2007年VOA标准英语-Kurdish Victims of Chemical Ali Celebrate His I

By Brian Padden
Irbil, Iraq
06 September 2007
 

Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali

An Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday [September 4th] upheld death sentences for Ali Hassan al-Majid, the man known as "Chemical Ali," and two other lieutenants¹ of Saddam Hussein. All were convicted of crimes against humanity for their roles in massacres² of Kurds two decades ago.  VOA's Brian Padden spoke³ to a number of surviving victims of these massacres who are celebrating what they say is justice long delayed.   

Nazreen Omar Hoffman

Nazreen Omar Hoffman was three months pregnant with her son when her Kurdish village was attacked.  She survived, but her husband and 14 other family members were killed. Hoffman says words cannot describe how she felt when she heard the news that the man responsible for the attack will soon be executed. "I took my kid's hands and I was dancing and singing.  It was justice.  We could feel it."

Abdullah Jabar was only five years old when his father was killed.  But he too was overcome with emotion when he heard that Chemical Ali would be executed. 

Abdullah Jabar

"It is hard to think that justice will finally be done, especially for a man that killed your father, your cousins, everything."

The Iraqi appeals court ruled that Ali Hassan al-Majid and his two co-defendants will be executed within 30 days.  Ali was Saddam Hussein's cousin and once among the most feared men in Iraq.  He was one of the architects of Operation Anfal, a series of deportations and mass killings⁴ campaigns that killed as many as 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s.  He earned the nickname Chemical Ali for allegedly ordering the poison gas attack that killed more than 5,000 Kurds in the Halabja in 1988. 

Chnar Abdullah heads the Kurdish Anfal Ministry⁵ that provides assistance to Ali's victims.  She says his execution is an important public acknowledgment of the atrocities⁶ committed against the Kurds. "The people, the victims, will never forget.  Everyday the pain is fresh in their minds and they cannot forget and maybe cannot forgive.  What we want to do now is make the case known to all people, all nations, all countries."

Abdullah says Ali's execution is ultimately a hopeful sign that even after 20 years, justice can prevail. 

1 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网

2 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

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 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 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》