2007年VOA标准英语-Humanitarian Situation in Sri Lanka Deteriorati

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
20 May 2007

ethnic1 Tamils prepare themselves to be registered with camp officials in Kiran, Sri Lanka (File Photo)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070606/1048360.jpg" width="206" vspace="2" border="0" />

Newly arrived internally displaced ethnic Tamils prepare themselves to be registered with camp officials in Kiran, Sri Lanka (File Photo)

The World Food Program warns renewed fighting in Sri Lanka's long-running civil war is worsening the humanitarian² situation for hundreds of thousands of civilians³. The U.N. agency is calling for more money and better access and security for aid workers trying to help thousands of people displaced by the fighting. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

The World Food Program reports about 400,000 people either displaced or affected⁴ by Sri Lanka's civil war are in need of food aid. But, reaching the victims is difficult.

WFP Spokeswoman, Christiane Bertiaume says many people have been displaced several times by the fighting.

She says they go back home to Batticaloa when things calm down, only to flee again when fighting resumes.

She says the WFP is working to increase food deliveries in Batticaloa District to make sure basic food supplies reach those people who were forced out of their homes during the past two months of fighting. She says the agency needs an additional $10.7 million in additional aid during the next six months. 

"We have big problems in Sri Lanka. We have an access problem to the most vulnerable people in the north and in the east of the country," said Bertiaume. "We have got security problems for our local and international staff. Some of them have even been threatened. The distribution of food is too slow in many places. We should be able to do that more quickly. And, more particularly in the region of Jaffna where our stock are very, very low."

The U.N. food agency says it wants to ship one-thousand metric tons of food to the Jaffna Peninsula, which is cut off from the rest of the country. The town of Jaffna is under government control, but rebels operate in the area. The WFP has not been granted the necessary permission nor guarantees of security to send a relief vessel⁵. 

Renewed fighting during the past two months has displaced more than 150,000 people in the eastern part of the island country. The Sri Lankan government recently began resettling about 90,000 of these people to the homes they fled in West Batticaloa.

U.N. refugee spokeswoman, Jennifer Pagonis, says they are expected to move back to their places of origin in the coming months in a phased operation.

"UNHCR is fully⁶ involved in this process and our staff monitoring the situation on the ground are saying that the majority of people are eager to return home, that the returns are voluntary and in line with international protection standards," she said.

Aid workers fear some of these people may be returning home against their will. They point to reports of forced returns during a similar resettlement program further north earlier this month.

Pagonis says the U.N. agency will continue to monitor these returns to make sure they are voluntary.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

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 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。