VOA慢速英语2014 乌干达居民因土地纠纷导致暴力行动

 

AS IT IS 2014-09-28 Land Disputes Lead to Violence in Uganda 乌干达居民因土地纠纷导致暴力行动

More than 700 residents crowd onto a small piece of land in Rwamutonga, a small village outside Hoima. The people say they have been unfairly forced from their homes and abused after a land dispute with their neighbor, Joshua Tibagwa.

In August, a court awarded him the rights to the land after a long legal battle.

A business called McAlester Energy Resources has expressed an interest in Mr. Tibagwa’s land. He says the American company gave him money to secure the property. McAlester says it plans to use the land for a petroleum¹ waste water facility. After the judgment², an eviction³ notice was quickly sent out. The court ordered people to leave the area.

Residents say they awoke to a combination of bullets and teargas on August 25th. They say their homes were attacked and burned a short time later. The residents fled the area to escape. They say three children went missing during the unrest. They say all three are believed to be dead.

A wired fence now blocks off 1,000 hectares of land – almost 10 times more than the court mandated⁴. Armed private security guards are on duty in the area. They are working for Joshua Tibagwa. The displaced say the guards are a threat to them.

Andriko Lino once lived on the land. He says he went back to his farm to get food for his children. While doing so, he says he was observed by guards and detained.  He says the guards set his house on fire with him trapped inside. He says he was seriously burned, but was able to force his way out.

Two displaced women say they have been raped⁶. One of them says the guards detained her as she was attempting to get fresh cassava from her land. She says four men pushed her to the ground and raped her. She says she did report the incident to the police. She had no money to see a doctor.

In nearby Katanga, there is a written record at the police station that a woman reported the rape⁵, but her papers could not be found.

Local community leaders say the displaced residents have zero access to medical aid and are not getting enough to eat.

The government has a different story.

Ambrose Mwesigye is the district’s police commissioner⁷.  He says these people were hostile residents, who have repeatedly attacked police. He accuses the displaced residents of saying bad things about Tibagwa and McAlester.

“We have received these complaints you are hearing about, all these allegations, not in writing.  And we have said, bring us those facts, and we start from there.  Police has not given us any feedback that people were mishandled…. I can tell you, these people are being organized to raise public outcry because of the story behind the story….. What I can tell you is the process of the eviction was peaceful.”

Bernard Akankwasa is a police commander. He says the evictions were handled peacefully. He accuses residents of burning down their own homes to make it appear as though a crime took place.

Community leaders, local land commissioners⁸, and security officials all agree something must be done to correct this situation.  But the government has not made any plans.

1 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

3 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

4 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

5 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

6 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件