恐怖组织瞄准喀麦隆学校的孩子们

Terror in Cameroon Targets School Children 恐怖组织瞄准喀麦隆学校的孩子们

The Cameroonian government says that terrorism threatens large numbers of schoolchildren. Two bomb attacks killed nine people last month in the town of Kolofata, near the border with Nigeria.

At the same time, millions of children returned to school after a three-month holiday. Cameroon has been working to make its school campuses safer.

One of the most dangerous areas is along the border with Nigeria.

Many families want to leave the dangerous border areas. Sixteen-year-old Ahmidou Moussa was not able to return to school on time because of the threat of suicide¹ bombings. His school is in the town of Mora, on the border with Nigeria.

He says he was not really worried during the holiday because his parents took him far away from the dangerous border zone to a safer area.

Valentine Tameh is president of the Teachers Association of Cameroon. He says many teachers are refusing to teach in areas along the border with Nigeria. He says he has told teachers to continue to work even in the border area.

"We are appealing to those who have been posted there that that is Cameroon. You have to go there and do your work. But we are also, more loudly, telling government that they have a moral duty to take care of those teachers there."

Ndzi Amos Tarla is a police spokesperson. He has talked with students, teachers and parents about keeping young schoolchildren safe. He says if the population works with officials, terrorists² will find it more difficult to carry out attacks.

He warns that children should not trust strangers because they might be kidnappers⁴, and that parents should walk to school with their young children. He also says that children must be taught about how to act around strangers.

"Most of all if they notice anything, they should report it immediately to the security officials they see. They are their friends and not their enemies."

Searches to enter school

Dualla is the economic capital of Cameroon. There, school staff members search students and their bags with metal detectors⁵ before they can enter the school. Officials say they are doing all they can to avoid future attacks.

Suzanne Ngumey's children go to school in Dualla. She says she agrees with the new security measures.

"This is just to protect our children because we want their safety in school," she said. "And we want everybody to be relaxed and happy to be here. With all the heightened⁶ threats in town and wherever, we have to make sure that our children are safe."

Last year, Cameroon closed 70 schools on its northern border with Nigeria's Borno state. More than 100,000 students were relocated to new schools.

Words in This Story

post – v. chiefly British : to send (someone) to a place to work for a long period of time as part of a job

kidnapper³ – n. to take away (someone) by force usually in order to keep the person as a prisoner and demand money for returning the person

accompany – v. to go somewhere with (someone) : to be a companion for (someone)

company – n. the state or condition of being with another person

1 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

2 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。

3 kidnapper   

n.绑架者，拐骗者

参考例句：

• The kidnapper was shot dead then and there by the armed policeman.绑架者被武装警察当时当地击毙。
• The kidnapper strangled the child with a piece of string.绑票的人用一根绳子把这孩子勒死了。

4 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

6 heightened   

（使）变高， （使）增大( heighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）提高； （使）加强[重]

参考例句：

• Tension has heightened after the recent bomb attack. 最近的炸弹袭击之后，情势更加紧张。
• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene. 轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。