2006年VOA标准英语-World Refugee Day: Some Progress, but Millions

By Carolyn Weaver¹
Washington, DC
20 June 2006
 
watch World Refugee Day report

Child refugee   
  
June 20 is designated World Refugee Day. The United States has authorized² 7,000 refugees for entry into the country this year, although at present there is only enough funding for 54,000 -- and that includes slots for relatives of refugees already admitted. Carolyn Weaver talked to two officials, one from the State Department and one from the U.N. High Commissioner³ for Refugees, who help lead efforts to return refugees safely to their homes, or to settle in other countries.

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Wendy Young
  
Wendy Young is the coordinator⁴ for external relations for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, regional office in Washington, D.C. She says the good news is that refugee numbers are actually dropping. "This year, we experienced a 26-year low, she said. "The number of refugees that UNHCR is caring for dropped from about 9.5 million to 8.4 million this year."

Kelly Ryan is the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration⁵ at the Department of State. She says over half the world's refugees who are permitted third-country resettlement come to the United States. "The United States admits more than all of the 18 other resettlement countries in the world combined," she notes.

"One of the biggest challenges for UNHCR these days," says UNHCR's Wendy Young, "is the growth in internally displaced persons, or IDPs. These are individuals in refugee-like situations: they fled war, they fled persecution⁶, but they just haven't managed to cross an international border and therefore, the legal framework for refugee protection, the 1951 Refugee Convention, does not apply to IDPs. But many of their needs remain the same: protection, assistance, food, shelter, water, sanitation⁷, prevention of sexual violence against women and children. So, UNHCR agreed to live up to this challenge last year and live up to the protection of IDPs." 

 
Kelly Ryan 
  
Kelly Ryan adds, "The concentration of refugees is highest in Pakistan, where there's 2.6 million Afghans, but there are urgent refugee needs in Bangladesh, with some of the Burmese there, the Rohingya. I think if you look at the North Korean situation, it's hard to match the complete desperation of North Korean refugees who are scattered⁸ throughout Asia and Southeast Asia," she continued. "And if you look at some of the circumstances, for example this group we are taking from Burundi, who survived a massacre⁹ -- it's hard to imagine anything more horrible than watching your family members be macheted. So, these are victims of torture who will come to the U.S. this year."

"There are many regions around the world where UNHCR is monitoring quite closely because of growing instability in those regions," notes Wendy Young. "The one I would point to first is the region around Darfur. We're seeing that conflict start to ripple¹⁰ out across borders and now we're seeing unrest in Chad, for example. We're watching the Central African Republic closely. We're also concerned about situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea. And then there are the protracted¹¹ refugee situations around the world that may not be in the headlines at the moment. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a perfect example, where more than three million people have lost their lives to conflict-related causes since the late 1980s."

Kelly Ryan notes, "Many of the world's refugees live in Africa, so we give a large percentage to Africa. 13,000 will arrive from East Africa alone this year. Refugees are resettled across the United States, and this is through a public-private partnership¹², ten resettlement agencies. And they meet together and are notified of who's arriving, and what their nationality is, what their religion is. And they together work to decide what would be the best resettlement community for that refugee. And it's been a tremendously successful program, and it's operating in 48 states."

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 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？

5 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。

6 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

7 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

8 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

9 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

10 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

11 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。