VOA标准英语2012--Syrian Children Find Shelter in Turkey Camp

Syrian Children Find Shelter in Turkey Camp

Reyhanli Refugee Camp in Turkey, just across the Syrian border, is home to more than 3,000 refugees, many of them children.

The Turkish government provides the basics - even a school, a playground and some modest toys.

At first glance, the kids are playful, giving the V sign for victory every chance they get. But inside the small tents these children now call home, the reality of their lives is harder to hide.

Mustafa Harmoush, 14, came to Turkey with his family eight months ago.

HARMOUSH: "We came by car, and were picked up by three Turkish soldiers and brought to the camp."

REPORTER: "What do you do here?"

HARMOUSH: "Nothing."

Mustafa is the nephew of one the first defectors from Bashar al-Assad's army who was kidnapped and brought back to Syria and forced to confess on national television. 

His older cousin was killed and found tied to a tree. 

Mustafa's eyes quickly filled with tears when I asked him about Syria. 

"They arrested my uncles and killed my uncles," Mustafa said.

Sara, 13, recently arrived here from Homs, the focus of an intense military crackdown. She says shelling destroyed her home.

"There was blood all over the place," Sara recalled. "The government was killing¹ people because they thought they were armed. But they were not armed. They were peaceful civilians²."

Sara says she quit school and leave Homs because the situation for the children, especially the young girls, was extremely dangerous.

"When the revolution started, the regime started abducting³ students, especially girls. It was too dangerous to go to school. It was like walking on fire," Sara added.

In a letter addressed to her president, Sara writes: "Bashar leave us alone. We are not animals. You make me want to die from grief." 

The United Nations says over 400 children have been killed and hundreds injured since the violence began last year. But there is no way to measure the extent of the psychological damage.

The scars of the brutality⁴ they've witnessed is painfully evident, not just in their faces, but in their drawings, their playing, and in even in their dreams. 

Radwan Hamoudeh, 12, from Idlib insisted he be interviewed. 

REPORTER: "What do you want to be when you grow up?

HAMOUDEH: "I want to be a soldier to protect Syria. Because people are being killed in Syria, and no one is saying anything. These are people. They are human."

Radwan says he's very proud of his father and his uncle who are both members of the Free Syria Army.

HAMOUDEH: "We'd like to be freed from Bashar and this violence in Syria"

REPORTER: "Do you want to go back to Syria?"

HAMOUDEH: "Of course I want to go back."

Despite the tragedy of their past and the hardship of their present, these children here still hold on to hope for their future, hope that they will one day return to a Syria free of violence. 

1 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。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 abducting   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• She was charged with abducting a six-month-old child. 她被控诱拐一个6个月大的孩子。
• At the same time, the rate of abducting foreigners is going down. 同时，发生在外国人身上的绑架案正在下降。

4 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军