VOA标准英语2010年-10 Americans Missionaries in Haiti Cha

Elizabeth Lee 04 February 2010

 
Laura Silsby, head of New Life Children's Refuge charity

Haitian authorities have charged 10 American missionaries¹ with child kidnapping and criminal association for allegedly trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the country illegally. Haiti's government has suggested the case could be transferred to the United States but, for the moment, the ten have been returned to a jail in the capital Port-au-Prince where they have been held since their arrest last Friday. 

These American missionaries never expected to find themselves in a Haitian jail.
They are members of a Christian² charity called New Life Children's Refuge.  They say they are in Haiti to help orphans³.

Laura Silsby heads the charity.

"We came here with the intention of being able to offer and share God's love and share hope with these children," said Laura Silsby.

Some of the group members belong to Central Valley Baptist Church in Idaho. 

The church's website says the missionaries were rescuing children from orphanages⁵ in Haiti and taking them to an orphanage⁴ in the Dominican Republic.

The missionaries were arrested as they tried to cross the border in a bus with 33 children.

Silsby denies her group did anything illegal.

"Our understanding was that, we were told by a number of people, including Dominican authorities, that we would be able to bring the children across," she said.

But Haitian officials say the Americans did not get the required permission from Haitian authorities.

Silsby says it was a misunderstanding and her group had only good intentions to help the children who range from two months to 12 years old.

"We came here to Haiti to help the children that have no one, children who have no mother or father, no hope of having someone to care for them," said Silsby.

But many of the children do have living parents according to SOS Children's Village, the aid group now caring for the children. SOS spokesman George Willeit.

"An elder girl, maybe eight or nine-years-old told us crying, 'I am not an orphan," said George Willeit. "I do have my parents. I thought I was going to boarding school or to a summer camp."

Some of the parents say they chose to give their children to the missionaries.

"They didn't kidnap my kid," said one of the mothers. "I gave them my daughter because she was going to have a better life."

Haiti's prime minister sees it differently. 

"For me, it's not Americans who've been arrested," said Jean-Max Bellerive. "It's kidnappers⁶ who have been arrested."

The case has ignited fears of children being victimized by child traffickers in a country with a weakened government.

Haiti has now suspended adoptions⁷ to try and protect its children who remain helpless in the wake of the earthquake.

 

1 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

4 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

5 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

6 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 adoptions   

n.采用，收养( adoption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Adoption agencies are always so open to alternative family adoptions. 领养中介机构永远都对领养家庭敞开。 来自电影对白
• The number of adoptions has grown in the past year. 去年，收养子女的数字增加了。 来自互联网