VOA常速英语2007-Sexual Brutality Accompanies War in Congo

By Noel King
Goma
08 October 2007

The United Nations says the prevalence of sexual violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is the worst in the world. Since fighting erupted in the region six weeks ago between rebels and the Congolese army, women in eastern Congo say sexual brutality¹ has risen to new heights. Noel King has more in this report from Goma, in eastern Congo.

 

Grace was born just two weeks ago; and she was orphaned³ on the very same day.

 

The women at Mugunga camp, home to 80,000 displaced Congolese, are very protective of the infant.

 

A member of the camp's leadership council, Banza Mazamba, tells VOA of the horror that befell Grace's parents when they fled their village September 23.

 

"Her mother and father were fleeing the village of Karuba when Nkunda's soldiers caught them," said Mazamba. "They killed the father immediately. The mother was very pregnant with this baby. They killed her and cut the baby from her stomach. An old woman, a Good Samaritan, found the baby on the ground and brought her here."

The elderly woman caring for Grace said she was running out of the milk that had been donated by others in the camp.

 

Aid groups and U.N. agencies could not confirm this specific incident; but say similar incidents have been reported.

The conflict in eastern Congo is as complex as it is brutal².

In late August, dissident General Laurent Nkunda and the Congolese army clashed in towns and villages across North Kivu province. Ninety thousand people fled their homes in six weeks, trying to escape the fighting.

 

Civilians⁴ are not being killed on a mass scale, say humanitarian⁵ workers. But they face the threat of atrocities⁶ by militia⁷ groups when they flee their homes.

 

Women are particularly susceptible⁸ to violence.

 

Patrick Lavand'homme is the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination⁹ of Humanitarian Affairs in Goma.

 

"When you have an increase of insecurity, an increase of displacement¹⁰, women are put at risk and more vulnerable to sexual harassment," said Lavand'homme. The little rule of law that exists completely disappears. It is rape¹¹ with violence and physical degradation¹². Very young girls and even young boys [are] being raped¹³."

 

The most disturbing aspect of sexual violence in Congo, say many, is the brutality that accompanies rape.

 

Beatrice Misat is another resident of Mugungu camp. She explains what has happened to thousands of women across eastern Congo.

 

"One man holds your hands, the other one grabs your legs, and one puts his hand over your mouth," said Misat. "If you are lucky, they leave you after they rape you. But often they torture you with wooden sticks when they are finished. Then you start bleeding."

 

Misat told VOA that men from all armed groups in the region are responsible for rape.

 

Along with Nkunda's forces and the Congolese army, there are many other militia groups in eastern Congo.

The Mayi Mayi are rag-tag bands of guerilla soldiers who stalk the dense¹⁴ forests. Some observers say they are little more than killers¹⁵ for hire.

 

The FDLR are a Hutu militia groups with links to the perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

 

Those in the region say rape became a tool of war about 15 years ago when Hutu militias¹⁶ responsible for the Rwandan genocide poured into Congo, sparking a devastating¹⁷ five-year conflict.

 

Angela Kishabagasifa works with the U.N. Population Fund in Bulengo site, a camp outside of Goma that is home to 13,000 people.

 

She told VOA that the eldest¹⁸ rape victim she had counseled during the past two weeks was between 65 and 75 years old.

 

The youngest was four years old.

 

"There is no respect for age," she said. "The old and the young are both victims. I think it is more a desire to destroy rather than getting any pleasure out of this act. It is not about destroying an enemy. It is about destroying women. There is no respect anymore in eastern Congo."

 

Humanitarian groups say it can be difficult to determine how many women have been raped in eastern Congo. The United Nations World Children's Fund says 18,000 cases of rape were reported in 2006, in three Congolese provinces including North Kivu.

 

But the numbers are probably much higher. UNFPA's Angela Kishabagasifa explains.

 

"Women are ashamed to speak about it or to come forward," said Kishabagasifa. "Sometimes when we walk around the site, the women will ask us to come quietly in the house. But they think if they go to the health center they will be suspected of being a rape victim."

 

Despite a tense ceasefire holding in eastern Congo, military activity is again on the rise. Congo's armed forces and Nkunda's are said to be reinforcing their positions and stockpiling weapons.

 

Many fear a new eruption¹⁹ of violence any day. No one fears a return to the fighting more than Congolese women and girls.

1 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

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 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。

6 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 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。

8 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

9 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

10 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。

11 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

12 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

13 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

14 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

15 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

16 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

17 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

18 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

19 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。