美国国家公共电台 NPR--Earthquake aid has been slow to reach Syria and enormous challenges remain

Earthquake aid has been slow to reach Syria and enormous challenges remain

Transcript¹

NPR's Asma Khalid speaks to Joel Rayburn, former U.S. special envoy² for Syria, about the challenges with international aid deliveries to northern Syria.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

We just heard from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He was describing last week's earthquake in Turkey and Syria as a once-in-generations event, warning that the situation could only get worse. For people in northern Syria who have already suffered through more than a decade of war, this is another major humanitarian³ crisis. The earthquake has left thousands dead. Tens of thousands are now homeless and in dire⁴ need of basic supplies. Aid has been slow to reach the region, and enormous challenges remain. Joining us now is Joel Rayburn. He's the former U.S. special envoy for Syria and the director of the American Center for Levant Studies. Good morning, sir.

JOEL RAYBURN: Good morning.

KHALID: So based on what you know, Joel, can you give us a sense of what this disaster looks like in northern Syria in the absence of international aid?

RAYBURN: Yes. You have large cities essentially⁵ rubbled to the ground. The extent of the damage is very similar to what has hit Antakya, Turkey, where a massive city that's just razed⁶ to the ground. The infrastructure⁷ has collapsed⁸. People are - hundreds of thousands, if not millions, have lost their homes. They're sleeping out in streets or in buses or mosques⁹ with no shelter and so on. And all of the aid infrastructure that did exist there, the NGOs, has been damaged. A lot of their infrastructure has been wiped out. A lot of NGO workers have been killed or their families have been killed or wounded. So it's just an apocalyptic¹⁰ disaster.

KHALID: You know, international aid to Syria following this quake has been really slow. And the U.N., in fact, has admitted that it failed people in northern Syria. What's been the primary challenge in delivering aid?

RAYBURN: Well, the main obstacle to aid into northwest Syria, which is opposition-held territory for more than 10 years, has been the Assad regime itself. The Assad regime has basically besieged¹¹ that area. They've been waging war even on the civilian¹² populations of that area. So there's been no possibility for an aid infrastructure to come from within other parts of Syria itself. On top of that, the international aid has flowed largely through the U.N., and that was a decision that the United States and the EU and Turkey made over years was to essentially rely solely¹³ on the U.N. to deliver aid across the border from Turkey. The Russians have been able to use their Security Council veto to block the use for the U.N. agencies of all but one border crossing, Bab al-Hawa. And Bab al-Hawa, as Secretary Blinken said, was damaged.

KHALID: But we did get word right this morning that Syria, it seems, has apparently¹⁴ agreed to allow U.N. aid deliveries through two other border crossings from Turkey. Is that right?

RAYBURN: Yes. Now, that's a very curious situation because those are two border crossings that Assad doesn't hold. So his approval was not needed in order for Turkey and the rest of the international community to use those. So this looks to me - this has Russian fingerprints¹⁵ on it, that it was a demand that the Russians made to Secretary-General Guterres to publicly ask Assad for access to those border crossings as sort of a nod to Assad's national legitimacy¹⁶. Meanwhile, the U.S. is seeking a Security Council resolution that would allow the U.N. agencies to use those crossings for an extended period of time, which they used to do. It was the Russians who blocked their usage in the first place.

KHALID: And our understanding is that these border crossings would be temporarily opened for at least three months. So what difference will that make in terms of allowing additional aid through?

RAYBURN: Well, it's huge because the main aid hub for international assistance going to northwest Syria is in the city of Gaziantep, a large Turkish city which was damaged in the earthquake but not as badly as Antakya. And the two border crossings that are closest to Gaziantep, they're within an hour's drive. Bab al-Salama and al-Rai are the two that the Russians have blocked the U.N. agencies from using for more than 2 1/2 years. So to open those back up mean aid can flow straight from Gaziantep down into the worst afflicted¹⁷ areas of northwest Syria. So it has to be done. It's just 90 days is not going to be enough. So it's right for the U.S. and our allies to seek a new Security Council authorization¹⁸ for them.

KHALID: All right. Joel Rayburn, thank you very much for taking the time. We appreciate it.

RAYBURN: My pleasure.

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 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 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。

4 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

5 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。

6 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

10 apocalyptic   

adj.预示灾祸的，启示的

参考例句：

• The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊，语言则是《启示录》式的。
• Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。

11 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

15 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

17 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

18 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。