年轻男性移民涉嫌袭击德国新年庆祝活动

AS IT IS 2016-01-06 Young, Male Migrants Suspected in New Year's Assaults 年轻男性移民涉嫌袭击德国新年庆祝活动

German authorities said Tuesday that young women were sexually harassed² and robbed by hundreds of young men on New Year’s Eve.

Attacks took place in the western city of Cologne, in Hamburg in the north, and Stuttgart in the south, reported the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Most of the attacks took place in the main square in Cologne during celebrations.

Victims and witnesses described the attackers as young men “who appeared to have a North African or Arabic” background, the newspapers reported.

More than 90 people in Cologne have filed legal complaints, according to police.

In Hamburg, police said that 10 women had reported being sexually assaulted and robbed. The Wall Street Journal said there were incidents in Stuttgart, but no arrests have been made in any of the cities.

Germany took in more than 1 million migrants and refugees last year. Most of them come from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa. Tensions have risen in Germany as it tries to deal with the social and political changes there.

The New York Times said the assault went largely unreported for days. That delay “has led to concerns that the authorities were playing down the seriousness of the assault to prevent it from becoming a point of contention” in the larger debate about migrants.

People were gathered to see the city’s fireworks over the Rhine River. Some were going to bars and nightclubs.

The Wall Street Journal said Heiko Maas, Germany’s justice minister, warned that the ethnicity, or background, of the criminals does not matter. 

He said “the rule of law does not look at where someone comes from but what they did.”

In Cologne, police said that they believe that several hundred men, ages 15 to 35, were involved in the violence. It began in the early hours on New Year’s Day. The square was closed after men were throwing fireworks, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Police say the men broke into smaller groups.  Each group circled a woman, the police said, and some would grope the victim. Other men stole the women’s cellphones or wallets.

One woman told police she had been raped³.

German Chancellor⁴ Angela Merkel called the attacks “disgusting.”

Cologne is a city of about 1 million residents. It is one of Germany’s most diverse cities, and it took in more than 10,000 refugees last year. Many of them were young men from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, said the Wall Street Journal.

The paper said the city will increase security after the crimes, as they search for suspects.

The newspaper said anti-immigrant and far-right groups have said these crimes show the dangers of accepting such large numbers of migrants.

Frauke Petry, the head of the extreme right party, Alternative for Germany, told a Cologne newspaper that the violence is “the consequence of an uncontrolled migration⁵,” according to the New York Times.

Chancellor Merkel has defended her migration policy, even as the issue has caused political problems in her conservative bloc⁶.

On Tuesday, the Chancellor called for mutual⁷ respect.

Words in This Story

harass¹ - v. bother someone in a repeated way

sexual assault -v. illegal sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person

grope -v.  to touch someone sexually in an unwanted and unexpected way

diverse -adj.  people, or things,  that are different from each other

bloc -- n. a group of people or countries that are connected by a treaty or agreement or by common goals

1 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

2 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

3 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

4 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

5 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。

6 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

7 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。