VOA标准英语2010年-Islamic Group Raises $850 Million for

Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, is right seen as he co chairs the opening of the International donor¹ conference for the development and the construction of Darfur in Cairo, Egypt, 21 Mar² 2010

An Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) donor meeting has raised $850 million in pledges for Darfur reconstruction³.  The projects are aimed resettling 2.7 million displaced people.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting in Cairo is the start of a projected $2 billion effort to finance better infrastructure⁴ in the war-torn Sudanese region.

Darfur's conflict is not over, but the conference comes at an opportune⁵ time.  In recent weeks, two main rebel groups have signed cease-fire agreements with the Sudanese government.  Qatari-mediated talks have also produced general framework agreements to reach a lasting⁶ peace.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told the 57 Islamic Conference states, as well as dozens of other countries and aid agencies, that such political efforts must be joined by developmental strategies.

Moussa says the combined approach helps guarantee settling conflicts, especially ones with poverty among its sources.  Darfur rebels rose up against the central government in 2003 after years of perceived marginalization.

The OIC undertaking⁷ is ambitious, it involves not just rebuilding, but in many cases building for the first time the infrastructure that could make Darfur self-sustaining.  In many areas, villages were burned by Janjaweed militia⁸, the government-backed, mainly Arab forces that pushed many Black African farmers from their land. 

Roads are often just tracks through the desert.  Schooling⁹, outside refugee camps, is virtually nonexistant.  Even such simple tasks as collecting rainwater have been nearly impossible given the poverty and devastation¹⁰.

Special African Union-United Nations Envoy¹¹ to Darfur Ibrahim Gambari says rebuilding will help more than just the people of Darfur.

"Darfur also provides the unique opportunity for donors¹² and development program managers to deal with some of the most pressing global issues - like globalization, desertification, water management and climate change - in a holistic¹³ way and manner," he said.

As the countries made their pledges, some noted¹⁴ how much they have given.  The United States, for example said it has granted Sudan $6 billion in the past five years.

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, representing the African Union, noted Sudan faces presidential elections next month and a referendum on Southern Sudan's independence next year.

"We cannot fail to assist Sudan during her hour of need," he said.  "This is because such failure, if it were allowed to occur, would have serious negative consequences for generations to come."

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country, along with Egypt, chaired the conference, tried to argue why the stability of the Muslim region and Sudan has implications beyond their borders.

"It is a bridge between races, cultures and religions of the continent," he explained.  "The instability of this country negatively affects the whole of Africa as well as its wider region.  Whereas Sudan's stability translates into regional peace, harmony and prosperity for which we are ultimately gathered here today."

But the help the conference hopes to provide may not help resolve the racial and cultural mix in Darfur.  Many of the new projects are not near the refugees' original homes.  Some of the displaced are now refusing to go, arguing it will only help the Janjaweed achieve its goal of displacing them.
 

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 opportune   

adj.合适的，适当的

参考例句：

• Her arrival was very opportune.她来得非常及时。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

8 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。

9 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

10 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。