美国国家公共电台 NPR--Quake survivors in Turkey line up to file damage claims, missing person reports

Quake survivors¹ in Turkey line up to file damage claims, missing person reports

Transcript²

More than two and a half months since the devastating³ earthquakes in Turkey, hundreds of people are still searching for the remains⁴ of their missing loved ones.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In southern Turkey, people are still searching for the remains of their missing loved ones more than 2 1/2 months after earthquakes killed tens of thousands. NPR's Fatma Tanis reports from the city of Antakya, where crews continue to use heavy equipment to clear the rubble⁵.

FATMA TANIS, BYLINE⁶: Posters of missing people line the gates outside of the city's main courthouse. It's too damaged to use and now operates out of portable containers. Earthquake survivors are lined up to file damage claims and missing person reports. Cihat Acikalin is the head of the Hatay Bar Association. That's the province that oversees⁷ Antakya. He says there are around 500 cases in this city alone, and the reasons are complicated.

CIHAT ACIKALIN: (Through interpreter) You've seen for yourself how bad it is. The earthquake was so strong. And because of the delay in search and rescue, and in the chaos⁸ of the aftermath, people mistakenly took and buried bodies that were not their relatives or friends.

TANIS: He also says they expect more bodies to be found as machines continue to clear rubble.

ACIKALIN: (Through interpreter) There were also entire families who died that night, so it's hard to know how many are missing from a family when there are no surviving members to notify us.

TANIS: Many people here were buried without identification in the first days after the quake. Others were rushed to hospitals also without ID and are now slowly being reunited with surviving family. But for those who are searching for missing loved ones, like Osman Tanar (ph), it's been grueling and painful. I reach him over the phone because, like most survivors, he's left Antakya and is staying with friends in a town a few hours away.

OSMAN TANAR: (Non-English language spoken).

TANIS: When the earthquake hit, Tanar and his family carried their children out of the apartment as their building crumbled⁹ behind them. As soon as he was able, he headed to check on his brother and saw their building had been completely destroyed.

TANAR: (Through interpreter) I saw my brother's furniture in the rubble, but I couldn't see him or his family or hear from them. We waited day and night as rescue teams worked for six days to recover survivors and bodies. And then they left. And we were left there with six other families who couldn't find their relatives, dead or alive.

TANIS: They searched hospitals and graveyards¹⁰ in several provinces to no avail. They've also handed their DNA¹¹ samples to forensic¹² investigators¹³ and are now awaiting results. Ahmet Hilal, a forensics professor at Cukurova University and the head of Turkey's forensic medicine association, says thousands of missing people have been identified so far via DNA samples, few of them survivors.

AHMET HILAL: (Non-English language spoken).

TANIS: He says, according to official numbers, there are around 1,200 people still missing in the quake zone.

HILAL: (Non-English language spoken).

TANIS: But, Hilal says, several fires broke out in the rubble, making it even harder to find or identify remains. And that's why Osman Tanar, the man searching for his brother's family, wants authorities to go through the rubble of his brother's building again and more carefully.

TANAR: (Through interpreter) We know there was a fire somewhere in my brother's building after it collapsed¹⁴. The concrete was warm in some areas. Maybe they will find a piece of bone. And then we can say our family died in a fire in the rubble. And we can take that bone and bury it in a grave.

(Non-English language spoken).

TANIS: It's been a long and painful process for more than two months, he says. He's tired. And every time they think they found a trace, he raises his hopes only to have them crushed again.

Fatma Tanis, NPR News, Antakya, Turkey.

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1 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

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

10 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

11 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

12 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

13 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。