环球英语 — 362：Somali Ballad

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby² Jones. 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
Somalia is in East Africa. It is a country with a long history and beautiful culture. For generations, the Somali people have continued their culture through poetry. People have called it a country of poets.
Voice 2
The Somali people do have a written language. It was developed in 1972. However, they communicate most through spoken word. It is an oral culture. For this reason, Somali poems are usually spoken, not read.
Voice 1
Somalis gather in groups to perform and listen to poetry. Often, they perform the poetry to music. This kind of musical poem is called a ballad³. Recently, Somalis have also started listening to poetry on cassettes⁴ and the radio.
Voice 2
One well-known Somali ballad tells the story of a boy. The boy tells about his life. And he tells about his experience during the continuing Somali civil war. After thanking the listeners, he explains,
Voice 3
“In the beginning, we were a family of six [6] children with a mother and a father. At the beginning of the Somali civil war, we lost our father. We could not find any trace⁵ of him - dead or alive.”
Voice 1
He then continues to tell his horrible story. His brothers found a small bomb while they played. It exploded and killed them all. On the same day, his mother gave birth to another son. However, both his mother and new brother died when a bomb hit the hospital. He continues by telling of how he tried to find his uncle - his parent’s brother - in another town. On his way, people stole the car he was in and took everything. They left the boy on the road. He walked all day and night to his uncle’s town. He had no shoes. He had no food. And he was tired. He finally arrived in the town. However, it was there that he understood he was an orphan⁶. He had no mother and no father. And he was unable to care for himself.
Voice 2
The boy in the ballad represents all Somali children. Today, children in Somalia experience many terrible things. In two thousand and eight [2008], the United Nations said that Somalia is the most difficult place in the world for children to live. There are many reasons why Somalia is a difficult place for children. The Somali ballad continues by sharing some of these reasons. The boy explains,
Voice 3
“We are lost,”
Voice 1
One million [1,000,000] Somali people are refugees⁷. They are “lost” because they cannot return home. Many of these refugees are children. And many live in temporary camps and poor conditions.
Voice 2
Other Somali children are “lost” because they have no family. Over six hundred thousand [600,000] Somali children are orphans⁸. Many of their parents died in the war. Other parents died from an extreme lack of water or in natural disasters like floods. Shelters were established to care for orphaned⁹ children. However, as conditions in Somalia have become worse, many shelters have closed. And these children have to live on the streets.
Voice 1
Another growing problem is separated Somali children. These “lost” children are separated from their parents. They are illegally sent to other countries. Some parents choose to have their children sent away. They hope that their children will have better lives. However, some children are stolen. And some are even sold by their parents. These children face great risks all alone.
Voice 2
The boy from the ballad shares another problem for Somali children. He says,
Voice 3
“we cannot read or write,”
Voice 1
In 2006, the United Nations reported that only twelve [12] percent of young children attend school in Somalia. This is one of the lowest attendance¹⁰ rates in the world. And girls attend school at an even lower rate than boys.
Voice 2
The percent of Somalis that can read is also among the lowest in the world. Because Somalia has an oral culture, literacy¹¹ rates have always been lower. Now, the country has experienced¹² many years of war and poor conditions. And this has kept even more children from learning¹³ to read and write.
Voice 1
The boy from the ballad continues sharing about a major issue for Somali children. He says,
Voice 3
“the civil wars have damaged us,”
Voice 2
There has been fighting between groups in Somalia for over twenty years. Over half of the people in Somalia are under the age of eighteen [18]. So, over half of Somalis have never experienced peace or a national government.
Voice 1
Some groups in Somalia have used children as soldiers. Many child soldiers and innocent¹⁴ children have been killed or wounded. The children of Somalia are also emotionally¹⁵ wounded. They suffer from great fear, sadness and much anger.
Voice 2
The boy tells of another major problem in Somalia. He says,
Voice 3
“we have little to eat or drink,”
Voice 1
In fact, seventeen [17] percent of children in Somalia suffer from malnutrition¹⁶. They are in severe need of food and drink. This amount is above the World Health Organization’s emergency levels for malnutrition. This means that the children of Somalia are in a food crisis¹⁷. And the rising price of food in the world makes the problem even worse.
Voice 2
The boy declares,
Voice 3
“we are surrounded by terrible events, and we are victims of unkind¹⁸ treatment.”
Voice 1
Children who are lost, without education or food and living in war are at great risk. People can easily hurt these children and treat them badly. The children of Somalia suffer much - from sickness, attacks, poverty and much more. They are children at risk.
Voice 2
In 2008, the leader of UN Children’s group in Somalia called Somalia “the forgotten crisis.” After so many years of war and bad conditions, the world has forgotten about Somalia. And it has forgotten about Somalia’s children. However, the world must learn about and remember Somalia. The children of Somalia are depending on us all.
Voice 1
In the closing words of the Somali ballad, the boy speaks again for the children of Somalia. And he says,
Voice 3
“We appeal to the International community, who look after and support human rights. Look and see the war, recognize all the disasters. If you do not help us, our future will be lost and our lives will be at an end.”
Voice 2
So, how can you help the children of Somalia to be heard? What can the international community do to support the children? You can e-mail us your ideas about the children of Somalia to radio @ English . net.
 

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

4 cassettes   

n.盒式录音带( cassette的名词复数 )；盒式磁带；卡式磁带；（胶片）暗盒

参考例句：

• audio and video cassettes 盒式录音带和录像带
• The cassettes were of inferior quality. 那些磁带质量较差。 来自辞典例句

5 trace   

n.痕迹，踪迹，微量；vt.追踪，找出根源，描绘；vi.追踪

参考例句：

• There isn't a trace of a smile on her face.她脸上没有一丝笑容。
• We have lost all trace of him.我们找不到他的踪迹。

6 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

7 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。

8 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

9 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

10 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

11 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

12 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。

13 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

14 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

15 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

17 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

18 unkind   

adj.不仁慈的，不和善的

参考例句：

• He was never unkind to her.他从未亏待过她。
• Unkindness often reacts on the unkind person.恶人有恶报。