亚齐人民挣脱恶梦重建家园

Acehnese Try to Build a Life on Shuttered Dreams

亚齐人民挣脱恶梦重建家园

 

Within days after the killer¹ tsunami² hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, VOA Correspondent Nancy-Amelia Collins traveled to Aceh Province in the tragic³ aftermath. A veteran of wars and disasters, she says she has never seen such utter destruction and tells us about her experience and the terrible reality for tens of thousands of Acehnese people who lost their loved ones, their hopes, and their dreams in an instant.

 

There are not enough tears in the world to cleanse⁴ the sorrow that flows over Aceh.

 

Less than a week after the tsunami struck December 26, nearly every house and every business had been destroyed in Indonesia's provisional capital, Banda Aceh. It was a scene of utter devastation⁵ - like nothing most of us, including world leaders and wartime generals, had ever seen.

 

But that is nothing compared to the personal losses. Ambri, who lost his wife and 2-year-old child, was desolate⁶. He had tried to save his family when the tsunami struck, but the water was too powerful, and they were sucked out to sea.

 

Ambri: I will just pray to God now. I have nothing left, nothing. I am alone.

 

Ambri is just one of millions across the Indian Ocean with a tragic story. It was impossible to walk what was passing for streets, without facing crying people, dazed faces, the blank looks of shock.

 

Then there was what became known as "the bridge of death." Washed up on this bridge were three very large boats, but it was what was beneath it that gave it its name.

 

From a distance, it looked like support railings broken and splintered into scores of fragmented pieces of wood fermenting⁷ in stagnant⁸ water. But it is only when closer, that you realized the splinters were hundreds of dead bodies. And many of the dazed faces I had seen on the streets, also gathered here searching the lifeless pile for someone they loved.

 

But the people of Aceh - devoutly⁹ religious - struggled to carry-on despite their personal horror. They re-opened cafes and shops - robots getting on with life's daily work. Quickly, polite banter¹⁰ dissolved into tears and more stories of how many family members, especially the children, had been killed or missing.

 

I could see they were testing it out. By speaking of their nightmare they might make it real or try to begin to accept what had happened.

 

The most compelling single story took place near the Indonesian Red Cross refugee camp on the devastated¹¹ west coast. A group of us chanced upon a very old woman in the woods. She had been at the store when the tsunami struck. All her five children and their children did not survive. She had come to the woods to lie down and wait for death, the only thing she said she could look forward to. The Red Cross volunteers took her away to give her treatment, as comfort was not remotely possible.

 

But accompanying the utter personal desolation was a spirit of determination among the Acehnese, not only survive, but to help others just like themselves.

 

Before international aid and workers arrived, the traumatized victims had to help themselves.

 

I met an Acehnese doctor, Hanifa Ali, who had lost 20 members of his extended family. Along with a dozen volunteers, including his 14-year-old son and doctor daughter, he traveled the length and breadth of Aceh, looking for survivors¹² who needed help.

 

Hanifa Ali: We have no school building, we have no book, we have no nothing, we have no nothing. And how to get it? I don't know.

 

And even as these volunteers tended to the sick and wounded, everyone worried about the future.

 

Hanifa Ali: Every day we must go here to protect these children. To know his [their] health, conditions, living conditions.

 

It is hoped the world will never again witness a natural disaster of this proportion. But nature is unpredictable, like life itself.

 

For the Acehnese, family and community is the cornerstone of life. And in the months and years ahead, this foundation should serve to heal the lives that have been torn apart.

 

Nancy-Amelia Collins, VOA news, Banda Aceh.

 

注释：

Sumatra [su5mB:trE] n. 苏门答腊岛

correspondent [7kCris5pCndEnt] n. 通讯记者

provisional [prE5viVEnl] adj. 临时的

desolate [5desElit] adj. 忧郁的，悲凉的

fragmented [frA^5mentid] adj. 成碎片的

strike [straik] v. 侵袭

proportion [prE5pC:FEn] n. 面积，比例

unpredictable [5Qnpri5diktEbl] adj. 不可预知的

cornerstone [5kC:nEstEun] n. 基础

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

7 fermenting   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. 发酵的葡萄酒已经冒泡，溢了出来。 来自辞典例句
• It must be processed through methods like boiling, grinding or fermenting. 它必须通过煮沸、研磨、或者发酵等方法加工。 来自互联网

8 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

9 devoutly   

adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地

参考例句：

• She was a devoutly Catholic. 她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This was not a boast, but a hope, at once bold and devoutly humble. 这不是夸夸其谈，而是一个即大胆而又诚心、谦虚的希望。 来自辞典例句

10 banter   

n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑

参考例句：

• The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
• She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

11 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者