VOA标准英语2008年-Afghan Refugees Return Home to Uncertain Future

By Mandy Clark
Kabul
02 June 2008

Pakistan recently began closing its largest camp for Afghan refugees out of fear that remnants of the Taliban had been using it as a hideout. Now, more than 70,000 Afghans are being uprooted¹ once more. Many are making the dangerous journey back to their homeland. From war widows and teenagers to young families, they are on the move; hoping to rebuild their lives in a country many have not seen for decades. Mandy Clark recently visited the Afghan-Pakistan border, where she met with several refugees and followed them back to the Afghan capital, Kabul.
　

Afghan returnees are seen near the bus by which they were transferred from Pakistan to Kabul, 02 Jun 2008

In trucks laden² with everything they own, they are making their way over rugged³ mountain passes to return home to a land some of them barely know.

These are among the millions of Afghans who fled their homeland over the past several decades of war and tyranny.

North of here - over the Kyber Pass and some 30 kilometers inside Pakistan lies Jalozai, a sprawling⁴ refugee camp that Pakistan now wants shut down, saying it poses a security threat, because of possible infiltration⁵ by remnants of the Taliban.

In Jalozai, people are bundling up all they own, leaving not even bricks and building materials behind.

For the past 27 years, it has been home for Nuru La.

"I don't have much memories of Afghanistan, I know once that we moved out from Afghanistan to Pakistan, we had to become refugees," said Nuru La.

But now, Nuru La and his family have been told it's time to go back.

"They say you are refugees and you have to move back but there is no place to go. I hope we find a better place," said Nuru La.

Jalozai is more like a giant village than a make-shift camp. It has existed for decades and houses tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. Many fled here after the Soviet⁶ invasion in 1979.

United Nations officials say this mass exodus⁷ is part of the biggest repatriation⁸ of refugees in history. And, Pakistan wants to see an additional 2.4 million Afghans return home by the end of 2009.

Salvatore Lombardo from the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, says Islamabad needs to be patient.

"An important aspect is to persuade our Pakistani friends, who are tired of having hosted this population for a very long time, to be patient and give more time to the people to make a decision to return," said Lombardo. "We are worried that if the numbers increase this country [Afghanistan] will face a major humanitarian⁹ crisis."

U.N. officials fear that the Afghan government, even with the help of aid agencies, cannot absorb too many returnees too quickly.

According to Human Rights Watch, some seven million Afghan refugees have fled the conflicts over the past three decades. Many are living in neighboring countries, 1.5 million of them in Iran and more than two million in Pakistan.

Even the road home for refugees is fraught¹⁰ with danger. The roads are laden with landmines¹¹ and travelers are preyed¹² upon by bandits. And local Afghan warlords have repeatedly closed the main road in from Pakistan.

For those who make it through, Kabul's U.N. repatriation center is likely their main destination.

Here, the returnees are taught about the dangers of land mines, they get basic medical care and $100 to help restart their lives.

For the Afghan government, returning refugees are important to help rebuild the country. Senior advisor¹³ Abdul Qadar Zazie, in the ministry¹⁴ of refugees, says repatriation is vital, but he readily acknowledges that returnees face many obstacles.

"They face lots of problem, there is a security problem," he said. "The most problem for the returning refugees is the job problem. They are jobless and they cannot find a job here."

But for most returning Afghans, their greatest immediate¹⁵ need is shelter. Many simply have nowhere to go. Many say international aid agencies are the only source of relief.

Annisis and Ratya say their family fled to neighboring Iran 20 years ago, but the two women recently returned to Kabul with their elderly husband. Now these women are building their own home brick by brick.

"You have to return home, even if you are away for 100 years, you have to return back. We are happy we did."

The Soviet invasion unleashed¹⁶ a major stream of refugees. But even after the Soviet army was driven out in 1989, Afghanistan found no peace. Instead, the country was wracked by civil war and again people fled. Then came the radical¹⁷ Islamic rule of the Taliban, driving yet more people out. The U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 toppled the Taliban, but stability has not yet returned to this mountainous land. Peace is still fragile and elusive¹⁸.

Aid workers say hope for Afghanistan's future may rest with the refugees, those willing to brave the high mountain passes, committed to starting a new life in a country, many barely know.

1 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

4 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

5 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

8 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

11 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

12 preyed   

v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• Remorse preyed upon his mind. 悔恨使他内心痛苦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He had been unwise and it preyed on his conscience. 他做得不太明智，这一直让他良心不安。 来自辞典例句

13 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。