2007年VOA标准英语-UNHCR Running Out of Money in Darfur

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
25 September 2007

The U.N. refugee agency says it may have to scale down its operations in West Darfur because it is running out of money.  The UNHCR says it is facing a shortfall of more than $7 million needed to assist more than two million internally displaced people and thousands of refugees from Chad and the Central African Republic.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA News from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

 The U.N. refugee agency says it is hard to believe it has to appeal for money when the misery¹ of millions of people in Darfur is constantly in the news.  It says cuts will have to be made in its protection and assistance programs to compensate² for the lack of funds.

U.N. refugee spokeswoman, Jennifer Pagonis, says many of the 2.5 million displaced people and about 30,000 refugees from Chad and the Central African Republic will suffer from these cut backs.

"For the IDPs [internally displaced people] and for the refugees, we are concerned that they have access to legal redress³, that we get relief items to the most vulnerable of these people," Pagonis said. "We help strengthen services including digging wells, schools and health centers and try to prevent further displacement⁴, for instance rehabilitation⁵ projects.  So, that is what we try and do." 

Pagonis says the financial situation is expected to become tighter as more people are forced to flee their homes. 

She notes an estimated 250,000 people have been newly displaced this year due to ongoing⁶ violence.  She says most of the camps around el Geneina and Zalingei are full and new sites will have to be created.

Pagonis says it is very difficult and dangerous for aid workers to carry out their humanitarian⁷ mission.

"Often, we have to travel by helicopter because of security concerns to get to these places," Pagonis said. "If we go by road, we require an escort from the African Union troops to ensure security.  So, that is a problem.  So far this year, 77 aid workers have been abducted⁸ and nearly 70 humanitarian vehicles have been hijacked⁹.  So, that gives you some idea of the scale of insecurity that people work in this place suffer from.  And, with those constraints¹⁰, it is very important that we can still continue to be able to do the work that we have been doing." 

The private British charity, OXFAM, has also announced it may have to pull out of Darfur because its aid workers are under threat.

1 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

2 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

3 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

4 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

5 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 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。

8 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

9 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

10 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