美国国家公共电台 NPR A Young Rohingya Mom: Pregnant, Stateless, Living In Limbo

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

There are more than 130 officially recognized ethnic¹ minority groups in Myanmar. Each has its own culture, even language. The Rohingya Muslims are not one of them. Myanmar's government won't grant them citizenship². Its leaders won't even utter the word Rohingya because they don't believe the group exists. And that's led to the crisis that we've been following closely. Some 800,000 Rohingya have fled what some human rights groups are calling a campaign of genocide by Myanmar's army. NPR's Jason Beaubien recently visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, and he brings us this story about what it means to be stateless.

JASON BEAUBIEN, BYLINE³: Twenty-year-old Sanura Begum misses her cattle. Sitting in her plastic and bamboo shelter in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, Begum says she longs for her sturdy, wooden house on her parents' farm back in Myanmar.

SANURA BEGUM: (Through interpreter) I used to take care of the animals, and I'm still really missing them.

BEAUBIEN: Her family had 20 cows, 12 water buffalo⁴ and some chickens, she says. They used the buffalo for milk and to plow⁵ their rice fields. They grew chilies⁶ and vegetables. And unlike now, they had plenty of food. On this day, Begum says she's run out of rice and won't get her next ration⁷ from the World Food Program for another four days.

Begum fled her village in Myanmar in August after the Myanmar Army launched a scorched⁸ earth offensive against Rohingya militants⁹. The government soldiers ransacked¹⁰ Rohingya villages throughout the state. Begum believes she would've been killed if she stayed. Along with her husband, her sister and her 2-year-old son, she walked to the border with Bangladesh.

BEGUM: (Through interpreter) We left with one straw mat, two cooking pots and 10 kilos of rice. We had just our own clothes and nothing more.

BEAUBIEN: They left everything else behind, including all of her animals. She says she doesn't know what happened to her cows or her buffalo, but she thinks the soldiers probably took them. In Myanmar, the Rohingya have been persecuted¹¹ for decades. The Muslim minority aren't considered citizens despite having lived there for generations. The Myanmar government insists they're illegal immigrants who arrived years ago from Bangladesh.

Begum and the other Rohingya weren't allowed to leave their villages without the permission of the military, which was rarely granted. Begum says before coming to Bangladesh, she'd never seen a doctor or been to a health clinic. In addition, she says the soldiers insisted that her parents' farm belonged to the army.

BEGUM: (Through interpreter) We had to pay them every week.

BEAUBIEN: She says if they sold a cow, the soldiers demanded half the sale price of the cow as a grazing fee.

BEGUM: (Through interpreter) The soldiers said this is our land, so if you are raising any cows, any goats on our property, you have to give half to us. The people who didn't pay - the soldiers tortured these guys. So in the end, you had to pay.

BEAUBIEN: Now, in what's become the largest refugee camp in the world, Begum's days are relatively¹² quiet. She cooks in the morning and washes clothes at a communal¹³ hand pump. Sometimes she takes a nap in the afternoon. On the day I met her, she was at a Doctors Without Borders clinic and had just found out that she's pregnant with her second child. Begum is only 20 years old, and she only has one other kid, but she says this is her last pregnancy¹⁴.

BEGUM: (Through interpreter) In Myanmar, when we give birth, the children grow up, and the military kill them. So if I have a lot of children and we have to go back to Myanmar, they'll kill my children. So I'm not having any more children.

BEAUBIEN: Last month, Bangladesh and Myanmar finalized¹⁵ a deal to send Begum and nearly 800,000 other Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar. Begum, however, says she'll only go if she's given citizenship and the return of her livestock¹⁶. Then, she adds, she also wants her land and her house back. I ask how likely she thinks it is that all that would happen. She shrugs¹⁷ and says that only God knows.

In the meantime, she hopes her children can go to school in Bangladesh. And while there isn't any room in the camp for cattle, she's thinking she might try to get some chickens. In other words, she's essentially¹⁸ settling in. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

(SOUNDBITE OF LITTLE PEOPLE'S "MOON")

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 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。

4 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

5 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

6 chilies   

n.红辣椒( chili的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some people like to harvest the plants, when the chilies are green. 一些人喜欢在辣椒长成绿色的时候就采摘。 来自互联网
• Sprinkle with scallions and sliced chilies and served hot. 洒上葱粒、辣椒丝，趁热上桌。 来自互联网

7 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

8 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

9 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。

10 ransacked   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
• The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

14 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

15 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

17 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

18 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。