VOA标准英语2008年-Ethnic Tensions Running High in Kenya

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
02 January 2008

Ethnic¹ tensions continue to run high in Kenya where there have been threats of revenge following the deaths on Tuesday of at least 30 children and adults who had taken refuge in a church in the Rift² Valley town of Eldoret. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from Nairobi, diplomatic efforts, including mediation³ by the African Union, are underway to try to end the post-election violence that has killed more than 300 people.

An ethnic Kikukyu resident of Eldoret, who only identifies himself as Gachoka, tells VOA the angry mob that attacked the church in Eldoret were members of the ethnic Luo and Kalenjin tribes, who believe incumbent⁴ President Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, stole last Thursday's presidential elections from his Luo challenger, Raila Odinga.

The mob set the church ablaze⁵, burning a group of Kikukyus who had sought refuge there from violence that has uprooted⁶ more than 70,000 Kenyans since the announcement of election results on Sunday. More than 5,000 people are believed to have fled to neighboring Uganda.

Gachoka says he and his wife and five children are now in hiding, fearing the worst.

"The Kalenjins and the Luos, they are ganging [up[ against the Kikuyus. The situation is very tense. Unless the government acts very quickly, it will erupt into a tribal⁷ war, pitting Kikuyus against the other tribes," he said.

VOA has learned that thousands of Kikukyu men, armed with guns, attempted to travel to Eldoret from Nairobi overnight by road, but could not pass heavily-guarded police checkpoints. The men are now reportedly trying to travel there in small groups.

In Naivasha town in the Rift Valley, dozens of people were wounded in revenge attacks Tuesday night. About 300 terrified residents are said have taken refuge at a local police station and prison.

Since Kenya re-introduced multiparty elections in 1992, the country's roughly 40 ethnic groups have competed at the polls for political power. But for decades, the largest ethnic group, the Kikuyus, have dominated Kenya both politically and financially.

The former executive director of Transparency International in Kenya, Mwalimu Mati, says the current level of ethnic tension is among the highest he has ever seen. He says he believes the only way to ease tensions is to quickly find a solution to the political crisis.

"I am not one of those predicting civil war. This is a politically-instigated violence resulting, I believe, primarily from the illegitimate end to the presidential elections," he said. "The ordinary Kenyan is not psyched up, as it were, to hate people from other tribes."

President Kibaki was sworn in for a second term on Sunday despite widespread allegations of vote-rigging. Opposition⁸ leader Raila Odinga has vowed⁹ to set up a parallel government, prompting fears that the election dispute could fuel more unrest in what had been one of the most stable countries in Africa.

The head of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, is in Nairobi to lead a joint¹⁰ mediation effort with the Commonwealth¹¹, represented by former president of Sierra Leone Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.

The diplomatic effort comes as the United States and Britain issued a joint statement urging Kenyan political leaders to end the violence through what they termed an intensive political and legal process that can build a united and peaceful future for Kenya. 

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 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

5 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

6 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。