VOA标准英语2009年-Senegalese Refugees Speak Out Amid Increas

Southern Senegal is experiencing some of the worst fighting in years, as violence between separatist rebels and army loyalists flares¹. The fighting has left one small town in rural Senegal deserted², as farmers are forced to leave their crops to languish³ due to safety concerns.

Nearly 200 protesters gathered outside government offices in Ziguinchor in southern Senegal this week. Some held signs that read, "We Are Tired of the Fighting."

Residents of Diabir flee fighting

Most of the protesters were residents of Diabir, a small town 15 kilometers outside Ziguinchor. Diabir is nearly deserted now, as its residents have fled after an increase in fighting between the Senegalese Army and members of the separatist rebel movement known as the Movement for the Democratic Forces of Casamance, or MFDC.

A teacher from Diabir says he was forced to leave his home and stay with family in Ziguinchor.

"My name is Thierno Diallo," he said. "I am a teacher in Diabir, in the outskirts⁴ of Ziguinchor. In that area since the fighting between the MFDC troops and the Senegalese army began, people are leaving their villages for Ziguinchor. A lot of people who are there are really now in bad conditions and they are really living in dire⁵ straits."

The fighting is part of one the longest-running conflicts in Africa. The conflict began in 1982, when MFDC separatists launched a rebellion against the Senegalese government.

A peace accord was reached in 2004, but in the past month the area has seen some of the worst violence since 2002. Last week, rebels shot and killed a Senegalese loyalist soldier. In retaliation⁶, a military jet belonging to the Senegalese army bombed the positions of the rebel movement.

The fighting is hurting local farmers, who have been forced to leave their crops unattended amidst the violence said Diallo.

"It is the rainy season," said Diallo. "And people should be in their farms trying to plow⁷ the lands, and now it will be very difficult for them to do their jobs in their fields."

People angry with government

At this week's rally, another resident of Diabir, Ousmane Diop, said he is angry with the government for not making their area safe against the rebel attacks.

He said his area is usually without electricity, and at night bandits invade their homes. He added people with guns constantly come in and steal their livestock⁸.

Another Diabir resident, Mama Mbouray Kande says she is traumatized by what is happening in her small town.

There is fighting and there is darkness, says Kande. At the demonstration⁹ this week, she said there are no longer army soldiers in the rural areas to protect her and her children. She pleaded with the government to send military police to the area to protect them from the bandits and rebels.

Because of safety concerns, Kande and her family fled their home. She is now staying in a temporary shelter for refugees, set up inside a school in Ziguinchor.

Diallo adds this housing situation only compounds the problem, because soon the government will be forced to move the refugees when school starts in Ziguinchor.

"Most of them are now in Ziguinchor with relatives or they are in schools and the school will be opening very soon," he said. "And it will be a very difficult problem for the government to make the population leave the school and to prepare for the opening of the academic year."

At the rally, a member of the armed forces who refused to be named insisted they were doing all they could to protect the population.

This week, Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade¹⁰ promised to continue with peace efforts in the region. But he added he thought peace had been achieved when his government signed the peace accords in 2004 with the MFDC.

When the fighting began more than 25 years ago, families in the region were driven from their homes. But in recent years, they had started to return to the land, where agriculture provides the main source of income.

1 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 languish   

vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎

参考例句：

• Without the founder's drive and direction,the company gradually languished.没有了创始人的斗志与指引，公司逐渐走向没落。
• New products languish on the drawing board.新产品在计划阶段即告失败。

4 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

8 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

10 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。