VOA常速英语2008年-Experts Say Kenya Reconciliation Will Take Time

By Scott Bobb
Nairobi
11 March 2008

Kenya's leaders have set national reconciliation² as a major goal after post-electoral violence killed 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Experts say that healing can occur fairly quickly for some victims, but reconciliation could take a long time. Correspondent Scott Bobb was in Kenya recently and has this report.

Nicholas Ochieng was living in central Kenya with his wife and two children when a few days after the election a gang attacked his home while he was out.

"They went there and threw petrol, then my family were burnt to ashes there," he said.

Richad Gitahi owned a small, second-hand³ electronics business in a slum in Nairobi.

He says he was attacked by gangs that robbed him and destroyed his shop.

Both men spent several weeks in camps for displaced people before being transported to their ancestral homes in western and central Kenya.

At one point, Ochieng and Gitahi could have been neighbors, testimony⁴ to Kenya's ethnic⁵ integration⁶. But today they are among hundreds of thousands of people who have returned to their ethnic homelands and are afraid to go back to homes where they had lived sometimes for decades.

Nairobi Psychiatrist⁷ Frank Njenga says Kenyans had never seen such violence and many are traumatized.

"This, the first traumatic event is that of feeling alienation⁸ from our land, our neighbors and for many people from God himself," he said.

The hostilities⁹ were sparked by perceptions that members of a dominant¹⁰ ethnic group had rigged the elections in order to stay in power. The attacks brought retaliation¹¹. And the violence was fueled by long-standing rivalries¹² over land and jobs, and by looters who took advantage of the breakdown¹³ in law and order.

Sociology professor Ken¹ Ouko of Nairobi University notes that people from different ethnic groups lived in every region of the country. And intermarriage was common.

"The most unfortunately thing for the demographic structure of this country was the marital¹⁴ divisions that occurred. We had many cases of people who had married across ethnicities being separated from their spouses¹⁵. And it was very sad," said Ouko.

He says children of these broken homes will be reluctant to marry outside their ethnic groups. And if the displaced remain in their ancestral homes, the country will be balkanized (splintered) into small fiefdoms.

Psychiatrist Frank Njenga says healing is possible, because the human psyche¹⁶ is remarkably¹⁷ resilient.

"The majority of the people who have gone through these experiences will get better. However, there is a portion of them, 20 or 30 percent, who will suffer the consequences of these traumatic experiences for many, many, many years to come," said Njenga.

He says it is important to quickly treat individuals showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as depression, anger and substance abuse.

Many of the displaced receive counseling at the camps. But a counselor¹⁸ at one of these, in the western city of Kisumu, James Dera, calls this "psychiatric first-aid" and says they will need long-term care.

"Counseling is a process. We need to continue that process until the whole healing process is reached," he said.

Dr. Njenga says a truth and reconciliation commission, similar to those set up in Rwanda, South Africa, and other post-conflict areas, can help national healing.

"Men and women of recognized integrity in this country would superintend a process around which people would speak out freely and be able to explain the historical and current injustices¹⁹ that they see, traumatic experience they have seen, political oppression, economic oppression and so on," said Dr. Njenga.

And he says people involved in the violence would also have an opportunity to acknowledge their guilt²⁰ and seek forgiveness.

The Kenyan government and opposition²¹ have agreed to create a commission, though details have yet to be worked out. Sociologist²² Ken Ouko says the commission can help in another way.

"The biggest benefit is that it [the violence] will be documented. Right now there is a lot of speculation²³. And reconciliation cannot work with rumor²⁴ and speculation. But if you put it down and you document it, then it is easier to go into policy design that can help with reconciliation," added Ouko.

Ouko says there is a new threat now from vigilante groups. These have been financed and used by politicians in the past. But now they are more organized and more independent. And they have been joined by groups of ordinary criminals ready to take advantage of any breakdown in law and order.

If these groups are not disbanded, he says, they will pose a continuing threat to peace and the reconciliation process so many Kenyans desire.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

4 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。

5 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。

6 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

7 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

8 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

10 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

11 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

13 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

14 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

15 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

16 psyche   

n.精神；灵魂

参考例句：

• His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。
• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche.她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。

17 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

18 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

19 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

20 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

21 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

22 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

23 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

24 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。