2007年VOA标准英语-UN Humanitarian Agency Says Darfur Violence Ham

By Noel King
Khartoum
06 May 2007

A displaced Sudanese woman carries her sons in the Otach Displaced Persons camp in the city of Nyala in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, (File)

Saturday marked one year since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement between the government of Sudan and one Darfur rebel group. But instead of bringing peace to the region, the agreement has lead to more violence, which has crippled the world's largest humanitarian¹ operation. Noel King has this report from Khartoum.

 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination² of Humanitarian Affairs says relief work in Darfur has been jeopardized³ by the very agreement that was supposed to bring peace to the region.

 

The U.N. organization says the splintering of rebel factions⁵, which followed the signing of the accord has lead to anarchy⁶ in Darfur.

 

Antoine Gerard, manager of the Darfur section at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says aid access has dwindled⁷.

 

"We have seen a progressive deterioration⁸ of the situation in Darfur since May 2006. For the humanitarian community it's a nightmare. It's a nightmare in terms of security. It's a nightmare in terms of designing your humanitarian response," said Gerard.

 

Days after the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed, there were indicators⁹ the accord was in trouble.

 

Only one rebel faction⁴ of the Sudan Liberation Army signed on to the deal. Others claimed it did not meet their demands of wealth and power sharing.

 

Within weeks, full-scale infighting among rebels had displaced tens of thousands of people.

 

Aids groups say the obstacles to relief work are now immense.

 

Humanitarian workers no longer know which rebel groups they should contact when traveling in relief convoys¹⁰ to provide aid.

 

When convoys come under attack, it is almost impossible to identify the culprits.

 

Gerard says attacks on aid workers, which increased late last year, caused the withdrawal¹¹ of humanitarian staff across the region.

 

"Since May we've seen this as well: an increase in violence against humanitarian workers," added Gerard.  "It is another area of concern that the violence has extended also against those who are providing humanitarian assistance."

 

Aid workers in areas held by former rebels have been raped¹² and beaten. In government controlled areas, Sudanese police have beaten and sexually

assaulted both Sudanese and international humanitarian staff.

 

The international community has launched intense diplomatic efforts to get holdout rebels to sign on to the peace deal, still considered the best way to bring peace to Darfur.

 

The conflict began in 2003 when rebels rose against Sudan's powerful Islamist regime, complaining that remote Darfur was undeveloped due to neglect.

 

Sudan is charged with arming Arab militias¹³ known as janjaweed to crush the rebellion.

 

An estimated 200,000 people have died since the start of the conflict, with 2.5 million others displaced by fighting and wholly dependent upon humanitarian aid.

1 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。

2 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。

3 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

7 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

9 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

10 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

11 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

12 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

13 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