VOA标准英语2009年-Conflict, Drought Forcing Thousands of Som

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
25 September 2009

 
Somalia
The UN refugee agency says conflict and drought are forcing thousands of Somalis to flee to Kenya. The UNHCR reports about 6,400 refugees are arriving in Kenya every month, creating further pressure on the overcrowded Dadaab refugee camp.

The UN refugee agency reports more than 50,000 Somalis desperate to escape the fighting and poverty in their country have fled to Kenya.  This averages out to 6,400 people a month, a figure the UNHCR describes as overwhelming.

The refugees are coming, but there is nowhere to put them except for the Dadaab refugee camps. This complex is already housing three times the population it was designed to hold.

UN refugee spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, notes the facilities and resources are overstretched. He says recent efforts to lessen¹ the camp population are not having the desired effect. "In mid-August, we embarked² on a program aimed at decongesting Dadaab and started the relocation of some 12,900 refugees to Kakuma camp in northwest Kenya. Despite the fact that we have already moved 9,570 refugees, the camp population in Dadaab remains³ virtually unchanged. There are now 281,000 Somali refugees there," Mahecic, said.

The UNHCR is continuing to move refugees from Dadaab to Kakuma camp. It says more than 3,000 refugees will be relocated by October 7 when the program will come to an end.

The agency has been asking the Kenyan government to allocate⁴ more land for the refugees to ease the pressure on Dadaab. But, so far, Mahecic says, these talks have led nowhere. "We are still talking to the government. This is still on the table and this is not just a matter of the government in Nairobi, but also the issue of the local authorities and the local communities where the new camp that we would like to set up would be erected⁵. The border is closed formally, but the border is porous⁶ and, indeed people are coming across that border and arriving at Dadaab daily, queuing up for registration⁷ and getting into the camp," Mahecic said.

Kenya has been experiencing a prolonged drought. Now, the country is being subjected to torrential rains. Meteorologists are forecasting that Kenya will be hit by the El-Nino phenomenon, which is responsible for extreme weather conditions.

Mahecic warns Dadaab is likely to be heavily flooded in the coming weeks and this is likely to cause outbreaks of disease among the hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees.

1 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

2 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

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 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

5 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。

6 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

7 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？