全世界卷入战争的儿童士兵达300万之多

17 全世界卷入战争的儿童士兵达300万之多

Child Soldiers Fight in Conflicts Worldwide
Challis McDonough
Johannesburg
13 Jun 2001 01:40 UTC

A new report says at least 300,000 children are currently fighting in wars in more than 40 countries around the world. Some of the children are as young as seven years old. The Coalition¹ to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers released the survey, urging countries to sign and 1)ratify a U.N. 2)treaty 3)barring the use of troops under 18 in 4)combat.
Ishmael Beah was 14 when he was 5)recruited by the Sierra Leone army. His parents had already been killed by rebels, and he says the army urged him to join to 6)avenge their deaths. The army offered food and 7)shelter. Ishmael did not want to be a soldier, but he did not have much choice, he says it was either join, or die.
A spokesman for the human rights group 8)Amnesty International reads a statement written by Ishmael, describing what it was like when he was sent to the front line.
When we got there, there was an ambush², the rebels were attacking where we were in the bush. I did not shoot my gun at first, but when you looked around and saw your schoolmates who were younger than you crying while they were dying and their blood spilling all over you, there was no option but to start pulling the 9)trigger. The sight stays with you. I was just pulling the trigger.
The government of Sierra Leone says it has stopped recruiting child soldiers, but rebel groups continue to 10)kidnap children and force them to fight. And according to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, children remain on the 11)front lines in 40 other countries.
The coalition says it is a global problem. More than one-third of the world's child soldiers live in Africa, but it is also a growing problem in Asia. European conflicts including those in the Balkans and the 12)Caucasus have also drawn³ children into battle. Two bright spots are the Middle East and Latin America, where the coalition says use of child soldiers has declined. Even so, the overall number of child soldiers throughout the world has remained steady.
The coalition also says one-half million children are at risk of being sent into battle if war breaks out in their countries. Some nations, including Angola and Afghanistan, have recruited children from peaceful neighboring countries to help fight their civil wars.
Coalition spokeswoman Judit Arenas⁴ says sending children to the front lines takes a heavy 13)toll on their physical and mental health.
"You know the physical exhaustion⁵ and the physical side of it, is a very, very heavy burden for a small body to actually bear," she said. "Even more, the 14)psychological 15)scars are worse. You have children who have been taken away from their families, who are missing their mothers their friends, their family, and children who are actually being forced to commit terrible 16)atrocities."
She says in some countries, such as Sierra Leone and Uganda, rebel groups have forced children to go back to their own villages and kill, maim⁶ or rape⁷ their own family members to ensure their 17)loyalty to the movement, because after that, they can never go home again.
The report says girls who are drafted into service are often used as sex slaves. Ms. Arenas says the rise of HIV and AIDS has 18)ominous implications for them.
"A lot of the girls who are being 19)abducted, and being forced to fight with, for instance, the Lord's Resistance Army [in Uganda] are being used as sex slaves with no protection," she said. "Many of them have actually returned with AIDS, they know of their 20)commanders who have been their partners who have actually had AIDS. And the worst thing is, we are now seeing second generation child solders⁸, children who have actually been born to these girls in 21)captivity, who have never known anything 22)resembling a normal life, but who also have the HIV virus."
Another concern for the 23)coalition is what the use of child soldiers means for other children. Ms. Arenas says whenever any children are used in combat, all children in that area become possible 24)targets.
"Unfortunately, in many of these 25)conflict zones, it is now so common to have units made up specifically of children, that no child's life is safe," she said. "They are considered an object of war, and they are considered a very, very valid⁹ target by the opposition¹⁰."
The report states that the use of child soldiers is not limited to the developing world. Both the United States and Britain recruit 17-year-olds into their armed forces, with parental¹¹ consent.
The group does not argue that they need to stop recruiting, but it does demand that U.S. and British armed forces keep those young people out of combat. Right now, they say, that is not the 26)case. There are teenagers currently serving as U.S. and British peacekeepers in the Balkans - putting them at risk of death before they are old enough to vote.

(1) ratify[5rAtIfaI]vt.批准, 认可
(2) treaty[5tri:tI]n.条约, 谈判
(3) bar[bB:(r)]vt.禁止, 阻挡, 妨碍
(4) combat[5kCmbAt]n.战斗, 格斗v.战斗, 搏斗, 抗击
(5) recruit[rI5kru:t]n.新兵vt.补充, 征募vi.征募新兵, 复原
(6) avenge[E5vendV]vt.为...报复, 报仇
(7) shelter[5FeltE(r)]n.掩蔽处, 保护, 掩体v.掩蔽, 躲避
(8) amnesty[5AmnIstI]n.(尤指对反政府政治犯的)特赦
(9) trigger[5trI^E(r)]vt.引发, 引起, 触发n.板机
(10) kidnap[5kIdnAp]vt.诱拐(小孩), 绑架, 勒赎
(11) front lines n.前线
(12) Caucasus[ `kR:kEsEs ]n.高加索山脉, 高加索
(13) toll[tEJl, tRl]n.代价, 钟声
(14) psychological[saIkE5lRdVIk(E)l; (?@) sI-]adj.心理(上)的
(15) scar[skB:(r)]n.伤痕,疤痕v.结疤,创伤
(16) atrocity[E5trRsItI]n.残暴, 暴行, 凶恶
(17) loyalty[5lCIEltI]n.忠诚, 忠心
(18) ominous[5RmInEs]adj.预兆的, 恶兆的
(19) abduct[ Ab5dQkt]vt.诱拐, 绑架
(20) commander[kE5mB:ndE(r)]n.司令官, 指挥官
(21) captivity[kAp5tIvItI]n.囚禁, 被关
(22) resemble[rI5zemb(E)l]vt.象, 类似
(23) coalition[kEJE5lIF(E)n]n.合并, 接合, 联合
(24) target[5tB:^It]n.目标, 对象, 靶子
(25) conflict[5kRnflIkt]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突
(26) case[keIs]n.事, 病例, 案例, 情形

 

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

5 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

6 maim   

v.使残废，使不能工作，使伤残

参考例句：

• Automobile accidents maim many people each year. 汽车车祸每年使许多人残废。
• These people kill and maim innocent civilians.这些人杀死和残害无辜平民。

7 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。

8 solders   

n.焊料，焊锡( solder的名词复数 )v.（使）焊接，焊合( solder的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We fused the pipes with solders. 我们用焊锡熔接管子。 来自辞典例句
• Solders ate a great number of potatoes during World War II. 第二次世界大战期间的士兵吃了很多的土豆。 来自互联网

9 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。