VOA常速英语2007-Marchers Walk for Northern Uganda Peace

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
20 October 2007

Young people took to the streets of nearly 100 cities in 15 countries on Saturday to raise awareness¹ about the humanitarian² suffering in northern Uganda, where two decades of conflict have taken a severe toll³. VOA's Margaret Besheer was at Saturday's march in Washington.

About 100 secondary school and university students marched down Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue towards the White House in orange t-shirts emblazoned with "GuluWalk."

They were trying to highlight the cause of thousands of young people who live in northern Uganda and have been victims of the decades-long armed conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government.

"Gulu" refers to Gulu town where thousands of children try to take refuge each night to avoid murder and kidnapping at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army. The unlucky children who are captured are forced to become child soldiers, while young girls are forced into sexual servitude.

Supporter John Prendergast says the walk is one way for American youth to show solidarity⁴ with their counterparts half a world away and also let U.S. policymakers know it is an important issue. "We have got to generate some political will here in Washington and throughout the United States for engagement in the peace process. One of the ways to do it is, as you can see, is to get young people engaged and by doing things," he said.

Meghan Ryan, a 21 year- old university student, spent last summer at a northern Uganda camp where she helped women become more financially self-reliant. She says she had the opportunity to see the situation up-close and that has motivated her to press for more U.S. government action. "I spent time with some heads of the communities and heads of the camps talking about how they are going to transition if peace finally occurs. That's going to be a big process, which is why we really need the U.S. government to step up and take a larger role and provide more support to northern Uganda," she said.

Michael Poffenberger of the organization Resolve Uganda says participants are also raising money through the march. Seventy-five percent of donations will go to programs to help children directly affected⁵ by the crisis and the rest to international advocacy and education programs.

Poffenberger says the recent appointment of a U.S. State Department advisor⁶ for conflict resolution who is focusing on northern Uganda was a great first step, but the U.S. needs to do more to help ongoing⁷ peace negotiations⁸ succeed. "The key thing the U.S. government can do for northern Uganda is to make sure the support for the ongoing peace negotiations is sustained. That there is nothing that can stop these negotiations from succeeding if we just make sure that all the parties stay committed to the talks and there is no discussion of resumption of violence in the region unless the process totally collapses," he said.

This is the third year the GuluWalk has taken place in Washington. Last year, participants helped raise over $500,000 for children's programs in northern Uganda.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。