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战争导致也门儿童被杀害或非正常死亡

时间:2018-12-22 17:22:37

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Children Kill and Die in Yemen's War

For two years, Mohammed fought with Yemen’s Houthi rebels against a military coalition1 led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States.

Mohamed says he tortured and killed people. He did not care whether he lived or died. But if he did die, the bracelet2 he wore with a “jihadi number” would guarantee his body made it home.

Mohammed is one of 18 former child soldiers who spoke3 with the Associated Press. All of them escaped from rebel forces or were captured by coalition units. They are now at camps and a counseling center in the city of Marib, in an area controlled by the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition.

Children recruited or forced to fight

Both sides in the four-year civil war have sent children into battle – a violation4 of international human rights conventions. The United Nations was able to confirm that 2,721 children have been recruited to fight for all sides in the conflict. A majority of them have fought for the Houthis. But officials say that number is likely low because many families are too fearful to speak out.

A senior Houthi military official admitted to the AP that the rebels have brought 18,000 child soldiers into their army since 2014. He did not wish to be named.

Officially, the Houthis say they do not recruit children and send away children who try to join. But in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital now under Houthi control, locals say the rebels go door to door telling parents they must either turn over their sons or pay money for the war effort.

Some of the former child soldiers told the AP they joined the rebels willingly because of promises of money or the chance to carry a weapon. But others described being taken from their schools or forced to join the Houthis in exchange for a family member’s release from detention5.

Some children gave themselves a war name after they joined the fighting. One 10-year-old boy, for example, called himself Abu Nasr, Arabic for “Father of Victory.”

A 13-year-old boy named Saleh told the AP that Houthi fighters came to his home and demanded that he and his father come with them to the front lines of battle. He said his father was pulled away when he refused the order. Saleh added, “I heard the bullets, then my father collapsing6 dead.”

Joining the jihad

New recruits are usually taken first to “culture centers” for religious courses, which last about a month. They are told they are joining a holy war against Jews and Christians7 and Arab countries that have been influenced by the West. The boys are told that if they die fighting, they will go to heaven.

Mohammed said, “When you get out of the culture center, you don’t want to go home anymore. You want to go to jihad.”

The recruits are then sent to military training camps in the mountains. At night, they sleep in shelters made of tree branches. During the day, they learn how to fire weapons, plant explosives and avoid missiles fired by coalition airplanes.

After less than a month of military training, they are sent to war wearing the bracelets8 meant to promise to honor them as martyrs10 if they die. The children call the lettering on the bracelets their “jihadi number.”

Many child soldiers can be seen holding AK-47 machine guns at search areas along main roads in northern and western Yemen. Others are sent to the front lines as foot soldiers.

“He was my master”

Mohammed fought in and around the city of Taiz.

One day, the Houthis captured a coalition fighter. Mohamed was told to send electric shocks through the man’s body during questioning. When it was over, he said, his commander gave this order: “Get rid of him.”

Mohammed said he took a heavy metal tool, heated it with fire, and then hit the back of the man’s head. “He was my master,” Mohammed said. “If he says kill, I would kill.... I would blow myself up for him.”

A 13-year-old named Riyadh said he and his 11-year-old brother once shot and killed two enemy soldiers. But more often, he said, he closed his eyes when he fired his gun. “Honestly, when I am afraid, I don’t know where I am shooting — sometimes in the air and sometimes just randomly11,” he said.

Riyadh said half of the fighters he served with on the front lines were children. He said he asked his commander to let them take cover during airstrikes: “Sir, the planes are bombing.” The commander’s answer, he said, was always: “Followers of God, you must attack!”

Twelve-year-old Kahlan joined the rebels with the promise of a new book bag for school. He and the other boys had no clothes other than their school uniforms, he said. They were so dirty that many developed skin problems.

Thousands have died

The United Nations says more than 6,000 children have died or been injured in Yemen since the beginning of the war. But the organization does not know how many of them died as fighters. The Houthis do not release their records.

