VOA标准英语10月-NGOs Call for More International Attention to Som

A group of more than 50 organizations providing humanitarian¹ assistance in Somalia called for increased international attention to the situation in the country. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, the groups assert that nearly half the country's population is now in need of emergency aid.
　

Somali residents flee Mogadishu, Somalia, after a mortar2 attack, in Bakara market (File)

The groups, which include international organizations like CARE, Save the Children, and World Vision, as well as Somali NGOs, said in a statement that more than 3.2 million people require emergency assistance, a figure that represents a rise of 77 percent since the beginning of 2008.

The statement warned that the situation is likely to continue to deteriorate³ in the coming months. Andrea Pattison, a spokesperson for Oxfam, one of the groups issuing the statement, spoke⁴ to VOA from Nairobi.

"A combination of drought that's spreading throughout the country, extreme insecurity that's getting worse, and also hyper inflation which is pricing many of the poorest Somalis out of the kind of basics that they need, food, shelter, water, etcetera," said Pattison.

The groups also warned that humanitarian organizations are increasingly becoming targets in the conflict.

"The threats to aid workers have increased substantially over the last nine months, and those threats include assassinations⁵, kidnappings, threats to our assets, for example looting of aid, carjacking," added Pattison. "It's actually affecting our ability to access Somalis on the ground who need our help."

According to the statement, 24 aid workers, 20 of them Somali nationals, have been killed since the start of the year, and 10 more have been abducted⁶.

The appeal follows comments last week from a leader of the radical⁷ Islamist insurgent⁸ group al-Shabaab warning international humanitarian agencies not to interfere⁹ in the country. That statement singled out CARE and the International Medical Corps¹⁰ by name.

In a statement issued in response, CARE's country director for Somalia said the threats put the organizations operations in the country at risk.

Fighting between insurgent groups and Ethiopian-backed government forces has been particularly severe in recent weeks, and there has also been a rise in attacks on African Union peacekeepers. The humanitarian groups said 37,000 civilians¹¹ have been displaced by the recent fighting, bringing the number displaced this year to some 870,000 and the total number displaced to 1.1 million.

The groups also said the international community "has completely failed Somali civilians". The statement called for increased international attention to the conflict, but did not offer any specific recommendations.

About 2,600 African Union peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are currently in Somalia. The AU has asked the United Nations to take over peacekeeping duties, but there is little indication that the UN has any interest in doing so in the current security environment.

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 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

9 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

10 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。