VOA标准英语2010年-Displaced Haitians Strain Resources

Plans for Haiti's recovery from the devastating¹ earthquake are on the agenda at the United Nations donors²' conference, March 31 in New York. Among the country's top priorities are the estimated 600,000 people who fled the capital, Port-au-Prince, for the countryside. Many took refuge with friends and family. But as our correspondent reports, the extra mouths to feed are straining their hosts' resources and pushing more people into hunger.

Irene Guerriere's quiet home is worlds away from the destruction in Port-au-Prince. But even here in Gonaives, a hundred kilometers north of the epicenter, Guerriere's family feels the effects of the earthquake. She remembers her first thought when she heard the news.

"My first reaction was, I have to get to Port-au-Prince because my daughter is there," said Irene Guerriere. "I have to find out what happened to her."

Guerriere was relieved to find her daughter Ivena safe with close friends. But the friends had to escape the devastation³. So they asked to come to Gonaives.

"I couldn't tell them no because they were the ones who took care of my daughter in Port-au-Prince," she said.

Suddenly, Guerriere's household swelled⁴ from 10 people to 18. There were almost twice as many mouths to feed - but no extra food to feed them.

Now, eleven weeks later, Guerriere has run out of grains the family had stored.  

She has been forced to sell her livestock⁵ to pay for food.

And with no money for seeds, and insects attacking her crops, the next harvest is at risk. 

"I don't have money to buy insecticide and feed the people," said Guerriere. "The people are more important. I have to feed the people."

All across Haiti, families that struggled, before the earthquake, to feed themselves now find themselves with hungry guests. Charles Edie is chief of agriculture for the Artibonite department, where Gonaives is located. 

"The people who left Port-au-Prince brought nothing with them but their appetites," said Charles Edie.

Some 60,000 people arrived in Artibonite after the earthquake, swelling⁶ the population by 20 percent within days. At first, food aid helped some families ease the burden. But Edie says that stage is coming to an end. 

"The second step is to try to create work so that people who left Port-au-Prince have money so they can survive," he said.

Experts say the newly arrived workers actually could be a boon⁷ to rural Haiti. Putting them to work improving food production could help reduce Haiti's food shortages. 

Creating rural jobs is on everyone's to-do list, from the government to the U-N to aid groups.

But so far, for families like the Guerrieres, the need is urgent and it's now. 

Ivena tries to be positive.

"Sometimes we only eat in the morning," she said. "But we just tell jokes all day. However we have to deal with it, we'll deal with it."

If jobs don't come soon, food could run out for many Haitians. And the humor won't be far behind.
 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

6 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

7 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。