工作重点转向为受灾民众提供住所

 

Focus Turns to Housing Millions Left Homeless by Tsunami¹

工作重点转向为受灾民众提供住所

Across the affected² countries, volunteers, governments and aid agencies are trying to stave off hunger and disease among the millions of displaced people crowded in temporary shelters that have sprung up in schools and public buildings.

Disaster management experts say the real challenge will be to resettle these vast numbers of poor people back in their villages and towns. Most of them have lost whatever they had: homes, possessions, money and a means of living. In many cases, all signs of their settlements have vanished.

Alan Bradbury with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in South Asia says the task could take more than a year.

Alan Bradbury: The rehabilitation³ that is going to be required to get people back on their feet after this disaster is going to be a very large and ongoing⁴ challenge for everybody involved.

In some countries, such as India, the focus is already turning to how to help tsunami survivors⁵ rebuild their lives. J. Gandhimati, joint⁶ secretary at India's Red Cross Society, says most of the people will have to start from scratch, especially in India's fishing communities, whose boats are battered⁷, and fishing nets are gone.

J. Gandhimati: When they go back, they need everything, roof over their head and clothing, the basic kitchen utensils⁸ and something for their livelihood⁹.

The task is most challenging in smaller countries, such as Sri Lanka, where more than one million people became homeless when the waves destroyed an entire coastline. Hundreds of villages and communities have to be resettled. More than one-fifth of the country is now without homes. Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga says the country needs millions of dollars to cope.

Chandrika Kumaratunga: Our next biggest problem to which we have started giving thought is the reconstruction¹⁰ process, rebuilding the nation. It is going to, perhaps, cost close up on tens-of-billions of rupees. The damage to buildings, houses, vehicles and equipment is enormous.

Aid workers say the most vulnerable among these survivors are tens-of-thousands of children, many of whom may have lost one or both parents, and sometimes even their entire families.

A senior official at U.N. children's fund in Colombo, Martin Dawes, says the immediate¹¹ focus will be on ensuring these children survive the aftermath of the recent disaster by getting access to food, shelter and clean water. But he says special attention needs to be given to their needs in the future.

Martin Dawes: They will need long-term help, particularly the children, because they are traumatized, and we want to restore their childhood. We basically want to be able to get them back to school, so they can talk to other children and lessen¹³ their trauma¹², and we want them to be able to be back in some kind of secure family environment.

In Sri Lanka, some grieving families who had lost their own children in the disaster are reported to be taking away orphaned¹⁴ children to make up for their loss. That has prompted an appeal from authorities to follow proper procedures for adoption¹⁵.

I’m  Anjana Pasricha，for VOA news, New Delhi.

 

注释：

resettle [5ri:5setl] v. 重新定居

possession [pE5zeFEn] n. 财产

battered [5bAtEd] adj. 打扁了的

entire [in5taiE] adj. 整个的

rupee [5ru:pi:] n. 卢比

vulnerable [5vQlnErEb(E)l] adj. 易受攻击的

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

8 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

9 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

10 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

13 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

14 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

15 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。