VOA标准英语2008年-Chaos in Somalia Leads to Tragedy in Gulf of Ad

UNHCR reports at least 52 Somalis died when the boat smuggling¹ them across the Gulf² of Aden to Yemen broke down, leaving them adrift with no food or water for 18 days. The UNHCR says this latest tragedy coincides with a recent upsurge in people smuggling across the Gulf of Aden. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

According to the U.N. refugee agency, survivors³ say the boat left Marera on the Somali coast with at least 124 passengers on September 3 and the engine stopped several hours into the voyage.

The survivors report knife-wielding smugglers told passengers they would travel to the Somali city of Bossaso in a smaller boat to re-charge a battery and then return. UNHCR spokesman, Ron Redmond, says the smugglers abandoned them.

"And, the passengers were left to drift for 18 days without food or water. During the voyage, 38 men and 10 women died. The survivors said their bodies were thrown overboard in the Gulf of Aden," Redmond added. "When they finally did reach the coast, three of the survivors jumped into the water off shore to swim to the beach to alert authorities that the boat was out there. One of those who jumped overboard did not make it, is missing and feared drowned."

The UNHCR reports a sharp increase in the number of people being smuggled⁴ across the Gulf of Aden. It says more than 31,000 have arrived in Yemen so far this year.

That includes more than 21,000 Somalis and nearly 10,000 Ethiopians. The UNHCR says around 230 people have died while making the perilous⁵ voyage and more than 260 are missing.

Redmond tells VOA the brutality⁶ of the smugglers is well known as are the dangers of voyaging on rickety, overcrowded vessels⁷. Nevertheless, he says the situation in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, is so bad they are willing to risk their lives to escape.

"A lot of the Somalis who reach Yemen tell us that they have nothing left to lose," he said. "That they see no hope for the future, that the conflict in Somalia has gone on for so long that they see no future for themselves and they see no future for their children. So, they take this enormous risk and many of them have died. Hundreds and hundreds have died and many hundreds are also missing."

Redmond admits there is a limit to what the international community can do to stop this deadly traffic. Until there is a political solution to the nearly two-decade-old conflict in Somalia, he says these tragedies will continue.

1 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。

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 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

4 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》