美国有线新闻 CNN 罗马教皇首访缅甸 罗兴亚危机成焦点

 

Yesterday, Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, became the first pope to visit Myanmar. His three-day stay there will be immediately followed by a trip to neighboring Bangladesh. Both of those countries are involved in the plight¹ of the Rohingya.

This is a Muslim group that's a minority in Myanmar. The country has a population of more than 55 million, most of them Buddhist², fewer than a million people there are Rohingya. Most of them live in a Western state of Myanmar that partly borders Bangladesh, and more than 623,000 Rohingya have crossed that border into Bangladesh.

Why?

The United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations all accused Myanmar's military of ethnic³ cleansing⁴, using violence to rid the country of the Rohingya, Myanmar's leaders have denied doing this, saying they're not targeting civilians⁵ but instead terrorist who've attacked the military.

So, this is one of the issues that's foremost on the pope's mind as he stays in Myanmar. In the past, he's called the Rohingya his persecuted⁶ brothers and sisters who are being, quote, tortured and killed. But because Myanmar's leaders deny that and see the Rohingya as belonging to Bangladesh anyway, experts say the pope will have to discuss the situation very carefully to avoid offending his hosts.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Funeral for a fallen man. This was the scene in January, after the brazen⁷ daylight shooting of a well-known lawyer in Myanmar.

The victim, Ko Ni, was outspoken⁸ member of Myanmar's tiny Muslim religious minority. His daughter says he was gunned down while cradling his two-year-old grandson outside Yangon International Airport.

YIN NWE KHANG, DAUGHTER OF MURDERED LAWYER: I turned around and looked, and my father was on the ground. So, I just run and help him. But at the time, there's no sign of life.

WATSON: Ko Ni's killing⁹ came during a surge of religious tension in this overwhelmingly Buddhist country, a phenomenon CNN reported on two years ago.

Who is threatening Buddhism¹⁰ in this country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Muslim.

WATSON: Muslims only make up around 5 percent of the population, but some Buddhist monks¹¹ preached that they posed an existential threat to the country.

THAW¹² PARKA, MA BA THA SPOKESMAN (through translator): We are worried they will exploit our ethic¹³ heritage, cultural buildings, religious monuments and our brethren. They may carry out suicide bombings.

WATSON: Nowhere is this fear of Muslims more acute than in Rakhine State, where a deadly attack by Rohingya Muslim militants¹⁴ against security forces last August triggered a campaign of reprisals¹⁵. More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have since been driven from their homes across the border, to neighboring Bangladesh. Refugees accused the military of torching their villages, mass rape¹⁶ and murder.

Myanmar says it's fighting against a terrorist insurgency¹⁷ and denies deliberating attacking civilians. The U.S. and the United Nations call it ethic cleansing.

This little public sympathy in Myanmar for the Rohingya. For decades, authorities labeled them illegal immigrants and denied them citizenship¹⁸.

Rohingya crisis has reached fears among other Muslims in Myanmar who do enjoy full citizenship rights.

U THAN AUNG, IMAM: Hate speech overwhelmed the minds of most of the people in Myanmar. If you look at these people, it's all because of fear. And because of this fear, they are afraid us and we are afraid of them.

1 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。

2 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 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。

7 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

8 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

11 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

13 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

14 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

15 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

17 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

18 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。