VOA标准英语2009年-For Palestinian Refugees, Dream of Returni

By Sonja Pace
Southern Lebanon
30 September 2009

Two states side by side, two homelands for two peoples - those are the broadly accepted tenets for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a cornerstone for peace in the Middle East. Many hurdles¹ lie ahead, not least of which is the claim to land. For Palestinians, that means the right of return for more than four million people - those who fled or were driven from their homes at Israel's founding in 1948 and their descendants. 

Many Palestinian refugees say they prefer a one-state solution, a democratic and secular² state that would merge³ Israel and the occupied West Bank and allow Palestinian refugees to return to villages that are now part of Israel. Israel rejects this solution outright⁴. 

One Palestinian family - now living in southern Lebanon - is yearning⁵ for home.

From afar it seems life among these hills and olive groves⁶ has not changed through the millennia⁷.

 
Ahmad Sa'adi
For Ahmad Sa'adi it's a far away dream and one he has tried to recreate.

"This is my village in 1948. I remember it," he said. "This was my house since 1871."

Home was Taitaba, a well established Palestinian farming village in what is now northern Israel.

Ahmad Sa'adi was only seven when his family fled in 1948, in the midst of the first Arab Israeli war. It's estimated that more than 700,000 Palestinians were either driven from their homes or fled the violence.

Mohamed Sa'adi, 84, remembers.

 
Mohamed Sa'adi
"On the 15th of May, [1948] we were told by the King of Jordan that 'we need you all to get out of the way because we are going to bombard the area to kill the Jews and so we packed our stuff and left,'" he recalled.

Mohamed Sa'adi says he knows some people were driven out by Jewish militias⁸ and the precursor⁹ to today's Israeli army. For Palestinians this was the "Naqba", the "catastrophe¹⁰." For Israelis, it was their war of independence.

Mohamed says people in Taitaba expected to return after what they thought would be a brief Arab offensive. 

It didn't turn out that way. Many like the Sa'adis ended up in exile.

Today it is estimated there are over four million Palestinians refugees registered with the U.N. who trace their origins to the events of 1948.

The Sa'adi family settled here, south of Beirut, and life went on. They found jobs, married, had children and grandchildren.

But to this day, the few items they brought with them remain proud possessions.

And there's little doubt they've not forgotten. 

"I think about it every day. I want the memory of this place and for it to pass from generation to generation," said Ahmad Sa'adi. 

It doesn't matter that places like Taitaba don't really exist anymore. The Israelis destroyed the village - and many other Arab villages - after the 1948 war. 

A two-state solution - a homeland for Palestinians and one for Israelis - is widely espoused¹¹ by the international community, and reluctantly, by Israel's new government. But Israel insists on a continued Jewish identity for its country.

 
Alia Sa'adi
But, for Ahmad's wife, Alia Sa'adi the two-state solution is of no interest. 

"Cancel all the peace agreements because nothing has gotten us anywhere," she said. "I would live in a secular, democratic country. I would live alongside the Israelis, back in my village, in my home, in Israel, as long as I have rights."

For Ahmad Sa'adi little matters except that he and his family return one day to Taitaba.

"Return, of course. There is an Arabic saying that says there is no right that dies when somebody still claims it. So, I hope that we will go back," he said.

The dream of going back home may be elusive¹², but it's there.

1 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

2 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

3 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

4 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

5 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

6 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

7 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

10 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

11 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。