2007年VOA标准英语-ICRC Deplores Worsening Conditions in Darfur

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
23 February 2007

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross says conditions are worsening for people in Sudan's province of Darfur, amid increasing violence and deteriorating¹ security. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva, where the Red Cross leader briefed reporters on his visit to Darfur.

 
Jakob Kellenberger gives a press conference at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, 23 Feb 2007
ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger says parts of Darfur are so dangerous that all humanitarian² agencies have left. Only the Red Cross remains³ to minister to the needs of the people.

During his visit, the Red Cross president went to the cities of Nyala and al-Fashir and the town of Gereida in Darfur, all of which are close to the border with Chad. He says the deteriorating security situation is making access to people in need more and more difficult.

"What is increasing is the banditry and criminality, and that is mainly responsible for the deteriorating security situation… Unfortunately, it does not mean that there are no longer violations⁴ of international humanitarian law," he said.

Kellenberger says he told government officials and rebel groups that they must respect international humanitarian laws, and they must ensure law and order in the areas they control.

 
A displaced Sudanese woman carries her sons in the Otach Displaced Persons camp in the city of Nyala in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, 22 Feb 2007
Many aid agencies are assisting internally displaced people in camps. Therefore, the Red Cross has mainly concentrated on helping⁵ people in inaccessible⁶ rural areas, where other agencies do not go. But Kellenberger says the Red Cross has been forced to depart from this strategy and assume responsibility for the Gereida camp.

He says aid workers who had been caring for people in the camp left after suffering a brutal⁷ attack in December. He says someone has to supply the 120,000 inhabitants in Gereida with food, water and health care.

"These people, they cannot go home because their villages are burnt and the security environment is so bad that in fact they have no alternative. And, so we had decided⁸ to take it over… It means that our exposure in Darfur will be even bigger, also in security terms, and it means also that our needs in terms of human and financial resources will increase," said Kellenberger.

The Red Cross says more and more people in Darfur are unable to tend to their fields or to their animals because of increasing violence and insecurity. As life becomes more difficult, the Red Cross says many of these people are leaving their homes and seeking refuge in camps for internally displaced people, which already are overflowing⁹.

1 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

2 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。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 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。

9 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。