联合国难民署报告称难民数量已创纪录

UNHCR Report: Record Number of People Forced to Flee Homes 联合国难民署报告称难民数量已创纪录

WASHINGTON—

The United Nations refugee agency says a record number of people worldwide have been displaced by war, violence and persecution¹ and the number of people forced to flee their homes is rapidly growing.

In a new report issued Thursday, the UNHCR says that at the end of 2014, there were nearly 60 million forcibly displaced people, about 8 million more than the year before and about 20 million more than a decade ago.  The increase since 2013 was the highest ever in a single year. 

A major exodus² of people from their homes started in 2011 with the eruption³ of civil war in Syria; but, in the past five years, armed conflicts and persecution also have sent people fleeing from their homes in Africa, Asia and Europe.  Last year 42,500 people a day left their homes due to some type of violence.

"The world became a mess and if people think that humanitarians⁵ can clean up the mess, they are wrong.  We don't have the capacity to pick up the pieces," said Antonio Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner⁶ for Refugees.

One in every 122 humans is now either a refugee or internally displaced or seeking asylum⁷.  The report is a reflection of the state of the world today, said Guterres.

Syria is currently the world's biggest producer of displaced people and refugees, followed by Afghanistan and Somalia. Syria's neighbor, Turkey, has become the world's top refugee-hosting nation. Greece and Italy are swamped with refugees who want to settle in Europe.

European officials cannot agree on how to share the burden.

"Italy and Germany certainly both agree that we need to arrive at a more equitable⁸ distribution in Europe.  In our view, the best way is mandatory⁹ quotas¹⁰ for the European member states," said German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier.

Several EU members have balked¹¹ at the idea and Hungary has announced plans to seal its border with Serbia. Many refugees use the Balkan route to reach Hungary on the way to Germany and Sweden.

In Southeast Asia, a move to block overland refugee routes from Myanmar into Thailand led to a humanitarian⁴ crisis in the Andaman Sea when thousands of refugees switched to the sea route. 

1 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

2 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

3 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

4 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。

5 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

8 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

9 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

10 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

11 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》