2017年CRI China donates 2,800 tons of rice to Somalia

 

The Chinese government has donated 2,800 tons of rice to Somalia to help the drought-ravaged African country.

The donation is part of a massive food aid program Chinese authorities have mapped-out for countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Chinese authorities say the rice, which arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, should be able to feed more than 220,000 hungry people for up to four months.

Chinese state-owned COFCO, China's biggest food producer, is the supplier of the rice.

Somalia has been suffering through its worst drought in 40 years for the past eight months.

Thanking China, Somali Minister of Humanitarian¹ and Disaster Management, Maryam Qaasim, admits her country still needs a lot more help.

"All of us work together - whether it's the Somali government, whether it's the Somali diaspora, the donors², the UN agencies - everybody came together and we worked very hard to avert³ famine. Yes, we averted⁴ famine but famine is not very far. If we don't sustain what we have done, famine can come any time."

The Chinese government has authorized⁵ the United Nations to be in charge of the donated rice.

Edith Heines is Deputy Country Director of the UN World Food Program in Somalia.

"Our colleagues on the ground who are working around the clock so that this rice will be distributed to our cooked-meal centers in Banadir, where they will reach 95,000 people each month for three months."

The rice donation comes a month after Chinese authorities earmarked one million US dollars to help Somali families who have been forced out of their homes due to the drought.

The United Nations is reporting some 760,000 people have become refugees within Somalia since the drought first began last November.

The effects of the natural disaster are also being compounded by the long-standing armed conflict in the country.

Last month, Somali jihadist group Al-Shabaab imposed a ban on humanitarian aid in areas under its control, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians⁶ to choose between starvation or brutal⁷ punishment.

Gerard Waite, head of the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration⁸, says the displaced population is a growing concern.

"Migration crisis in a sense in Somalia really doesn't come to an end. The newly displaced — the people who have been displaced at the moment — are vying⁹ for space for those who still remain displaced from 2010-2011 drought. Those currently being displaced by conflict and particularly the al-Shabaab conflict are competing for space and resources in the same camps and the same settlements that are receiving the drought victims."

Somalia is one of the more than 70 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chinese authorities announced a 300-million-US-dollar emergency food assistance plan for countries covered by the initiative during the Belt and Road Forum¹⁰ for International Cooperation held in Beijing in May.

China officially established its first overseas military base in Somalia's neighboring Djibouti last month, with part of its mission to facilitate humanitarian aid into Africa.

1 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。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

4 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

5 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

6 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。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 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。

9 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。