes Afghan asylum seekers peaked in 2001 and then dropped dramatically with the fall of the Taliban. But, now, he says, the numbers are going up again.

"And that reflects the difficulty of Afghans in resuming their lives, particularly for returning refugees who go back to very, very little in many cases ... So, Afghanistan needs a lot of attention. I would just say that this is a warning sign that Afghanistan still needs a lot of help from the international community so people can go home and stay home," he said.

The report finds the United States continued to be the main country of destination for asylum seekers of all nationalities in 2008. It received about 49,000 new asylum claims, accounting⁷ for 13 percent of all applications in industrialized countries.

After the United States, the study says the main countries of destination were Canada, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

1 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。

2 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 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。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 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。

7 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。