VOA常速英语2007-Darfur Refugees Risk Deportation from Britain

By Mandy Clark
London
08 October 2007
 

The fate of hundreds of refugees from Sudan's Darfur region may well hinge on what happens in Britain's House of Lords. The highest court in Britain is deciding whether it is safe to return Darfuri asylum¹ seekers to Sudan. The British government brought the case to the Law Lords because it wants to overturn an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal, after it ruled that deporting² three Darfuri asylum-seekers to Khartoum would be unduly⁴ harsh. VOA's Mandy Clark reports from London. 

Abdo Yahya Abdullah has done something that more than 200,000 others could not do.  He made it out of Darfur alive. Three years ago, he says rebels attacked his village killing⁵ most of his family and his wife, who was seven-months pregnant.

"My brother and my wife, they die. My father and my sister are disappeared," he said.

Only Abdullah's mother, his younger brother and his three-year-old son survived, but when the village came under attack again, he lost them as they fled. "I don't know if they die or if they survive but one day I will go back to search -- where is my mother, where is my son, where is my brother?"

Abdullah's plight⁶ is not unique. Roughly 500 Darfur refugees have made it to Britain since fighting involving rebels, government troops and government-backed militias⁷ broke out in Darfur in 2003. But now their safe haven⁸ in Britain is under threat. Britain's House of Lords is considering whether or not to return Darfur asylum seekers to Sudan's capital.

James Smith is chief executive of the Aegis⁹ Trust, which campaigns against genocide. He says there is evidence those Darfuris who are sent back will face abuse. "The Aegis trust has compelling evidence that those who are deported¹⁰ to Khartoum are often picked up at the airport and tortured,” said Smith.

 The Trust is so convinced of this evidence that it tried to reach politicians with a hard-hitting advertisement, but the Labor¹¹ Party refused to show it at a recent party conference. The Home Office has refused to comment on the advertisement, but released a statement on the court case.

The statement says the court did not find that non-Arab Darfuris would be at risk of mistreatment in Khartoum. Instead it found that they would be ill equipped for city living.

Human rights campaigners want the evidence of abuse to be considered but the House of Lords cannot because it was not presented at the Court of Appeal.

Hatem Mohammed Hussein was an asylum seeker who was deported to Khartoum, but has made his way back to Britain. He says it is too dangerous to return to Sudan. "When I been to Khartoum I was abused by the government and the Sudanese authority in the airport. I hope they consider our case and look after us." 

Campaigners also argue that unless there is a ceasefire and a peace agreement between the rebels and the Sudanese government, and a secure environment allowing people to return to their homes in Darfur, the British government should not deport³ Darfuris to Khartoum, whatever the verdict of the House of Lords.

Abdo Yahya Abdullah says returning to Sudan would be a death sentence.  "If I go back, 99 percent rebels will kill me. One hundred percent government can kill me."

But for now, Abdullah and hundreds of other wait for the Law Lords to decide their fate. 

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

3 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

4 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 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

8 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

9 aegis   

n.盾；保护，庇护

参考例句：

• Medical supplies are flied in under the aegis of the red cross.在红十字会的保护下，正在空运进医药用品。
• The space programme will continue under the aegis of the armed forces.这项太空计划将以武装部队作后盾继续进行。

10 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。