VOA标准英语2012--Kachin Rebels Live in Limbo as War with Burma Drags On

Kachin Rebels Live in Limbo¹ as War with Burma Drags On

Four hundred Kachin refugees get regular donations of food and other aid at a Catholic-run camp. The youngest were born while in the camp, enlarging families that fled fighting between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Army.

Some have lost friends or relatives in the conflict. Others, like farmer Nar San Too, were themselves injured.

“While I was looking for mushrooms in the forest one morning in July last year, a landmine² exploded…I stepped on the wire cable of the mine and it exploded beside me," he explains. 

Tin Tun Kwut Nan says she and her eight family members fled Nan San Village after it was attacked.

“We ran from our village in fear," she says. "I don’t know exactly how many villagers were killed. Our village was burnt down by Burma’s Army.”

The refugees are supported by donations from local officials, a local Catholic church, and the World Food Program.

Volunteer food coordinator³ Daw Kyar Phyu says most arrived in October and come from 10 different villages.

“They will go back to their villages when there is peace. Now, they are worried for their security so they will not go back their villages where there is no peace yet,” she says.

Although they are unable to return home, these refugees are still better off than the estimated 30,000 in rebel-controlled areas, where the government has cut-off food deliveries, apart from just a few U.N.aid convoys⁴. 

The last delivery in March contained only enough food to feed a few thousand for one month. 

1 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

2 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

3 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？

4 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句