环球英语 — 199：From Lost Boy to Priest

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 2
“We had no protection and the whole village was on fire. I ran away from the fire and the guns. I did not know where I was going. I was alone. My parents and my brothers and sister were gone.”
Voice 1
In 1983, a civil war began in southern Sudan. Many people say that this conflict was only continuing the first civil war. Most of the fighting took place in the south of Sudan. A rebel² group fought the government. The rebels³ were called the Sudan People’s Liberation⁴ Army or the SPLA.
The results of this war were especially tragic⁵ for the children of Southern Sudan. Many parents died. Their children were forced to flee and find safety. Today’s Spotlight tells the story of one of these children – Zachariah Jok Char⁶. He experienced⁷ many terrible things. But he believes that it all had a purpose.
Zachariah Jok Char was born in 1982, in the village of Duk–Padiet. This was a simple village in Southern Sudan. The people were poor, but the community was strong. There was also an active Episcopal Church in the village. This church was a big part of Zachariah’s life. Zachariah remembers:
Voice 2
“My family was Christian⁸; we had been baptised by Sudanese Episcopal priests¹⁰ and every Sunday we went to church. I spent a lot of time in church, and I knew I loved God and that He loved me. In church school I learned¹¹ to read and write Dinka, my language.”
Voice 1
But in 1987 Zachariah’s peaceful life changed forever. Zachariah was only five years old. But he can still remember the attack on his village. The attack destroyed Duk–Padiet. Whole families died. Zachariah was extremely frightened.
Voice 2
“We had no protection and the village was on fire. I ran away from the fire and guns. I did not know where I was going. I was alone. My parents and my brothers and sister were gone.”
Voice 1
Zachariah joined with other children from the village. The children were tired, hungry, afraid and alone. Members of the rebel group told them to go to Ethiopia. So, the children began the difficult walk.
Voice 2
“We were very young and the walk was more than one thousand six hundred [1,600] kilometers across the desert. We had no food or water with us. Many of the children died from hunger and thirst. Many were killed by animals like lions and hyenas¹². Some children just lay down and died because of the great heat.”
Voice 2
Zachariah was one of the boys who made it. He finally arrived at the Ethiopian refugee¹³ camp, Panyido. During their time at the camp, Zachariah and other boys worked together. They tried to create a community to support each other. And Zachariah continued to work and lead in the church. But soon, the children had to leave again. Ethiopia was experiencing war. Zachariah tells the frightening story:
Voice 2
“Ethiopians shot at us with guns while we crossed the Gilo River to Sudan. That river is very wide and very strong. Half of us were killed by guns and crocodiles. I cannot swim but I made it to the other side. I felt a hand help me. Those of us who lived began again to walk one thousand six hundred [1,600] kilometers across Sudan to Kenya.”
Voice 1
But their troubles were not over. During their walk in Sudan, men in airplanes shot at the children. However, the Red Cross helped the children across Sudan to Kenya. Zachariah arrived at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in 1992. But it was not a nice place to live. Zachariah describes life at the Kakuma camp.
Voice 2
“Life was really horrible at the camp. We had enough food for only one meal a day. I went to school in the morning and came home early in the evening to do my homework and sleep. I did not have a job and I did not know where my family was. I was about to lose hope in life.”
“The only thing that I could do was to go to church every Sunday. I prayed to God that he would give me hope. When I prayed, I felt happy. I believed that God would answer my prayers, and He did. God gave me hope that one day I would be independent and have my own job. My suffering could have affected¹⁴ my opinion of life. But my hope was that God knew my suffering and that he would someday take my suffering away.”
Voice 1
Life in the camp was difficult. But Zachariah never lost faith in God. He believed that God wanted him for a special purpose.
Voice 2
“In 1994, when I was about twelve, I realized that God was calling me to do something for His people.”
Voice 1
Zachariah soon began to understand what that purpose was. In 2001, a Christian Lutheran group from the United States wanted to help. They brought three thousand eight hundred [3,800] of these Sudanese refugee children to the United States. Zachariah was one of them. He travelled with a group to western Michigan – to the city of Grand Rapids.
Here, the group of refugees¹⁵ knew what they wanted to do. They wanted a place where they could worship¹⁶ in their own language and with their own traditions.
In 2003, these refugee children, now adults, began their own Sudanese church. It was in Grand Rapids. They performed church services in their own language, Dinka. Zachariah was an active leader in this Sudanese community church.
In June 2007, Zachariah became a priest⁹ in the Episcopal Church. As a priest, he leads and a church. He can also perform particular ceremonies. He knows that this is what he is supposed to be doing.
Voice 2
“God called me before I was born. He saved my life, and I have a duty now: that I will take care of His people. This is a big responsibility, but I have to follow it.”
Voice 1
Zachariah has experienced many terrible things. But he also believes that God is always in control.
Voice 2
“Some things about that long walk I have hidden in my mind; other things I remember. The memories hurt me and make me very sad. Sometimes I am guilty that I lived and others died. I can only believe that I lived because God has work for me to do. God knows the reason. I must trust God, and I do.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 rebel   

n.叛徒，起义者；vi.造反，反抗，反感；adj.造反的，反抗的，反叛者的

参考例句：

• The rebel army is attempting to subvert the government.反叛军队企图颠覆政府统治。
• The rebel army has readjusted its strategy.叛军已经重新调整了策略。

3 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

4 liberation   

n.解放，解放运动（为获得平等权利和地位的行为）

参考例句：

• We should help those who are still struggling for liberation.我们应当帮助那些仍在为独立而斗争的人们。
• Many people died during famines every year before liberation.解放前每年有许多人在饥荒中死亡。

5 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

6 char   

v.烧焦；使...燃烧成焦炭

参考例句：

• Without a drenching rain,the forest fire will char everything.如果没有一场透地雨，森林大火将烧尽一切。
• The immediate batch will require deodorization to char the protein material to facilitate removal in bleaching.脱臭烧焦的蛋白质原料易在脱色中去除。

7 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

10 priests   

n.（基督教和罗马天主教的）神父( priest的名词复数 )；牧师；（非基督教会的）教士；祭司

参考例句：

• the ordination of women priests 女司祭的授职礼
• The clergy remain divided on the issue of women priests. 在女性教士的问题上，牧师们意见不一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

13 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

16 worship   

n.崇拜，礼拜；v.崇拜，敬仰；做礼拜

参考例句：

• The Greeks used to worship several gods.过去，希腊人崇奉好几种神。
• Blind worship must be ended.盲目崇拜必须停止。