环球英语 — 246：Peace in Tajikistan

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is February 2002. It is late in the day. A group of university teachers sit together. They have come from seven different universities across Tajikistan, Central Asia. Outside the cold air blows. A small electric heater keeps the room warm. The group is listening to a talk on solving conflict and building peace. The talk comes from a visiting expert in peace building. The university teachers listen with great interest. And their thoughts turn to Tajikistan’s earlier war. Memories of this conflict are still fresh in everyone’s minds. The six year Tajikistan war began in 1992. Government forces and opposition² groups fought against each other. Over fifty thousand [50,000] people were killed.
Voice 2
The expert finishes talking. And the professors begin to talk about the war in Tajikistan. The atmosphere in the room becomes intense³. They each have their own opinions on it. They ask the Western expert, ‘Why do other countries not learn from our example?' They are talking about how Tajikistan ended its civil war. It created a government with people from different places - and with different beliefs. It included Muslims, communists and tribal⁴ leaders. The teachers talk about what a rare success this is internationally. They continue to talk until it is chai time - time to stop to drink tea. During this time, the expert talks to one of the Tajik university teachers called Professor Abdul. Abdul knows some of the details about how the Tajiks reached peace from their state of war. In fact, he was involved in some part of it. He shares his story with the Western expert. Here is part of Abdul's story. It is read for Spotlight by Mike Procter.
Voice 3
The Tajik government asked me for help. The government officials wanted me to go and talk to one of the people working against them. This man had a high position in his religion - Islam. And he was a warlord, a leader of his own army. He was a Mullah-Commander. He lived in the mountains. And the government wanted me to persuade him to negotiate⁵. Now this was very difficult. People considered this Mullah-Commander to be a dangerous criminal. And he had killed one of my close friends.
When I first got to the camp, I met the Mullah-Commander He told me that I was late. He said it was prayer time. So, we went together and prayed. After prayers, he said to me, ‘You are a communist. How can you pray?’
‘I am not communist. My father was', I answered. Then he asked me what I taught in the university. We soon discovered that we had similar interests! We were both interested in the spiritual side of Islam - Sufism. And we were both interested in philosophy - we both liked to explore why things are the way they are! We had planned to spend twenty minutes meeting. But we spoke⁶ for two and a half hours! In this part of the world you arrive at the truth through stories.
I made many visits to the Commander. Mostly we talked about creative writings and ideas about life and the universe. A little at a time, I asked the Commander about ending the war. I wanted to persuade him to risk putting down his weapons. I visited the Commander for many months. And finally, we gained each other’s trust. And we began to speak truths. There was one main concern...
The Commander said to me: Suppose I put down my weapons and go to the capital city with you. Can you promise me that I will be safe? The problem was, I knew that I could not promise his safety. So, I told my Mullah-Commander friend the truth. I said, ‘I cannot promise that you will be safe. But I can promise you this. I will go with you, side by side. And if you die, I will die.’
That day the Commander agreed to meet the government. Some weeks later, we came down together from the mountains. When we first met with the government officials, my commander friend said this to them: ‘I have not come because of your government. I have come for honour and respect of this professor.’
Voice 1
Professor Abdul’s success with the Commander was just one of many events. Alone, it did not bring peace to Tajikistan. But it did move important people from the path of violence, to the path of peace. This was possible through the workings of one relationship. The story comes from a book by John Paul Lederach. In this book, John Paul argues that relationships are the only way to bring lasting⁷ peace. This includes relationships with friends, with enemies, with governments, and with local people. Each relationship can bring a change of direction that can influence history.
Voice 2
November the 16th is the International Day of Tolerance⁸. This day was set up by the United Nations group UNESCO. UNESCO defines⁹ tolerance in this way:
Voice 4
‘Tolerance is about respecting and accepting the differences in our world’s cultures. It is about respecting and accepting the different ways we express ourselves. It is about respecting and accepting our different ways of being human. Tolerance is uniting with people even if they are different from us.’
Voice 1
On November 16th, UNESCO is calling people around the world make an effort to be more tolerant¹⁰. Institutions and educational centres can teach their students about tolerance. They can look at things learned¹¹ from history. And they can try to avoid mistakes of the past. Individuals can also make efforts with their families, friends - and enemies. It is a time for people to stop concentrating on their conflicts, and past hurts. It is a time to work toward¹² a greater, shared goal, creating an environment of peace for future generations.
 

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 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。

3 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 negotiate   

v.洽谈，协商，谈判，顺利通过，成功越过

参考例句：

• I'll negotiate with their coach on the date of the match.我将与他们的教练磋商比赛的日期问题。
• I managed to negotiate successfully with the authorities.我设法同当局进行了成功的协商。

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 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

9 defines   

规定( define的第三人称单数 )； 使明确； 精确地解释； 画出…的线条

参考例句：

• This name defines us all. 这个名字造就了我们。 来自演讲部分
• The range of incomes over which this happens defines the 'poverty trap'. 发生在这种情况的收入范围，称为“贫困陷阱。”

10 tolerant   

adj.容忍的，有耐力的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• A tolerant person usually has breadth of mind.有宽容精神的人通常胸襟开阔。

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 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。