美国国家公共电台 NPR--Initial earthquake aid is finally getting to Northwest Syria but more is needed

Initial earthquake aid is finally getting to Northwest Syria but more is needed

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Ismail Alabdullah of the Syrian Civil Defense², which is known as the White Helmets, about the group supporting victims of the earthquake.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In the two weeks since an earthquake claimed tens of thousands of lives in Turkey and Syria, survivors³ in Syria have been pleading for help. Aid was relatively⁴ quick to reach Turkey, which is a NATO ally. But rescue efforts in northwest Syria were hampered⁵ by more than a decade of war between President Assad's regime and opposition⁶ groups.

Ismail Alabdullah is a volunteer with the Syria Civil Defence, better known as the White Helmets. The organization responds to emergencies in opposition-controlled parts of Syria. Their work includes evacuations and search and rescue. He joins us now from Idlib in northwest Syria. Good morning.

ISMAIL ALABDULLAH: Good morning.

FADEL: So the U.N. says three border crossings into north Syria are now operational for aid deliveries, with dozens of trucks already on the way. What have you gotten so far?

ALABDULLAH: We received aid for those who now are homeless and for people who were affected⁷ by the earthquake because we called for the help from the very beginning, from first hour. We knew that, from the first hour, that the disaster is bigger than us. It's beyond our capacity. We said that we need help from the very beginning to help those who are beneath the rubble⁸.

FADEL: Yeah.

ALABDULLAH: And we asked for advanced equipment to - can help us to locate those who - trapped beneath the rubble. But now the state of emergency - now somehow we not as the beginning. And this aid - I hope, as we all hope, this aid will be enough and the U.N. will deliver more and more.

FADEL: What do you still need?

ALABDULLAH: We're talking here about more than 40,000 people who were affected by the earthquake.

FADEL: Just in Idlib.

ALABDULLAH: Just in Idlib, across northwest Syria. This area - 40,000. Those people now are homeless, need shelter, need medical care. I give you an example to make it clear for everyone. Those people who are injured by the earthquake, they need surgeries. So, now, not all of them undergone surgeries, and they are waiting for their - a space, for a bed in the hospital to get the proper surgery.

So imagine this example. A pregnant woman has fracture and has - her condition is very, very bad. She was waiting for her - to get the surgery - proper surgery - and then get back to the camp. And she - in normal conditions, she needs maybe to stay in the hospital three months or four months to recover from this bad condition. But given the situation and due to the lack of the medical supplies and the hospitals here in northwest Syria, she has to go and to stay in the camps. So what we need - medical supply enough for those injured people. We need even psychological support for those after the shock, after the shock of the earthquake. And you heard and you - maybe you saw that an earthquake hit the region.

FADEL: Yes, another one - 6.3, yeah.

ALABDULLAH: Yeah. Yeah. It was - to be honest, this one - it was scary, more than the first one.

FADEL: Because?

ALABDULLAH: Because we experience it and we saw painful images and we witnessed people how they were under the rubble, entire families. It's very difficult.

FADEL: Ismail Alabdullah is a volunteer with the White Helmets in Idlib, Syria. Thank you so much for your time.

ALABDULLAH: 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 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。