2006年VOA标准英语-Many Iraqis Are Heading North To Avoid Fighting

By Jim Randle
Irbil, Iraq
28 September 2006

The surge in sectarian violence in Iraq that followed last February's bombing of a Shit'ite shrine¹ in Samaara is forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in southern and central Iraq. Many are heading to the relative calm of the Kurdish Region in northern Iraq. VOA's Jim Randle reports from the northern city of Irbil, where refugee agencies and the regional government are scrambling² to determine what kind of help they need.

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A displaced Iraqi boy

Abuzaid Suliaman, his wife, and some of his children and grandchildren are crowded into one room of a relative's house here in Irbil.

His family fled a spacious³ house in Baghdad when the fighting in their neighborhood made it too dangerous to stay.

Suliaman is Kurdish, and he says, if Shi'ites or Sunnis questioned his family and learned they were Kurds, they might be in danger.

So, he left Baghdad with six family members leaving behind almost everything but the clothes they were wearing.

Thousands of Shi'ite and Sunni Arabs have been victims of intimidation⁴, and many, like the Suliamans, have decided⁵ to flee homes they owned for decades and head for the relative safety of northern Iraq.

But the Kurdistan regional government's coordinator⁶ for U.N. affairs, Dindar Zebari, says his government and U.N. agencies are already stretched thin taking care of refugees from Kurdish areas across the border and internally displaced, or IDPs, who are already here. He says, if they are going to take in more, they will need more help from Iraq's central government.

"Because most of the support and help that was given to Iraq was concentrated in the south, and also in the center of Iraq, for the last three years, and the issue of refugees and IDPs has not been taken care of in our part of the country," said Dindar Zebari.

Dr. Giorgio Francia, an official with Qandil, the Swedish-based refugee agency, says at least 10,000 families have fled to Irbil and surrounding areas of northern Iraq in the last few months. That means about 50,000 people, or perhaps more, are in need of shelter, work and, in many cases, schooling⁷, as well as other services.

Francia says, so far, the flow of displaced people appears manageable, but that may change, depending on the security situation in central and southern Iraq.

"If there is a tremendous evolution for the worse in the south, they will come in the mass," said Giorgio Francia.

Francia says a rapid flood of displaced people might force officials to establish camps for IDPs. He says officials are reluctant to do this because such camps can stay open for decades and make people dependent.

"But still, if there are 10,000 people squatting⁸ in public buildings, you better create a camp, so everyone will have shelter, everyone will have some form of health assistance," he said.

Meanwhile, many of those who have sought refuge here, dream of returning home.

Suliaman's wife, Noria Abid Ali, says she misses the house she left behind in Baghdad.

She says she hopes to go home sometime, perhaps soon, if God wills it.

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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？

7 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

8 squatting   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• They ended up squatting in the empty houses on Oxford Road. 他们落得在牛津路偷住空房的境地。
• They've been squatting in an apartment for the past two years. 他们过去两年来一直擅自占用一套公寓。 来自《简明英汉词典》