VOA常速英语2007年-IOM Launches New Campaign to Deter Dangerous Mi

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
07 December 2007

The International Organization for Migration¹ says it is starting a new outreach and information campaign to try to deter² Somali and Ethiopian migrants from making the dangerous journey to Yemen across the Gulf³ of Aden in smugglers boats. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from IOM headquarters in Geneva.

The town of Bossasso in Somalia's Puntland is considered a human smuggling⁴ hotspot. United Nations agencies estimate more than 1,200 people have died so far this year trying to make the dangerous journey from Bossasso to Yemen.

The International Organization for Migration says it is conducting a series of activities in Puntland, which it hopes will reduce the annual loss of lives among people resorting to smuggling networks to transport them to Yemen.

IOM spokeswoman, Jemini Pandya, says the agency's staff will provide information to migrants and asylum⁵ seekers of the dangers of their journey along the smuggling routes to Bossasso.

She says staff members will conduct so-called outreach missions in the town of Garow in Puntland. She notes most migrants coming from the capital Mogadishu stop off there on their way to Bossasso. She says similar missions will be conducted in Burao in Somaliland, the main transit⁶ point from Ethiopia.

"Along these transit points, IOM staff will be providing information to the migrants and asylum seekers on the dangers of their situation on their journey in addition to advocating for their rights and better protection among the local authorities, communities and elders because there are an awful lot of abuses taking place of the migrants and asylum seekers before they actually can get to Bossasso. The idea is that by placing our staff along these major routes we can help avert⁷ the tragedies likely to befall them once they also arrive in Bossasso and on route to Yemen," said Pandya.

IOM reports smugglers charge huge fees to transport migrants across the Gulf of Aden in rickety, overcrowded vessels⁸. It cites horrific cases of brutality⁹ and says smugglers often force their passengers overboard, causing many to drown.

Pandya says IOM staff will identify the most vulnerable migrants, such as unaccompanied minors¹⁰, victims of trafficking and asylum seekers and provide them with appropriate assistance.

"This deployment¹¹ will also allow us to gather data on migration trends and information, which will enable us to better profile the irregular migrants making this journey," she said. "Ultimately, we hope that this information and data will allow us... to come up with a much more effective humanitarian¹² response to this situation."

Pandya says within the next couple of weeks IOM plans to kick off information campaigns in Ethiopia.

She says Ethiopians account for about 40 percent of those who manage to reach Yemen and they too need to be made aware of the dangers that await them.

1 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。

2 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

5 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

6 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

7 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

10 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

12 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。