VOA标准英语2013--Survivors of Kenya's Past Election Violence Are Hopeful Now

 

Survivors¹ of Kenya's Past Election Violence Are Hopeful Now

There’s plenty of work to be done at this metal workshop in Nakuru. Workers here are fashioning security doors for local businesses and homes. But it is not as busy as it was five years ago, before the last presidential election.

Metal worker Bernard Wanzala said that actually is a good thing. “In 2007, people here made a lot of weapons. They sharpened a lot of machetes here saying they were going to use them for defense². But this year, I’ve not sharpened even one.”

Nakuru was at the center of much of the violence between ethnic³ Kalenjin and Kikuyu mobs following the last election. Parts of the city still have not fully⁴ recovered.

One area was a particularly hard hit area section of Nakuru during the post election violence that followed the last vote in 2007. Many of the people have come back here to rebuild their homes. And while they say they are hopeful for peace, there are still some concerns that violence could break out.

Samuel Kamau was burned out of his home five years ago. He said as a landowner, he has no interest in a repeat of violence. “We don’t want hatred⁵, because we know we are the ones who will lose the most.”

Gladys Mwangi is worried, though, that tension could be brewing⁶ in a nearby slum. “We are seeing the people who attacked us before moving their wives and children, while the men remain. Now we are wondering, what might be cooking?”

Many here say they are voting for presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta who is running neck-and-neck in recent polls with Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The government has been deploying⁷ police to Nakuru, and other hotspots in Kenya, ahead of the vote as an extra security precaution.

Keffa Karuoya, of the Internal Displacement⁸ Policy and Advocacy Center [IDPAC], said the police presence has put some people on edge.

“I’ve told them, the best thing is to put the batons⁹ down, the helmets down, and walk into the estates. Without guns, without anything, to reassure¹⁰ the residents, even those that are fleeing, that the security is there,” said Karuoya.

The campaign season comes to an end on Monday, when Kenyans will elect a new president and a host of local representatives. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether the peace will hold. 

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

6 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。

7 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

8 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

9 batons   

n.（警察武器）警棍( baton的名词复数 )；（乐队指挥用的）指挥棒；接力棒

参考例句：

• There were many riot policemen with batons. 有许多带警棍的防暴警察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chinese police fight? Number one is a person with batons to fight! 满街飘的中国国旗，是一个老华侨在事发时那出来分给大家的，很感动，真的，从来一向多一事不如少一事的中国人今天团结到一起站出来反抗。 来自互联网

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。