148 国际红十字会对乔治亚恶劣状况表示担忧

Red Cross Warns of Humanitarian Crisis in Georgia
Lisa Schlein
Geneva
11 Jul 2001 20:21 UTC

The International Red Cross is warning that the former Soviet Republic of Georgia is a country in danger. The Red Cross calls Georgia a forgotten 1)humanitarian crisis. It says high-profile crises in the Balkans and Africa have 2)diverted attention from this former Soviet Republic. As a 3)consequence, it says the Red Cross has received only 10 percent of the $15 million it needs to fund critical assistance programs in the country.
The Red Cross' deputy chief of delegation in Georgia, Mary Werntz, says the country is battling a 4)tuberculosis 5)epidemic and is in urgent need of food and medicine. She says years of 6)conflict between Georgia and its 7)breakaway region of Abkhazia are having a 8)devastating impact on the country as a whole.
In a bid to set up a separate state, Abkhazian rebels fought two wars against Georgia in 1993 and 1998. Ms. Werntz says more than one-third of the 22,000 people the Red Cross helps in Abkhazia would 9)starve without its assistance.
But the Georgian government has many other problems besides Abkhazia. The Red Cross says high unemployment, an energy crisis and a large 10)displaced population is causing 11)tensions to rise.
Ms. Werntz says souring political relations between Georgia and Russia are creating problems for Georgia. For instance, toward the end of last year, she says Russia enacted new visa requirements on Georgia. "This has put a particularly heavy burden on the Georgian economy because there are several hundred thousand Georgians who are living in Russia and the monies that they are bringing in from Russia for the work they are doing there is, of course, very important," Ms. Werntz said. "So, those people are now required to have a visa in their passport in order to work and stay in Russia".
Ms. Werntz says Georgia is also facing an energy crisis. In the capital, Tblisi, people only have electricity for three or four hours a day. And the energy situation is worse in other parts of the country.

(1) humanitarian[hju:mAnI5teErIEn]n.人道主义者
(2) divert[daI5v:t]v.转移, 转向, 使高兴
(3) consequence[5kRnsIkwEns; (?@) 5kRnsIkwens]n.结果, [逻]推理
(4) tuberculosis[tju:b:kjJ5lEJsIs; (?@) 5tu:-]n.肺结核
(5) epidemic[epI5demIk]adj.流行的, 传染的, 流行性n.疫疾流行
(6) conflict[5kRnflIkt]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突
(7) breakaway n.分离, 脱逃
(8) devastating[5devEsteItIN]adj.破坏性的, 全然的
(9) starve[stB:v]vt.使饿死vi.饿得要死
(10) displace[dIs5pleIs]vt.移置, 转移, 取代, 置换v.转移
(11) tension[5tenF(E)n]n.紧张(状态), 不安, 拉紧vt.拉紧, 使紧张