VOA标准英语2011--World Refugee Day Given Urgency by Arab

World Refugee Day Given Urgency by Arab Spring

As the world marks UN Refugee Day on June 20, the number of people escaping violence across the Arab world is on the rise. Pro-democracy uprisings are being brutally¹ suppressed in places like Libya and Syria, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee for an unknown future. Many of the refugees have little hope of ever returning to the place they once called home.
The Yayladagi refugee camp near Turkey's border with Syria is housed in the ruins of a former tobacco factory. There are around 3,500 refugees living here; more families are arriving by the day.
Its occupants fled in terror, leaving their homes and the land where they belong.
They are part of a wave of Syrians escaping the government crackdown on pro-democracy protests; the latest refugees of the Arab Spring.
June 20 is UN World Refugee Day. The thousands of people uprooted² by the uprising and conflict across the Arab World make this year especially poignant³, says Mans Nyberg of the United Nations' Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
"It's basically the last desperate move you make when you don't have any other option," said Nyberg. "When your home is burning, you have soldiers attacking your town, you just have to leave."
A sandstorm is brewing⁴ at the Shousha refugee camp on Tunisia's border with Libya.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees have passed through here since the Libyan conflict began in February, mainly expatriate workers from Africa.
Violence in the camp between different nationalities has escalated⁵ in recent weeks. Scores of refugees were killed when parts of the camp were set on fire.
"Ten days ago we lost four of our brothers," said Shishay Tesfay, an Eritrean refugee. "They were burned in one tent. They couldn't escape because the tent is very flammable and it doesn't give you time. It just burns and is destroyed within five minutes."
For around 3,500 of the Shousha camp refugees - people from countries like Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan - there is nowhere else to go. It's too dangerous to go back to their home countries, and too dangerous in Libya.
"Everybody can see the picture of Libya," added Eritrean refugee Shishay Tesfay. "It's like a civil war. And Libyan people don't like African people, they think they are not Africa. And if I go back to Libya, it would be silly, a crazy thing."
The UN estimates there are 7 million refugees around the world like Shishay who have nowhere safe to return.
"The biggest problem today is so-called protracted⁶ refugee situations where people have been living as refugees for decades, for generations and there is no solution in sight for them," Nyberg added.
For tens of thousands of people fleeing Libya the promise of a new life in Europe can be bought for around $1,500, the average price of a boat passage across the Mediterranean⁷.
The majority arrive here on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Mahrouf is a Bangladeshi migrant worker who was living in Tripoli.
"There is too much fighting all the time, the government and the rebels are at war," said Mahrouf. "People were dying all the time. So I came here to Italy. It took five days on the boat. We were all very lucky - the ship smashed on the rocks when we arrived here."
Several hundred refugees and migrants are thought have drowned in the past few months escaping Libya, trying to find a better life.
The UN estimates that there are 43 million uprooted people on earth. They say the only long-term solution is an end to the conflicts that force people to flee their homes, for an unknown future.

1 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

2 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》

3 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

4 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

5 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

6 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。