2006年VOA标准英语-Haitian Elections Bring Back Long History

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, D.C.
08 February 2006
 
watch Avid¹ report

Throngs² of voters turned out for elections in Haiti, exactly two decades after the downfall of the Duvalier dictatorship and almost two years after populist president Jean Bertrand Aristide was forced out of office.  Tuesday's election took place in a country wracked by violence, political turmoil³, and poverty -- in which a United Nations peacekeeping force has been unable to completely restore order.

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People line up to vote in the Petionville suburb of Port-au-Prince   
  

Haitians have gone two years without a democratically-elected president -- ever since President Jean Bertrand Aristide was ousted⁴. 

 

 
Jean Bertrand Aristide
  

Mr. Aristide, a former priest who had a wide following among Haiti's poor, had been overthrown⁵ before in 1991 but was returned to power by U.S. troops in 1994.  He was elected again in 2000, but his rule was marred⁶ by corruption⁷ and violence -- and tension between his government and Haiti's minority elite⁸. Despite this, he remains⁹ popular among many poor Haitians -- and the leading candidate in Tuesday's vote, former President Rene Preval, is viewed as his protégé.  

 

 
Robert Maguire
  

However, Robert Maguire of Trinity University in Washington says Mr. Preval, who governed the country in the late 1990s, appears to have put some distance between himself and Mr. Aristide.

"There's no doubt that in the past Preval and Aristide were very, very close; in fact they were called ‘The Twins,’ said Mr. Maguire.  “And Preval was Aristide's prime minister in 1991 when Aristide was elected and stuck with him throughout.  But they are not twins anymore. I think Mr. Preval has distanced himself both personally and politically from Aristide." 

Former President Rene Preval  
  
According to reports, many voters believe if Mr. Preval is elected, he would allow the exiled former president to return.  But the Haitian ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, says this would be a mistake.

"If Aristide were to come back then I would expect the same cycle of violence and problems that he installed in Haiti over the past 15 years.  So it's up to the person who becomes president to know whether he is going to invite him," said the ambassador.

 
Ambassador Raymond Joseph 
  
Tuesday's vote is the latest chapter in Haiti's struggle to emerge from poverty and destitution¹⁰.  It is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, where life expectancy¹¹ is only about 50 years.

Haiti's interim¹² government, led by technocrat¹³ Gerard Latortue, has been faulted for its inability to improve conditions.  Also, the UN peacekeeping force led by Brazil that was deployed¹⁴ in 2004 has failed to stop rampant¹⁵ violence.

Ambassador Joseph says the situation would have been different if U.S. troops were on the ground now.

"I think the Haitians have more respect for American marines than they have for Brazilian soccer players,” said Mr. Joseph. “They love the Brazilian soccer players but they respect the marines, and if the marines had stayed a little longer perhaps we would not be in the mess we are today." 

Voters lined up by the thousands to vote in Haiti's presidential election  
  
But Haiti expert Maguire draws a different lesson from the events of the past few years.

"If Haiti is a weak state, which it no doubt is, in order for it to strengthen itself you've got to strengthen the institutions.  The dilemma¹⁶ being: what if you don't like the leader?  Well, if you don't try and find a way of working with the state and strengthening its institutions it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that this state is going to fail and is going to become chaotic¹⁷."

Despite the election, Haiti's future remains uncertain, as does the future role of the international community in the Caribbean nation.

1 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

2 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

6 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 destitution   

n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷

参考例句：

• The people lived in destitution. 民生凋敝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His drinking led him to a life of destitution. 酗酒导致他生活贫穷。 来自辞典例句

11 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

12 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

13 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

14 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

15 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

16 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

17 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。