VOA慢速英语--Syria Calls Evacuation of White Helmets ‘Criminal’

 

Syria has criticized the evacuation from Syria of hundreds of Syrian White Helmet rescue workers to Jordan.

A Syrian foreign ministry¹ official called the action a “criminal process” that showed the “true nature” of the White Helmets. The comments were reported by Syria’s state-run SANA news service.

The official said the evacuation demonstrated the involvement of Israel, the United States and other western allies in supporting the White Helmets. The group has received support from the U.S. and other Western nations.

The volunteer group - officially known as Syria Civil Defense² - was formed in 2013. It includes workers who enter attack areas before anyone else to rescue people in rebel-held territory.

The group says it is neutral in Syria’s civil war. But the Syrian government has accused the White Helmets of working to help rebel fighters. Syrian officials have called the White Helmets a “terrorist group.”

The Jordanian government said in a statement Sunday that 422 White Helmet members were moved from Syria to Jordan. The statement said Jordan agreed to accept the workers after Britain, Germany and Canada promised to help resettle them in the coming months.

The Israeli military cooperated with U.S. and European allies to carry out the evacuation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke³ about the action in a video message. He said U.S. President Donald Trump⁴, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others sought help to move the rescue workers out of Syria.

The operation took place near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Officials say Syrian troops had surrounded the White Helmets there. Syrian government forces and Russian allies have been fighting an offensive against Syrian rebels in the area.

“These are people who saved lives and whose lives are now in danger,” Netanyahu said. “I authorized⁶ bringing them through Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian⁷ gesture,” he added.

Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, praised the evacuation and thanked Israel and Jordan in a tweet. The White Helmets, Hunt said, “are the bravest of the brave and in a desperate situation.”

The U.S. State Department said in a statement it welcomed the operation. It called on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia to honor their promises to “end the violence, and protect all Syrian civilians⁸.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

evacuation – n. the action of leaving or removing someone from a dangerous place

authorize⁵ – v. give official permission for something

gesture – n. something a person does to show others how they feel about a person or situation

desperate – adj. very bad or difficult to deal with

abide⁹ by – phrasal verb. obey a rule

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

6 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

7 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。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。