亚洲海啸受难的儿童逐渐从痛苦中恢复

Child Victims of Asia's Devastating¹ Tsunami² Cope with Trauma³

亚洲海啸受难的儿童逐渐从痛苦中恢复

 

The December earthquake and tsunami that hit a dozen Indian Ocean countries and killed nearly 300,000 people left thousands of children without one or both parents. Even more lost siblings⁵, friends, and relatives. Aid agencies working with these children say while they still grieve their losses, many have started on the slow path to recovery.

 

In the first days after the tsunami, relief workers say, thousands of traumatized children sat in shock and fear. Those suffering the most were children who had lost parents.

 

Tirana Hassan, a protection specialist with the aid organization Save the Children, says many children now are slowly starting to recover.

 

Ms. Hassan is now working in the Indonesian province of Aceh where around 230,000 people are reported dead or missing from the December 26 earthquake and tsunami.

 

Ms. Hassan: There is an incredible resilience amongst children here. You see a lot of adolescents for instance trying to be very strong and take care of their younger siblings and they're taking on more adult responsibility, which of course causes a concern on some levels but is also a credit to them how resilient and strong they can be.

 

In Asia, in general, and in Aceh in particular, life revolves⁶ around the family and community. Ms. Hassan says relatives and family friends have taken in many of the tsunami orphans⁷. That support from within the children's communities is expected to help them recover.

 

Aid agencies, governments and military forces from around the world mobilized rapidly after the disaster to provide food, clean water and temporary shelter to the millions left homeless. Experts had worried that distressed⁸ survivors⁹, especially children, could be lost in a second wave of deaths from illness and hunger but the rapid response avoided a greater tragedy.

 

Early efforts also prevented a possible man-made tragedy. In the early, chaotic¹⁰ days after the tsunami, there were fears that children could fall victim to human traffickers.

 

But the United Nations Children Fund and other aid agencies sounded the alert - warning governments, volunteers and families that lost, frightened children could easily be snatched by gangs who would sell them into servitude or the sex trade.

 

John Budd is with UNICEF in Indonesia and says there were no confirmed reports of children being kidnapped.

 

John Budd: We believe very strongly that UNICEF by alerting people to this particular danger and the government also responding, actually prevented the movement of children from Aceh in a big way without being registered so we wouldn't know where they came from.

 

To reduce the trafficking risk, the International Organization for Migration¹¹ is working in refugee camps, known as IDP camps, to protect children and women from being sexually exploited.

 

Kristin Dadey runs an anti-trafficking unit for the IOM in Indonesia.

 

Kristin Dadey: We have now begun an awareness¹² raising campaign about the issue of trafficking, focusing primarily in the IDP camps where there are many, many vulnerable women and children, obviously many children without parents, many women without spouses¹⁴, and so our focus will be on raising their awareness about the issues of trafficking.

 

Now that the children's immediate¹⁵ needs for shelter, food and security have been met, Ms. Hassan with Save the Children says governments must focus on the long-term needs for the children and other tsunami victims.

 

Ms. Hassan: Basically we are trying to rebuild communities. So that's about supporting communities, shelter, supporting parents and families who are carrying for these children as well as getting the education sector¹⁶ up and running and supporting the government in rebuilding schools, and bringing back basically some of the things in children's lives that are important to their development in the long term.

 

Aid agencies and governments of the tsunami-effected countries agree long-term needs, including education and shelter, must be met to help the children who suffered such devastating losses. One sign of the commitment to providing long-term support, in many communities, the first public buildings to reopen very often were the schools, which were packed with children eager to return to some sense of a normal life.

 

Nancy-Amelia Collins, VOA news, Jakarta.

 

注释：

tsunami [tsju:5nB:mi] n. 海啸

sibling⁴ [5sibliN] n. 兄弟，姐妹

traumatized [5trC:mEtaizd] adj. [医] 使受损伤，使受精神上创伤

resilience [rI5zIlIEns] n. 恢复力，顺应力

chaotic [kei5Ctik] adj. 混乱的，无秩序的

human trafficker n. 人口贩子

snatch [snAtF] v. 攫取

servitude [5sE:vitju:d] n. 奴隶状态，惩役

spouse¹³ [spauz] n. 配偶(指夫或妻)

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

4 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

10 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

11 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

12 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

13 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

14 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。