美国国家公共电台 NPR ISIS Is Gone, But Iraqi Christians Are Wary Of Returning Home

ISIS Is Gone, But Iraqi Christians² Are Wary³ Of Returning Home

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In the area around Mosul in northern Iraq, there's a cluster of Christian¹ villages nestled in among the hills. A bit more than two years ago, ISIS poured into those villages, and the people fled. Those extremists have now been pushed out in the battle to retake the city. NPR's Alice Fordham asked some villagers what they'll do now.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Praying in foreign language).

ALICE FORDHAM, BYLINE⁵: The villagers meet the traditional way, with prayers.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Praying in foreign language).

FORDHAM: But the meeting's not in the village. It's in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil next to corrugated⁶ trailers some of these people have been living in since 2014, when ISIS took over their village called Karemlash.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Praying in foreign language).

FORDHAM: At the front stands a stark⁷, metal cross with a white ribbon on it and a black one.

UNIDENTIFIED PRIEST: (Foreign language spoken).

FORDHAM: With a flourish, the priest removes the black ribbon, celebrating the liberation of Karemlash from ISIS. Then he begins to sketch⁸ out a bright future, talks about repairing the houses damaged by fighting, filling in ISIS' tunnels. But people seem unconvinced. After the meeting, I speak with Maha al Kahwaji. She adores Karemlash.

MAHA AL KAHWAJI: (Through interpreter) But to return is difficult. It's not just difficult with the tunnels, the burning of homes and the destruction. It's impossible.

FORDHAM: She says the priest is dreaming. Just before ISIS took Karemlash, I reported from there. And I met a businessman called Taher Bahoo. He is determined⁹ to restore the village to life. So we go back. It's deserted¹⁰, apart from security forces, and shows signs of heavy fighting.

TAHER BAHOO: (Foreign language spoken).

FORDHAM: This area in the front of the church that used to be a garden full of flowers - it's just four singed¹¹ patches of earth. Two of the little lampposts have got a washing line strung across with a soldier's uniform drying.

BAHOO: (Foreign language spoken).

FORDHAM: I follow Bahoo inside the church building.

BAHOO: So it's the first tunnel.

FORDHAM: The first tunnel?

BAHOO: Yeah.

FORDHAM: So ISIS built tunnels underneath¹² the church?

BAHOO: Yeah, yeah - many tunnels here. So one of them is, like - make it a base for the sniper.

FORDHAM: Snipers, yeah.

BAHOO: Yeah.

FORDHAM: With Iraqi soldiers, we walked through the tunnel that opens on a hill, overlooking the charred¹³ houses and streets full of shrapnel that used to be a tidy village.

BAHOO: When I was just 5, 6, 7 years age - was playing here.

FORDHAM: The destruction isn't the only obstacle to people coming back, as we learn from the only other civilian¹⁴ here, teacher Khalid Yaako Touma, who is salvaging¹⁵ family photos from his ruined house.

KHALID YAAKO TOUMA: (Foreign language spoken).

FORDHAM: He says this is all the fault of the government. All the security forces melted away when ISIS came. So he'll never trust them again. A lot of villagers say the same thing and also that they're frightened of Muslims who live in the area. They believe, although it's not at all accurate, that those Muslims all joined ISIS. In a village close by, I meet a man who thinks he has the answer to this.

BEHNAM ABBUSH: My name is Gen. Behnam Abbush.

FORDHAM: The white-haired Abbush is a retired¹⁶ army general and now leads a Christian militia¹⁷. He says he can protect Christians if they come back.

ABBUSH: They must put the security in the hand of the people of this land. That's what I want.

FORDHAM: And as we talk, he yells at his men to question a shepherd walking down the street in case he's a Muslim.

ABBUSH: (Foreign language spoken).

FORDHAM: Behnam tells me Muslims shouldn't be here.

ABBUSH: Because this is a Christian village.

FORDHAM: Back in Karemlash, the businessman Taher Bahoo takes a detour¹⁸ into his family house.

BAHOO: All my life, I was here.

FORDHAM: The orange and olive trees in the garden are overgrown. And the house is ransacked¹⁹. He doesn't want his parents to see it yet. He goes inside to dig out the family-photo albums from the mess ISIS left behind. He leafs through. One album meant for wedding pictures has a little music box built in.

BAHOO: I don't know if he's still working.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC BOX)

FORDHAM: There's his father in the military in the '60s, school trips, first communion.

(LAUGHTER)

FORDHAM: Is that you?

BAHOO: Yeah.

FORDHAM: (Laughter) You're, like - what? - 2.

He stays there a few minutes, lingering over the memories, sitting on the curb²⁰ amid the fallen electricity wires, burned palm trees, bullet holes and the silence of the deserted little town. Alice Fordham, NPR News, Karemlash, northern Iraq.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

4 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 corrugated   

adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• a corrugated iron roof 波纹铁屋顶
• His brow corrugated with the effort of thinking. 他皱着眉头用心地思考。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

8 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

11 singed   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]

参考例句：

• He singed his hair as he tried to light his cigarette. 他点烟时把头发给燎了。
• The cook singed the chicken to remove the fine hairs. 厨师把鸡燎一下，以便去掉细毛。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

13 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。

15 salvaging   

（从火灾、海难等中）抢救（某物）( salvage的现在分词 )； 回收利用（某物）

参考例句：

• A shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 某轮船公司要求赔赏打捞沉船的费用。（make a claim 要求）
• It is not uncommon to hear that a shipping company has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. 航运公司为打捞沉船的费用而提出要求，这并非奇闻。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

18 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

19 ransacked   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
• The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

20 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。