VOA标准英语2008年-US Defense Secretary: Burma's Aid Delays Cost '

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
31 May 2008

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates says the Burmese military government's rejection² of aid soon after the May second cyclone³ may have cost the lives of 'tens of thousands' of people. As Ron Corben reports from VOA's South East Asia Bureau, the concern expressed by the defense secretary comes amid concern Burma's military is attempting to force local populations out of shelters and back to devastated⁴ villages.

Speaking to a regional Asian security and defense seminar in Singapore Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' assessment⁵ was blunt.  He accused Burma's military government of being "deaf and dumb" to offers of foreign aid.

 

He said Burma's rejection of international and regional assistance stood in sharp contrast to the response of other nations to similar tragedies, such as the 2004 tsunami⁶ in Indonesia and the cyclone that hit Bangladesh in 2007.

"With Burma, the situation has been very different - at a cost of tens of thousands of lives," he said.  "Many other countries besides the United States have also felt hindered in their efforts."

International aid workers say they continue to face bureaucratic⁷ delays over access to the regions in the Irrawaddy Delta⁸ region that bore the brunt of Cyclone Nargis.

At least 77,000 people have died with a further 56,000 still reported missing, while over two million people are still in need of food, shelter and medicine.

The United States, Britain and France dispatched naval⁹ vessels¹⁰ with emergency aid to the Bay of Bengal but the offers were rejected by the Burmese military. The military had also rejected offers by Asian regional partners to supply military helicopters to assist in the immediate¹¹ aftermath of the cyclone.

Regional countries have backed Mr. Gates' concerns over the delays, restrictions¹² on aid and access to populations devastated by the cyclone.

International aid organizations say less than 30 percent of the more than two million people most seriously affected¹³ by the cyclone have received adequate assistance. 

Australian Ambassador to Thailand, Bill Paterson, in an interview with VOA, said Burma needed to provide "unfettered access" on humanitarian¹⁴ grounds to assist the populations still in desperate need.

"These people are living in terrible conditions with the risk of disease outbreaks," he said.  "They have lost their homes, they have lost their families. It's terribly important we get in there quickly. A lot of them probably have lost their lives since the cyclone because aid has not been able to be distributed."

The United Nations, along with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), reached agreement with Burma's military for access for international aid workers during the lead up to a donor's conference last weekend.

But human rights groups Saturday accused the military of evicting¹⁵ victims from emergency shelters currently housing thousands of people in a bid to force them to return to their devastated villages in the Irrawaddy delta region.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

3 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

7 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

8 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

15 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网