2006年VOA标准英语-UN Warns Sudanese Refugees in Chad Have No

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
16 April 2006
 
The UN refugee agency warns some 200,000 Sudanese refugees who fled to Chad from Darfur would have nowhere to go were they to be expelled from the country. A UNHCR spokeswoman tells VOA, the agency has heard nothing official from the authorities in Chad about possible expulsions.

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UNHCR spokeswoman, Jennifer Pagonis, says she does not want to speculate about what would happen to the refugees were they to be expelled.

"Obviously, they cannot go to Darfur," she said. "The situation there is not suitable for the return of refugees there. They still fear persecution¹. The situation in Darfur is not good. Even our own activities in the region have been curtailed² because of the security situation. So, they cannot go back to Darfur. We certainly hope that we can continue working with the Chadian government."

On Friday, Chad's president threatened to expel the Sudanese refugees by the end of June, unless the international community took steps to stop, what he called, Sudan's efforts to undermine his government. The government issued this warning in the aftermath of a failed coup³ attempt by rebels who, Chad claims, are supported by the Sudanese government.

Since war between Sudanese-backed militia⁴ and rebel groups broke out in Darfur three years ago, tens of thousands of people have been killed and about two million made homeless. An estimated 200,000 fled to neighboring Chad seeking asylum⁵.

Pagonis tells VOA the UNHCR has been working very closely with the Chadian government since the beginning of the influx⁶ of refugees from Darfur in 2003. She hopes the cooperation between them can continue.

"We have good contacts with the government. We talk to them regularly and we will certainly be talking to them now about this. You know Chad has had a very large burden in dealing⁷ with these 200,000 refugees," reminded Pagonis. "They are in an extremely difficult, hostile area, part of the country, in terms of the physical terrain⁸. And, it certainly has not been easy for them. That is why the UNHCR has been there helping⁹ them cope with this. So far, we have managed under pretty difficult circumstances. So, we think that we can at least try to continue that."

Pagonis says there are only about 12 resettlement countries in the world. She says it is unlikely that other countries would be willing to take 200,000 refugees. She says she does not believe a solution lies in that direction, nor does it lie in sending them home.

She says the refugees from Darfur have suffered enormously and it would be unthinkable for them to be put through another horrendous¹⁰ situation. She urges all parties to respect the refugees and to respect their right to asylum.

1 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

2 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 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。

6 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 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。

10 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。