2007年VOA标准英语-Sierra Leone's Police Fill Security Role Follow

By Kari Barber
Freetown, Sierra Leone
19 September 2007
 

Sierra Leone is being watched as a test case for other post-conflict countries as national police take on many of the security roles once filled by United Nations peacekeepers. Kari Barber recently accompanied a police unit on night patrols in the capital, Freetown, and talked with officers about the challenges and responsibilities they face.

During Sierra Leone's presidential runoff earlier this month, police broke up what they say were attempts to disrupt the voting.  They say rocks and bottles found in the back of this car at a polling station were intended to be used as weapons.

The army also played a larger security role during the presidential election, the first without the presence of U.N. troops since the end of Sierra Leone's civil war in 2002. Peacekeepers withdrew from the West African country two years ago.

Much of the responsibility for the nation's security has come into the hands of armed police patrol units that U.N. and British forces trained after the war. The armed units perform 24-hour patrols of the city and deploy¹ trucks to areas of heightened tension.

Captain Mohammed Bangura says he feels proud to serve his nation. "This is the place where I find myself.  So if I find myself as a police, I get to work as a police and I get to serve my nation."

Sometimes armed only with sticks, police hold back crowds and try to cover a vast area with a force of less than 10,000 men and women.

Bangura says logistics are often difficult. "Who authorized² you to move from this location?" begins an encounter with another policeman. " I am at this look and you are not here.  Who authorized you?"

During the 11-year civil war, police were unable to safeguard the country. Alfred Sesay says he had just begun work as a policeman when the war began. "It was difficult because we were not capable and that time we were not mature enough.  But as time goes on we are used to the game, so from that time to now we know that war is our game.  So we do not have any fear, we do not have any panic."

Night falls as police patrol an area of recent clashes between rival political groups.  Police say markets also are areas of high crime at night.

Captain Bangura says as head of the group he feels personally responsible for the nation's security. "I am resting from four, five, six until seven.  Then I believe I will be rested and will come back to the office to see that everything is going smoothly³."

With one unit returned to base, another group sets out for a 12-hour patrol shift to ensure all is calm in the capital.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

3 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。