VOA标准英语2009-Aid Work Being Hampered by Kidnappings in Ch

Two aid workers, in Central African Republic were taken at gunpoint on Sunday from the town of Birao, a few kilometers from the borders of Chad and Sudan. The kidnappings are the latest in a string of attacks on international aid workers.

Kate Thomas | Dakar 24 November 2009

 

Two aid workers, in Central African Republic were taken at gunpoint on Sunday from the town of Birao, a few kilometers from the borders of Chad and Sudan. The kidnappings are the latest in a string of attacks on international aid workers. Increasingly difficult conditions are seriously hampering¹ aid operations to the region, which is flooded with refugees from Darfur as well as internally displaced people.

The east of Chad, Darfur and the north of the Central African Republic are roamed by bandits and highwaymen as well as rebel groups, and relief agencies in the region often have to navigate² these precarious³ conditions.

These difficult situations are seriously hampering aid operations and often result in these organizations withdrawing from the region.

The area is so unstable⁴ that in a report by the International Crisis Group published in April this year, it was dubbed⁵ a powder keg.

Michel Falavigna is the U.N. Humanitarian⁶ Coordinator⁷ for Chad. He says humanitarian workers without escorts are easy targets for armed groups in the border region.
        
"Regrettably, NGOs that are without escorts, because of the principles of neutrality and impartiality⁸ that are upheld, become very soft targets for this type of criminals," he said.

Six aid groups temporarily withdrew from eastern Chad after a kidnapping on November 9, leaving 37,000 people without assistance.

In Sudan's strife-torn Darfur province, kidnapping of aid workers has become frequent. Two women working for the Irish charity Goal were kidnapped in July northwest of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, before being freed in October.

Several other kidnappings of local or expatriate humanitarian staff have taken place this year, notably⁹ those of a French woman and a Canadian woman from the NGO AMI.  Two Sudanese workers were killed.

The Chadian government, led by president Idriss Deby, accuses Sudan of supporting rebel movements in Chad. Sudan in turn accuses Chad of backing rebels on its territory.

In the Central African Republic on Sunday, two aid workers for the NGO Triangle were abducted¹⁰ at gunpoint.  The French foreign ministry¹¹ has called for their release and saying in a it "condemns¹² this new criminal act which, once again, hits humanitarian workers in a region where NGO assistance to the population is primordial¹³."

The workers were kidnapped in Birao, which is part of a zone watched by the United Nations Mission in the CAR and Chad, known as MINURCAT.

Its spokesperson, Elizabeth Byrs, says escorts are available to NGOs that ask for them.

But some international groups prefer to operate independently.

Byrs says MINURCAT has increased its air patrols to help protect NGOs operating in the region.

"MINURCAT has increased its air patrols with helicopter flights in the areas where the humanitarians¹⁴ operate," she said. "MINURCAT has also increased patrols in Abeche. They are also focusing on arresting people that have been identified to organize crimes in and around Abeche."

She also stressed a need to reinforce the capacities of MINURCAT, which was set up to protect refugees and internally displaced persons, however the mission has never fully¹⁵ been deployed¹⁶.

In figures available from May this year, MINURCAT was operating at less than half its strength, with 2,115 out of 5,200 troops deployed to the field.

Marco Succi is the spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross there.

He says that organization is one of the few still working there.

"We are one of the few organizations working there. And as you know, in our mandate¹⁷ we are compelled to have a dialogue with all of the arms carriers, including the armed opposition¹⁸ groups," said Succi.

There are fears among the humanitarian community that if the trend continues, more agencies will be forced to pull out, leaving thousands without assistance.

1 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

2 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

3 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

4 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

5 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。

9 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

10 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 primordial   

adj.原始的；最初的

参考例句：

• It is the primordial force that propels us forward.它是推动我们前进的原始动力。
• The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.的尼安德特人是我们的原始祖先之一.

14 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

15 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。

16 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

17 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。