VOA标准英语2008年-UNHCR: Georgians Living in Isolated Villages Fo

The UN refugee agency says it is worried about the security of people living in isolated¹ villages near the former conflict zones of Georgia. It says some 2,300 people from villages in the buffer² zone between the Georgian town of Gori and the breakaway South Ossetian region have registered in Gori as internally displaced people. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.
　
Georgian refugees from surrounding villages, are seen at the central square in the town of Gori, northwest of the capital Tbilisi, 26 Aug 2008

The UN refugee agency says the internally displaced include about 800 elderly people who were forcibly displaced from their homes by, what it calls, marauding militia³. It says they are staying in a tent camp, which was erected⁴ earlier this week to accommodate the newly displaced. It also includes people who have been displaced a second time.

UN refugee spokeswoman, Helene Caux, says many of the recent arrivals reached Gori earlier this week, after being forcibly displaced by militias⁵ in villages near the boundary with South Ossetia.

"Several of the displaced told UNHCR that they had fled fighting earlier this month and had just returned to their homes over the past weekend," she said. "They talked about militias entering the villages, shooting in the air, harassing⁶ the inhabitants and looting their property. There were no new arrivals on Thursday from the villages in the buffer zone to Gori. But, our teams are closely monitoring any new displacement⁷ on the ground."

Caux says the newly displaced tell stories of having been intimidated⁸ and beaten by the militia in buffer zone villages north of Gori. Some say they fled their homes a second time because they felt unsafe when they returned to their villages. They say they found their houses damaged and looted, their cattle slaughtered⁹. They also say they fear the presence of landmines¹⁰.

Some of the displaced say their attackers were militia from South Ossetia.

A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Simon Schorno, says few humanitarian¹¹ agencies are present in the remote villages surrounding Gori. Therefore, the Red Cross will focus more of its attention on the needs of the population remaining there.

"We remain concerned about elderly and chronically¹² ill people, particularly those living in isolated villages in all the areas affected¹³ by the fighting," said Schorno. "Security situation is still volatile¹⁴, as has been said, with a large presence of weapons, firearms, a substantial number of people trying to return home are on the move and may feel in danger."

Schorno says the Red Cross is looking ahead at the longer-term needs of the tens of thousands of people who have been displaced by the fighting between Russia and Georgia.

Nearly 160,000 people have been made homeless, including 30,000 in South Ossetia, during the conflict that erupted on August 8.

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 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。

12 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。