VOA标准英语2012--Somali Refugees May Face Severe Aid Shortages

 

Somali Refugees May Face Severe Aid Shortages

Aid agencies warn that tens of thousands of lives may be at risk as supplies run out at the world’s largest refugee camp. They say 25 million dollars in emergency funds are needed for humanitarian¹ operations at Kenya’s Dadaab camp.

Aid agencies say funding has not kept pace with the growing needs at Dadaab. Oxfam spokesman Alun McDonald said the funds are needed in the next two or three months.

“One year ago we had this massive influx² of people from Somalia fleeing the famine and the conflict that were taking place inside Somalia. And the pictures of people arriving in the camp having walked for weeks across the desert with no food and water really captured the world’s attention, and got of a lot of attention on Dadaab. But then a year later a lot of that attention has faded away,” he said.

Dadaab is made up of 5 separate camps in northeastern Kenya. It’s 20 years old and was already overcrowded before last year’s influx of refugees.

“The camp is bigger than ever. There are 160,000 people who arrived last year and in total there are nearly a half a million people now in the camp. But the funding available for the camp is only really at the levels it was before the big influx last year. So we’re faced with a camp that has growing needs but less money,” said McDonald.

The agencies say the funding shortfall threatens essential services including water, sanitation³, health care and shelter.

“Some people in the camp are living in fairly well-established areas where there are houses made of brick and made of stone. So those are fine. The issue is with a lot of the people who arrived last year. They’ve been living in basic tents sort of on the edge of the camp and the extreme heat that you get in Dadaab and also the heavy rains and the heavy wind – these sort of flimsy tents tend to wear away very quickly within a few months,” he said.

McDonald said about 30,000 new shelters are currently needed, but there’s only money for about 4,000. He says over the next few months the gap will widen.

The Oxfam spokesman added funding is also needed for education.

“At the moment the majority of children in Dadaab don’t get a good education. So it makes it very hard for the children to then go back to Somalia and play a constructive⁴ role in the peace process there. And it also increases the chance of them being recruited into militia⁵ or banditry activity if there are no alternative jobs,” he said.

He said, in fairness to donors⁶, there are many other humanitarian crises demanding their attention. This includes the hunger crisis in West Africa’s Sahel region.

“We do need to look at the long-term future of Dadaab. So we really need a solution that doesn’t involve us having to keep pumping money year after year into the camp. We need a peaceful solution in Somalia so that people can go home,” he said.

He said refugees should also receive skills training so they can find jobs when they eventually return to Somalia.

Oxfam is joined in making the $25 million appeal by CARE, Catholic Relief Services, the Danish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, Lutheran World Federation⁷, Save the Children and Terre des Hommes.

1 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。

2 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。

3 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

4 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

5 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。

6 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。