2006年VOA标准英语-Top UN Envoy Paints Grim Picture After Dar

By Noel King
Khartoum
09 May 2006

A top United Nations envoy¹ has painted a grim picture of the humanitarian² situation in Darfur. One day after a visit to the troubled region, U.N. Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator³, Jan Egeland, says the brunt of violence in Darfur has been aimed at women and children.

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Jan Egeland in Darfur refugee camp, May 8, 2006  
  

Violence against women and children continues unchecked in Darfur, the U.N.'s top humanitarian envoy told reporters in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday. Calling the situation in Darfur a security crisis rather than a humanitarian crisis, Egeland charged that civilians⁴ are increasingly at risk.

"I have just witnessed how bad it has become again in Darfur in the last few months. In the Gerieda area, in south Darfur, tens of thousands of people have been displaced in the last weeks and months alone. And it is continuing in a relentless⁵ way. What is happening is that armed men attack defenseless women and children. This is not a war between armed soldiers. This is a war between those who use arms to abuse and attack civilians," he said.

Egeland says tempers among Darfur's displaced people are beginning to flare⁶ as they demand United Nations intervention⁷ in the region. The Sudan government has refused calls for a U.N. peacekeeping force.

On Monday, the U.N. official left the Kalma camp for internally displaced Dafuris when residents began attacking U.N. vehicles. Residents later hacked⁸ to death a translator from the African Union peacekeeping force.

Despite the problems, Egeland said there is still hope for peace in the region following the signing of a peace agreement between Darfuri rebels and the Sudan government last week.

Some observers have charged that the agreement is doomed⁹ to failure because at two of the rebel factions¹⁰ have refused to sign onto the deal.

Egeland said the coming weeks in Darfur will be critical.

"This is the moment of truth. This is the critical phase. This is when we either turn toward something better or something worse. The next few weeks will be fateful. I do foresee a lot of tension, a lot of problems, a lot of uphill now for all of us. But I think we are heading towards something better. To continue like now is really a disaster scenario," he said.

Egeland's visit comes in the wake of severe food shortages, as donors¹¹ have pledged less money to the ravaged¹² region. President George Bush on Monday asked the U.S. Congress for an additional $225 million in emergency food aid for Darfur.

The fighting in Darfur, now in its third year, started when armed militias¹³ began attacking rebel groups in the region. Critics say the militias, called Janjaweed, have government support, but Khartoum denies this. Tens of thousands have died and some two million more have been displaced in what the U.S. calls genocide.

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 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。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• 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。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 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。

5 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

6 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

9 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

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 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

13 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