VOA标准英语2011--Refugee Crisis in South Sudan

Refugee Crisis in South Sudan

 

The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders is reporting a refugee crisis in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State. It says 60 thousand people have fled fighting just across the border in Sudan.

 

The group, also known as MSF, says more than 30,000 of the refugees are in a camp in the village of Doro in Upper Nile State. That’s about 50 kilometers or so from the border. The rest are in Il Fug, which is just four kilometers from the border. They escaped fighting between government forces and the rebel SPLA North.

Bad and getting worse

“The influx¹ is not stopping. Every day, we see people arriving on camels, by foot, on donkey carts, by trucks. Whatever they have. They arrive every day, with some peaks up to more than 1,000 per day,” said Jean Pierre Amigo, MSF field coordinator² in Maban County, who spoke³ by satellite phone about the situation.

While humanitarian⁴ access to Doro is relatively⁵ easy, that’s not the case for Il Fug.

“The road is very, very bad. That’s the major problem. And then it’s also a question of security as it is not normal to have such a concentration of refugees so near to the border. And the proximity⁶ of the border may give risks to them,” he said.

Refugee camp in the Village of Doro in Maban County in South Sudan's Upper Nile State.

An MSF medical team recently spent three days in Il Fug and conducted 700 examinations.

“We found more than 400 children with malnutrition⁷. In these 400 children, more than 100 were severely⁸ malnourished. And such figures are really alarming and clearly show that we are in a real emergency,” said Amigo.

Medical teams also found numerous cases of malaria⁹ and diarrhea and respiratory and eye infections. In addition, many of the refugees have chronic¹⁰ health problems, indicating they did not have access to health care in Blue Nile State.

What’s more, drinking water is so scarce in Il Fug that Doctors Without Borders is setting up a water treatment unit there. Drinking water is also in short supply in Doro.

Immediate¹¹ evacuations needed

Amigo said among those treated in Il Fug was a woman who had been shot five times in the back, as well as in her right arm and fingers. He says she is about 70 years old and was unable to escape when ground forces attacked her village. Her family also reported planes bombing the area.

“The priority is to use trucks to relocate by trucks the 20,000 refugees in Il Fug more in the south. And this process must not start tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but right now,” he said.

MSF said in some cases, the Sudanese refugees walked for weeks to reach safety in South Sudan.

1 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

2 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？

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

7 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

10 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。