2007年VOA标准英语-Insecurity, Displacement Escalate in Eastern Ch

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
09 January 2007

The U.N. refugee agency says it remains¹ extremely concerned over the security situation in eastern Chad where there are now more than 220,000 Darfur refugees from neighboring Sudan and over 100,000 internally displaced Chadians.  It says some 20,000 Chadians have been uprooted² within the past three weeks.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

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Refugees at the Goz-Amir camp, eastern Chad, demonstrate during UN High Commissioner for Refugees visit, asking for more security

The U.N. refugee agency says there has been a decrease in fighting between the Chadian army and opposition⁴ forces.  But, it says inter-communal conflict continues in southeastern parts of the country near the border with Sudan's Darfur region. 

UNHCR Spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says about 10,000 people have fled from more than 20 villages involved in inter-communal fighting over the past three weeks.  She says they are gathered in the village of Gassire, eight kilometers north of the town of Goz Beida. 

She says another 10,000 Chadians are believed to have been driven from their homes in cross-border attacks from Sudan by Janjaweed militia⁵ in the Borota region.

"This insecurity is now posing a direct threat to refugee camps housing thousands of Sudanese refugees from Darfur," she said.  "We sent a technical mission to Gassire to assess conditions there and the needs of the thousands of displaced Chadians.  Humanitarian⁶ agencies, whose activities had already been reduced because of the insecurity, are now severely⁷ over-stretched." 

Pagonis accompanied U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on a trip to eastern Chad in late December.  She says they visited camps housing internally displaced people that had been burned down six-days earlier. 

She says many people are camped out in areas close to the villages that have been attacked.  Others, she says, have fled to one of the refugee camps run by the UNHCR.

"We are constrained⁸ by the security issues in the region," she added.  "It is very difficult to work there.  So, we are trying to-with other humanitarian agencies-make sure that they have got food, make sure that they have got shelter.  In Habilla, something like 83 homes - this is the IDP [internally displaced persons] site - 83 of their homes have been burnt to the ground in the attacks.  The major preoccupation is security.  They are absolutely terrified. They see these attacks happening in the region.  They do not feel safe in IDP camps. They do not feel safe anywhere."

Pagonis says the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, promises he will send troops to restore security in eastern Chad.  She says his government has made available about $8 million for assistance to Chad's internally displaced.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 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。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 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。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。