东帝汶不能够接受400名难民

 

 

UN Chief in East Timor: No to Asylum¹ Seekers

Patricia Nunan

Dili, East Timor

31 Aug 2001 

 

The head of the U.N. mission in East Timor says there is no possibility of East Timor accepting a ship carrying more than 400 1)asylum seekers, mostly from Afghanistan. The group has been stuck on a ship off Australia for the past five days.

The U.N. chief in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, says he discussed the option of accepting asylum seekers with top U.N. officials, East Timorese leaders and Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer. "I have been informed by Minister Downer that the East Timor option, which was being looked at among others, will not be pursued," he says.

About 460 asylum seekers, most of them from Afghanistan, have been stranded² aboard a ship off Australia's remote Christmas Island. The ship, a Norwegian freighter, had 2)rescued the asylum seekers from an Indonesia boat that was sinking. It is believed the group had intended to enter Australia without visas. But Australia did not allow the 3)freighter to 4)dock at Christmas Island.

Christmas Island is 2,400 kilometers northwest of the Australian mainland. Indonesia and Christmas Island are both frequently used transit³ points for people seeking to enter Australia 5)illegally.

Mr. de Mello says the United Nations in East Timor would have gladly played a role in offering 6)shelter to the asylum seekers, if asked. But he says he is relieved the group will not be arriving in East Timor. "We have enough problems of our own," he says. "I wouldn't have wanted to be stuck here with a group of people that no one else would accept and who 7)presumably would feel 8)frustrated after a while. I don't need that right now."

East Timor is currently being administered by the United Nations as it prepares for independence early next year. Votes are now being counted after East Timor held its first free election on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, East Timor's acting⁴ foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said the fledgling country would consider giving 9)temporary shelter to the asylum seekers. "And we concur⁵, the East Timorese side, that if richer countries in the region cannot 10)resolve this problem, we Timorese can not also 11)turn our back on refugees on the high seas," he says. "And we say, 12)in spite of our 13)poverty, we offer our country as a place of asylum and temporary shelter until a third country is found for them."

The United Nations, Australia, Norway and other countries are still discussing where the asylum seekers will be allowed to land. The government of New Zealand has said it would consider accepting some of the group.

 

 

(1)      asylum[E5saIlEm]n.庇护, 收容所, 救济院, 精神病院

(2)      rescue[5reskju:]vt.援救, 营救n.援救, 营救

(3)      freighter[5freItE(r)]n.货船

(4)      dock[dRk]n.<美> 码头, 船坞vt.靠码头, 引入坞vi.入船坞

(5)      illegally adv.不法地

(6)      shelter[5FeltE(r)]n.掩蔽处, 身避处, 掩蔽, 保护, 庇护所v.掩蔽, 躲避

(7)      presumably[prI5zju:mEbElI]adv.推测起来, 大概

(8)      frustrated[frQ`streItId,`frQ-]adj.失败的, 落空的

(9)      temporary[5tempErErI; (?@) -pErerI]adj.暂时的, 临时的, 临时性

(10)      resolve[rI5zRlv]n.决心v.决心, 决定,溶解, 解决vt.解决

(11)      turn one's back on v.背弃, 抛弃

(12)    in spite of adv.不管

(13)      poverty[5pRvEtI]n.贫穷, 贫困, 贫乏, 缺少

 

 

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 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。

3 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 concur   

v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生

参考例句：

• Wealth and happiness do not always concur.财富与幸福并非总是并存的。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done.我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。