2007年VOA标准英语-Study: Child Soldiers Suffer from Emotional Str

By David McAlary
Washington
20 April 2007

An international human rights group says child soldiers as young as 13 are serving in the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Human Rights Watch is urging the Congolese government to release the estimated 300 to 500 youngsters, whom they inherited when they absorbed the armies of former rebel warlords under terms of a peace plan. The Congolese situation is not unique. The United Nations estimates that 300,000 children serve as indentured¹ soldiers in rebel and government armies around the world. VOA's David McAlary reports from Washington that if the youngsters survive their ordeal², they are usually left with severe psychological wounds.

solders3 stand talking near the small village of Boga near Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo (2004 file photo)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070601/0901590.jpg" width="192" vspace="2" border="0" />

Child solders stand talking near the small village of Boga near Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo (2004 file photo)

Human Rights Watch says the average child soldier is aged⁴ 13-17, but some have been as young as eight or nine. Most are unwilling⁵ militants⁶, abducted⁷ from their villages to serve as soldiers, guerrilla fighters, or supporting roles in armed conflicts in more than 50 countries. They wield⁸ weapons in battle, serve as human mine detectors⁹, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts¹⁰.

"Children by the thousands have been literally¹¹ kidnapped from their homes and their communities, and subjected to the most horrific forms of violence," said the children's rights advocate for Human Rights Watch, Jo Becker.

She says children typically make obedient soldiers because they are vulnerable and easily intimidated¹².

"They are forced to commit atrocities¹³ against members of their own community, sometimes members of their own family," she said. "The girls are often used as wives by the commanders and subjected to what is essentially¹⁴ sexual slavery."

"They are terrorized into compliance¹⁵ by being threatened with death, if they try to run away, and even being forced to kill other children who try to escape," she added.

Studies show that these youths are left with severe psychological scars.

In Belgium, Ghent University researcher Ilse Derluyn and colleagues interviewed more than 300 former child soldiers who had been abducted by the northern Ugandan rebel movement, Lord's Resistance Army. 

Ninety seven percent suffered post-traumatic stress disorder¹⁶ after an average of two years in servitude. Derluyn says their problems were typical of this syndrome¹⁷ -- persistent¹⁸ nightmares and trouble sleeping and concentrating that lingered long after their ordeal ended.

"These do not get better with time," said Derluyn. "Even the children who returned a long time ago from their abduction still suffer from post-traumatic stress reaction."

The researchers found that children suffered less stress if their parents were still alive, especially their mother. Derluyn says reuniting them with their families and previous social networks would help restore their psychological health. But many of the children are not so fortunate.

"A lot of children do not have parents anymore, or one of the parents has died," she said.  "Also, they committed a lot of atrocities against their own neighborhoods sometimes, so it is quite difficult to reintegrate them into the neighborhood and the living situation."

The international community has focused on the child soldier problem in recent years. The 2002 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Labor¹⁹ Organization, and the African Charter on Rights and Welfare of the Child ban the use of children as soldiers. The International Criminal Court defines child military recruitment as a war crime.

The U.N. Security Council has condemned²⁰ the practice and passed six resolutions against it since 1999. The most recent, in 2005, outlines a system of reporting and monitoring.

The United Nations Children's Fund has worked with governments and private organizations to demobilize and rehabilitate²¹ thousands of children in Sierra Leone, southern Sudan, Afghanistan and other countries.

But Jo Becker of Human Rights Watch says that the Security Council has applied²² sanctions only twice. Last year it imposed travel bans on and froze assets of recruiters in Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast. She says sanctions must be more common.

"What we need are concrete actions that show that the legal framework is not just words on paper," said Ms. Becker. "We do need active prosecution²³ by national courts, as well as ad hoc tribunals and the International Criminal Court. Another thing we need is strong action by the U.N. Security Council that will impose targeted measures against the parties that are responsible."

Ms. Becker says individual nations should also impose their own sanctions against those who traffic in child soldiers.

1 indentured   

v.以契约束缚（学徒）( indenture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Africans became indentured servants, trading labor for shelter and eventual freedom. 非洲人成为契约上的仆人，以劳力交换庇护及最终的自由。 来自互联网
• They are descendants of indentured importees. 他们是契约外来工的后代。 来自互联网

2 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

3 solders   

n.焊料，焊锡( solder的名词复数 )v.（使）焊接，焊合( solder的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We fused the pipes with solders. 我们用焊锡熔接管子。 来自辞典例句
• Solders ate a great number of potatoes during World War II. 第二次世界大战期间的士兵吃了很多的土豆。 来自互联网

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

8 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

9 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

10 lookouts   

n.寻找（ 某人/某物）( lookout的名词复数 )；是某人（自己）的问题；警戒；瞭望台

参考例句：

• Lookouts were spotted all along the coast. 沿海岸都布置了监视哨。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lookouts and leadsmen in bulky life jackets stumbled and slipped after him. 监视哨和测深员穿着饱鼓鼓的救生衣，跌跌撞撞地跟在他后面。 来自辞典例句

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

16 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

17 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

18 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

19 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

20 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

21 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

22 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

23 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。