2007年VOA标准英语-UNHCR Says Thousands Fleeing Somali Capital

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
03 August 2007

The U.N. refugee agency reports between February and May, more than 400,000 civilians¹ fled the Somali capital Mogadishu.  This was sparked by heavy fighting between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government and insurgents².  The UNHCR says another 27,000 people have fled renewed violence since June.   Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

U.N. refugee spokesman, Ron Redmond, says people who have fled the capital describe life in Mogadishu as unbearable⁴.  They say the level of daily violence made it too dangerous to remain.

"They say the insecurity is widespread, with constant bombing and gun battles," he said.  "Mothers are unable to buy food for their children and workers unable to make a living.  They also complain that their children cannot attend school and many neighborhoods are isolated⁵ because of insecurity or road closures.  Young men told UNHCR that they left the capital for fear of being arrested, claiming that after outbreaks of violence, government forces sealed off the affected⁶ neighborhood and arrested any young men on the streets." 

Humanitarian7 Coordinator8 for Somalia Erick Laroche chats with handicapped girl in an internally displaced camp situated9 on the outskirts10 of Mogadishu, 1 Aug. 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070810/0920290.jpg" width="182" vspace="2" border="0" />

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Erick Laroche chats with handicapped girl in an internally displaced camp situated on the outskirts of Mogadishu, 1 Aug. 2007

The UNHCR says two-thirds of the families who have fled over the past two months have settled in the provinces surrounding Mogadishu.   It says thousands of others have fled further north.  This includes 2,600 people who went to the town of Galkayo, 700 kilometers north in the region of Puntland.

While the exodus¹¹ from Mogadishu continues, the UNHCR reports about 125,000 people who had fled the capital earlier in the year have gone back.  Despite the unstable¹² situation, Redmond says many people have returned to Mogadishu because of the dire¹³ conditions they faced outside the city.

"When they fled, you may recall we had stories, for example, of people being charged to sit in the shade of a tree in some of the surrounding communities," he said.  "The surrounding communities were absolutely swamped with people fleeing the city.  I remember one town where they were charging for shade, I think they had something like 40,000 people there.  So, in a situation like that, it is the lesser¹⁴ probably of two bad choices, so people go back home." 

Redmond points to the town of Galkayo to show how this could happen.  He says people told UNHCR harrowing tales of their flight along the dangerous road from Mogadishu to Galkayo.   Many reported robberies and some women spoke³ of being raped¹⁵ by armed militiamen and thugs. 

He says Galkayo is overcrowded and lacks water, sanitation¹⁶, education and health services.  He says most of the displaced say they want to go back to Mogadishu as soon as possible.

1 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。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 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。

7 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。

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

10 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

11 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

12 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

13 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

14 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

15 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

16 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。