VOA标准英语2010年-Resettling Darfur's Displaced Raises Q

The blue helmets of UN peacekeepers distinguish them from the many armed groups in Darfur.

 

As Sudan's government and Darfur rebels move closer to a final peace, efforts are under way to build housing for some of the estimated 2.7 million people uprooted¹ by the war.  There are concerns the new settlements could make internally displaced people permanently² displaced.

There does not seem much to celebrate in this dusty, sun-scorched patch of Sudan, just east of the border with Chad.

But after seven years of devastating³ conflict, the new village of Habali Canari, and dozens more like it, are giving some people hope.  With the help of the Arab League there is now a mosque⁴, a water station and other signs of basic modern life.

The emphasis is on basic.  There are no roads to the settlement - just tracks through the soft sands of the no-man's land of the desert.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa came to Habila Canari to officially open the project.  He says he hopes the village will help lure⁵ people out of the refugee camps where Darfurians sought protection.

"They want to be sure that their children will have a school, they will have some medical care, they will have some commodities, some goods available," he said.  "So that is what we are counting on."

The area saw some of the worst fighting of the conflict, which claimed the lives of an estimated 300,000 people and displaced many times more. 

Sudan's government is eager to say the war is over.  In a show of reconciliation⁶, members of the government-backed Janjaweed militia⁷ are brought together with farmers at Habila Canari's opening.  The uneasiness is palpable, with farmwomen, targeted by militias⁸ for rape⁹ and killing¹⁰, performing for the Arab League delegation¹¹, not far from their former tormentors.

The conflict at the southern reaches of the Arab world has many sources.  Some emphasize a conflict between Arabs and Black Africans. 

There are also political machinations and rivalries¹², and an environmental angle as well.  As desertification pushes nomadic¹³ tribes further south, Janjaweed fighters drove farmers from their lands.

Which raises the question of who is it that will live in Habila Canari, and whether the "voluntary return" is a return or a resettlement.

Sudan's Ambassador to the Arab League, Abdel-Rahman Serr al Khetm, says the villages are meant to attract and keep people in "their new places."

"Actually, these places were their original areas," he said.  "They would have been there before the war, or before they were forced to go to the camps."

But the answers of villagers raise doubts about who is here.

One woman told VOA that she is vague about her ties to the area.  At first, she said that she has been here for four years, then she said seven years.  Finally she said that she had always been here, but is from another village.

Several others speaking under the watchful¹⁴ eye of government troops gave similarly circumspect¹⁵ answers. 

For a society without much infrastructure¹⁶, let alone bureaucratic¹⁷ records even before the war, the questions may never be clearly answered.

 

1 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 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。

4 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

5 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

6 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

7 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。

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 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

12 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

13 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

14 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

15 circumspect   

adj.慎重的，谨慎的

参考例句：

• She is very circumspect when dealing with strangers.她与陌生人打交道时十分谨慎。
• He was very circumspect in his financial affairs.他对于自己的财务十分细心。

16 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

17 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。