VOA标准英语2008年-Liberian Women Advocate Change in Post-Conflict

Nearly 30,000 women and children were drawn¹ into the 13-year civil war that ended in Liberia in 2003. As they try to regain² their lives, Amnesty International is helping⁴ former women soldiers reintegrate into society. From New York, VOA's intern³ Maha Saad has the story.

The civil war that began in 1989 tore apart Liberia's social fabric⁵. At least 150,000 people were killed and nearly one million others were displaced. In the midst of this conflict, many young people were forced to become child soldiers, while others joined armed factions⁶ because they had no other option for survival.

Florence Ballah, a 27-year-old woman from the northernmost county of Lofa, was separated from her family at age 13. She joined a rebel group as a cook, seeking protection from the chaos⁷ around her.

"I started to associate myself with the war, but not as a trained soldier," said Florence Ballah. "I was a victim and then a slave. My experience during the war was very terrible."

But the male soldiers around her did not protect her. And she, like so many other girls and women, was a victim of sexual violence. Ballah now works as an advocate for women's rights to ensure that they are included in the recovery effort. Many women are stigmatized⁹ for participating in the war as laborers¹⁰, sex slaves, and soldiers. She says quality education will be the best way to support these women.

"We need women to get involved in other good things like leadership, political activities," she said. "They could take advantage of that time to be able to train these women into business, into other things that could help the women to really stand up on their feet."

Amnesty International, the human rights group, is highlighting the different needs of women in post-conflict situations. The group is advocating to fully¹¹ reintegrate former combatant women into society, especially those who were sexually abused.

Amnesty's Tania Bernath says not enough women are benefiting from a joint¹² United Nations-Liberian government program to give women the education and training they need to become a part of the community.

"Our goal, really, is to help women to be able to access these because they have so many burdens on them," said Tania Bernath. "And the other issue that is really key is the issue around sexual violence and how that impacts upon women's ability to reintegrate, also."

Bernath also says women should share their stories, particularly those who experienced sexual violence, so they can shed the shame and stigma⁸ associated with it.

Sexual violence was used as a weapon during the war, with staggering numbers of women reporting sexual abuse that continues to this day.

Jackie Redd, a 30-year-old woman from the Liberian capital, Monrovia, was raped¹⁴ during the war. She agrees with Bernath.

"They should not be ashamed," said Jackie Redd. "Maybe by explaining everything that happened to them, it will make them be free. Maybe other people will understand about what happened that they joined these fighting groups. They should be free to tell that story."

The Liberian government is helping women, too. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf outlawed¹⁵ rape¹³ when she first came to office in 2006. Now, rapes¹⁶ are reported more often.

 

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

3 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

6 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

9 stigmatized   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was stigmatized as an ex-convict. 他遭人污辱，说他给判过刑。 来自辞典例句
• Such a view has been stigmatized as mechanical jurisprudence. 蔑称这种观点为机械法学。 来自辞典例句

10 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 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

15 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

16 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