VOA新闻杂志2022--救援人员在寒冷的天气里赶忙帮助阿富汗人

Aid Workers Rush to Help Afghans in Freezing Weather

The United Nations is trying to help hundreds of thousands of people in critical need of food and other aid this year in Afghanistan. Severe winter weather in the country is adding to a growing economic crisis under Taliban leadership.

Gulnaz is one of the many suffering Afghans. The 28-year-old sits on the rocky ground along a busy road in the eastern part of the country. She asks for help from strangers.

She is not alone. In her arms, she holds close her 18-month-old son. A blanket and small fire is all they have to stay warm. She is also joined by her sister Khalida.

Sometimes a driver will stop and give her some money. She waits all day along the 70 kilometer road between Kabul and Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province.

Gulnaz says she has gotten close to three dollars in a day before, but the usual total is far lower.

Afghanistan was already struggling when the Taliban overthrew¹ the government in August. International agencies suspended billions of dollars worth of aid programs to the country over concerns that the extremist government would misuse² it. The U.N. says more than a half-million people have lost their jobs since the takeover.

It is estimated that about 90 percent of Afghanistan's 38 million people are dependent on aid. The U.N. says nearly 3 million there are displaced in their own country, driven from their homes by war, hunger and severe weather.

In 2020 alone, 700,000 Afghans became displaced, many living in public places like parks.

The spokeswoman for the World Food Program (WFP) in Afghanistan, called the problem "dire³." Shelley Thakral said the U.N. agency will need $2.6 billion to help the people of Afghanistan this year. She called the WFP effort in Afghanistan "a race against time."

The United Nations recently asked for $5 billion to help Afghanistan.

Gulnaz had lived in Kunduz with her husband, a shoemaker. But his business did not survive the warring and takeover by the Taliban. So, Gulnaz moved to Logar.

She said there is no way to heat her home and she and her sister end up in the same place each day waiting for drivers to stop and give them money.

In Pul-e-Alam, temperatures in January and February can drop to lows of minus-6 degrees Celsius⁴. Still, thousands of people wait in the cold to collect WFP flour, oil, salt and beans.

The World Food Program searched for the neediest people in the city and gave them food vouchers⁶. However, the system broke down when others heard of the food giveaway and came without the papers. They started fights and security forces had to get involved to keep order.

Hussain Andisha of the WFP said the group gave food to 500 families per day during one week in January. He said people are "desperate."

As he talked with reporters, four women came by asking for food. One said her husband is a drug addict⁷.

"I don't know where he is. I have no food for my children. Please I need something," the woman said.

The U.N. says drug dependence⁸ is a growing problem in Afghanistan. The nation produces more than 3 million kilograms of the powerful drug opium⁹ each year. The U.N. says it estimates about one million of the 38-million Afghans are addicted¹⁰ to drugs.

The women all said their families have no money. Another woman said her husband earns only $1 per day on the days he can find work.

Andisha said the situation is getting worse in Pul-e-Alam even as the WFP gives food to thousands of families per month.

He said people have no jobs and women are no longer permitted to work now that the Taliban is back in power.

Andisha did say, however, that the Taliban is helping¹¹ with security at places where the WFP is giving out food.

Thakral, the agency spokesperson, said anyone who gives money to the food program should remember that the organization is separate from the government and the people get the aid directly.

"People come first," she said, "and that's important to remember in this humanitarian¹² crisis."

Words in This Story

dire– adj. very bad, or causing great fear or worry

desperate – adj. very sad or upset; a feeling of having little hope

voucher⁵ – n. a document that gives you the right to get something without paying for it

addict – n. a person who is not able to stop using drugs

1 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

2 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

5 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

6 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

7 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

8 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

9 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

10 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 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。