美国国家公共电台 NPR--After weeks at sea, dehydrated Rohingya refugees reach Indonesia

After weeks at sea, dehydrated Rohingya refugees reach Indonesia

Transcript¹

U.N. refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch talks to NPR's A Martinez about Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Indonesia needing medical attention.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

A boat carrying more than 180 Rohingya refugees has arrived in Indonesia. It's the second boat with refugees to do so in recent days. These members of the stateless, persecuted² Muslim minority have been drifting for weeks without food or water before reaching shore. They fled from Bangladesh, where about a million Rohingya live in refugee camps after escaping a deadly military-led campaign targeting them in Myanmar. Joining us now is Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the U.N. Refugee Agency. First off, can you tell us in what state these refugees arrive in, in Indonesia?

BABAR BALOCH: Thank you for having me. These are desperate people who arrived over the last two days in bad shape, actually - dehydrated, many of them being adrift for a month in those choppy waves without anything, without any help as well. So the first thing UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency, my colleagues, local communities and authorities had to do was try to give them urgent attention. Many of them needed medical help. And a majority of these people that landed yesterday ashore³ in Indonesia are women and children.

MART?NEZ: Were they at least relieved to be away from Myanmar?

BALOCH: They're relieved to be on safe land. And remember, as we have been saying, they have been adrift for a month. And when we say adrift for a month, it means they have been on a rickety wooden boat, which is not fit for sea travel at all. There have been reports of engine breakdowns⁴ on this boat that we are talking. This was specifically 200 on one boat. Out of 200, 174 arrived yesterday, 26 lost their lives during this ordeal⁵.

MART?NEZ: Government officials said today in Bangladesh they're trying to stop refugees from risking their lives. This group of refugees made it to shore, others did not. What is your latest estimate on how many Rohingya refugees have died trying to make the journey?

BALOCH: Indeed, there can be a collective effort to restore hope in refugees' lives. And when we talk about these movements, there are reports that these are happening from Bangladesh, from Myanmar. But there is a reason for this happening. These are people who have to find safety and protection. And there are no legal ways for them to do that. Many of them see no hope for themselves in the refugee camp where UNHCR, us, with the local Bangladeshi authorities and communities, have been working.

Let's not forget that Bangladesh has been a generous host for a million Rohingya refugees. But these Rohingya refugees need humanitarian⁶ support to continue their lives. As a refugee, when you don't see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel, you don't know what the future holds for you, it just aggravates⁷ that sense of desperation - and added to that complex and difficult situation are the human smugglers and traffickers, who are ready to prey⁸ on these desperate people. And this is what they do.

MART?NEZ: When you say there's no hope, or at least they have no hope in their situation, how bad is their situation in Bangladesh?

BALOCH: Inside the camps, where you have a million people being supported day and night by local authorities in Bangladesh, the humanitarians⁹, UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency. But we are not getting internationally the required help we need to take care of these people. Remember, many of them are children. You have women there. So there's people's future at stake as well. A majority of them, more than 700,000, arrived in 2017 from Myanmar. Five years on, they don't know what's going to happen to them. So we have to collectively - and this is not only a call on the regional state, this is a global call to invest in these desperate refugees' lives so they see a future for themselves. We have been asking for resources.

MART?NEZ: But if they stay - I guess what I'm asking is if they stay, what do they face? What kinds of threats are they facing if they stay?

BALOCH: They are currently at a location which is very overcrowded. We have been continuously working to improve it. Remember, Bangladesh is one of the most densely¹⁰ populated countries. Land is an issue. But even after that, they have been able to step forward and host these refugees. What is not there is equal responsibility sharing and support globally from the international community.

MART?NEZ: That's Babar Baloch, spokesman for the U.N. Refugee Agency. Thank you very much for your time.

BALOCH: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

3 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

4 breakdowns   

n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析

参考例句：

• Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句
• How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

5 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

6 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。

7 aggravates   

使恶化( aggravate的第三人称单数 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravates me any more I shall punish him. 如果他再惹我生气，我就要惩罚他。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each pther. 没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

9 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

10 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。