2006年VOA标准英语-UNHCR Sends First Convoys of Relief Supplies to

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
29 July 2006

The U.N. refugee agency is sending the first convoys¹ of aid for Lebanon from Syria today. The UNHCR says it plans to deliver 400 tons of emergency relief supplies to Beirut over three days.

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Lebanese Red Cross Youth Department workers dispense² medical supplies to a displaced woman and child
  
The U.N. High Commissioner³ for Refugees says seven trucks are carrying thousands of mattresses⁴, blankets, family tents and other supplies. 

UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says the agency has huge stockpiles of aid supplies in Syria and Jordan, but could not move them until now, because routes were closed and the journey was too dangerous.

"We are exploring land, sea and air routes to get greater quantities of relief supplies into Lebanon," she said.  "We are setting up a supply base in Larnaca [Cyprus], and examining using the port in Mersin in Turkey to ship supplies to Beirut.  Meanwhile, in both Lebanon and Syria, we are distributing supplies to displaced people in Lebanon.  They are supplies that we bought locally and in Syria, it is supplies from our stocks." 

Pagonis says the supplies going to Lebanon over the next three days are enough for more than 20,000 people.  The United Nations estimates more than 700,000 have been displaced in Lebanon since the conflict began. 

Pagonis says the UNHCR and local authorities estimate some 67,000 people are living in 220 public buildings.

"The major problems that we are noticing there is overcrowding and tremendous lack of sanitation⁵ facilities," she added.  "One school in the Aley Valley, which houses 400 people, has only one bathroom for women.  So this, of course, makes things extremely difficult."

In Syria, UNHCR border monitoring teams report a decrease in numbers of people coming across from Lebanon.  But, Pagonis says it is too early to determine if this is a trend.  She says more people fleeing attacks are expected to cross the border.  The UNHCR estimates about 20,000 Lebanese in Syria need assistance.

1 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

2 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

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 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

5 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。