移民美国的雅兹迪人积极寻求帮助难民

Yazidi-American Activist¹ Seeks Help for Refugees 移民美国的雅兹迪人积极寻求帮助难民

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA— The plight² of the Yazidis, a religious-ethnic minority in Iraq, drew world attention last year when Islamic State fighters drove thousands of them to a mountain refuge in Sinjar. Far away, in the Midwestern city of Lincoln, Nebraska, the largest community of Yazidis in North America took action, led in great part by social worker Laila Khoudeida, who continues to seek help for her threatened people.

The Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers honored Khoudeida this month, as “Citizen of the Year” for her work advocating on behalf of people on the other side of the world.

Her close friend and fellow social worker Christie Abdul is impressed with her dedication³ to the Yazidi cause.

“She is just very inspiring in how she is so passionate⁴ about what is happening there,” Abdul said.

Though she has lived in Lincoln since her early teenage years, Khoudeida was born and raised in a refugee camp in Syria after her family fled persecution⁵ by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

“Having lived in the same conditions … I feel deeply and emotionally connected to the Yazidi cause,” she said.

Khoudeida has had cellphone contact with some of the Yazidi girls taken by Islamic State to be used as sex slaves, and she said she remembers one in particular.

“She was with another 40 Yazidi women and children who were being held in one of the buildings, and she would tell me that the ISIS fighters came and took another girl,” Khoudeida said.

But appeals to the U.S. and other countries to rescue the captive Yazidis failed.

“One day I called and her sister answered the phone," Khoudeida said. "I thought it was the same person I had been talking to, and she said, 'No, I am her sister. My sister was actually just sold off yesterday to an ISIS fighter.’ ”

Some women have managed to escape, but the punishment for those who are caught can be torture or worse.

“One woman who tried to escape, they caught her, brought her back and cut off her two legs,” Khoudeida said.

Through Yazda, a group Khoudeida and some other American Yazidis formed last year, she continues to seek help for the estimated 3,000 Yazidi women and girls who remain under the brutal⁶ control of Islamic State.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

3 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。