美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Deeply Disturbing' Conditions For Rohingya In Myanmar, And Those Yet To Return

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

By some estimates, at least 700,000 ethnic¹ Rohingya refugees are living in sprawling² camps on the Bangladesh side of the border with Myanmar. It's one of the biggest humanitarian³ crises of our time. Whether or not they can return home depends on conditions in Myanmar from where they fled. NPR's Anthony Kuhn traveled there to see those conditions and sent this report.

(CROSSTALK)

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE⁴: Children are swinging on swings in a playground donated by international aid groups. It's in the Thet Kae Pyin internment⁵ camp for Rohingya outside Sittwe, the capital of western Myanmar's Rakhine state. Despite the mirthful sounds, the Rohingya here are not having fun. The camp is fenced in and patrolled by soldiers. People live in simple bamboo and plastic huts. They've been confined here since violence broke out between Buddhists⁷ and Muslims in 2012. Security got tighter after Rohingya insurgents⁸ attacked police in 2016 and 2017. Military operations against the insurgents sent Rohingya fleeing across the border into Bangladesh. The U.S. and the U.N. have accused the military of ethnic cleansing⁹.

I'm at the camp with USAID administrator¹⁰ Mark Green, and he is visibly emotional about what he's seeing.

MARK GREEN: So much of what I've seen is quite frankly¹¹ just deeply disturbing. You know, here, for example, looking at all those very young children running around and such - and it suddenly dawned on me. They were all born here. This is the only reality that they know.

KUHN: The Rohingya are a stateless people. Myanmar considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh even though many of them have lived in Myanmar for generations. In the past couple of years, the U.S. has provided nearly $300 million in humanitarian assistance to people affected¹² by conflict in Rakhine State and other parts of Myanmar. Former lawyer Kyaw Hla Aung is one of the camp's leaders.

You've been here now for six years.

KYAW HLA AUNG: Yes.

KUHN: Has the situation improved any in terms of people's livelihoods¹³ or in terms of people's hopes to become citizens of this country?

KYAW HLA AUNG: No. Also, they (laughter) decrease from all the side - from education, from health care and every side. And from - economically, there is no improvement.

KUHN: Nor does he see any progress in their political or legal rights.

KYAW HLA AUNG: I stand for parliament member in 1990 election. Now we cannot vote. So where is law and order?

KUHN: Last year, an official commission headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended that Myanmar close camps like this one and gives citizenship¹⁴ to all eligible¹⁵ Rohingya. Observers see little progress on those fronts, and the repatriation¹⁶ of refugees from Bangladesh appears stalled. Mark Green says Myanmar's government needs to be clear about what it's going to do.

GREEN: The most important thing that the government can do in the weeks and the months ahead is to take concrete steps to show its seriousness of purpose. We have heard that they support the Kofi Annan recommendations. Implement¹⁷ them.

KUHN: The conflict in Rakhine State is actually between two minority groups - the Buddhist⁶ Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya. Both of them have faced different degrees of persecution¹⁸. Tun Aung Kyaw is the general secretary of the Arakan National Party, which represents the Rakhine minority. He calls the Rohingya Bengalis - in other words, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. But he admits they're human beings, too, and should have rights.

TUN AUNG KYAW: (Foreign language spoken).

KUHN: "If they're legally qualified¹⁹, give them citizenship," he says. "Don't confine them to Rakhine State. Let them go freely, anywhere in Myanmar. If they don't qualify for citizenship," he adds, "then they should be considered foreigners."

The Rakhine crisis seems to have turned Myanmar in on itself. It's turned off some tourists and foreign investors²⁰. Mark Green warns that it now threatens Myanmar's transition to democracy. He contrasts the current situation with 2015 when Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party swept to victory in the freest elections in half a century. Green was an election observer, and he recalls watching as citizens celebrated²¹ in the streets of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

GREEN: They were expressing a wide-open enthusiasm for a bright future. And I think what we're all saying is, that future isn't bright unless this challenge is addressed.

KUHN: Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar.

1 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。

2 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

3 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。

4 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。

5 internment   

n.拘留

参考例句：

• Certainly the recent attacks against the internment camps are evidence enough. 很明显，最近营地遭受到的攻击就是一个足好的证明。 来自互联网
• The chapters on the internment are Both readaBle and well researched. 这些关于拘留的章节不仅具可读性而且研究得很透彻。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 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

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 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。

13 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

14 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。

15 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

16 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

17 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

18 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

19 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

20 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

21 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。