VOA标准英语2009-Refugees Leave Chad for US

A group of 11 refugees left the Chadian capital N'Djamena by air on Sunday to be resettled in the United States. The group is comprised of seven urban refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three urban Sudanese refugees and one person from the Central African Republic.

The UN refugee agency says the African refugees, who had been living in a camp in southern Chad, will be resettled in the U.S. States of Kentucky, Texas, Iowa and Utah.

The agency says the refugees are expected to experience some culture shock when they arrive in their new homes. But, spokesman, William Spindler, says resettlement in the United States offers them the best opportunity and hope for a future.

He describes those who are eligible¹ for resettlement as particularly vulnerable. For example, he says they could be disabled people who have special needs that cannot be met in a refugee camp. Or, he says, they could include people who are in fear of persecution² in the country where they have sought asylum³.

"We look into each case in detail and only those case that have no prospect⁴ of integration⁵ in the asylum country or for different reasons cannot stay in that country are put forward for resettlement," said Spindler. "And, it is up to the receiving countries to make the final selection of how many of these people they will take."
　
A refugee stands in front of a makeshift hut in Chadian Farchana camp, which houses some 20,000 Sudanese (File Photo - 14 Dec 2007)

The UNHCR says it plans to identify a total of 1,800 cases for resettlement throughout the year. Most of them will be Sudanese refugees from Darfur living in refugee camps in eastern Chad.

This number is only a tiny fraction of the 250,000 Sudanese refugees from the Darfur region who are living in 12 UNHCR-run camps in the east. In addition, the agency cares for 70,000 refugees from the Central African Republic in five camps in southern Chad.

Spindler agrees the number of places available for resettlement is very small compared to the needs. Therefore, he says potential candidates for resettlement go through a very rigorous process of selection.

"On average, this process takes seven to nine months in each case and it involves a series of interventions⁶ by our protection officers in the field, medical screening, cultural orientation⁷ sessions and so on," he said. "And, our staff is trained in anti-fraud measures to avoid selecting refugees who are not eligible. At the same time, refugees are counseled until the very day of their departure on the rights and obligations in their new country. So, it is a very laborious⁸ process."

Spindler says the next group of refugees is expected to depart N'Djamena in early July. He says it will mainly consist of Darfur refugees from eastern Chad's 12 refugee camps.

He says this group also will be resettled in the United States. But, he says the UNHCR hopes other countries will offer places of resettlement.

1 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

2 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

3 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。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

6 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

7 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

8 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。