2006年VOA标准英语-Aid Workers, Residents, Struggle to Cope with I

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
04 December 2006
 
watch Somali Refugees in Kenya

 
Dadaab Somali refugees 
In Somalia, tensions between the rapidly-expanding Islamic Courts Union and the fledgling transitional government are escalating¹, prompting fears of an impending² civil war.  This has caused tens of thousands of Somalis to flee into neighboring Kenya since the beginning of the year. Many of these Somalis are ending up in one of three camps at the refugee settlement of Dadaab, in northeastern Kenya. Already short of resources, the settlement is straining to accommodate the new arrivals.  Cathy Majtenyi recently visited Ifo Camp in Dadaab.

A familiar sight on the edges of Ifo Camp: the women of this newly-arrived Somali family are constructing a shelter they will be calling home for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere, families are at various stages of building their shelters and adapting to their new environment.

 
Haden Mohamed Nyaiya
Haden Mohamed Nyaiya and her family arrived in Ifo camp a month ago and have already settled in.  She says it was fear of civil war that drove her and 23 relatives to flee Somalia.

Meanwhile, in another part of the camp are families who have been here for up to 15 years, when Dadaab first opened following the outbreak of civil war in Somalia.

The conflict began in 1991 when then-leader Siad Barre was overthrown³. Since that time, militias⁴ loyal to clan⁵ and sub-clan-based factions⁶ have controlled different parts of the country, with no law and order or even basic services to help the people. 

A two-year peace process in Kenya that brought together feuding⁷ warlords and others led to the formation in 2004 of a transitional government and parliament to bring order and stability to the chaotic⁸ country.

But that was not to be. This year saw the rise and expansion of the Islamic Courts Union.  Since June, Islamists have been taking control over much of southern Somalia as well as the capital Mogadishu, raising mass fears of outright⁹ war between them and the fledgling transitional government.

Many Somalis subsequently fled, crossing the barren, isolated¹⁰ lands of the Kenya-Somali border area to end up here, at Ifo or one of the other two camps comprising Dadaab. The total population of Dadaab now stands at 160,000 people.

The United Nations' Refugee Agency coordinates¹¹ programs and services delivered to the refugees by several aid agencies.

 
Geoff Wordley
Geoff Wordley is a senior emergency and response officer with the U.N. refugee agency. He describes to VOA the challenges of accommodating an estimated 32,000 additional refugees who have arrived at Dadaab since the beginning of this year.

"We've had to bring in an emergency response team. They've been on the ground now for about three or four weeks to assist the office in coping with the situation. Clearly, the workload¹² in the office has increased as a result. As far as life in the camps is concerned, we've had to expand the camps obviously to accommodate these new arrivals. As far as the already existing refugees, many of who have been here for the last 15 years, clearly there are disturbances¹³ in their lives as well. They have had to accommodate and get used to new neighbors who are here for perhaps for different reasons what they came in for, different clans¹⁴, so it's been quite a challenge I think for everyone to deal with this influx¹⁵."

One such aid agency working in Dadaab is CARE.  Among its many activities, CARE distributes food rations¹⁶ to the refugees in Ifo and other camps on behalf of the World Food Program.

 
Bishar Salat Ahmed
CARE's logistics manager in Dadaab, Bishar Salat Ahmed, expresses frustration¹⁷ at feeding a population that has risen by some 12,000 in just the past few months. "Nobody has foreseen that this population would increase, and nobody knew what was going to happen in Somalia. Based on that, we made use of the small resources available, and we tried to see how we could distribute the resources available within Dadaab."

Residents of Dadaab themselves have had mixed reactions to the new arrivals, with some feeling resentment¹⁸ over the straining of resources.

Dadaab resident Sahara Mohamed Ali, who came here in 1991, describes the situation in her camp when the influx was at its peak several months ago. "Those people, they don't get enough things, because they were not given shelter, they were not given food; they were brought and dropped within the camp. They used to ask (for) help. But other people, they cannot help [the new arrivals]. They (the new arrivals) disturb a lot; they bring a lot of problems."

Dadaab's children, too, have had much to cope with as they try to adjust to a new culture, language, and education system.

Friends Primary School in Ifo Camp has grown by several hundred children in the last few months. There are now some 1800 students attending the school.

 
Elizabeth Balibonera Mawazo
Elizabeth Balibonera Mawazo, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a Ki'Swahili and French teacher who has been at Friends Primary School since last year. "When the new children come, we put them in a class according to their performance. We give them special attention according to their needs. But the more the children come, the more facilities we should be getting. We have very few seats. The children are so many, but the space is very small. They seat four children on one bench -- those are too many."

But for now, the children -- and those who care for them -- are trying to make do as best as they can with what they have. With the advent¹⁹ of the rains, the refugee influx has slowed, and aid workers say they have been able to accommodate the people who have come so far.  But the expectation is that more refugees will come as the turmoil²⁰ in Somalia continues.

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

3 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

4 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

5 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

6 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

8 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

13 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

14 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

15 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

16 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

17 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

18 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

19 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

20 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。