VOA常速英语2016--大批索马里难民亟待返乡

大批索马里难民亟待返乡

A quarter century of civil war, exacerbated¹ by the rise of the violent al Shabaab terror group and cyclical droughts of historic proportions has seen wave after wave of Somalis leaving their home country. Today, some 463,000 Somalis are living as refugees in camps in neighboring Kenya.

In many respects, the conditions in Somalia have been steadily² improving--the government and economy are taking shape, Somali security forces are emerging, and al Shabaab has steadily lost territory due to the combined actions of the Somali government, international partners, and the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM forces.

And thanks to the Tri-partite agreement of 2014, refugees have been making their way home from Kenya. However, the country, its people living in Somalia and abroad, as well as repatriating³ refugees, are still in dire⁴ need of humanitarian⁵ help.

So, the United States is stepping up, said Secretary of State John Kerry during his recent visit to Kenya. “I am pleased to announce that the United States will be providing an additional $117 million more in support for refugees, returnees, and drought victims in the region, raising our total assistance just for this year to $265 million. And we will also contribute an additional $29 million to the UNHCR's new Supplementary⁶ Appeal in support of the safe and voluntary return of refugees to Somalia”

This sum includes new humanitarian assistance of more than $87 million in food and non-food help for refugees and drought victims in Kenya and Somalia. Working through a number of humanitarian organizations, the United States will also provide aid and help improve conditions across Somalia, particularly in hard to reach areas of south-central Somalia. This aid includes support shelter, water sanitation⁷, and hygiene⁸, health and nutrition, and livelihoods⁹ programs for returnees in accessible areas of return.

 

The United States remains¹⁰ committed to helping¹¹ address the serious humanitarian concerns in Somalia and continued protection and assistance for refugees in Kenya and elsewhere in the region, and continues to urge the international community to contribute more resources to humanitarian appeals to support durable¹² solutions for Somali refugees.

25年的内战随着索马里激进组织青年党的崛起愈演愈烈，周而复始的旱灾猛烈来袭，这些天灾人祸让一批又一批索马里民众不得已离开了家乡。如今，有46.3万索马里民众在邻国肯尼亚以难民身份露宿扎营。

从很多方面来说，索马里的境况已稳步好转——索马里政府及其经济正在成型过程中，其安保力量也逐渐形成，且索马里激进组织青年党也因索马里政府、国际伙伴、非盟驻索马里特派团的联合行动而逐渐失去地盘。

除此之外，2014年的三方协议也让索马里难民得以回家。但是，无论是身在索马里内外的民众，还是被遣送回国的索马里民众，都亟需人道主义援助。

于是，美国就出现了。美国国务卿约翰最近在访问肯尼亚期间如是说道。“我很高兴地宣布，美国将为难民、返乡的群众、遭到旱灾侵袭的受害者们再提供1.17亿美元的援助资金。我们今年总计援助2.65亿美元。此外，我们还会为联合国难民组织的补给项目提供2900万美元的资金，以保证难民能够自愿、安全地返回索马里”。 这笔资金再次为肯尼亚和索马里的难民和旱灾受害者提供了人道主义援助，包括食物供给和非食物供给，总计超过8700万美元。通过与诸多人道主义组织的合作，美国将会在索马里全境提供援助，并提升人民生活水平，尤其是索马里很难获得援助的中南部地区。援助包括为返乡的索马里难民提供避难所、解决安全饮水、卫生、健康、营养、生计等方面的问题。

美国一向致力于帮助索马里人民解决迫在眉睫的人道主义问题，为肯尼亚和该地区的其他难民持续提供保护和援助，继续敦促国际社会为人道主义呼吁同更多的资源，为索马里难民提供长久的解决方案。

1 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 repatriating   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Since banks are reducing overall lending, that means repatriating cash. 由于银行总的借贷额在下降，这就意味着资金必然国内回流。 来自互联网
• US immigration officials have again delayed moves start repatriating six-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez. 六岁的古巴海难幸存儿童埃利安非常幸运，美国移民局官员已将原本要遣返他的时间再次拖延。 来自互联网

4 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

5 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。

6 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。

7 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。

8 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

9 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。