2006年VOA标准英语-Study: Ignorance, Uncertainty Fueled Refug

By Karem Said
Cairo
27 February 2006

A Sudanese refugee hangs an anti-UN placard as refugees camp out in a cramped¹ Cairo park  
  
The Forced Migration² and Refugee Studies department at The American University in Cairo has found that a number of factors led to the three-month Sudanese refugee protest in Cairo.  Interest in the research, which will be released at the end of the month, has grown since last December's brutal³ arrest and detainment of the refugees protesting decisions made by the U.N. resettlement office.

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Students and researchers from The American University in Cairo were already investigating the living conditions of refugees in an urban setting like Cairo when police stormed the Sudanese protest camp in Moustafa Mahmoud Square.

In the early hours of December 30, riot police surrounded at least 2,000 protesters in an attempt to load them onto buses headed for detainment centers.  When the protesters resisted, police doused⁴ them with water cannons⁵ and beat them with batons⁶. 

Families were separated and 27 refugees were killed.  More refugees are reported to have died in detainment centers due to a lack of medical attention.

The police raid gave the university research study a new sense of urgency.  The university's Forced Migration and Refugee Studies department reacted by sending teams of researchers to focus on interviewing Sudanese refugees.

Their findings take into account the history of migration and cooperation between Sudan and Egypt.  Program director Fateh Azzam said between two million to four million people from Sudan are living in Egypt, many of them since the 1960s and 1970s, but it is nearly impossible for them to fully⁷ integrate as Egyptians.

"There has always been a historic relationship with Egypt," said Mr. Azzam.  "They have come here, they have married Egyptians and vice-versa.  You know, and they work, they have businesses, they are professors in universities, including here at AUC.  Egypt has been very hospitable⁸ as a host country in many ways, for Sudanese generally, because of the historic relationship, but also for the refugees - not only Sudanese refugees.  But the possibility of real integration⁹ and acquisition of citizenship¹⁰, and that sort of, becoming Egyptian, are very, very slim.  It is not easy to get Egyptian citizenship.  It is extremely difficult."

The number of refugees entering Egypt depends largely on the degree of political strife¹¹ in neighboring Sudan. 

The more powerful northern Sudan, dominated by Muslims, signed a peace treaty with the largely Christian¹² and animist south, ending a civil war that lasted for more than 10 years.  But some fighting remains¹³ in the south, and in 2003 a new conflict arose in the western region of Darfur.

The protesters who camped for three months in Cairo's Moustafa Mahmoud square came from across Sudan to see the regional U.N. resettlement office, hoping to go to countries like Australia, Canada and America.

But the UNHCR stopped the Sudanese resettlement process after the north-south Sudan peace treaty was signed.  The assistant regional UNHCR representative Damtew Dessalegne said the decision was in the refugees' best interest.

"[The] situation was changing in Sudan, particularly in South Sudan," said Mr. Dessalegne.  "Positive developments.  Therefore, not every thousand Sudanese coming to Egypt may make a protection case, if you like, because of the positive developments.  On the other hand, an opposite development in Western Sudan, in Darfur. There is no need for us, for UNHCR, to interview a Darfurian for two, three hours in order to find out why that person fled Sudan.  It was obvious, it was clear from objective facts we had.  Therefore, why not automatically issue the persons protection through a residence permit issued by the authorities, without interview.  That was the rationale.  So it was in the best interest of the individuals themselves that we temporarily suspend refugee-status determination."

The university's research shows that UNHCR's suspension of interviews ultimately let to the three-month protest, said Azzam.  He said residence permits have to be renewed every six months, meaning refugees always feel they are in limbo¹⁴.

But Fateh Azzam said that other factors, like ignorance, also led to the unrest:

"What we found is, in fact, in this research is that there is a serious lack of information.  People do not know how to access services, whether it is healthcare or education or any other," added Fateh Azzam.  "People are very unclear about what they have the right to access and what they do not have the right to access.  There are a lot of assumptions and many of it, it is on the part of the Sudanese refugee community themselves about, you know, 'No, you cannot go and get education there, because that is only for Christians,' or 'That is only for Muslims.'  Or you know, 'Because the service is provided at a church, I as a Muslim Sudanese am not supposed to go there.'  You know, rumors¹⁵ of that sort and misinformation of that sort.  And there is really no place, and that is, I think, it is a failure on the part of UNHCR, in terms of actually providing very clear information for asylum¹⁶ seekers and refugees about what they can access to make their lives somewhat easier and manageable while they are waiting for what happens in the future."

Azzam said refugees also complain about discrimination and racist¹⁷ comments they encounter on the street.  Some hostility¹⁸ may be attributed to Egyptians in the informal sector¹⁹ who compete with the Sudanese refugees for work.

But Azzam said there is also a reverse racism²⁰ to consider.  Many Sudanese do not want their kids learning Arabic in Egyptian schools, and they would rather fight for resettlement in countries like Australia than try to integrate with Egyptian society.  He said many of the refugees end up marginalizing themselves.

After the police raid, UNHCR worked to gain the release of the more than 600 protesters who remained in detention²¹.  Dessalegne said the final group of detainees was released on February 12.

Meanwhile, the U.N. office has been tackling an enormous backlog²² of refugees from Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea.  Once the Sudanese protesters were removed from Moustafa Mahmoud Square, once all their belongings²³ were cleared and new trees were planted, these other refugees began gathering²⁴ daily in the same spot to demand services.  In the first two weeks, Dessalegne said as many as 500 refugees gathered there per day.

Azzam said the backlog can be attributed to UNHCR closing its office during the three-month Sudanese protest.  But Dessalegne denies that UNHCR closed its office, saying they only reduced services.  He blames the protesters for obstructing²⁵ access to the office, although the office can be accessed by multiple routes.

"There is a mix of factors," said Damtew Dessalegne.  "Some, yes, especially the Sudanese, there was intimidation²⁶, because those in the park wanted their Sudanese fellow nationals to join the protest and not to deal with UNHCR.  Other nationalities, it is just a logistical problem that prevented them from coming to UNHCR. Some others thought that UNHCR is simply not operating, dealing²⁷ only with the protest and not with any other issue.  So it was for a number of reasons people were not coming to UNHCR or were not able to access UNHCR."

Dessalegne said the Egyptian government could be doing more to aid refugees.  He said Egypt is a state partner in a 1951 refugee convention that assures refugees more rights than the right to remain.  Yet, the unstated policy in Egypt, he said, is that their stay in the country is temporary, because of overpopulation and a lack of resources.

Azzam said that since most Sudanese refugees are not prepared to go back to Sudan, and since they cannot be resettled, the message they are getting is that they will have to stay for the indefinite future, trying to survive in a place where they are not welcome.

1 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 doused   

v.浇水在…上( douse的过去式和过去分词 )；熄灯[火]

参考例句：

• The car was doused in petrol and set alight. 这辆汽车被浇上汽油点燃了。
• He doused the lamp,and we made our way back to the house. 他把灯熄掉，我们就回到屋子里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

9 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

10 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。

11 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

15 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

18 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

19 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

20 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

21 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

22 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

23 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

24 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

25 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

26 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

27 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。