VOA标准英语2008年-Guineans Frustrated with Lack of Progress on Vi

By Nico Colombant
Conakry
11 January 2008

One year after violent protests erupted in Guinea, a promised government inquiry¹ into several hundred deaths and dozens of rapes³ has yet to get started, frustrating⁴ human rights activists⁶ and families of victims. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from Guinea's capital, Conakry.

Fatimatou Barry, 39, shows the place where bullets smashed into a wall near a pharmacy⁷. Those same bullets, she says, also tore through her son's body last January 22.

She says she was told he cried out for her in vain, dying in a pool of blood just meters away from where she was sitting in a courtyard in the impoverished⁸ Hamdalaye neighborhood.

Barry says she does not want any more protest strikes during which young men die unnecessarily.

One year after his death, memories are still fresh. As a group of women pound spices to prepare for a meal, they all fondly remember Abdourahmane Tounkara, who was 19.

One woman doing dishes says he was always nice to his mother, trying to bring her money earned with odd jobs, even though he was still a student.

She says he was not even taking part in the protests that were called to demand better rule from long-standing President Lansana Conte. She says he was just an innocent bystander, cut down in the violent upheaval⁹. She says other young men saw the soldiers who killed him.

As part of a deal to end the protests, authorities promised an official inquiry into the crackdown.

But Fatimatou Barry says up to now, not a single investigator¹⁰ has come to ask questions about her son's death.

In a humid office without electricity, human rights activist⁵ Mouchtar Diallo flips¹¹ through pages of pictures and testimonies¹² of his own investigative work, depicting¹³ accounts of killings¹⁴, rape², and torture.

He shows the picture of a dead man, also killed last January 22, taken away by other protesters from Conakry's November 8th bridge, where security forces blocked passage using live rounds.

According to Diallo's records, in Conakry alone, more than 200 people were killed, and more than 60 rapes were committed. Official tallies¹⁵ so far say about 200 people were killed and hundreds injured across the country. Security forces were also attacked and government offices were destroyed in many areas.

The head of the Guinean organization to defend human rights, Thierno Maadjou Sow, says he has been most horrified¹⁶ by accounts of rape that have been brought to his attention.

He says he was disgusted by a case where a woman was allegedly raped¹⁷ just outside a mosque¹⁸, as well as the case of an old widow being raped. He says he was not able to meet her because she was probably too ashamed and has gone back to her native village.

Sow says while he went to investigate that case, he saw soldiers in a white van shoot two 13-year-old girls who were drawing water from a well. Later that day, he saw soldiers shoot two female teenagers in their breasts while they were eating underneath¹⁹ a tree.

Sow says soldiers who committed such acts must face the law.

During the unrest, medical workers and journalists reported seeing the president's own son, the head of the presidential guard, Ousmane Conte, organizing operations on the November 8th bridge on the most violent day, January 22. Conte denies this.

Sow says no one should be above the law, and that those who ordered killings should also be judged. But he believes the current government has not made the commission charged with investigating the strike-related violence its priority.

Sow says the lack of judicial²⁰ independence also makes him doubtful they can bring about justice.

A concerned citizen, Sara Claver Thiameny, says many Guineans are angry about this. "They are going too slow. People are really frustrated²¹. The longer it takes, the harder it will be for people. People are going to be more and more frustrated. I think people need something clear before too long," he said.

The 19-member investigative commission, which will also probe previous strike-related unrest from 2006, was sworn in on December 31, after delays caused mainly by a lawyers' strike.

The commission's president, Mounir Houssein Mohamed, says the government of consensus²² Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate has yet to give it a headquarters and funding for logistics. A spokesman for the prime minister's office says progress is being made, and that the commission is important.

Mohamed says the commission will work very seriously, but that the work ahead will take lots and lots of time.

He says it will also be very delicate in dealing²³ with people very close to President Lansana Conte and high up in the army.

But last year, a spokesman for the armed forces reacted angrily to accusations²⁴ from Guineans that they had turned their guns against unarmed civilians²⁵. The spokesman said the truth will come out one day, and that the crackdown was the work of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking mercenaries from neighboring countries, allegations those countries flatly deny.

Back in the courtyard in Hamdalaye, Fatimatou Barry, the mother of one the young men killed, says she hopes she will one day know who killed her son, not for revenge, but to know and be able to move forward.

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

4 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

8 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

10 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

11 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

12 testimonies   

（法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据

参考例句：

• Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
• Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。

13 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

14 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。

15 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

17 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

18 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

19 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

20 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

21 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

23 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

24 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

25 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。