VOA慢速英语2018--罗兴亚难民庆祝节日

Rohingya Refugees Celebrate Holiday, Remember Home

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh celebrated¹ the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha on Wednesday. The refugees prayed for better lives and wondered if they will ever go back to their homes in Myanmar.

The calls to prayer came early in the large refugee camps. People lined up in temporary structures used as mosques³. Children with newly washed clothes watched from a window.

The four-day holiday of Eid al-Adha celebrates the Prophet Ibrahim and his willingness to sacrifice his son. Muslims often kill sheep, cattle or goats on the holiday. Some of the meat is distributed to the poor. But the refugees in this camp are the poor and few gave such gifts.

The Muslim Rohingyas have faced generations of discrimination in largely Buddhist⁴ Myanmar. They are denied citizenship⁵ rights, attacked and sometimes not able to practice their religion.

"We could not pray during Eid in my village for years, we had to pray secretly," said refugee Nurul Alam. "I have freedom here, but I don't want it here."

"We don't belong here," he continued. "It's good that nobody is coming to kill us, but I want to go back where my parents' graves are located."

More than 700,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh last year. They are fleeing a campaign of destruction by the Myanmar military and Buddhist mobs. The campaign followed attacks by a Rohingya rebel group.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the attacks by the Myanmar military. Rights activists⁶ believe it was the government’s attempt to drive the Rohyngya from the country.

Many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar see the Muslim Rohingyas as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. They call them "Bengalis." Most have long lived in poverty in Myanmar's Rakhine state, next to Bangladesh.

The events of the past year have made for a sad Eid al-Adha.

"We are happy, but again we are not happy, said 60-year-old Shamsul Alam as he walked to a mosque² for prayers. "I had my land…Here I don't have any problem for food, but I don't have what I need."

"I am nobody here," he said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

mosque – n. a building that is used for Muslim religious service

practice – v. to live according to the customs and teachings of a religion

grave – n. the place where a person is buried after death

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

4 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》