A former teacher from Dhamar said that at least 14 students from his school were recruited. They later died in battle. Their photographs were put on empty classroom seats in February of 2016 during the Week of the Martyr9. Most of them were fifth and sixth graders, the teacher said. An education official from Dhamar confirmed the story. The teacher and official did not want to be identified out of fear.

The teacher said some of the dead children’s parents were Houthi leaders who willingly sent their sons to the front lines. “It’s painful because this is a child and they are all my children because I was their teacher,” he said. “They were taken from the school and returned in coffins13.”

General Yahia Sarie is a spokesman for the Houthis’ armed forces. He told the AP “there is no general policy to use the children in the battles,” but he admitted that some young people do volunteer to join the fight.

He dismissed the claims from the children who spoke to the AP, calling their stories coalition propaganda.

Coming back to society

Mohammed, Riyadh and Kahlan all ended up at the center in Marib that helps children who served as Houthi soldiers. Since September 2017, almost 200 boys have come through the center.

The Wethaq Foundation for Civil Orientation14 created the center. It is funded with Saudi money.

Mayoub al-Makhlafi is the center’s psychiatrist15. He said all the former child soldiers suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and other problems. Some describe being beaten by their own commanders. Others talk about being sexually abused by officers.

Naguib al-Saadi is a Yemeni human rights activist16. He said, “The real problem with Houthi recruitment of children will be felt in 10 years — when a generation that has been brainwashed with hatred…toward the West comes of age.”

I'm Bryan Lynn. And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

bracelet - n. a piece of jewelry17 worn on the wrist

martyr - n. a person who is killed for a religion

recruit - v. to persuade someone to join a company, organization or armed forces

heaven - n. the place where good people go after they die according to some religions

jihad - n. a war fought by Muslims to defend or spread their beliefs

randomly - adv. in a way that does not follow a plan or pattern

coffin12 - n. a box in which a dead person is buried

anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

panic - n. a feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally

brainwash - v. to cause someone to think or believe something by using methods that make a person unable to think normally


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 coalition pWlyi     
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合
参考例句:
  • The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
  • Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
2 bracelet nWdzD     
n.手镯,臂镯
参考例句:
  • The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
  • She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。
3 spoke XryyC     
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。
4 violation lLBzJ     
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯
参考例句:
  • He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说,那是违反规则的。
  • He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。
5 detention 1vhxk     
n.滞留,停留;拘留,扣留;(教育)留下
参考例句:
  • He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
  • He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。
6 collapsing 6becc10b3eacfd79485e188c6ac90cb2     
压扁[平],毁坏,断裂
参考例句:
  • Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
  • The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。
7 Christians 28e6e30f94480962cc721493f76ca6c6     
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
8 bracelets 58df124ddcdc646ef29c1c5054d8043d     
n.手镯,臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 martyr o7jzm     
n.烈士,殉难者;vt.杀害,折磨,牺牲
参考例句:
  • The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
  • The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。
10 martyrs d8bbee63cb93081c5677dc671dc968fc     
n.martyr的复数形式;烈士( martyr的名词复数 );殉道者;殉教者;乞怜者(向人诉苦以博取同情)
参考例句:
  • the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
  • They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
11 randomly cktzBM     
adv.随便地,未加计划地
参考例句:
  • Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内,分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
  • Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句
12 coffin XWRy7     
n.棺材,灵柩
参考例句:
  • When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
  • The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。
13 coffins 44894d235713b353f49bf59c028ff750     
n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 );使某人早亡[死,完蛋,垮台等]之物
参考例句:
  • The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热,空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
  • Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里,捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白
14 orientation IJ4xo     
n.方向,目标;熟悉,适应,情况介绍
参考例句:
  • Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
  • The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。
15 psychiatrist F0qzf     
n.精神病专家;精神病医师
参考例句:
  • He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
  • The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。
16 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
17 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

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