VOA常速英语2008年-Former Liberian Combatant Makes Admissions, Tri

By Nico Colombant
Monrovia
23 February 2008

Former fighters in Liberia's civil war are making statements before the country's ongoing¹ Truth And Reconciliation² Commission, trying to move on by admitting what they did. VOA's Nico Colombant caught up in Monrovia with a former child soldier turned commander and now a family man.

With roosters crowing in the background in the Old Matadi Estate neighborhood, Joseph Duo, 31, explains how he joined Liberia's brutal³ civil war, 17 years ago, when he was a 14-year-old high school student in Liberia's capital.

"When I went to go see the fighters, they arrested one of my best friends and then right before me, they cut his head off and then that hurt me a lot," he said.  "I just felt bad for that whole time. I told my mother we have to move from here, you are not safe. So we left the place, but then while we were traveling from area to area, I used to dream. In my dreams, I was always a military man, a big fighter in my dreams, and I was commanding a lot of people so I told my mother, 'I cannot stand here, I have to go.'"

Duo is small but fearless, and he became the commander of a so-called "small boys unit" of pre-teens and teenagers fighting for Charles Taylor, the former warlord turned Liberian president, now on trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone.
 
Mr. Taylor says he is the victim of an international conspiracy⁴.  Duo says he believed in what he calls Taylor's revolution for a free Liberia, and he says he joined so he could discipline other fighters.

"So, people have to go in the mix of them to educate them on how to fight a civil war," he added.  "Because the people that were fighting, they were according to themselves at the time, they said they were freedom fighters, [but] you cannot cut the citizens' head and rape⁵ the whatever of the citizens, and burn down the towns and villages and then you say you are freedom fighters."

He denies killing⁶ any civilians⁷, but he says he regrets fighting brutally⁸ against Liberians from other fighting groups, which he calls by their acronyms⁹.

"Everything I did, I feel bad because the LURD were fighting, and the ULIMO were fighting and they are all Liberians," he explained.  "So if you stand back there and as you might say… I fire, I kill you, I feel bad. I feel bad for what happened."

Making a statement before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, known as the TRC, is one the best things he says he has done.

"I feel better because it was something like a disease that was in me," he said.  "Once I give it all, I express it all, I mean it can be a cure. So I was so happy to tell the whole world and through TRC it was one of the areas to do so."

Duo says he still feels the weight of war both mentally and physically¹⁰.

"I feel hurt a lot. I received 78 bullet wounds all over my body, so every time I feel bad, anytime my mind go under," he said.

Duo is now a theology student and a family man with three children, including an energetic boy who resembles him. 

He says he wants his son to become a soccer player.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

9 acronyms   

n.首字母缩略词( acronym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Scratch the subject of defence and acronyms, abbreviations, and buzzwords fly out. 话题触及国防，缩合字，缩写字和行话就满天飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some acronyms as scientific terminology are used as a lexical item. 一些科学术语缩写用作词汇项目。 来自互联网

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。