VOA常速英语2008年-Somaliland Residents Express High Hopes for Ind

By Cathy Majtenyi
Hargeisa, Somaliland
04 March 2008
 

The people of the African republic of Somaliland voted in 1991 to become an independent nation. They argue that there are enough cultural, political and social differences between them and the people of Somalia to make Somaliland a separate country, as was the case briefly¹ in 1960. But the world has not yet formally recognized an independent Somaliland, a cause dear to the hearts of its people. Cathy Majtenyi files this report for VOA on the push for international recognition.

In Somaliland's capital Hargeisa, people gather for a rally to reaffirm their independence from Somalia, a war-torn country they say they want no part of.

Somaliland sits along the coast of the Gulf² of Aden in the northernmost part of what is internationally recognized as Somalia.

Somaliland declared independence in 1991. It has its own government, police force, army and other institutions.

But even Somalia does not recognize the independence that is dear to the hearts of Somalilanders like Abdi Barre Osman, who took part in the rally in Hargeisa. He says, "If you get recognition, maybe you can get your rights or you can get everything, but if you do not have any recognition, maybe you are like nothing. So we are requesting from the world community to recognize our country as soon as possible."

Somalilanders stress that their country is peaceful and orderly -- a fully³ functional⁴ state in sharp contrast to the chaotic⁵ warlord system and weak central government of Somalia.

"We are happy that we have rehabilitated⁶ thousands of militiamen, which was a hard job. They were taken to camps and retrained to become national military, police, and prison wardens," says, Vice⁷ President Ahmed Yusuf Yassin.

The British had a strong presence in Somaliland by the late 1800s, with Somaliland becoming a British protectorate, separate from Italian-ruled lands to the south.

Somaliland gained independence from Britain in 1960, but that lasted only a matter of days before it united with the Italian-run region as Somalia.

Edna Adan Ismail is a former Somaliland foreign minister and a strong advocate of international recognition. She says that because the British never settled in Somaliland and ran things at arm's length, Somalianders had more experience in conflict resolution than Italian-governed Somalis. "This strengthened the traditions, the cultural traditional links of the people, their agreements, their way of dealing⁸ with problems, of negotiations⁹, of discussions, of clan¹⁰ consultations," she said.

Bitter memories of the war that started in the 1980s and lasted until 1991 deepens the division. Former Somali leader Siad Barre sent troops to crush the budding independence movement.

And the death and destruction left behind traumatized the people.

Many now see a brighter future, with hopes high for international recognition. Near the end of January, President Dahir Riyale returned to Somaliland after visiting the United States and Britain.

Yassin says he thinks it is only a matter of time before the United States and others recognize an independent Somaliland, "The world is not coming to us for nothing. They are coming to us for the resources available in our country. The world should be interested in us. Now the time is near when the world should come to Somaliland because of the Middle East crisis. Because of this crisis, fuel prices are going up. We are an alternative source of fuel."

Somalilanders say they will continue to develop their budding nation, relying on investments and remittances¹¹ from their kin¹² living abroad to do so.

1 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

5 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

6 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 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。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

11 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

12 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。