VOA常速英语2007年-Death Toll Climbs Among West African Migrants

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
07 November 2007

Nearly 50 migrants from West Africa died off the coast of Mauritania this week, when their boat became stranded¹ as they tried to make the dangerous and illegal crossing to Europe.   The incident is one of the worst this year.  Selah Hennessy reports from the VOA West Africa bureau in Dakar immigration officials say the number of people attempting the dangerous crossing appears to have gone down.

Mohamed Ould Hamada is head of the Mauritanian branch of the Red Cross.

He says four people have died since the rescue mission Tuesday, and another eight are in critical condition in hospital.

He says the migrants are from all-over West Africa, but especially from Senegal.  He says many are very young, some as young as 12.

Local journalist Salem Bokari says the boat departed from southern Senegal more than two weeks ago, with almost 150 passengers on board, and was headed to the Canary Islands.  He says the boat suffered engine failure last week off the coast of Morocco.

He says those who died had suffered from thirst, hunger, and hypothermia.  

London-based Africa analyst³ David Hartwell says a major effort is being made by the United States and the European Union to stem the tide of illegal migrants to Europe.

He says Spain especially, a popular landing point, has increased its fight against clandestine⁴ migration² in recent years.

Hartwell says Madrid has signed cooperation and repatriation⁵ agreements with numerous African countries, including Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.

"They have mounted obviously additional patrols and they are taking a more pro-active stance around the Canaries and around their own coast-lines; more coast-guard patrols; more high-tech⁶ scanning equipment, that kind of thing," he said.

But he says the main problem lies with African countries themselves, who do not have the resources or infrastructure⁷ to combat illegal migration; and who have failed to cooperate on a regional basis to solve the problem.

"The security forces within these countries are in general very, very poorly equipped to be able to meet the challenge posed by long porous⁸ borders, desert terrain⁹; and the lack of meaningful cooperation on a regional level, and even on a slightly wider level, is a major, major obstacle also to effectively tackle the problem," he added.

He says the fight against illegal immigration does, nonetheless, seem to be making progress.

According to surveillance experts, there has been a 60 percent decrease in the number of African migrants arriving in the Canary Islands during the first sixth months of this year, as compared to the same period in 2006.

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

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 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

5 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

6 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

9 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。