2006年VOA标准英语-Palestinians in Iraq Report Death Threats

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
24 March 2006

The U.N. refugee agency says it is concerned about the situation of Palestinians in Baghdad.  It says over 100 Palestinian families reportedly had received written death threats and that many are in a state of shock and panic. 

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Thick smoke is seen on the sky line of Baghdad at sunset, after drive-by shootings, roadside bombings and sectarian killings¹ left 30 dead in Iraq Friday
  

The U.N. refugee agency says the Palestinians are feeling increasingly trapped.  It says many have stopped going to work and have taken their children out of school for security reasons. 

UNHCR Spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says all Iraqis are affected² by the general insecurity in the country, but the estimated 34,000 Palestinians in Iraq feel especially vulnerable and targeted, as they were seen to have been treated favorably by Saddam Hussein's regime.

"What we are seeing now is a backlash against them,” she explained.  “I cannot tell you exactly who is threatening them, but they are receiving death threats.  They are being kidnapped like other people.  But, they feel more targeted than what is happening in the Iraqi community in general because of their situation under the previous regime." 

Pagonis says the UNHCR remains³ concerned about the fate of a group of 88 Palestinians, including children and elderly, who were stuck in “No Man's Land” at the Iraqi-Jordanian border after leaving Baghdad last weekend because of the insecurity.  She says the group since has been moved back to the Iraqi side of the border.

She says Jordan has closed the border to refugees, so there is little chance the Palestinians will be able to cross over. 

She tells VOA that the international non-governmental organization that escorted the Palestinians to the border is the Christian⁴ Peacemakers Trust.  Four members of the group were taken hostage four months ago.  Three surviving hostages were rescued Thursday.

Pagonis says the border area is desolate⁵ and very inhospitable. "We have groups that have been stuck there previously⁶ for up to about two years,” she said. “It is extremely difficult for aid organizations, not only UNHCR, to try and get assistance to these people.  So they end up in a situation where they are at the border, they do not have food, they do not have water.  They have got minimal⁷ shelter - and how are we, the humanitarian⁸ community, going to ensure that these people can survive there?” she continued.  “It seems very strange that you take people to a border where you know they are not going to get across." 

Pagonis says a team of aid workers managed to reach the border area Thursday night and deliver a 5-7 day supply of food and other basic items to the Palestinians.  She says the group is adamant⁹ they do not want to return to any part of Iraq.

1 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

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 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。

4 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。

5 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

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 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。