VOA标准英语2010-Aid Groups Advocate Solution to Decades-O

Aid Groups Advocate Solution to Decades-Old Warehousing of Refugees

Laurel Bowman | Washington 07 April 2010

Worldwide, large numbers people have crossed borders, becoming refugees

More than 10 million people worldwide have crossed borders, becoming refugees.  Of these, aid groups say a large percentage are denied legal rights and are confined to camps for decades.  It's called the "warehousing" of refugees, and they say it should stop. But solutions to protracted¹ displacement² aren't simple.    

Former inhabitants of Western Sahara were once proud nomads³. Now they are welcoming a third generation into refugee camps in neighboring Algeria.

They fled their homeland during a conflict between Morocco and rebels from the Polisario Front.

Aid activists⁴ claim the refugees are being denied Algerian citizenship⁵ and safe passage back to their homeland, now under Moroccan control.

"These refugees are unable to work, unable to support their families, unable to continue their studies, establish a home, move about freely, or pursue any sort of normal life," said Lavinia Limon, President of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

Advocates for refugees say the Sahrawi are not alone. Thailand has hosted refugees for decades and now shelters more than one hundred thousand from Burma, and more from Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh.  It's a large number for a small country and, periodically, the Thai government re-patriates them.

"I am begging the Thai government and the United Nations, please do not send us back," Yeng Sae-Lo Lao, a Hmong refugee said.

 

In Kenya, nearly 300,000 Somalis live in the Dadaab refugee camp, having fled decades of conflict. Malaria⁶ is endemic and malnutrition⁷ is rampant⁸. 

And more than 100,000 Bhutanese have found refuge in Nepal after being expelled from Bhutan in the early 1990s. They say camp life is grim.

"By having a generation or generations grow up in a camp setting, there's an enormous loss of human potential," Bob Carey said.

Carey is Vice⁹ President of Migration¹⁰ and Resettlement for the International Rescue Committee. He's no fan of warehousing.

"I think the world in essence has become too comfortable with that solution," he said.

Refugees do have rights granted by the United Nations, including the right to work for fair pay, to move freely, to own property.

But aid workers say warehoused refugees are often denied these.

Activists who have visited Algeria's Sahrawi camps say despite massive food aid, almost 20 percent of inhabitants are malnourished.

"We get one kilogram of rice per month and of course the supply of food is not enough," Senia Abderahman explained. She is a Sahrawi born in a refugee camp in Algeria.  She's also a college student in Boston. She says aside from the food shortage, aid workers mostly have it wrong. 

She says she travels freely and could have Algerian citizenship.  She doesn't want it.

"Honestly speaking, I want to go back to my home country Western Sahara. I want to be a Sahrawi citizen and that is what the majority of the people do believe in," she said.

And here's the problem. The camps in Algeria are managed by the Polisario Front, the rebel group chased out by Morocco in the 1970s.  The Polisario says the land is theirs and they want it back.  There's been talk of independence or autonomy and there's a long-standing UN plan calling for a vote. It hasn't happened. Meantime, Morrocco says the refugees are welcome back as Moroccan citizens. But most Sahrawis don't want to be Moroccan either, according to the Polisario.

Tim Irwin is spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner¹¹ for Refugees, the UN body that protects refugees and their rights. The agency has been criticized for not doing enough for the Sahrawi refugees.

"UNHCR is a humanitarian¹² agency.  We will look for solutions to refugee problems," he said. "But these sort of protracted situations often require a political solution which we can't provide.

And so the world is left wondering what can be done for the the refugees from Western Sahara who could number up to 200,000. Meanwhile, the Sahrawi wait and long to go back to their homeland.    

"Definitely.  I am sure that I will go back and we strongly believe that justice is on our side," Abderahman said.

After graduating this spring, Abderahman heads home to the camp.  A refugee, who has been granted many favors, but few rights.

 

1 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

7 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

11 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

12 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。