世界难民日：难民勇气不可缺

World Refugee Day Focuses on Courage of Refugees

世界难民日：难民勇气不可缺

 

The United Nations refugee agency says more and more countries are shutting their doors to people in need of asylum¹. To mark World Refugee Day, June 20, the United Nations is focusing on the spirit and courage of the world's refugees.

 

For the past five and one half decades, the U.N. refugee agency has helped more than 50 million uprooted² people worldwide rebuild their lives.

 

Agency spokesman Rupert Colville says World Refugee Day pays tribute to the enormous courage of millions of refugees, who endure great suffering, without losing hope. He says it takes enormous courage just to get out of a repressive, unstable³ country alive.

 

Rupert Colville: Very often they face huge difficulties all along the line, obviously, initially⁴ escaping, but then, just surviving in an asylum country, getting education for children, making sure women are safe and are not being exploited in any way, finding some sort of work, if that is possible, and, just keeping their own morale⁵ and dignity alive in a situation where you are about as helpless as you can imagine.

 

The number of refugees worldwide has fallen to 9.2 million, the lowest level in a-quarter of a century. Despite this, Mr. Colville says, more countries are closing their doors to refugees and asylum-seekers.

 

He says Western European countries are the strictest in this regard. But, he says even African countries, notable for their generosity⁶ to asylum-seekers, are taking away the welcome mat. He says, in some sense, this is understandable.

 

Rupert Colville: You take a country like Tanzania, for example which was very generous to refugees for a long time. And, at one period was even giving them land and letting them settle and integrate locally. But, they had so many waves of refugees. Hundreds of thousands from Mozambique, from Burundi, from Rwanda, from Burundi and Rwanda again and again, three or four times different waves. Each time very, very large numbers. Tanzania clearly had enough. And, there you saw suddenly a very much a harshening of attitudes towards refugees.

 

The UN refugee agency says the best solution for refugees is voluntary repatriation⁷, but many people cannot go home. Until they can, it says, refugees need and deserve assistance and protection.

 

Lisa Schlein for VOA news, Geneva.

 

注释：

asylum [E5sailEm] n. 收容所，救济院

repressive [ri5presiv] adj. 压制的

generosity [7dVenE5rCsiti] n. 慷慨，大度

Mozambique [5mEuzEm5bi:k] n. 莫桑比克

Burundi [bu5rundi] n. 布隆迪

Rwanda [ru5AndE] n. 卢旺达

Tanzania [7tAnzE5ni:E] n. 坦桑尼亚

1 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。

2 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

7 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网