2006年VOA标准英语-Doctors Without Borders Displays Refugee Camp i

By Kane Farabaugh
New York City
06 October 2006
 
watch Doctor Without Border

Makeshift refugee camp in Brooklyn, NY  
  
Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medicines Sans Frontieres, or MSF, is taking its work on the road - in the United States.  The non-governmental organization is hoping a multi-city public education campaign will help draw attention to its work and the plight¹ of the people it helps.

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The US Committee for Refugees says there are 33 million refugees in the world.  More than 20 million are internally displaced people seeking safety from conflict in their own countries.

 
Brett Davis
  
This human tragedy is a way of life that Doctors Without Borders Project Coordinator² Brett Davis experienced first-hand while working in the Darfur region of Sudan. "I think it's really difficult to try to explain it.  It's something that you really have to experience to understand the hardship people go through."

And Doctors Without Borders is now attempting to recreate that experience for people in the United States.

Here in the heart of Brooklyn, the rolling green fields of Prospect³ Park are transformed into a makeshift refugee camp.

The exhibit is filled with actual items the organization uses in the field.  The simple straw huts and plastic tarp tents stand in stark⁴ contrast to the expensive apartment buildings just meters away. 

It is a way of life many of the thousands of people who wandered through the exhibit have never experienced, or witnessed first-hand. 

 
Nicholas de Torrente
  
That's one of the goals of this campaign, according to Doctors Without Borders U.S. Executive Director Nicholas de Torrente.  Another goal is to draw the attention of visitors and the media to what he calls lesser-known crises throughout the world such as Colombia and Congo. "The media often doesn't pay attention to these crises, these conflicts, and we call them neglected or under reported, so I think that there is a big gap there in terms of media coverage⁵ of what's happening in some of these areas."

Some familiar Hollywood faces are helping⁶ the effort to raise awareness⁷.  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made news with a $1 million donation to Doctors Without Borders while the exhibit was on display in New York.

"She gave us an unrestricted gift which basically allows us to do the work, be true to humanitarian⁸ principles which is to go where the needs are the greatest, to help people who are in the most difficult conditions," explained de Torrente.  "That money doesn't have strings⁹ attached."

While money and awareness go a long way in helping the organization alleviate¹⁰ suffering, it doesn't solve all its problems.

Doctors Without Borders considers the security situation in Iraq too great a risk for its staff.  In 2004, the group shut down operations in the war torn country and has not been able to return.

The Doctors Without Borders "Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City" plans to make stops in Atlanta and Nashville later this year.

1 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 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。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 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。

9 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

10 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。