VOA标准英语2008年-Darfurian Refugees in CAR Receive Welcome in Vi

A group of Darfurian refugees who recently fled the war in Sudan have gathered across the border in the northern Central African Republic. But rather than living in a displacement¹ camp as is usually the case for refugees, they live on their own, in a small neighborhood, on the outskirts² of the town of Birao. Humanitarian³ workers say they prefer it this way. But the refugees are not so sure. VOA's Nico Colombant reports in this the fourth part on neglect and challenges in the mostly lawless Central African Republic.

Darfurian boys chop wood under midday sun near their neighborhood of straw huts on the outer edges of Birao.

Men return from nearby fields, with radios broadcasting news from Sudan cradled to their ears, while women and their daughters pound maize⁴ and prepare food.
　
Darfurian infants and mothers seem happy in their neighborhood

Nearby, infants are giggling⁵.

Life seems quiet here, but just half a year ago, the refugees say they were running for their lives.

Oumar Abdulahi explains how after a nearby village to his own was burned down, everyone from his village had to flee. He says the Janjaweed militia⁶ in Darfur attack all people with black skin, suspecting they are rebels.

He says it became too dangerous to go to their fields to grow crops, so the entire village of about 300 people has relocated here. They came on their own by foot.

Toby Lanzer, who recently ended his assignment as the United Nations humanitarian coordinator⁷ in the Central African Republic, says even though there are several-hundred-thousand displaced people and refugees in the country from Chad, Sudan as well as the CARitself, it has been a strategy not to establish many camps.

"It would be comfortable, let us say, from a logistics standpoint to have people in camps, but in no way is that something that we strive to achieve," Lanzer said. "We have two areas in the country which are camp-like. One with about 3,000 people who have come in from Darfur and another one in north-central areas of the country which now has 6,000 people in it, so it is camp-like."

Lanzer says camps can sometimes create problems rather than solving them.

"In general, most of our aid operation is managing to reach people who are in smaller communities, or in the bush quite close to their homes and this is something which enables them to have a semblance⁸ of normality about their life and that is something we really want to sustain until they choose to go home," Lanzer said.
　
Darfurian village chief works on straw mat

For the group in Birao, that is not going to happen anytime soon, according to their leader, Issouf Abdalah Adou Suleiman.

He says only when the war is really over, and all the refugees from Chad and Central African Republic return, will he even start thinking of taking the people from his village back as well.

But he says, life is less than idyllic⁹ in Birao. There is very little aid from the humanitarians¹⁰, he complains, and food is lacking.

Suleiman makes straw mats which he sells to French peacekeeping forces from the EUFOR contingent¹¹, helping¹² secure the border region with Sudan.

The French peacekeepers have their base nearby, which has helped make Birao and the refugees safe. The town itself was attacked and ravaged¹³ by Central African rebels in 2007, as part of another of the region's many conflicts which has yet to be resolved.

The self-appointed mayor here, Amed Moustapha, says Darfurian refugees are welcome in Birao, but that he is not sure many more could come because life is very difficult for them, and they do not get much food aid.

He says with prices so high in the local market, it is almost impossible for the refugees to manage two meals a day on their own, with what they earn or grow themselves.
　
Children at the camp rehearse the Koran

In their neighborhood, as the sun sets on another quiet day, some of the refugee children self-teach themselves verses of the Koran. That is basically the only education they are getting right now.

Other girls sweep in front of their huts or draw water.

Humanitarian health workers say the refugees are healthy. Aid workers stress they treat the refugees like any other residents of Birao not to make any group jealous, but they do seem to get some preferential treatment, like more frequent visits from French peacekeepers to buy things or give them military rations¹⁴ and plastic sheeting from the International Committee of the Red Cross to protect their huts from the frequent downpours in the rainy season.

1 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。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 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。

4 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

5 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

9 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

10 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

11 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

14 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。