环球英语 — 168：Combatants for Peace

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In January 2007 Bassam Aramin’s ten year old daughter died. She received a serious head injury outside of her school in the Palestinian West Bank. Palestinian young people had been throwing stones at Israeli policemen. The police fought back. They fired rubber bullets² and tear gas over the crowd of students. Bassam’s innocent³ daughter found herself in the middle of the fighting. Something hit her head, and she died.
Voice 2
If you were Bassam what would you do? Would you seek revenge⁴? Would you want to hurt the person who killed your daughter? What do you think Bassam did? His answer may surprise you. Today’s Spotlight is on Combatants for Peace.
Voice 1
For many years there has been conflict⁵ between the Palestinians and the Israelis. It is a very complex⁶ conflict, one that is hard to solve. Much of the conflict is a struggle over land. And some of the conflict has to do with religion and politics⁷. Parents teach their children about the conflict. So, children grow up hating other children. It is a cycle, a seemingly⁸ unending conflict.
Voice 2
When Bassam Aramin was a young man he became a Palestinian soldier. He joined the conflict. At that time he believed that military⁹ force was the only way to gain Palestinian rights. But, Israeli soldiers caught Bassam carrying a weapon. They discovered that he was part of an illegal¹⁰ military group. So, they put him in jail¹¹ for seven [7] years.
Voice 1
While in jail, Bassam thought a lot about his life. He thought a lot about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And he came to this opinion,
Voice 3
“I finally understood that there was no military solution to this conflict. It just meant that more Palestinian and Israelis would die.”
Voice 2
After leaving jail Bassam decided¹² to change his life. Instead of adding to the conflict, he decided to work for peace. And in 2005 he helped start a group called Combatants for Peace. Bassam and the group members want a peaceful end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Voice 1
Combatants for Peace is a very interesting group. The group members are either Palestinian or Israeli former soldiers. They are individuals who have decided that violence¹³ is not the answer. The group has about three hundred members. Half are Palestinian and half are Israeli. This is how the group describes themselves:
Voice 3
“Together, Palenstinians and Israelis started the ‘Combatants for Peace’ movement. All have been involved in the cycle of violence, Israelis as soldiers in the Israeli army, and Palestinians as part of the violent¹⁴ struggle for Palestinian freedom. After carrying weapons for so many years, and having seen one another only through our weapon’s sights, we have decided to put down our guns, and fight for peace.”
Voice 2
‘Combatants for Peace’ believe that they can end the violence. But they can only end it by working together. The members refuse to take part in any activity that causes other people to die. They do not use violent weapons. Instead they use communication. Communicating lets the members learn about each other. They learn about each side of the conflict. And they try to find answers to the conflict together.
Voice 1
Members of Combatants for Peace have very specific¹⁵ goals. First, they teach both Palestinian and Israeli citizens about the hopes and suffering of the other side. They create groups of people from both sides. These people are willing¹⁶ to talk together and learn from each other.
Voice 2
Second, they educate people about peace and reconciliation¹⁷, or coming together. They teach people non-violent ways to deal with conflict.
Voice 1
And third, they put political¹⁸ pressure on both governments. They ask each government to work for peace instead of continuing the conflict.
Voice 2
Members understand that it can be frightening to come together with an enemy. So, they can understand that some Palestinian and Israeli citizens are afraid to join in their work. But, the group hopes that their lives can serve as an example to other Palestinians and Israelis. The group members were able to defeat their fear. And now they work together without fear.
Voice 1
Each member of Combatants for Peace has an emotion-filled story. Chen Alon is an Israeli. He was a Major in the army. He killed many Palestinians. One day he destroyed a home in a village. As he watched the people in the village, he saw many young children. The children made Chen remember his own daughter. Chen said,
Voice 5
“After seeing the Palestinian girls...in the village...it hit me hard that these girls are no different than my own daughter. It was then that I decided that I would no longer take part in this conflict, no matter what price I would have to pay.”
Voice 2
Chen is now a member of Combatants for Peace. He still feels sad when he thinks about the Palestinian members of the group. He remembers trying to kill Palestinians. He often wonders if he ever tried to kill someone from Combatants for Peace when they were still enemies. He regrets his actions very much. But Chen also feels hope for the future.
Voice 1
So, what about Bassam? At the beginning of this program we said that his own daughter died in the conflict. The death of an innocent child is always very tragic¹⁹. What would you do if it were your child? What do you think Bassam did?
Voice 2
Well, first, Bassam found care and encouragement from the members of Combatants for Peace. The Israeli members have offered Bassam, a Palestinian, a lot of help.
Voice 3
“They stayed with me all the time in the hospital. They called every day to see that I was alright. I saw them crying, they were crying about my daughter.”
Voice 1
And second, Bassam says that he will not let this incident²⁰ stop him from working for peace. He is very sad. But he knows that continued violence on his part will not bring peace. Bassam said,
Voice 3
“I want my daughter to be the last victim²¹. I will still be working for peace through my suffering. ...It will be very, very difficult. But we must protect the lives of children and innocent citizens. For my children, I want them to know another life. I do not want them to live the same miserable²², violent life as I have led.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 bullets   

