2007年VOA标准英语-Iraqis Top List of People Seeking Asylum in Ind

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
21 September 2007

The United Nations refugee agency says Iraqis top the list of people seeking asylum¹ in 36 of the world's richest countries. A new report shows asylum applications in industrial countries filed by Iraqis rose 45 percent in the first half of 2007 compared to the previous six months. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

New statistics show 19,800 Iraqis applied² for asylum in the 36 industrialized countries during the first six months of the year.

U.N. refugee spokesman, Ron Redmond, says almost half of all Iraqi applications were submitted to Sweden, followed by Greece, Spain and Germany.

"This latest figure, which reflects continuing violence in Iraq, is more than double the number for the first six months of 2006, when a total of 8,500 asylum applications were submitted by Iraqis," he said. "If this trend is maintained, by the end of the year the number of Iraqi asylum seekers might reach over 40,000, which is the highest number since 2002."

Although the United States was by far the largest recipient³ of new asylum requests from countries around the world, the report says very few of the claims came from Iraqis.

Redmond explains Iraqi asylum seekers tend not to turn up spontaneously at a United States airport or border, as they do in European countries. He says the UNHCR has given Washington the names of more than 10,000 Iraqis who are in particular danger and who want to resettle in the United States.

He says that so far about 700 Iraqis have been screened and accepted for resettlement in the U.S. He urges Washington to speed up its vetting⁴ process and approve thousands of other Iraqis for resettlement quickly.

He notes that the number of Iraqis seeking asylum in industrialized nations pales in comparison to the more than two million refugees accepted by Syria and Jordan.

Redmond says over the past few years, the overall number of new asylum claims submitted in the 36 industrialized countries by people across the globe has decreased continuously.

"This trend, however, was reversed in the second half of 2006, when numbers started to rise," he said. "Assuming that current patterns remain unchanged, it can be expected that the total number of asylum claims lodged⁵ in industrialized countries in 2007 might be between 290,000 and 320,000, which would be the first increase since 2001."

The report says after Iraq, most asylum applicants⁶ in the first six months of this year came from China, Pakistan, Serbia and Montenegro and the Russian Federation⁷.

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

4 vetting   

n.数据检查[核对，核实]v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的现在分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• Scripts had to be submitted to Ministry of Information officials for vetting. 必须把脚本提交给信息部官员审查。 来自互联网
• Their purpose in clicking deeper into a site is one of vetting. 他们深入点击网站的目的是一种诊疗。 来自互联网

5 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。