VOA标准英语2014--中非援助会议在布鲁塞尔举行

 

CAR Aid Meeting Held in Brussels 中非援助会议在布鲁塞尔举行

Despite U.N. and French peacekeeping troops deployed¹ in the Central African Republic, sectarian violence remains² high. Since early last year, thousands of people have been killed and nearly one-million displaced. Donor³ nations and aid agencies met in Brussels Monday to ensure the ongoing⁴ humanitarian⁵ crisis continues to be addressed.

In March of 2013, Muslim Seleka rebels toppled CAR’s government, seizing power in the mostly Christian⁶ country. But in the following months, many rebels began attacking Christian communities. The new government was not able to stop them and it relinquished⁷ power to a struggling interim⁸ replacement⁹.

The Seleka attacks led to a backlash by anti-balaka militias¹⁰, made up of Christians¹¹ and animists. The ensuing violence drove Muslims from the capital Bangui and many other areas of the country. Both sides have committed atrocities¹². Civilians¹³ are the main targets.

A meeting was held in Brussels Monday including the U.S., the European Community’s Humanitarian Office and various U.N. and other aid agencies on addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Among those attending the meeting was Ambassador Stuart Symington, the State Department’s Special Representative to CAR.

He said, “The purpose of our meeting in Brussels was to focus the attention of all the member states and the organizations who attended on how much of a regional problem and challenge this is. Our goal was to inform them about the stakes and to congratulate those who have already made extraordinary efforts in very difficult places to work with the host country and others to save lives.”

He said that participants left the meeting with a better understanding of the scope of the problem.

“How much is at stake in the center of Africa? How important it is – not just because every single life of every citizen of the CAR matters – but also because this place holds promise and potential, not just for Africa, but for the world if we can get it right.”

He praised those nations that responded quickly to the crisis, including neighboring countries, France and the United States. Ambassador Symington outlined the immediate¹⁴ challenges ahead for CAR.

“One, to make sure that all of the leaders of Central African Republic focus on the way ahead, thinking of the interests of the nation and not of one piece of it. Two, that folks consider this transition government a bridge to the future,” he said.

Symington said the final challenge is for the regional and international communities to continue to invest in the future of CAR. Otherwise, he says, the human sacrifice and treasure that’s been spent will have been in vain.

Liza Ahua, the UNHCR’s Deputy Regional Coordinator¹⁵ for CAR, described the scope of displacement¹⁶ as a result of the violence.

“If you did look at that from the perspective of over 400,000 refugees – and another 400,000 IDPs – in a country of 4.5-million people you’re talking essentially¹⁷ of 20-percent of the population that is in displacement.”

She said many of country’s social programs are in disarray¹⁸.

“Schools are not running. Health centers are functioning at a very, very low level -- and some of them not at all. So, basically, the facilities are non-existent in almost all the sectors¹⁹. Food is problematic. So, you are indeed dealing²⁰ with a huge crisis in the CAR with ramifications²¹ in the region.”

The UNHCR regional coordinator said about $260-million dollars is needed just this year to meet humanitarian needs. She says only a fraction of that appeal has been received.

Margaret McKelvey, Africa Office Director in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration²², said the many refugees that have crossed into Cameroon are placing a strain on that country’s resources.

“The government in Cameroon is starting along a path of saying people really should be in camps for security reasons and also to concentrate them. So that it’s easier to provide assistance. And, of course, Cameroon is also being hit with refugees coming from Nigeria because of the Boko Haram crisis,” she said

One purpose of the meeting, she said, was to ensure that CAR does not become a neglected crisis.

Ambassador Symington added that peace is possible, but it will take a lot of work.

“There are extraordinary acts of goodness every day in CAR by leaders who genuinely care about their country -- religious leaders, civic²³ leaders, women and men. The great question that we have is how will the people of CAR with our help come together? Security is not going to be achieved by force alone, but rather by getting those people, who would create violence, to decide that there is more danger for their futures²⁴ in fomenting²⁵ it and for those who seek a peaceful solution to come together across the aisle²⁶ and agree on it,” he said.

He said the question is how to make the people of CAR capable of sustaining peace over time?

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 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。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 relinquished   

交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• She has relinquished the post to her cousin, Sir Edward. 她把职位让给了表弟爱德华爵士。
• The small dog relinquished his bone to the big dog. 小狗把它的骨头让给那只大狗。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

14 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

15 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？

16 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。

17 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

18 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

19 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

21 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 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。

23 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

24 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

25 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

26 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。