VOA慢速英语--难民在马里兰州安居乐业

 

If you ask a child playing outside at the Parkview Gardens apartment complex in Riverdale, Maryland where he or she is from, you will get many different answers.

The children will name Nepal, Nigeria and Afghanistan, among others, as their homelands.

But they are all settling in and adding to the diversity of the community, only about 30 minutes from Washington, D.C.

For many, the apartment complex is their first permanent home after many years of living in refugee¹ camps and temporary housing.

Sharif Ali Shafi is an American. He lives in the Parkview Gardens complex, too. He enjoys hearing the different languages, seeing colorful clothing and smelling unique foods.

“I see the little kids playing. I think it’s great,” he said.

How did so many refugees² settle in one place?

Credit goes to David Mendick. He is the manager of the complex. When the organization Catholic³ Charities asked if he would be willing to accept refugees as residents, he agreed to help.

Mendick was sympathetic. He had resettled multiple times himself. He lived in England and Israel before coming to the United States.

Since then, he has worked with other agencies looking for refugee housing.

Mendick said finding a place to live is not easy for refugees. The charities that help find housing often get turned away at other apartment complexes.

“Nobody has been willing to do it,” Mendick said. “So we continue to do it.”

And, Mendick said, the decision to accept refugees has been a good one. He said the new residents are glad to keep their homes in good condition after many years without a place to call their own. They also pay their rent on time.

Since the refugees are such good tenants⁵, Parkview makes an effort to help them settle into life in the United States.

One apartment has been turned into a classroom for residents trying to learn English. Other residents get jobs working for the complex.

"They bring so much to our company, so much diversity and so much talent. And in fact, now the upper management in this company is primarily refugee.”

One of the property managers is Zemi Shabiu. She was a refugee 18 years ago when she moved to the U.S. to escape the war in Kosovo.

“When they first come they all seem lost. For me it's very easy to say, you know what? Please do feel comfortable because I was in your shoes, you know? So I understand what you're going through."

Two residents say they are working to be comfortable in the U.S. after a long time living in refugee camps overseas.

Maan Alachawinnu and his family left Iraq and spent 10 years in a camp in Jordan. He said ISIS and militias⁶ made having a good life there hard.

Mukti Raj Gurung is from Bhutan. He spent almost 20 years living in a camp in Nepal.

He said his is glad to be in the U.S., where he is trying “his level best” to get into “the mainstream⁷ of this country.”

Words in This Story

complex – n. a group of buildings located near each other and used for a particular purpose

diversity – n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types or ideas

unique – adj. very special or unusual

sympathetic – n. feeling or showing concern about someone who is in a bad situation : having or showing feelings of sympathy

charity – n. an organization that helps people who are poor or sick

rent – n. money that you pay in return for being able to use property that belongs to someone else

tenant⁴ – n. a person, business or group that pays to use another person's property

management – n. the people who make decisions about a business

comfortable – adj. allowing you to be relaxed : causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty⁸

the mainstream – n. the thoughts, beliefs, and choices that are accepted by the largest number of people

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

3 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

4 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

5 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。