VOA标准英语2009年-Family of Son Killed In Somalia Speaks Out

By Jeff Swicord
Minneapolis, Minnesota
07 October 2009

In the past 18 months, 20 young Somali men have disappeared from Minneapolis, Minnesota -- only to re-emerge in Somalia as part of an al-Qaida-backed militia¹. Some claimed they didn't know they were being recruited by the al-Shabab militia when they accepted a free ticket to Somalia. Their families and the community were shocked to learn their whereabouts. In his first ever visit to the U.S., Somalia's president asked the Minneapolis community to beware of radical² Islamic recruiters.

 
Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed
Warning for Somali families, community

In a speech to the Minnesota diaspora this week, Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed warned the community to be on the lookout³ for radical Islamic groups who want to recruit young people to fight in Somalia.

"I am deeply disturbed to hear a group of young Somalis have been brainwashed by evil-minded individuals to go back to Somalia and engage in violence years after their parents were forced to flee fighting," Sharif said.

Youth recruited in place of worship

In the past 18 months, 20 young Somali American men have left Minneapolis to join al-Shabab, which means "the youth." The militia is fighting against the U.N.-backed transitional Somali government.

Eighty thousand Somalis live in the Minneapolis area. Most came to the U.S. to raise their families away from the decades old violence in their homeland.

 
Abayte and Aweys Osman
The 19-year-old son of Abayte and Aweys Osman disappeared in November of 2008.  Eventually, he called. In a brief conversation, he said he was in Somalia, but would not say why he was there.

"I don't have any reason why he would go to Somalia. I took him out of Somalia when he was very young," Abayte said.

Shocking news

The community learned several other young men were missing and rumored⁴ to be fighting with al-Shabab. The Osmans constantly surfed the Internet for news about al-Shabab. In July, they made a horrifying⁵ discovery.

 
Jamal Osman
"My husband was surfing the web and came across a picture that looked like our son," Abayte says, "And he told me to come over and look at it."

Government forces took the photographs of what they thought was a foreign fighter killed with other members of al-Shabab in a Mogadishu battle. The government wanted to prove the militias⁶ were backed by foreign influence. The Osmans are Somalis of Arab heritage. Their skin tone is lighter⁷ than most Somalis. They knew the government had made a mistake. The photographs were of their son Jamal.

"We are very sad about what happened to him. And we ask God to bless his soul. We are surprised that he left in the first place. And we are surprised that he was killed in the fight," she adds.

Caught between cultures?

Five of the 20 men are now dead. One was the first ever American suicide bomber⁸. Three pled guilty to providing material assistance to a terrorist organization and are in U.S. federal prison. The rest are still believed to be in Somalia. In court proceedings⁹ it was revealed they were recruited at a place of worship. An investigation¹⁰ into how is still ongoing¹¹.

The community is still asking the question "Why?" Mukhtar Osman went to school with some of the young men. He says Somali kids are often caught between American and the Islamic culture. Jihad (holy war) was a way for them to resolve the identity conflict.

"They don't know where they belong," Mukhtar says, "They don't know are they real Muslims or not. So I think that is some of the issue that the Somali youth are dealing¹² with in America."

Community activist¹³ Omar Jamal has been working with the families of the young men. He says the community is bonding together to protect their children.

"We have session of raising awareness¹⁴ and we are reaching out to the mosques¹⁵ and encouraging the community to work with the government, the FBI, and law enforcement agencies to make sure this gets stopped," he says. "This should not go on."

In his speech, President Sharif offered his condolences to the families who lost sons. He has also pledged to try to find the remaining young men in Somalia and bring them home to the U.S.

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 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。

4 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

5 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

6 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

7 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

8 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

9 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 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。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。