美国国家公共电台 NPR--The state of Haiti 1 year after the prime minister was assassinated

The state of Haiti 1 year after the prime minister was assassinated¹

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Miami Herald³ correspondent Jacqueline Charles about lawlessness in Haiti — a year after the assassination⁴ of Prime Minister Jovenel Moise.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It's been a year since Haiti's president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated, and the country is sliding deeper into political chaos⁵ and deadly violence. The capital, Port au Prince, is now divided among rival gangs, and their grip on Haiti has only tightened⁶. Jacqueline Charles is Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald, and she's just returned from Haiti and joins us now. Welcome.

JACQUELINE CHARLES: Hi. Thank you.

FADEL: So can you describe what you saw on your recent visit?

CHARLES: Well, I can tell you that the capital is a metropolis⁷ that functions only by daylight. People no longer leave home before sunrise. And as soon as it hits 3 o'clock, what you see is people racing⁸ to go back home. Where I was staying, I just remember, like, at 2 a.m. in the morning, you could hear a pin drop because there was not a car on the streets. And I've been on the streets in Haiti at that time, around 3 a.m., but not anymore. And it's not to say that gangs only kidnap people at night because there are a lot of kidnappings that happen also in the daylight. But people are just feeling that they have to fend⁹ for themselves and do what they can to keep themselves safe, either from being killed or kidnapped.

FADEL: Wow. So are these gangs just unchecked? Where are the security forces?

CHARLES: The security forces are there, which is basically the police, but their numbers have been dwindling¹⁰. There are only 12,000-plus police officers for a country with approximately 12 million individuals. And basically, you know, they just haven't been able to keep them in check, so to speak. You know, while they're at one part of the capital trying to address one issue, you have another gang that's trying to take control of another area. We've just seen this in the last couple of weeks, the city of Tabarre, where the U.S. Embassy, ironically enough, is located - gangs have been trying to move into that area and basically extend their grip. So it's been very difficult for a police force. At the same time, they've had police officers that have left. I have spoke¹¹ to a number of cops. We went on a ride-along with them. They said that they want to fight back. They are not afraid to confront the gangs, but they don't have the equipment. They don't have the weapons. They don't have the ammunition¹².

FADEL: And what do Haitians say about their future with these mass killings¹³, kidnappings, assaults?

CHARLES: Haitians have a very hard time seeing a future today. People are leaving. Those without visas are getting on boats. We today have the largest Haitian migration¹⁴ crisis by boat from the island since 2004. Those with visas are flying to the Dominican Republic or even here to the United States. What you have is a huge migration that's going on, and a lot of it is really unaccounted for because, you know, it's a hard - difficult to check. But they are leaving. They're migrating. And those who are left there, well, they're doing what they can. You have families that are separated because people live in one city, and they have to work in another.

FADEL: In the few seconds we have left, should the international community be doing something?

CHARLES: Well, that is - people would like to see the international community do something. But the question is, what should it be doing? And how should it be doing it? There's a lot of debate about this. The U.N. mandate¹⁵ is coming up for the 15, the political office, and whether or not there should be - the Dominican Republic has asked for troops. Others have said no troops. So that's the real question today for the international community.

FADEL: Jacqueline Charles is Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald. Thank you so much.

CHARLES: Thanks for having me.

1 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

4 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

7 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

8 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

9 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

10 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

13 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

14 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。

15 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。