2007年VOA标准英语-DRC Park Ranger Escapes Rebel Abduction

By Kari Barber
Dakar
21 April 2007

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a park ranger¹ is home safe after escaping from a rebel group that held him captive for two years.  Kari Barber has more from our West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar.

Jean-Marie Cizungu Kazingufu receives medical care after his escape

The ranger, Jean-Marie Cizungu Kazingufu, was kidnapped in 2005 from his post at the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern DRC.  Last week he emerged from the forest, battered² and exhausted³ after an eight-day escape on foot.

Samantha Newport works with WildlifeDirect, an organization that helps rangers⁴ in the DRC.  She says Kazingufu made a break for freedom when he became convinced he would be killed.

"Just recently, last week, he managed to make a daring escape following an opportunity where he was brutally⁵ beaten and he believed he was going to be killed," she said.  "He made a desperate run for it.  After eight days of roaming the forest he came across a roadblock where he was able to negotiate his freedom."

Newport says while in captivity⁶ Kazingufu was forced to work as a secretary for a rebel group because he speaks both French and Swahili. She says the rebels abused and tortured him.

"He is now back at home with his wife, but he is going to be going back to work," she added.  "He is very keen to be going back to his work."

However, she says the recovery from his injuries will be slow.

Newport says there has been a history of rebel attacks on rangers in the park, which is in the Kivu Region of the DRC, near Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border.

"They are very much targeted by rebel groups operating in the area, because they are seen as an obstacle to what rebel groups want to achieve," she explained.  "So they [rangers] are really incredibly brave and incredibly dedicated⁷."

Another ranger was injured in a shooting earlier this week by unidentified armed men in the forest.

Newport says rebel groups target forest rangers because they try to prevent them from poaching. The Kahuzi-Biega National Park is home to much wildlife, including elephants, rhinos⁸, and the rare mountain gorrilla. 

Though Kazingufu identified his attackers as Mai Mai rebels, DRC analyst⁹ Mbwebwe Kapamba says it is difficult to say who is responsible for the attacks on rangers.  He says Mai Mai are a diverse group who were active during the DRC's civil war, and some remain active today.

"Some of them are siding with the government, the power in Kinshasa, some of them are against.  It is difficult to say that it is a homogeneous group," he noted¹⁰.

Kampamba says there is little government control in the area and bandits in the area often claim to be part of a larger rebel movements.

In the past decade more than 100 rangers have been killed in the DRC.  Poachers in the area have recently started using automatic weapons to hunt legally protected animals for their meat, tusks¹¹ and teeth.

1 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

2 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

5 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

6 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）