2007年VOA标准英语-UN: More Than 100 Drowned in Smuggling Incident

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
16 February 2007

The U.N. refugee agency has raised to 107 the number of people who died trying to reach Yemen earlier this week. Their bodies have been found along a remote stretch of the Yemen coastline. Several people are still missing. The UNHCR says the deaths occurred in an incident involving two smugglers' boats that were crossing the Gulf¹ of Aden from Somalia toward Yemen Monday. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

The U.N. refugee agency describes the smugglers as a ruthless lot. When the first boat capsized, it says smugglers on the second one rescued the smugglers from the first boat, forcing 120 passengers into the sea. They then headed back out into the Gulf of Aden, leaving 240 people in the high seas.

Survivors² say the people were in the water for several hours before the Yemen military came to their rescue.

 
Ron Redmond (file photo)
UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond says the military was unable to save more than 100 of the passengers. He says people smuggling³ in the area is now very common.

"Over the last month, UNHCR has recorded the arrival of 1,000, 776 Somalis and Ethiopians on 20 boats," he said. "With the latest casualties, at least 136 have died over the last month making the hazardous⁴ journey and many are still missing."

"The Somalis said they fled their homes during and following the end of recent hostilities⁵ between government forces and the Islamic Courts Union. Many said they were exposed to gunfire by militias⁶ in Somalia and had their money and belongings⁷ stolen at checkpoints manned by the same militia," he added.

 
An undated picture shows Yemeni coast guards checking a small boat with refugees arriving from Somalia to the Yemeni port city Aden
Last year, Yemen reports some 27,000 people made the perilous⁸ voyage, with 330 deaths and another 300 still missing.

Redmond says Somalis who survive and make it ashore⁹ are automatically recognized as refugees and are allowed to stay in Yemen.

He said, "They can either go to the reception center and camp that UNHCR has constructed there or some of them are living on the local economy. Others are eligible¹⁰ for individual status determination."

"Many of the Somalis as well as the other nationalities who take this voyage, however, never come to UNHCR and they move on elsewhere in Yemen or further afield in the Middle East," he continued.

Every year, the UNHCR says thousands of people cross the Gulf of Aden, the Mediterranean¹¹ and other waters, fleeing persecution¹² in their own countries or searching for a better life.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

4 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

5 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

8 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

9 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

12 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。