VOA标准英语2014--刚果民主共和国东南部暴力肆虐

 

Violence Rages in Southeastern DRC 刚果民主共和国东南部暴力肆虐

In the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, there is an area called the Triangle of Death. It’s located within Katanga Province where the U.N. says a humanitarian¹ crisis has been growing worse since the end of 2012.

The U.N. refugee agency – UNHCR – said there are 600,000 displaced people in Katanga Province. That’s a result of ongoing² fighting and violence. More than 70,000 were displaced in the last three months alone.

In Kinshasa, UNHCR spokesperson Celine Schmitt said the crisis in Katanga has not received as much media attention as conflicts in the northeastern Kivu provinces.

“There are two conflicts ongoing in Katanga. There is an increase of violence by a militia³ group called the Mai Mai Bataka Katanga – attacking villages, attacking the population. But also there is a conflict between two groups – between the Luba and the Twa in the north of Katanga and [it’s] now turning into much more violence. Entire villages have been burned. People are being displaced and women have been raped,” she said.

The Mai Mai Bataka Katanga militia has been fighting the Congolese army. UNHCR says that conflict “reignited” in 2011 after the Mai Mai leader escaped from prison. The fighting between the Twa and Luba results from long standing⁵ tensions between the ethnic⁶ groups.

It’s happening in what’s called the Triangle of Death in northern Katanga. It consists of the three towns of Manono, Mitwaba and Pweto.

“Violence has been ongoing in this area. And the violence was so strong that the area has been called the Triangle of Death. Both conflicts are taking place in the Triangle of Death.”

Schmitt said that “sexual violence is a serious concern.”

“In the north of Katanga, our protection monitors for all our teams on the ground have recorded more than 1,500 cases of sexual violence since the beginning of this year. But we fear that many more cases remain unreported because we lack access to the area -- because of security reasons. But also because women are scared to report the rapes,” she said.

Few rape⁴ victims, she said, have access to health care or psycho-social support. When possible, rape survivors⁷ have been “referred” to UNHCR’s medical partners for treatment.

The U.N. agency and other aid groups are not able to reach many of those in need. Schmitt learned that first hand.

“I was myself in Katanga last week. I was in the triangle of Death to meet our partners there and to meet the victims. In order to go to some of the villages that have been burned we had to travel an entire day by road. Then we had to cross the Congo River. Then we had to take a speed boat. And after, more or less, six hours we finally arrived in the village,” she said.

One of the places she visited was the Mukondo site for the displaced. About 1,300 people live there. She said elders told her that 19 children have died there since March due to diarrhea, anemia⁸ and malaria⁹.

The lack of access to troubled areas is due in part to safety concerns for humanitarian workers, as well as a lack of funding for aid work.

UNHCR is calling for an “increased presence of Congolese authorities” in the area. The agency also is working with the group Search for Common Ground to end the conflict between the Luba and Twa. That includes participatory theater and mobile cinemas to get the communities together and discuss issues.

UNHCR also said MONUSCO – the U.N. peacekeeping mission – should “reinforce its presence to better protect Katanga’s civilian¹⁰ population and prevent further human rights violations¹¹.”

In all, there are more than two-and-a-half-million displaced people in the DRC – the majority in North and South Kivu Provinces. 

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 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。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 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

8 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

9 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。