UN Repatriates Liberian Refugees From Guinea

 

By Lisa Schlein

The U.N. refugee agency says its program to repatriate¹ thousands of Liberian refugees after many years of exile is gathering² momentum³. The UNHCR says a first group of nearly 200 Liberian refugees is expected to return home Saturday from neighboring Guinea.

Guinea is the largest country of asylum⁴ for Liberian refugees in West Africa. At the beginning of the year, the U.N. Refugee Agency says Guinea was sheltering nearly 150,000 Liberians who fled during the country's 14-year civil war.

Spokesman, Ron Redmond says since the end of the war, tens of thousands of refugees have chosen to return home to Liberia on their own. Unlike them, he says the 193 Liberian refugees returning home from Guinea Saturday are being assisted by the U.N. Refugee Agency.

"The returnees will be welcomed at the Liberian border town of Guecke by local authorities and UNHCR before continuing to a nearby transit⁵ center," said Ron Redmond. "There, they will get food, medical screening, a package of food for two months from WFP [World Food Program] and non-food items to help them start their new lives."

The U.N. Refugee Agency considers these returns a vote of confidence in Liberia's fledgling peace process. Since the repatriation⁶ program began on October 1, the agency has helped more than 500 refugees to return home from Sierra Leone and Ghana. The U.N. Refugee Agency says it expects the pace of returns to pick up in the months ahead of the elections scheduled in October 2005.

The repatriation program is to last three years. Mr. Redmond says an estimated 340,000 Liberian refugees scattered⁷ around West Africa are expected to go home by the end of 2007. He notes this is one of the agency's largest voluntary repatriation efforts in the region.

On another encouraging note, the UNHCR and International Organization for Migration⁸, or IOM, will start a program on Monday to help some 100,000 internally displaced people return to their villages of origin. They will go back to six of the 15 counties declared safe by Liberia's National Transitional Government.

IOM Spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy says the United Nations recently began a campaign to inform internally displaced people about the voluntary return program.

"These are early days, but for the moment the impression we are getting from those camps in the periphery⁹ of Monrovia is that there is an eagerness from the IDPs [internally displaced persons] to return to areas which have been declared safe," he said. "Now, the challenge today is probably to make sure that these returns are sustainable. Obviously, security is an issue. But, the challenge is to make sure that these returns are sustainable and that the returnees get enough assistance to help them through the first few months of their return."

Mr. Chauzy says the IDPs will be given a two-month supply of food, seeds for planting and necessary equipment, such as tarpaulins¹⁰, to provide shelter, blankets, sleeping mats and cooking sets.

Lisa Schlein for VOA News, Geneva.

注释：
repatriate 遣返
Liberian 利比里亚的
momentum 动力, 要素
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 联合国难民事务高级专员署
Guinea 几内亚
asylum 避难所
returnee 返回者
World Food Program 世界粮食计划署
Sierra Leone 塞拉利昂
Ghana 加纳
voluntary 自愿的，自发的
International Organization for Migration 国际移民组织
periphery 周边
Monrovia 蒙罗维亚，利比里亚首都
tarpaulin 防水油布

 

1 repatriate   

v.遣返；返回；n.被遣返回国者

参考例句：

• The government safely repatriates victims.政府安全遣返了受害者。
• In this part,you need to formulate in detail repatriate the plan.在这一部分，你需要制定详细的归国计划。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 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。

5 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。

6 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

9 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

10 tarpaulins   

n.防水帆布，防水帆布罩( tarpaulin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Main wood to aluminum and plexiglass, PC, tarpaulins, toughened glass. 主材以铝型材与进口有机玻璃、PC、防水布、钢化玻璃。 来自互联网
• That means providing tents or other materials, including plastic sheeting, tarpaulins and wood. 这意味着需要帐篷和其他物资，包括塑料布、放水油布和木材。 来自互联网