VOA标准英语2012--Aid Worker Kidnapped in Darfur Returns Home

 

Aid Worker Kidnapped in Darfur Returns Home

 

After almost three months in captivity¹, British aid worker Patrick Noonan is going home.

“He’s very much looking forward to seeing his two daughters,” says Bettina Luescher, a World Food Program spokesperson. “We’re glad that this story is over.”

Luescher says the World Food Program cannot say where Noonan was during that time, or how UN, Sudanese, and UK officials negotiated his release.

“He’s apparently² in good health, happy to be out, and we’re just glad that he’s free again,” says Luescher. “For an aid organization, those are always troubling times. We were very, very concerned about his well-being³, we’re glad, we’re grateful to everyone who helped free him.”

Amanda Stoddard, a researcher with a group called Humanitarian⁴ Outcomes that advises governments and NGOs, explains that aid workers are protected by international law. However, host governments are ultimately responsible for keeping aid workers safe. That may be a reason why South Sudan has joined Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan as some of the most dangerous places for aid workers

The World Food Program's Patrick Noonan was freed after 86 days. 

“Similar to Sudan itself, it’s a country where the government has not been able to extend a security presence and law and order to a vast expanse of territory, and where both militants⁵ and regular criminals can act with impunity,” says Stoddard.

When you get down to it, Stoddard says, aid organizations end up providing their own protection—but most try to avoid using armed guards and walled-off compounds.

“Many rely instead on what’s been called the acceptance approach to security, which is about actively⁶ communicating and negotiating with all local actors and parties to the conflict and trying to gain their acceptance and support--and by extension a measure of protection.”

When something does go wrong, as it did with Patrick Noonan, the World Food Program and other aid organizations say they do not pay ransom⁷.

“It’s one of the policies we have,” Luescher explains. “If we did that, then aid workers all over the world would be more in danger.”

That danger can be seen in Somalia, for example. Recently militants there killed two World Food Program workers in two months and effectively kicked the World Food Program out of a country that desperately⁸ needed its help.

Luescher says the danger aid workers face is one of the reasons they are real heroes.

“Not only do they leave their families behind, but they also risk their lives. All to make sure that a little child or a young mother gets a little bit of food or a little bit of shelter and some safety.”

That risk goes on every day for aid workers along the border between Sudan and South Sudan.

 

1 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

8 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。