2007年VOA标准英语-Dozens Meet Violent Death Crossing Gulf Of Aden

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
14 September 2007

The UN refugee agency reports at least 56 people have died violently in the past few days while trying to make the perilous¹ crossing from Somalia to Yemen. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva that the agency says these people met their death while crossing the Gulf² of Aden in smugglers' boats. 

The latest tragedies occurred some 10 days after the resumption of smuggling³ across the Gulf of Aden.  The trafficking of humans across the strait stops between May and early September because the sea is too rough and stormy.

Since the smuggling season resumed on September 3, the UN refugee agency has recorded the arrival of 12 boats in Yemen carrying 925 Somalis, Ethiopians and others.

The agency says one smuggler's boat that failed to reach Yemen encountered problems about 100 kilometers west of Bosaso in Somalia's Puntland region.

UN refugee spokesman, Ron Redmond, says the agency received reports Thursday that at least 100 Somalis aboard the vessel⁴ made it back to shore in Somalia after being adrift for six days.

Ron Redmond (file photo)

"Many of them had been beaten, and some were reportedly doused⁵ with acid by the smugglers," he said.  "The bodies of those who did not survive the six-day ordeal⁶ were reportedly thrown overboard.  We do not have the numbers of those who died in that incident.  The most recent arrivals in Yemen told us that they were beaten by smugglers during the trip and that 24 people on their boat had died, three as a result of beatings; 11 who had been crammed⁷ into the hold of the boat; and 10 who drowned in deep waters offshore⁸." 

Redmond says some refugees reported that once they reached Yemen, they came under fire from military forces based in the Yemeni region of Jalbad.  Redmond says one Ethiopian was wounded and transferred to a medical facility by the UNHCR.

He says most of the passengers are from volatile⁹ areas in Somalia and the increasingly unstable¹⁰ Ogaden zone of Ethiopia.  He says they paid between $70 and $150 to make the dangerous crossing.

He says the UNHCR and other aid agencies have been running information campaigns aimed at warning people of the risks they face in using smugglers.

"We have had instances where people have decided¹¹ not to go.  But, the vast majority still think it is worth the risk, because they are coming from areas of persecution¹², conflict violence, ethnic¹³ strain and economic hardship," he added.  "And, so convincing people like that who think they have nothing left to lose is very, very difficult." 

The UNHCR reports so far this year, more than 10,000 people have arrived in Yemen in 103 boats.  It says a total of 282 people died while 159 remain missing and presumed dead.

1 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。

2 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。

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 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 doused   

v.浇水在…上( douse的过去式和过去分词 )；熄灯[火]

参考例句：

• The car was doused in petrol and set alight. 这辆汽车被浇上汽油点燃了。
• He doused the lamp,and we made our way back to the house. 他把灯熄掉，我们就回到屋子里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

7 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

8 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

9 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

10 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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。

13 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。