VOA常速英语2007-Peace Corps Returns to Ethiopia After Decade-Lon

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
12 October 2007

The U.S. Peace Corps¹ is returning to Ethiopia to resume work that was interrupted by war in 1998. VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports the Peace Corps program in Ethiopia has changed considerably² since it first opened more than 40 years ago, but its mission remains³ the same.

Stephen Johnson was among the first American Peace Corps volunteers in Ethiopia in the 1960s, shortly after the organization was founded by President John F. Kennedy.  He had just graduated from college, and was part of a group of teachers sent to help a country where formal education was rare.

"In those days there was no attempt to educate the masses," he said.  "It was an elitist system in which, what, one percent even went to school. That was a guess, but it was roughly that. And even those who started school in those days, only five percent finished and went on to the university."

Johnson recalls that the first wave of 700 Peace Corps teachers made up more than half of all secondary school teachers in Ethiopia. It was the biggest Peace Corps operation in the world at the time.

Now, nearly 40 years after his service ended, Johnson is back in Ethiopia as a businessman.  He expresses astonishment⁴ at the increase in education opportunities over those years.

"These days, from when I arrived in 1964, where there were 10 government high schools in the whole country, one figure I've heard is there's over 600 now," he added.

That Peace Corps teaching mission worked in Ethiopia until 1977, when it was withdrawn⁵ under the disastrous⁶ military regime led by Mengistu Haile Mariam. After Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in the mid-90s, the Peace Corps returned, only to be pulled out three years later when a border war erupted between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ironically, the latest return comes just as the simmering border dispute is threatening to boil over again. Stephen Johnson dismisses the talk of another possible war. He argues that the Peace Corps mission should go on anyway.

"The rumors⁷ about potential wars, they're always around," he noted⁸.  "I think this type of talk doesn't necessarily mean there's anything special going on right now."

The Peace Corps director for Ethiopia, Peter Parr, agrees. He says there are many good reasons why Ethiopia has invited the U.S. volunteer group back a third time.

"I certainly hope that those sorts of tensions that we saw earlier don't continue," he said.  "Ethiopia is on a political stabilization⁹ track and an economic growth track, so there is a lot of reason for the government and the representatives of government and the representatives of the international community to assist in the stabilization of the region."

Parr notes that this new group of volunteers is unlike previous Peace Corps missions in several ways. For one, the group is small. A total of 43 volunteers, who receive a small salary for their service, arrived this month for language and culture training in preparation for their mission. That is far fewer than the 700 who were here in the 1960s.

For another, the group is not made up of schoolteachers. They will go mostly to rural areas to help people understand the dangers of HIV/AIDS. But Parr says the mission is unchanged.

"The mission for Peace Corps still remains the same as when President Kennedy and Mr. [Sargent] Shriver initiated¹⁰ the Peace Corps," he added.  "Peace and friendship is the mission, and then there are the three goals of transfer of skills to other people, and communicating information about other people's values and culture, and taking that back to America and sharing it back home."

Stephen Johnson, from the the initial Peace Corps team in Ethiopia, says it is important for the Peace Corps to re-open here, despite the political turmoil¹¹ and the war that forced the shut down of the first two missions.

"I think you have to try," he explained.  "If there's any place in the world where the Peace Corps can be of value, Ethiopia is that place like that."

Johnson, one of 3,000 Americans who served in Ethiopia during the earlier missions, believes Peace Corps volunteers benefit as much as their hosts. He says, "every country, including the United States, has the need for people to give of themselves to help other people." He says the Peace Corps fulfills¹² that need.

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

3 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。

4 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

5 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

10 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

11 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。

12 fulfills   

v.履行（诺言等）( fulfill的第三人称单数 )；执行（命令等）；达到（目的）；使结束

参考例句：

• He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
• His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句