VOA常速英语2008年-US Congressional Panel Considers Iraqi Refugee

By Dan Robinson
Washington
27 February 2008

In testimony¹ to a congressional committee, a United Nations official has expressed renewed concern about conditions facing Iraqi refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

Deputy United Nations High Commissioner² for Refugees, Craig Johnstone, says the Iraq refugee situation remains³ the largest in the world.

Four to five million Iraqis are estimated to have fled their country, many to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, although Johnstone says exact figures are difficult.

The U.N. official says there is now a somewhat improved asylum⁴ situation in neighboring countries, with diminished threats, at least for the time being, of forced return.

At the same time, Johnstone says Iraqis who have fled their country, many of them well-educated, face difficult and desperate circumstances as urban refugees.

"If you can't have a job, if you have no money you will starve to death as a well-educated person just as fast as somebody that has no education, and I think sometimes that gets lost on us because when we talk to these people they are extraordinarily⁵ articulate, very capable, they would provide an asset to any society in which they found themselves and yet they are in absolutely dire⁶ circumstances. It really is an amazing situation," he said.

Forty seven percent of Iraqi refugees are women facing particularly difficult circumstances. Johnstone says women make up 20 percent of all heads of families, taking care of children because so many men have been killed in some way in conflict in Iraq.

Despite progress in negotiations⁷ with host governments that has allowed increasing numbers of refugee children to attend school, Johnstone points to a climate of fear among Iraqi parents that doing so will make them more vulnerable to forced return at some point.

The Bush administration has faced sharp criticism over the number of Iraqis approved for resettlement in the United States, with reports last month quoting State Department statistics that U.S. admissions had declined since last October.

Johnstone, an American, hopes that will change, but he is skeptical⁸. "One can afford to be skeptical looking at the slow start that they have. I do see that the Department of Homeland Security is far more mobilized today then it was two months ago on the issue," he said.

Subcommittee chairman, Democratic Congressman⁹ William Delahunt, is among lawmakers who say the United States bears a special obligation. "This sad reality imposes a moral responsibility on this administration and this Congress, for we cannot deny that the proximate cause of this human tragedy is the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. It is believed by many that this is an American-made crisis," he said.

Republican Dana Rohrabacher disagrees, saying the problem is not America's alone but an international humanitarian¹⁰ issue.

U.N. statistics show a decline in the number of Iraqis returning home in recent months.

International Organization for Migration¹¹ (I.O.M.) official Rafiz Tschannen says that as internal displacement¹² rates in Iraq have significantly declined, in part due to improved security, the rate of internal displacement now slightly exceeds the rate of return from other countries.

Whether or not refugee flows out of Iraq pick up again, Tschannen says insufficient¹³ international financial contributions place Iraqis in jeopardy¹⁴. "Funding remains insufficient. IOM has barely received 28 percent of its $85-million appeal for IDP [internally displaced people], with the U.S. too often being the largest donor¹⁵, and the one whose support has been the most consistent. But lack of funding remains," he said.

In his testimony Tuesday, Deputy U.N. refugee commissioner Johnstone said Jordan and Syria have shouldered most of the Iraqi refugee burden, and should be thanked for their generosity¹⁶.

But despite their support, he says the international community must take advantage of a window of opportunity to step up financial assistance, and take advantage of improved security in Iraq, to deal with the refugee situation, keeping in mind that new refugee flows are always a possibility.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 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。

5 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

14 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

15 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

16 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。