n.弹药；军火

参考例句：

• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。
• The bullets and cannon-balls were flying in all directions. 子弹和炮弹到处乱飞。

3 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

4 revenge   

v.报...之仇，为...报仇 ；n.报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• She poisoned his mind with ideas of hate and revenge.她用复仇的思想来毒害他的心灵。
• There was anger in his eyes and revenge in his heart.他两眼闪现怒火，一心只想复仇。

5 conflict   

n.冲突，矛盾，争执；vi.争执，撞斗，冲突，抵触

参考例句：

• Your statement is in conflict with the rest of the evidence.你的陈述同其余证据有矛盾。
• The conflict between them seems ceaseless.他们之间冲突似乎没个止息。

6 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

7 politics   

n.政治，政治学；政纲，政见，策略

参考例句：

• They seldom talk on politics in those days.那时人们很少谈论政治。
• The two brothers differed about politics.这兄弟俩政见不同。

8 seemingly   

adv.从表面上看起来，似乎是

参考例句：

• Seemingly,we can do nothing to prevent this from happening.我们似乎没有什么办法阻止这件事发生。
• For several seemingly interminable seconds no one spoke.有几秒钟没有人讲话，这几秒钟似乎十分漫长。

9 military   

n.军队；adj.军事的，军人的，好战的

参考例句：

• The area has been declared a closed military zone.这个地区已宣布为军事禁区。
• The king was just the tool of the military government.国王只是军政府的一个傀儡。

10 illegal   

adj.不合法的，非法的，犯法的

参考例句：

• I don't want to get mixed up with any illegal organization.我不想与任何非法组织有牵连。
• It's illegal for people under 17 to drive a car in Britain.在英国，不满17岁的人驾驶车辆是违法的。

11 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 violence   

n.暴力，暴虐，暴行，猛烈，强烈，强暴

参考例句：

• It was an absolutely senseless act of violence.这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
• They attacked with violence.他们猛烈攻击。

14 violent   

adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的

参考例句：

• The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴，不得不把他锁起来。
• They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他，把他狠狠打了一顿。

15 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

16 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

17 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

18 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

19 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

20 incident   

n.附带事件，小事件；事件，事变；adj.易发生的；附属的；入射的

参考例句：

• With the passage of time the incident was forgotten.随着时间的消逝，那个事件被忘却了。
• The incident had left him visibly angry and upset.那起事件显然让他既恼火又心烦。

21 victim   

n.受害人，牺牲者，牺牲品

参考例句：

• What is your relationship with the victim?您与受害人的关系？
• The victim was found lying dead on the river bank.发现被害人倒毙于河岸。

22 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。