VOA标准英语2008年-Former Rebels Guide Tourists in Aceh

As Indonesia's Aceh province recovers from the devastating¹ Indian Ocean tsunami² in 2004, a new company there is hiring former guerrilla soldiers to use their skills for tourism. Chad Bouchard reports from Aceh, where he followed former combatants to their old hideouts in the jungle.
　
A group of former rebel soldiers takes a rest in a cave once used as a mountain base camp for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)

The last time Yuni hacked³ his way through this jungle mountain trail, he was under fire and on the run from his own government.

Three years after the end of that bloody⁴ conflict, he finds himself pausing on the steep mountain slope, waiting for a handful of winded tourists to catch up.

Yuni was a foot soldier in a guerrilla independence movement called GAM. He describes a fierce battle to the curious group of foreigners.

Yuni says in this spot he was pinned down for hours, and it was the longest combat with the enemy he ever experienced. He says the fire fight started before dawn and lasted until the afternoon.

Yuni and his brother Don are part of the last generation to fight a brutal⁵ civil war spanning three decades, as Acehnese fought for independence from the rest of the country.

The mountaineering and survival skills that once helped them out-maneuver the Indonesian army now come in handy as they march tourists into the same jungle.
　
View from a mountain lookout⁶ used by rebel soldiers to monitor attacks from the Indonesian army four years ago

The customers are mostly foreign aid workers who live in the provincial⁷ capital of Banda Aceh. They pay for treks⁸ into the wilderness⁹ that was until recently off limits to travelers because of the conflict.

In December 2004, a massive tsunami scoured¹⁰ nearby shores, and changed everything.

A few months later, the rebels and the Indonesian government, both eager to focus on rebuilding from the disaster, signed a peace deal.

But thousands of ex-combatants were left with few skills to earn a peacetime living.

Reconstruction¹¹ temporarily pumped millions of aid dollars into the local economy, but as the aid money dried up, jobs became even harder to find.

So Don is grateful for the opportunity he has now. He says it is very difficult to find a job in Aceh at the moment, and he is proud to work as a tour guide. He says the salary is good, and all he has to do is take tourists up a mountain.

Mendel Pols, a Dutch citizen, is the founder¹² of Aceh Explorer Adventure Tours. He says it has been hard to get other investors¹³ involved, and in light of the bloody history of the conflict, there has been little response from international aid organizations.

"They just laughed. And they said that it was a crazy idea. Some NGO's, they consider former GAM as former killers," said Pols. "The fact that my, the majority of my, guides are former GAM rebels practically disqualifies me from receiving aid."

But Pols says business is steady in spite of the lack of outside support. The company has more than 20 guides and runs day trips into the jungle nearly every week.

"I'm aware of the fact that all of my GAM guides, they have done things during the conflict that we would absolutely reject," he said. "I'm sure they have killed people, they have shot soldiers. I'm sure that some of them may have intimidated¹⁴ locals, perhaps even stolen food or money. But yeah, you know, you have to start somewhere to start over again."

Out on the trail, the group reaches a small cave once used as a rebel lookout.

Cooking pots and water bottles are still stashed¹⁵ around the camp. Not far away, a single Indonesian army boot serves as a reminder¹⁶ of the violence.

One Norwegian on the tour, Helena Tideman, says she found it haunting to visit rebel hideouts.

"It's really hard to imagine what they've been through. Being with these guides telling us the stories and - you know it's kind of a mix of feeling," said Tideman. "Because it's, you know for me it's an adventure to see this but at the same time it's also, you know, a really brutal history so, yeah."

Yuni says it is not easy to revisit the battlegrounds where he lost friends, or the camps where the rebels endured harsh conditions away from their families.

He says sometimes he thinks about what he went through when they were hiding in the forest, like the hunger and the fear. The memories are sweet and bitter, he says, and it can be difficult to talk about those times with his wife.

Asked if he feels uncomfortable giving away his hiding spots to tourists, Yuni looks at his brother. With a nervous laugh, he explains that they are keeping plenty of hiding places deeper in the jungle, just in case they ever need them again.

 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 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。

3 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 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。

6 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

7 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

8 treks   

n.远距离行走 ( trek的名词复数 )；长途跋涉，艰难的旅程（尤指在山区）v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的第三人称单数 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• And visiting companies and completing job treks are becoming much more important in the job search. 参观公司、进行实地考察在找工作中变得重要得多。 来自互联网
• These range from treks around Mont an ascent of North Africa's highest mountain, Mount Toubkal. 参与者是徒步绕勃朗峰，然后攀登北非最高峰托布卡尔山。 来自互联网

9 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

11 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 stashed   

v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。