2006年VOA标准英语-ICRC Says Everyone Touched by Conflict in

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
01 February 2006

A senior official from the International Committee of the Red Cross who has just returned from a mission to Colombia says every person in that country has been affected¹ by the violence that has been going on there for more than four decades.

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Families and relatives of 12 legislators who were kidnapped by rebels of FARC, watch a video of captives, in Cali, Colombia, January 21, 2006   
  

Red Cross director of operations Pierre Kraehenbuhl paints a chilling picture of life in Colombia. He says civilians² live in fear of violence, extortion, kidnappings, killings³ and forced displacement⁴. He says people live with these fears every day of their lives.

The 40-year conflict in Colombia between government forces, and anti-government insurgent⁵ groups and illegal paramilitary groups - both heavily involved in the drug trade - escalated⁶ during the 1990s. Several thousand paramilitary members have laid down their arms since 2002, but other insurgents⁷ continue attacks against civilians and large swaths of Colombia's countryside are under guerrilla influence.

Kraehenbuhl says Colombia has one of the highest numbers of internally displaced persons in the world. Official statistics put that figure at 1.8 million. But the Red Cross official says other sources say it is even higher.

"We are equally worried about the fate of an important number of hostages in the country in the situation of displacement and of soldiers and members of the armed forces deprived of their liberty as a result of the conflict," he added. "There is another issue which is of serious concern to us and that is the situation of persons missing as a result of the conflict. And, of course the suffering of their family members. Finally, there is the impact for the populations of violence and the regular occurrence of armed confrontations⁸ carried out in the regions in which they live."

Kraehenbuhl says the Red Cross believes it is essential that the issue of missing persons be included on the political agenda of any negotiations⁹ that take place between the warring factions¹⁰.

"It is an issue that we know from experience in other contexts that tends to be somewhat sidelined or put aside because it is a very delicate issue in any context," he continued. "But we have insisted here again that it is not an issue that is going to go away and that the better one addresses it at an early phase, the better it is. We are dealing¹¹ ourselves, as ICRC, with 3,600 individually documented cases based on testimony¹² from families. And these are cases that we will continue to put forward in our discussions with the different parties."

Kraehenbuhl says hundreds of people have been kidnapped and are held hostage for a variety of reasons. Some are political, others are held for ransom¹³, and some of these are never heard of again.

He says an unknown number of police or members of the armed forces are being held by opposition¹⁴ groups, some for years. While the Red Cross has no access to them, he says that last year Red Cross workers visited more than 6,000 prisoners held by the government.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 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。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

5 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

6 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

7 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

8 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 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

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

13 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。