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2007年VOA标准英语-US-Funded Water, Roads, Schools Helping Philipp

时间:2007-05-22 00:40来源:互联网 提供网友:zxzx11   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

By Douglas Bakshian
Jolo, Philippines
20 February 2007

Winning without fighting is not a term you often hear in the war on terror. But U.S. soldiers, along with their Philippine counterparts, are putting this philosophy to work on the remote island of Jolo in the southern Philippines. Transportation, education and health projects supported by the United States are making dramatic changes in areas where armed conflict with Islamic militants1 not long ago raged. Douglas Bakshian visited Jolo for a first-hand look.


 
US soldier distributes school bags in Jolo
Waging peace is a major undertaking2 on Jolo, where gaining the goodwill3 of the people is as important as military victories.

This impoverished4 island, long neglected by national and local governments with limited means, is getting an overhaul5 from the U.S. military working with aid agencies and the Philippine armed forces.


In Patikul, once an area of bloody6 fighting with guerrillas of the Abu Sayyaf group, a large orange water tank appears in the jungle. It is part of a water distribution network built by U.S. and Philippine troops. Now, about 5,000 residents have fresh water within about 50 meters of their homes, instead of having to carry supplies up to 500 meters.

Teacher Jenny Jumlani, at Patikul national high school, says the projects have changed people's lives.


"It helps a lot because they don't need to go to a place where they are getting water, they just get it here," she said. "This is the help of our vice7 governor and also the American people like you. They also gave us one classroom."

Not only is Jolo one of the poorest areas of the Philippines, it has been a central battleground in the country's three-decade fight against Islamic separatists.

In the past decade, the Manila government has achieved a degree of peace in the south through negotiations8 with two main rebel organizations, but a group known as the Abu Sayyaf remains9 a threat on Jolo and islands nearby.

The group says it is fighting to create a homeland for the Muslim minority in the mostly Christian10 nation, but it is most famous for several brutal11 kidnappings for ransom12 and deadly bombings.

U.S. troops arrived here in 2002 to train Philippine soldiers fighting the Abu Sayyaf and to provide them intelligence. The American's job has expanded to include development projects - a tactic13 that helped bring peace to nearby Basilan island a few years ago.


 
US soldiers arrive in Jolo to distribute school supplies
The programs go beyond building schools and water systems. Jolo residents are also getting a taste of high technology, with computers provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development. At the Panamao national high school, 15-year-old Mersatra Abdulbeser is learning to use the computers.


She says computers are important because they make it easy to communicate with other people and to educate them. She wants to be a nurse and work in Saudi Arabia because it pays well.


Even critics of the U.S. military presence on Jolo offer grudging14 respect for the projects. Abdel Khan, a 24-year-old graduate of the school of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, says he would like to see all Philippine and U.S. troops leave Jolo. However, he says the Americans have helped the island.


"It's good. Materially we benefited from such projects. It's good for Jolo," he said.

Providing services is not just a hit and run affair. Those familiar with such U.S. aid projects say they can tend to run down over time if local authorities do not maintain them.

To avoid that problem, there is a monitoring system to assure that services are sustained. U.S. Army Major Jose Melgarego keeps watch over more than 150 U.S-sponsored projects.


"I just want to make sure that they are on track, that they have been completed and that all the necessary steps are taken to make sure that these projects come to fruition," he said.


The U.S. military also operates mobile medical and dental clinics, providing basic care and medications that most of Jolo's poor cannot afford to buy.

The Philippine military works side by side with the U.S. troops in these projects. Philippine Marine15 General Juancho Sabban says military action alone is not enough in the war on terror.


"It is addressing the underlying16 conditions of terrorism. If you show people that you have concern for them, they will listen to you and they will also react towards the direction that you want them to go to," he said. "And you are offering a better life than the offer that the terrorists are trying to give them…. So this is actually winning without fighting."


The use of low-cost, high-impact projects is making a difference on Jolo. Island officials say violent crime has dropped as much as 80 percent in the past few years.

Captain Ian Berg, of the U.S. Army Special Forces, says the relationship between development and peace is clear.


"I think the people just want stability," he said. "The economy is a huge thing. You'll notice one thing about this island. That the places that have the most development are the places that are the least violent."


Residents say that as aid projects have been completed, in some parts of Jolo, water faucets17 have replaced the barrel of a gun in bringing peace.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 militants 3fa50c1e4338320d8495907fdc5bdbaf     
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来,反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
  • Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此,巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。
2 undertaking Mfkz7S     
n.保证,许诺,事业
参考例句:
  • He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
  • He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小,不敢从事任何事业。
3 goodwill 4fuxm     
n.善意,亲善,信誉,声誉
参考例句:
  • His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
  • We paid £10,000 for the shop,and £2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店,两千英镑买下了它的信誉。
4 impoverished 1qnzcL     
adj.穷困的,无力的,用尽了的v.使(某人)贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 );使(某物)贫瘠或恶化
参考例句:
  • the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
  • They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 overhaul yKGxy     
v./n.大修,仔细检查
参考例句:
  • Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
  • It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知,铁路系统需要大检修。
6 bloody kWHza     
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染
参考例句:
  • He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
  • He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
7 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
8 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
9 remains 1kMzTy     
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。
10 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
11 brutal bSFyb     
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。
12 ransom tTYx9     
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救
参考例句:
  • We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
  • The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。
13 tactic Yqowc     
n.战略,策略;adj.战术的,有策略的
参考例句:
  • Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
  • She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。
14 grudging grudging     
adj.勉强的,吝啬的
参考例句:
  • He felt a grudging respect for her talents as an organizer.他勉强地对她的组织才能表示尊重。
  • After a pause he added"sir."in a dilatory,grudging way.停了一会他才慢吞吞地、勉勉强强地加了一声“先生”。
15 marine 77Izo     
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵
参考例句:
  • Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
  • When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
16 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
17 faucets e833a2e602cd8b0df81b54d239f87538     
n.水龙头( faucet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Water faucets shall be chrome-plated type with ball valve. 水龙头外表为铬镀层。 来自互联网
  • The plumber came that afternoon and fixed the faucets in some minutes. 当天下午,管子工来了,几分钟内便把水龙头安装好。 来自互联网
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TAG标签:   VOA标准英语  US-Funded  Water  Roads    US-Funded  Water  Roads
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