VOA常速英语2007年-Humanitarian Crisis in DRC Worsens

By Selah Hennessy
Goma, DRC
19 December 2007

The international medical organization Doctors Without Borders says the humanitarian¹ situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is rapidly deteriorating². An armed conflict in the east of the country has recently intensified³, forcing hundreds of thousands of Congolese to flee their homes. Many are now suffering from severe malnutrition⁴ and disease. Selah Hennessy brings this report for VOA from the regional capital Goma.

Hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Congo have been forced to flee their homes in recent months because of an ongoing⁵ conflict between the army and rebel forces.

In the past, local communities have provided food and shelter for displaced civilians⁶.

But in recent weeks the conflict has intensified, and the number of displaced people has sky-rocketed, far exceeding the capacity of local communities to host them.

Fighting has also forced aid organizations to suspend activities in large parts of the region.

This means that thousands of people living in displacement⁷ camps are without food and health care.

Doctors Without Borders spokesman Francois Dumont says the situation is alarming.

"There are many other areas where thousands of people are now displaced where we cannot go because of security reasons because of the fighting, and that means that these people are out of reach and we are deeply concerned about these people," he said.

Dumont says major problems are malnutrition and, in some places, cholera⁸.

Cholera, a bacterial⁹ disease, is normally transmitted through dirty water.

In the northeastern region Ritshuru, the population has doubled in the last month because of displacement. Dumont says during that time, more than 1,000 people have been treated for cholera.

"This malnutrition and these outbreaks, like cholera in Ritshuru, are directly linked to the vulnerability of the people and the new displacement of population. Because when, for example in Rishuru, the city has more than doubled in the last month that means there is less quantity of water per person, there is less good hygiene¹⁰ conditions within the displaced population; that means that diseases like cholera are developing," said Dumont.

Cholera, if not treated, is fatal in 50 percent of the cases.

The United Nations High Commissioner¹¹ for Refugees toured the eastern DRC last week.

He called for an end to fighting in the region and pledged to improve living standards for the hundreds of thousands civilians living in displaced persons camps.

 

1 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。

2 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

3 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

5 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。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

8 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

9 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

10 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

11 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。