英语听力—环球英语 780 Women of Wajir

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ruby² Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Adam Navis. 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
The sound of music and laughter fills the air in the Wajir district of Northern Kenya. People talk, dance, and eat nice food! At the centre of their wedding celebrations are the new husband and wife. People from different tribes³ celebrate together. For a while, they almost forget the troubles and divisions⁴ of their land. In one corner, a group of women are talking about their lives. They agree that Wajir is not really a safe place. It is a place of conflict. The women discuss their concerns about their children’s future. They discuss how they wish for change. Then, they start to discuss how they could be involved in creating change. Here, in the middle of a wedding, begin the first steps towards an amazing peace process. In today’s Spotlight programme, we tell the story of the women of Wajir.
Voice 2
Wajir is in north-eastern Kenya. It is near the borders of Somalia and Ethiopia. Fighting from these countries has often spread into Wajir. Also, a lack of rainfall and natural resources has caused much fighting. In the fight to survive, people have injured and killed members of other tribes. Over time, different issues have caused the divisions - and made them deeper. In 1992, the Kenyan government declared Wajir to be in a state of emergency. It was in this situation that the women of Wajir decided⁵ to act.
Voice 1
Dekha Ibrahim was one of the key women involved in the Wajir peace process. She explained how it began:
Voice 3
‘At this time, I was in a group of women attending a local wedding. We discussed the fact that we could attend a wedding together. But we could not visit each other’s houses. This was because of the tribal⁶ conflicts. I and three other women decided to do something. We decided to work to bring peace and security⁷ back to our community.’
Voice 1
These women began by visiting the educated women in Wajir town. They visited women from all the different tribal groups. Then, they organised a meeting for ‘all women in Wajir who love peace.’ The first meeting was in July 1993. Over sixty women attended. These included women from the towns and the country areas. Dekha remembers,
Voice 3
‘This meeting was very emotional⁹. It concentrated on the power that women had. We had the power to either make the violence continue. Or we had the power to bring peace to Wajir.’
Voice 1
The women decided to start the peace process in the market. The market was central to everyone’s survival¹⁰. But it had become an unsafe place to trade. Dekha said;
Voice 3
‘Women refused to buy or sell to members of other tribes. This often included their husband’s relations. A number of fights happened. Several women were injured. And conflict increased in the market place.’
Voice 1
So, the women formed a special group. This group would watch the market. Whenever arguments started, the group would act quickly. Anyone causing trouble had to report to the group. The group chose the name 'Wajir Women for Peace', or WWP.
Voice 2
The WWP met every day for over a month with the market women. They dealt with all the issues of conflict in the market. Dekha remembers,
Voice 3
‘The market women used to say, “The men start the violence, but we and our children suffer”.’
Voice 2
Soon, many women joined the new peace group. And fighting at the market stopped. Peaceful trading began.
Voice 1
However, outside of the market, the fighting continued. The women saw that they needed to get the whole community involved. They began with the young men who were working within the community and government. The women managed to win their support. Then, together, they began a work for young people. They visited schools. And they persuaded young people to avoid violence.
Voice 2
Another important step in the peace process was to work with the elders - the older men in charge of the tribes and clans¹¹. The women knew that this would not be easy. So, they split¹² into smaller groups. And each group went to their own tribal elders first. Then they managed to organise⁸ a meeting for elders from the different tribes. At the meeting, the elders discussed some serious questions - like 'Why really are we fighting? Who is gaining from this?’ The elders met several times. Then they formed their own group ‘Elders for Peace.’
Voice 1
After some time, all community groups became involved in the women’s peace process. In 1994, they formed ‘the Wajir Peace and Development Committee' - or WPDC. This larger group included the women from the market, the elders for peace, the youth for peace and local religious leaders!
Voice 2
Since its beginning, the Women’s Peace group has worked to stop many conflicts in Wajir. In particular, it has worked to build bridges between Muslims and Christians¹³ in the area. Today, Wajir district is not free from troubles. But the women’s peace group has succeeded where other efforts have failed. This may be because the women do not try to enforce¹⁴ laws from a high position. Instead, they work together at community level. Dekha said,
Voice 3
‘The peace method we have used is to heal¹⁵ the relationship between the victim and the offender¹⁶. It is to see the pain of both. We do this through many group talks ... This is where the beauty of working for peace is. It is trying to find solutions together.’
Voice 1
The Women’s Peace group also works¹⁷ to make sure that people know how easily peace can be destroyed. Dekha describes peace as ‘fragile¹⁸' - like an egg. The egg was a symbol of the fragile nature of peace. Dekha said,
Voice 3
‘Peace needs to be cared for. If we take care of one egg, maybe one day it will become a bird. But if you break the egg, the bird inside will die. We need to care for peace. Then it can bring results’.
Voice 2
The story of the Women of Wajir has now spread to other countries. It has encouraged and empowered other victims of violence. It has shown them that everyone has the tools for peace. They just need to learn how to use them.
 

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 divisions   

n.分开( division的名词复数 )；分界线；分歧；分离

参考例句：

• The country's political divisions are deep-seated. 这个国家的政治分歧根深蒂固。
• The country's political divisions are deep-seated. 这个国家的政治分歧根深蒂固。

5 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。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

8 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

9 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

10 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

11 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

12 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

13 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。

14 enforce   

vt.实施，执行；强制，强迫；加强，坚持

参考例句：

• You have no right to enforce your own views on me.你无权把你自己的观点强加给我。
• They tried to enforce agreement with their plans.他们企图迫使人们同意他们的计划。

15 heal   

v.使愈合，治愈，使康复；平息(争吵等)；消除，解决(分支等)

参考例句：

• Time helped heal the old wounds.时间有助于治愈旧创伤。
• This wound will soon heal if yon keep it clean.如果你保持伤口清洁，它很快就会痊愈。

16 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

17 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

18 fragile   

adj.易碎的，脆的，易损坏的，虚弱的，脆弱的

参考例句：

• The old lady was increasingly fragile after her operation.那位老太太手术后身体越来越虚弱。
• This glass disc looks very fragile.这个玻璃盘子看起来很容易碎。