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Pope Francis To Visit Myanmar And Bangladesh Amid Rohingya Crisis

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Pope Francis leaves Sunday for a weeklong trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Bangladesh is mostly Muslim, Myanmar predominantly Buddhist¹, and its military's brutal² attacks on a Muslim minority called the Rohingya have led to accusations³ of ethnic⁴ cleansing⁵. As NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, the pope will face a difficult balancing act in both places.

SYLVIA POGGIOLI, BYLINE⁶: Pope Francis often speaks forcefully on behalf of migrants across the world who are exploited or expelled. In February, he singled out those being driven from Myanmar.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

POPE POPE FRANCIS: (Through interpreter) Our Rohingya brothers and sisters wander from one place to another because they are not wanted. They are good, peaceful. They are not Christians⁷. They are suffering for years, tortured and killed simply for their Muslim faith.

POGGIOLI: Since August, an estimated 600,000 Rohingya had fled Myanmar military attacks into neighboring Bangladesh. But days before his departure, Francis' video message to Myanmar made no mention of the Rohingya. In fact, local church leaders had advised him not to utter their name, fearing reprisals⁸ by Buddhist fundamentalists.

BERNARDO CERVELLERA: No need to use the word. What is important is to use words to define the problem.

POGGIOLI: Father Bernado Cervellera, head of the Catholic news agency Asia News, says the Rohingya are stateless, scorned by the Buddhist majority who consider them illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

CERVELLERA: The problem is not a fight between Buddhists⁹ and Muslims, but it is a fight between a society who want to be reconciled. And some power - in this case military power - they don't want to reconcile the situation.

POGGIOLI: In Myanmar, the pope will meet State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The former long-detained dissident Nobel Peace Prize winner and now de facto prime minister is under intense criticism from human rights activists¹⁰ across the world for not denouncing the brutal military crackdown on the Rohingya. Father Cervellera is convinced Aung San Suu Kyi does not wield¹¹ sufficient power, and one of the pope's aims is to show his support for her in Myanmar's transition to democracy.

CERVELLERA: We read this problem of Rohingya as an attempt by the army in Myanmar to stop the work of Aung San Suu Kyi and to destroy her image of the human rights defender¹² in front of the world.

POGGIOLI: After Myanmar, Pope Francis will visit Bangladesh, where Christians are less than 1 percent of the country's population of 160 million. But Catholic schools and hospitals serve all Bangladeshis, and Catholic charities are at the forefront assisting Rohingya refugees. Father Gabriel Amal Costa, born in Bangladesh, says decades of ethnic and religious harmony are jeopardized¹³ by increasing Muslim fundamentalism.

GABRIEL AMAL COSTA: Nowadays, we see that fanaticism¹⁴ is occurring. Christians feel insecure.

POGGIOLI: Both Myanmar and Bangladesh are burdened by extreme poverty and ranked in the top 10 of climate change risk, and Pope Francis is likely to focus on economic and environmental justice. He's also expected to insist on the need for interreligious dialogue in two countries afflicted¹⁵ by ethnic tensions and where exploitation of religious differences is a useful tool for political gain. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

1 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。

2 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。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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》

9 Buddhists   

n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Jesuits in a phase of ascendancy, persecuted and insulted the Buddhists with great acrimony. 处于地位上升阶段的耶稣会修士迫害佛教徒，用尖刻的语言辱骂他们。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The return of Saivite rule to central Java had brought no antagonism between Buddhists and Hindus. 湿婆教在中爪哇恢复统治后，并没有导致佛教徒与印度教徒之间的对立。 来自辞典例句

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

12 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

13 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

14 fanaticism   

n.狂热，盲信

参考例句：

• Your fanaticism followed the girl is wrong. 你对那个女孩的狂热是错误的。
• All of Goebbels's speeches sounded the note of stereotyped fanaticism. 戈培尔的演讲，千篇一律，无非狂热二字。

15 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。