International aid agencies say conditions for Tamils displaced by fighting in Sri Lanka are improving, but food, water, sanitation and shelter are needed. The government is appealing for $50 million in foreign aid.
国际援助机构说，斯里兰卡内战中流离失所的泰米尔族民众目前状况有所好转，但是食品、饮水、卫生和居住等方面还需要援助。政府呼吁外国捐赠5千万美元的援金。
With the population in displacement centers tripling within a period of two weeks, relief workers are struggling to provide shelter, water and food.
两个星期来，随着来到斯里兰卡的流离失所人口安置中心求援的人增加了两倍，援助工作者正竭尽全力为他们提供住所、饮水和食物。
Emergency latrines have been erected in Vanuviya, where the majority of the displaced in camps are located.
紧急厕所在万努维亚搭建起来，那里是多数难民营的所在地。
The country director of the humanitarian agency CARE, Nick Osborne, tells VOA News it is a race against time to prevent a possible outbreak of disease.
国际关爱组织的斯里兰卡主管尼克.奥斯伯恩告诉美国之音，为了避免大型疾病的爆发，各方正在争分夺秒、全力以赴地预防疾病爆发。
"The priorities now are going to be putting more latrines up that are going to be able to cater for that large number of people," said Osbourne. "So providing the water and providing adequate sanitation is going to be a priority in terms of limiting the potential for diseases in the future."
他说：“目前的重点将是设立更多的厕所，以便满足这么多人的需要。而提供饮水和提供充分的卫生条件将是一个重点任务，为的是排除未来爆发疫情的可能性。”
About 200,000 Tamils have taken shelter in what the government calls welfare camps and villages. The United Nations estimates between 50,000 and 100,000 additional civilians are trapped in a four-kilometer sliver of coastal land where the rebels remain.
大约20万泰米尔族民众已经在政府称为福利营和福利村内安顿下来。联合国估计大约有5万到10万平民和反政府武装一起仍然被困在长约四公里的沿海地带。
A United Nations spokesman told VOA News the organization considers the situation here the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world at the moment. The government, the United Nations and private aid groups collectively expect $200 million is going to be needed to handle it.
联合国发言人对美国之音说，联合国认为当地的人道危机局势严峻。政府、联合国以及民间救援组织总共预计需要两亿美金来应付这个局面。
CARE's Nick Osborne says many donors have been generous, but with no immediate end to the situation more is needed.
"Funding is going to be crucial both for the government to be able to fulfill its ability to meet the needs, but also for us in our working in partnership with others as well and to be able to meet the emergency needs of that population," he said.
Norway is donating $10 million. Japan has announced emergency aid to Sri Lanka of $4 million. Canada is pledging $3 million.
The United States has given $15 million for Sri Lanka via the World Ford Program and another $12 million in non-food aid. Diplomats say more aid is being considered.
Besides insisting aid agencies have unrestricted access to the displaced, some foreign governments are also requesting a halt to the final offensive to allow civilians trapped between a coastal lagoon and the sea to escape.
一些外国政府除了坚持要求救援机构能不受限制地接触那些流离失所的平民，他们还要求停止最后的军事打击行动，让那些陷入海边泥沼地带和大海之间的平民百姓得以逃生。
The government rejects those calls, saying that would only benefit the remaining rebels, estimated at less than 1,000 fighters, not the civilians who authorities say are being used as human shields by the LTTE.
斯里兰卡政府回绝了这些请求，说那样只能让残存的反叛武装得到好处，而不是那些政府所说的被猛虎组织当成人体盾牌的平民百姓得利。估计目前还有不到1000名猛虎组织的武装人员。
Sri Lanka's Army says it has the Tigers surrounded on three sides, with the Navy patrolling the fourth side, the Indian Ocean.
斯里兰卡军队说，他们从三方面包围了猛虎组织，另一面是在海上，海军的船只在印度洋上巡逻把守。
The military says in an effort to protect civilians it has stopped using heavy weapons and any reported shelling is being done by the LTTE.
军方表示，为了努力保护平民，他们已经停止使用重型武器，任何被报导的炮击行动都是由泰米尔猛虎组织发动的。 |