VOA常速英语2008年-Sweden Home to More Iraqi Refugees Than Other E

By Mandy Clark
Sodertalje, Sweden
20 February 2008

Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, more than four million Iraqis have fled their homes.  About half of them left the country, altogether.  Most of these refugees remain in neighboring countries, in particular Syria and Jordan, but others have sought sanctuary¹ farther afield.  Sweden has long been a haven² for Iraqis and is home to more than 80,000 of them, including some 9,000 who have sought refuge since the war began.  Mandy Clark reports from the Swedish city, Sodertalje, which has taken in more Iraqi refugees than the entire United States. 
 
Fatin Kjalil is an Iraqi Christian³.  She was born and raised in Baghdad, earned a Ph.D. in physical education and worked at the city's university.  But, with the war in Iraq, her world started to crumble⁴.
 
"After the war I can't do anything because this very difficult for me because no security and you can't get any safety in Iraq," Kjalil said.

By 2004, most of her family had already fled.  But, it was only after militants⁵ kidnapped and gang-raped one of her cousins and murdered another that she decided⁶ to leave.
 
"They kill him and leave him in the street," Kjalil said.  "After that, I decide to leave my country and come to Sweden.  I come here because my father and my mother, my sisters and brother are here."
 
She came to Sodertalje, a small city outside of Stockholm.  In the past five years, 5,500 Iraqis have made it their home.  That is twice as many as the State Department says the United States has admitted since the war began. 
 
In addition to Sweden's generous welfare system, what attracts Iraqis to Sodertalje is a Middle Eastern migration⁷ route dating back to the late 1960s when Assyrian Christian immigrants from Lebanon, Syria and Turkey put down roots here.  And, that means today's refugees find themselves feeling at home.
 
But Sodertalje Mayor Anders Largo⁸ says the added immigrants are stretching the resources of the city of some 80,000 people.

"Of course, it's a problem with a lot of people coming in a short time," Largo said.  "It's a problem with flats [apartments].  It could be 20 persons living on the floor in a small flat and, of course, a problem in the kindergarten and in the schools and it takes too long time before they get a job."

Many native Swedish residents of Sodertalje agree.

"It is difficult for the city, especially education and work," says one resident

"All of them living in a small apartment, I think it is bad for that," says another.

 "I think it is good that they can come here and be safe and get a home," says another resident. 

Now, Sweden is considering whether to change the way it looks after Iraqi asylum⁹-seekers.  The country has already accepted 50 percent of all the Iraqis who fled to Europe after the invasion.  The danger of small pockets of Iraqis creating ghettoes is driving Swedish lawmakers to consider legislation that would force immigrants to accept living in a different town, away from the established community.
 
Iraqi journalist Iskander Bikasha says Sweden has taken on more than its fair share of refugees and says it is up other countries to help out.
 
"That will less [lessen] the pressure to Sweden and the Iraqi people will have another door open," Bikasha said.

But, in nearby Stockholm, Swedish Minister for Migration Tobias Billstrom says he does not believe asylum is the answer for Iraq's minority population.

"The Iraq people have to sit down and try to work out their disagreements, trying to resettle people and accepting ethnic¹⁰ cleansing¹¹ is simply not an answer to the problem, in my mind," he said.
 
Back in Sodertalje, Fatin Kjalil sees her time in Sweden as temporary.  She says she is grateful to be surrounded by her family, but that she has not found work here.  She does not want to be a burden on her host country and is not ready to turn her back on Baghdad.

"I want now, if the security is very good in Baghdad, I will return," Kjalil said.  "I can live in Sweden - it is not a problem for me.  But I want to go back to Baghdad.  I like Baghdad."
 
In the safety of Sweden, she prays for peace in Iraq so she and thousands like her can one day return home.

1 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。

9 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。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。