AS IT IS 2016-02-07 US Promises Billion in Aid for Syrian Refugees

AS IT IS 2016-02-07 US Promises Billion in Aid for Syrian Refugees

Hours after talks to bring peace to Syria were stopped, the United States has promised almost $1 billion in aid for Syrian refugees.

International donors² met in London to talk about Syria’s political and humanitarian³ crisis. Fighting between the Syrian government, its opponents and Islamic militants⁴ continues. Refugees are fleeing the country by the thousands, most recently escaping fighting in the city of Aleppo.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the meeting was critical to helping⁵ solve the human crisis. He called on the Syrian government and its ally, Russia, to halt attacks so that aid could reach those who need it.

The donors’ conference opened Thursday in London. The goal was $9 billion, but more than $10 billion was raised, said British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Last year, donor¹ nations agreed to raise $4.5 billion. The new amount is for support of people in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The neighbor countries are strained by a huge flow of people escaping the fighting.

Cameron said life-saving aid is needed to support international efforts to help people. “If ever there was a moment to take a new approach to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, surely it is now,” he said.

Migrant crisis

Last year, 1 million people, largely from Syria, moved into Western Europe. Estimates say that will grow to 4 million this year. Some European countries have said they will take fewer asylum⁶ seekers than before.

Geneva peace talks suspended

The peace talks in Geneva were suspended Wednesday after opposition⁷ members said the Syrian government continued to battle Syrian rebels around Aleppo. A rights group, the Syrian Observatory⁸ for Human Rights, said 40,000 people fled the area this week alone.

U.N. special envoy⁹ Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday that indirect talks could be suspended until as late as February 25.

“It is not the end, and it is not the failure of the talks,” de Mistura told reporters. He said the Syrian government and the opposition remain “interested in having the political process started.”

The opposition has demanded that Syrian and Russian governments end the airstrikes on civilians¹⁰. It also wants barriers lifted on aid to areas held by rebels. And the group has demanded that Syria release thousands of detainees.

The head of the opposition delegation¹¹ said the group would not return to the talks “until we see positive steps” on these issues.

Words in This Story

host – v. to hold an event

strain -– v. to cause problems or trouble for (something)

approach – n. a way of dealing¹² with something : a way of doing or thinking about something

envoy – n. a person who is sent by one government to represent it in dealing with another government

positive – adj. good or useful

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。