VOA常速英语2014--US Seeking Lessons of 1994 Rwanda Genocide 美国寻求1994年卢旺达大屠杀的教训

 

US Seeking Lessons of 1994 Rwanda Genocide 美国寻求1994年卢旺达大屠杀的教训

Two decades have passed since hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the Rwanda genocide, and Western powers were accused of standing¹ by and allowing it to happen. Experts say there are lessons to be learned on how to prevent such tragedies in the future.

距卢旺达成千上万人遭杀害的大屠杀事件已经二十年了，西方大国被指控坐视不管，任其发生。专家称我们可以从中学会如何避免此类悲剧再次发生。首先是警示。这个故事包含可能令某些人感到不安的生动画面。

The world was shocked when an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were massacred in about 100 days, starting April 7, 1994.

自1994年4月7日开始，约有80万卢旺达人在100天内被屠杀。全世界为之震惊。

Tony Award winning actress, singer and Oscar-Nominated songwriter, Idina Menzel, who will perform the hit song "Let It Go" from the "Frozen" soundtrack at the Academy Awards, poses for a portrait, on Feb. 25, 2014, in New York.

Members of the ethnic² Hutu majority killed about 70 percent of the minority Tutsis living in Rwanda, and many moderate Hutus.

占人口多数的一些胡图族人杀害了在卢旺达生活的70%的少数民族图西族人和许多温和派胡图族人。

U.S. President Bill Clinton was criticized at home and abroad for doing nothing to stop the slaughter³.  Four years later, he visited Rwanda and apologized for his inaction.

美国总统克林顿被国内外批评没有对阻止屠杀作出任何努力。四年后，他访问了卢旺达并为他的不作为道歉。

"We did not act quickly enough after the killing⁴ began.  All over the world, there were people like me sitting in offices day after day after day, who did not fully⁵ appreciate the depth and the speed with which you were being engulfed⁶ by this unimaginable terror," he said.

克林顿说：＂屠杀开始后，我们没有足够迅速地采取行动。全世界都有像我的人坐在办公室里任其一天天过去。我们并没有领会到自己已经被难以想象的恐怖吞没，不知它有多深，多快。＂

Despite the vow⁷ of "never again," the catastrophe⁸ in Rwanda did not bring the end of widespread violence against civilians⁹.

尽管有＂永不再发生＂的誓言，卢旺达的灾难并没有为大范围对国民的屠杀画上句号。

Genocide in Sudan's Darfur region and sectarian violence in the Central African Republic are among the acts of mass brutality¹⁰ since then that have left millions dead or homeless.

苏丹达尔富尔地区的屠杀和中非共和国的宗派冲突是大规模暴行的例子，它们导致数百万人死亡或无家可归。

In the Syrian civil war, at least 150,000 people are believed to have been killed, and President Barack Obama has been accused of inaction.

在叙利亚内战中，至少有十五万人被杀害，美国总统奥巴马被指责不作为。

Amnesty International's Adotei Akwei said opposition¹¹ from Russia in the United Nations Security Council is blocking White House efforts to stop the violence in Syria.

国际特赦组织的阿豆提?阿卡维称，俄罗斯在联合国安全理事会的反对阻碍了白宫方面制止叙利亚混乱的努力。

"The international community has to end the crisis in Syria somehow, and the administration has been consistent in trying to do that, but it's not been able to actually achieve the results that we all want to see," Akwei said.

阿卡维说：“国际社会无论如何要结束叙利亚的危机，管理部门已经持续致力于此事，但是它尚未实现我们想看到的结果。”

Veteran U.S. diplomat¹² Johnnie Carson, now a senior adviser¹³ at the U.S. Institute for Peace, said the Rwanda genocide taught the world it has to move quickly.

美国老兵、外交官，现任美国和平研究所高级顾问的约翰尼?卡森说，卢旺达屠杀告诉世界应当快速行动。

"Act swiftly, and to muster¹⁴ the resources of the international community to condemn¹⁵ and engage as quickly as possible when we see an atrocity¹⁶ about to occur," stated Carson

卡森说：“当看到暴行即将发生时，我们应当快速行动，召集国际社会的资源参与谴责暴力的行动。”

Ambassador Carson said the lessons of Rwanda and other massacres¹⁷ led Obama to establish an Atrocities¹⁸ Prevention Board, "...which is an inter-agency group that gets together once a month, under the direction of the National Security Council, to review situations around the world that may be likely to turn into atrocities or mass violence."

卡森大使说，卢旺达的教训和其他的屠杀促使奥巴马成立了防止暴行委员会。卡森说：“这是一个每月集会一次的跨机构组织，由美国国家安全委员会的指导，致力于检查全世界范围内可能导致暴行或大规模暴行的情况。”

Akwei said the board is a "major step forward," but efforts to prevent atrocities must start sooner.

阿卡维说防止暴行委员会是“向前迈出的一大步”，但是防止暴行的努力必须尽早开始。

"It would be better and probably more economical to try to challenge intolerance and hate propaganda earlier on, before all of the actors are in place when things are actually beginning to threaten people," he said.

阿卡维说：“在所有势力都到位并已实际开始威胁人们之前就努力设法制止不容忍和对仇恨的宣传会效果更好，或许更加经济。”

Akwei said the best way to prevent genocide is to show that the world is watching and will not tolerate it.

 

阿卡维说，防止暴行的办法就是显示出全世界都在关注，并且决不会容忍此事。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 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。

3 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

4 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。

5 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。

6 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

9 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。

10 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

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

15 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

16 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。

17 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

18 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》