VOA标准英语2015--Yemenis in Egypt Demand Passage Home

Yemenis in Egypt Demand Passage Home

CAIRO—

More than 100 Yemenis protested outside their country's embassy in Cairo Tuesday, clamoring for help getting home. Inside Yemen, however, many families are trying to escape as the death toll¹ climbs daily from ongoing² fighting.

Protester say they came to Cairo to see a doctor a few weeks ago, before Saudi Arabia began airstrikes in Yemen. Now, they are stuck in Egypt because of a war between militants³ and Saudi Arabia that has nothing to do with the people, they say.

Gamila Salah, who is from the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, sits on the sidewalk outside the embassy. She says her family came here for medical treatment, but now they have run out of money and are living on the streets.

Protesters say they have been told there are no planes going to Yemen because the airports have been bombed. Many don’t believe this.

Ali Ali Mohammad, a Yemeni civil servant, blames all of the warring parties, saying they are fighting for personal power.

The United Nations said Tuesday that at least 540 people have been killed and 1,700 people injured in Yemen in the past three weeks.

"Seventy-four children are known to have been killed and 44 children maimed so far, since the fighting began on 26 March," said Christophe Boulierac, speaking for the U.N. Children's agency. "But, we say, we are aware that these are conservative figures and we believe that the total number of children killed is much higher."

Inside Yemen, some families are clamoring to get out as supplies of food, fuel, clean water and medicine dwindle⁴, in some places almost to nothing.

Summer Nasser is an activist⁵ and a journalist in Yemen. Less than a week ago, she and her family left Yemen’s second city, Aden, which is now the heart of the battle.

“Obviously water has been cut for the past four days, from what I know, electricity as well in most parts of Aden. Mostly though, a lot of people are concerned about medical supplies," Nasser said. "There are a lot of [unfortunate] killings⁶ and injured and we can’t get medical supplies from within the country because of the street wars, and from outside because of the blockades."

The Red Cross says it is trying to get two planes full of medical supplies to Yemen in the next two days.

Backed by Iran, Houthi militants control much of Yemen’s north and began launching strikes in the southern port city, Aden, last month.

Saudi Arabia - loosely allied⁷ with the scattered⁸, largely defunct⁹, government - has been pounding Yemen with airstrikes for nearly two weeks. Yemeni people complain they are caught up in a proxy¹⁰ war between Iran and Saudi Arabia that has nothing to do with them.

Protesters say with no real government to protect them outside the country, they may be safer at home with their families.

Mohammad Sulaiman, who was at the Cairo protest in a wheelchair, pleaded for rescue, as he looked into the camera and called on all of humanity to deliver stranded¹¹ Yemenis to their homes.

If the world can’t help them survive, he says, at least the world can help them die at home.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

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 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 dwindle   

v.逐渐变小（或减少）

参考例句：

• The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.工厂雇员总数已经从4,000多人减少到几百人。
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority.他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

7 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

8 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

9 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

10 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

11 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。