2007年VOA标准英语-UN Peacekeepers Cracking Down on Violence in Ha

By Carmen Gentile
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
17 September 2007
 

More than three years into their mission in Haiti, United Nations peacekeepers say they have broken a wave of violence and crime across the Caribbean nation. Many Haitians say the U.N. force has improved security conditions but they also say opportunities for jobs and development still remain scarce. From Port-au-Prince, Carmen Gentile reports.

UN peacekeepers on patrol in Haiti

Every day, U.N. peacekeeping troops from Brazil patrol the streets of the most notorious slum in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. For more than three years, the troops have been building a presence in Cite Soleil in an effort to combat the violent gangs and criminal groups that operate in the vast shanty¹ town.

U.N. troops have battled armed groups several times in Cite Soleil since they were deployed² to the Caribbean nation after a revolt forced former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to flee in 2004. But a recent crackdown on armed groups still loyal to Aristide has helped bring order to the capital.

Street commerce has returned to the city. Children play in parks. And in slums once considered strictly³ gang territory, a sense of normalcy is emerging.

Edmond Mulet

Edmond Mulet, who until last month was the U.N.'s Special Representative in Haiti, says crime is down since the crackdown earlier this year. "For the last three and a half months, we have not received one single shot, a single attack, nobody has fired at us. That proves the situation has changed in a very positive sense lately here."

Mulet says one key step to breaking the hold of criminal gangs was to stop talks between Haiti's government and powerful gang leaders about a possible deal to end violence. "They [gang leaders] wanted money, they wanted impunity⁴, they wanted guarantees they would not be prosecuted⁵ for crimes they committed. They wanted passports, they wanted visas to go and live in the United States for example. All of those things were unacceptable."

In recent months, U.N. forces and Haitian police have arrested more than 600 alleged⁶ gang members, including many suspected leaders involved in kidnapping and murder.

But not all Haitians welcome the peacekeepers' efforts. Recently, dozens of protesters gathered outside the U.N. headquarters in Cite Soleil to denounce the heavy-handed response to crime. Haitian human rights groups have accused U.N. soldiers of killing⁷ several innocent civilians⁹. U.N. officials deny this, saying they have not caused a single civilian⁸ casualty since the mission began in the spring of 2004.

In Haiti, jobs are scarce

Some Haitians also complain that little is being done to create jobs or spur development in what is the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation. Cite Soleil resident Samuel Jean Baptiste says the U.N. mission has brought improvements, but he says many people live in very difficult conditions. "We are fighting to stop the suffering, until now we have suffering. If the suffering does not stop we will keep fighting."

Others, like Haitian lawyer Osner Fevry, want the U.N. mission, or MINUSTAH, to leave the country immediately. Fevry calls the troops an illegal occupying force bent¹⁰ on keeping Haiti down. "Minustah is not a U.N. peace mission. It's a force of occupation. We must realize that is was demanded by the Haitian authorities. But the chaos¹¹ was created by the same international community that has forced the Haitian authorities to demand the deployment¹² in Haiti of this MINUSTAH."

However, Haitian President Rene Preval has praised efforts to improve order, saying security is crucial to the government's work of ending corruption¹³ and boosting the economy. Until Haiti rebuilds its own security forces, the government will continue to rely on U.N. forces and other international support.

Last month, Mr. Preval welcomed U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who came to Haiti to view the work of the U.N. mission.  Mr. Ban is asking U.N. members to agree to extend the mission for another year when its term expires on Oct. 15.

1 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

4 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

5 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 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。

10 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。