2006年VOA标准英语-Sri Lanka Fighting Forces Families From Homes

By Patricia Nunan
in Kantale, Sri Lanka
24 August 2006

As many as 170,000 people in northern and eastern Sri Lanka have been displaced in recent weeks by fighting between the Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces. VOA's Patricia Nunan recently met with a family living in a refugee camp in the town of Kantale, and then visited the home they had fled.

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Daoud Ajith and family in his temporary home 
  
Sitting beneath the plastic tarp that forms the roof of his temporary shelter, 35-year-old Daoud Ajith relaxes with his wife, young son and infant daughter.

The family has spent nearly three weeks living in the makeshift tent, with nothing more than an old blanket serving as their floor. But it is safer here, in a refugee camp in the eastern town of Kantale, than at their home.

Like tens of thousands of others, Daoud's family fled fighting in the town of Muttur, 56 kilometers to the east in the Trincomalee district. It has been the scene of the some of the worst fighting in the past four weeks of clashes between the government and the Tamil Tiger guerrilla group, which threaten to push Sri Lanka back into civil war.

Daoud says this is not the first time the family has gone through this. In 1989 and 1990, they were displaced because Tamil Tigers infiltrated¹ government territory. But no matter what happens, he says, they want to die on their soil.
 
 
Daoud Ajith boarding bus to Muttur 
  
Today, for the first time since fleeing, Daoud has decided² to take a bus sponsored by the government to visit Muttur, to check on his house, and then return to the camp at night.

With the government and Tamil Tigers still exchanging intermittent³ artillery⁴ fire, most evacuees⁵ refuse to spend the night in Muttur. And, like Daoud, most of the men who return refuse to bring their wives and children, even on a short trip.

The United Nations estimates 170,000 people have been displaced by the recent clashes - about 48,000 from the Muttur area. The U.N. says 40,000 have been displaced on the northern Jaffna peninsula, the second front to open in the past month, and the rest from other communities in Sri Lanka's north and east.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, center, speaks with diplomats⁶ from various countries during  meeting at President's House in Colombo, 21 August 2006  
  
It is the worst outbreak of fighting since the government and Tamil Tigers signed a ceasefire agreement in 2002, brokered⁷ by Norway.

The truce⁸ was meant to help end two decades of conflict between the government and the rebels, who demanded a separate homeland for the ethnic⁹ Tamil minority. The rebels say they are tired of repression¹⁰ by the Sinhalese majority, which dominates the government.

Ceasefire monitors and aid agencies say both sides are guilty of ceasefire violations¹¹, which had killed at least 800 people this year before the fighting in Trincomalee and Jaffna broke out. There are no precise figures, but some estimate an additional 800 to 1,000 people have died in the past month. 

 
Residents walk past a Sri Lankan army armored vehicle near Kallar, August 9, 2006 
  
Officials say they hope evacuees like Daoud and his family will return home within a few weeks, leaving the camps before the onset¹² of the monsoon¹³ rains.

But Muttur is now a veritable ghost town, with shops locked up, and few people, except those who came in on the bus, walking the streets.

Distant artillery fire can still be heard, although officials say the worst of the fighting is over. Residents say it has been more than a week since artillery landed in the town.

 
Daoud Ajith and brother-in-law looking through debris¹⁴ in Daoud's house 
  
Walking around his house, Daoud points out marks from gunfire on one of the walls. The walls and roof are intact, but inside, furniture and clothes lie in heaps, which Daoud says is from the impact of artillery shells and bombs landing nearby.

Daoud's home is a few hundred meters away from a military checkpoint, which he says was overrun by Tamil Tiger rebels, leading to house-to-house fighting in his neighborhood. The Sri Lankan military, he says, fought back with little regard for civilian¹⁵ lives.
 

Daoud Ajith talks to soldier at a checkpoint on the way to Muttur   
  
The ceasefire, he says, has little meaning to the people in Muttur.

He says, they have heard about the ceasefire through television and the newspapers. But the Tamil Tigers infiltrated into the area and started firing, and that is why residents are in this situation.

Moments later, the visit is interrupted by an explosion nearby. Daoud signals it is time to go, and he leaves for a safer part of town.

Daoud Ajith's wife, Ajith Maheera, bathing their son   
  
The next morning, Daoud's wife, Ajith Maheera, is bathing their son in a small river in the Kantale camp.

Daoud did not come back from Muttur on the return bus, as he had promised Ajith he would.  She is worried, she says, "because of all that has happened there."

It is quite possible that Daoud simply missed the bus, and would return to Kantale later that afternoon. But the uncertainty¹⁶ in which Ajith and Daoud now find themselves may not leave them for some time to come.

1 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 evacuees   

n.被疏散者( evacuee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Moreover, for multi-exits, evacuees select a exit based on game theory. 在有多个出口时，疏散人员根据对策论选择出口。 来自互联网
• Evacuees wade through flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. 撤离灾区涉水通过后在白沙瓦沉重的季风降雨在周六，2010年7月31日。 来自互联网

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

8 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

13 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

14 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。