美国国家公共电台 NPR--A mother's diary: She and her son fled the fighting in Sudan's capital Khartoum

A mother's diary: She and her son fled the fighting in Sudan's capital Khartoum

Transcript¹

The capital has been at the center of a vicious urban battle between rival armies for nearly two weeks. A doctor who lived through the fighting before escaping tells her story.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In Sudan, the promise of democracy seems to have come apart. Four years ago, the military threw out a long-time ruler. That seemed to point the way toward democratic rule until another coup² followed. And now, just as civilians³ were supposed to take over for real, two military forces are battling for power in the capital. Since the beginning of that conflict, NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu has been talking with one resident in Khartoum, and she has kept a diary for us. This is the story of Muhjah Khateeb.

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSIONS)

MUHJAH KHATEEB: We can hear the sound of the bullets, of the shooting. If we do not die on the street, we will die inside our house.

EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE⁴: Muhjah Khateeb is a 42-year-old doctor and project manager from Khartoum. She lived in an apartment in Minna Yeri, south of the city. On the morning the conflict started, she woke to several phone calls.

KHATEEB: One of my friends - he's an army officer. He called me eight times. And I said, what's wrong with him? And when I called him back, he told me, like, where are you? Don't leave your house because the war has started. He even sent me some videos.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)

AKINWOTU: The footage he sent her was an opening snapshot of the war. From her balcony, she could see plumes⁵ of smoke rising over Khartoum's skyline. I first spoke⁶ to Khateeb the day after the conflict erupted between the army and the rapid support forces. She was devastated⁷ and hoped it could end as suddenly as it started. But then each day the violence continued and grew more intense.

KHATEEB: Hello. This is Day 4.

AKINWOTU: She started to document what she saw and felt, recording⁸ on her phone and sending voice notes on WhatsApp.

KHATEEB: This morning, I couldn't eat anything. I'm not in a mood to eat, you know? I'm just in my flat alone. This is the first time that we don't have electricity, and this was since the afternoon. And I'm not sure if you hear just - the bombing now.

AKINWOTU: As the fighting spread and while without power, enough food and water, she started to plan how to escape Khartoum, but not without her 15-year-old son, Fadi.

KHATEEB: Hi, Emmanuel. Good morning. We are not fine. I'm not sure if I can see my son again.

AKINWOTU: Her son had stayed for a few nights with family friends in east Khartoum and was meant to come home on the morning the conflict started, but now it was too late to cross the city.

KHATEEB: I called where my son is staying, and I asked about him. And they told me he's OK. He's sleeping, but he's sleeping under the bed. So it seemed that he's afraid.

AKINWOTU: She missed him. But for now, she had to wait.

KHATEEB: Hi. This is Day 5.

AKINWOTU: Within days of the conflict, there were hundreds of deaths and a spiraling humanitarian⁹ crisis.

KHATEEB: Hi, Emmanuel. The news about the safe exit - there is no safe exit. There is no truce¹⁰.

AKINWOTU: The army and the RSF announced temporary humanitarian cease-fires to allow safe exits for civilians and the injured, but they never held. The fighting never stopped.

KHATEEB: I can see the smoke. And they are also - there is shooting, bombing and other things. So it's not true.

AKINWOTU: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the army and the de facto head of state, is at war with his deputy and former ally, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or Hemedti. Both sides claim they fight to protect the fragile transition to democracy sparked by the revolution, but few believe this is anything other than a bloody¹¹ struggle for power with a country caught in the crossfire¹².

KHATEEB: I'm sick and tired. Everyone is leaving the city now. The issue is that I don't have my child.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting in Arabic).

KHATEEB: Day 7, or first day of Eid.

AKINWOTU: Khateeb never imagined spending Eid alone, but she had no choice. The streets were slightly quieter, so she went looking for where she could buy food, all the while thinking of Fadi.

KHATEEB: Maybe at any point, my son will come home. And when he comes, I want him to find that I prepared some cookies for Eid.

AKINWOTU: Eid is the end of Ramadan, a Muslim celebration, a time to be with family. But now she was at her lowest point.

KHATEEB: Day 8 of war. I couldn't sleep last night, and I decided¹³ that I have to bring my child by any means today.

AKINWOTU: Some of her friends had been telling her to stay where she was, that her son was safe. But the fighting was more intense where they were in east Khartoum, so she felt she had to get to him. Later, she described walking in a daze¹⁴ through the streets, past checkpoints, under air force jets and the sound of warfare¹⁵, until she reached him.

KHATEEB: I have good news for you. I arrived home safely with my son. It's a big story. I can't tell because I just arrived home, and I'm so tired, and I feel hot, and I'm hungry. Now I think I can start to make my plans.

AKINWOTU: That night, they celebrated¹⁶ together. On the way home, she managed to find a grocery store that was open. She bought everything they loved.

KHATEEB: I bought eggs, more processed meat, cheese, tomatoes.

AKINWOTU: And some things were just for her.

KHATEEB: I found my tobacco for my hookah, for smoking.

AKINWOTU: Then soon after, they got ready to leave their world behind.

KHATEEB: I can't believe that after all that I built, I have to leave everything behind me - my furniture, my everythings, my cup of coffees, everything.

AKINWOTU: She and Fadi are now on their way to South Sudan. She leaves her city and her country as it crumbles¹⁷ under the weight of this conflict, but leaving her home has left her in turmoil¹⁸.

KHATEEB: At certain point at night, I felt like I regret my decisions that I left my home. And I felt guilty. And I said, look; why did I leave my home? I shouldn't do this. The war should stop at certain point. This is very difficult. I'm so confused.

AKINWOTU: Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Lagos.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 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。

10 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

11 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

12 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 daze   

v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏

参考例句：

• The blow on the head dazed him for a moment.他头上受了一击后就昏眩了片刻。
• I like dazing to sit in the cafe by myself on Sunday.星期日爱独坐人少的咖啡室发呆。

15 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

16 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

17 crumbles   

酥皮水果甜点( crumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This cake crumbles too easily. 这种蛋糕太容易碎了。
• This bread crumbles ever so easily. 这种面包非常容易碎。

18 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。