2007年VOA标准英语-Iraqi Border Town Struggles With Violence, Drug

By Barry Newhouse
Khanaqin, Iraq
03 March 2007

The daily attacks in Iraq's cities often overshadow the problems in smaller towns. But as hundreds-of-thousands of Iraqis flee Baghdad and other major cities, small town officials face growing problems. VOA's Barry Newhouse recently visited the town of Khanaqin on Iraq's border with Iran, where local officials are trying to cope with sectarian violence, a stagnant¹ economy, booming drug trafficking and a massive influx² of new arrivals.

The town of Khanaqin straddles an ancient trade route between Iraq and Iran, and the city remains³ a hub for cross-border commerce. Residents have historically been Shi'ite Kurds, but under Saddam Hussein's decades-long Arabization campaign, hundreds-of-thousands fled to Iran, or other parts of Iraq, as Arabs were moved into the oil-rich city.

After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, many Kurds who had been refugees in Iran returned, shifting the town's demographics yet again. Now, more Shi'ite Kurds fleeing sectarian violence in Baghdad and other cities continue to arrive.

 
Muhammad Amin Hassan Hussein
Khanaqin's governor, Muhammad Amin Hassan Hussein, says, in recent years, the population has grown from fewer than 50,000 people before the invasion, to more than 250,000 today.

He says officials face many problems with security, with the economy and with administrative⁴ gridlock. He also says there are some people in neighboring villages who plot against the local government and carry out attacks.

Khanaqin lies on the northeastern edge of Iraq's violent Arab-majority Diyala province. Like many towns and cities across Iraq, the town is becoming ethnically⁵ and religiously homogenized, as minorities flee to places where they will not be singled out for attacks.

Governor Hussein says he struggles to help even those families who want official documents to legally move.

Hussein says that he was recently asked to write permits for 60 Arab families, who want to leave town, and for 60 Kurdish families who want to come to Khanaqin. He says his office does not even have the money to buy the necessary stationery⁷.

The governor says the Kurdish-majority town receives no support from the Arab-majority Diyala regional government, nor from the central government in Baghdad.

Khanaqin and other towns near Iraq's northern Kurdistan region will hold a referendum later this year to decide if they will join the Kurdistan regional government authority. The referendum has further inflamed⁸ tensions, as Arabs and other ethnic⁶ groups accuse Kurds of pursuing policies to influence the vote.

 
Iranian gasoline trucks line up at the border near Khanaqin
Khanaqin sits just a few kilometers from a border crossing checkpoint with Iran, and the border traffic helped support the local economy. But the Iraqi government recently closed the Munthariya checkpoint to all traffic, except trucks carrying desperately⁹ needed fuel from Iran.

While Khanaqin's proximity¹⁰ to Iran helps fuel its economy, locals say it also contributes to a growing drug problem. Illegal drugs are cheap here, and many blame Iranian traffickers.

At the Munthariya checkpoint, Iraqi Army General Salman Muhammed Dumar says, while his forces have not found any illegal arms shipments here, they do find drugs.

"We catch drugs on some people," he says. "We also find tablets - these kinds of drugs. We send the traffickers to court." The general also says his forces have confiscated¹² more than 400 Motorola radios used for military-style communications.

 
Police car in Khanaqin faces Iranian border 
As Khanaqin officials struggle with the town's current problems, many of the youth are pessimistic about their future here.

Mohammed is an 18-year-old student who earns $200 a month as a guard for a local Kurdish political party. He describes himself as Khanaqin's biggest fan of American hip¹¹ hop¹³ and rap music.

"Everyday, everyday I try to learn American language," he says. "I read the dictionary - everything. I hear [listen to] hip hop to study. In Khanaqin, only I listen to hip hop, because it's my life. You know? It takes back my life."

Muhammed, who says his friends call him by his rap name - M2 - says he identifies with the violent lyrics¹⁴ in rap music. Standing¹⁵ in a dusty parking lot in the middle of Khanaqin with an AK-47 slung¹⁶ over his shoulder, he says the music reminds him of his life.

As other guards gather around M2's cell phone and listen to his favorite rap songs, he says he wants to go to America some day, and drive around in a 1969 Chevy Malibu with a gold chain around his neck. He wants to be a hip hop star.

But in Khanaqin, M2 says, each day is worse than the one before. He struggles to understand the killing¹⁷ on Iraq's streets. He says he cries every night - and he writes rap lyrics about his life.

M2 says, "Whenever you walk down the street, someone kidnaps you - and your family must pay for you. If 1,000 Iraqis are killed, they just lie in the streets. Every building is smashed. The thieves are trying to crush the country. Every car is a bomb. Be careful."

1 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

2 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

3 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。

4 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

5 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 stationery   

n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封

参考例句：

• She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。
• There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。

8 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

10 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

11 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

12 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

13 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

14 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

16 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

17 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。