VOA标准英语2009年-UN: Humanitarian Crisis in Pakistan's Nort

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
25 September 2009

 
Peshawar, North West Frontier in Pakistan
The U.N. Humanitarian¹ coordinator² in Pakistan says the crisis for hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have returned to homes they fled in the Swat Valley and other tribal³ areas is not over.  He says their needs as well as those of the population who remained in the area during fighting between the Pakistani government and Taliban militants⁴ continue to be acute.    

By June, nearly three million people had fled from the fighting in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. 

The United Nations reports more than 1.6 million of the displaced have now returned to the homes they fled in the Swat Valley and other areas the government considers safe. 

But, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja, says the crisis is far from over.  He says military operations are continuing longer than expected. 

He says the sudden upsurges of fighting between Pakistani government troops and militant⁵ Taliban in different areas of return is prompting tens of thousands of people to once again flee their homes.  He says this is causing further military operations and further displacement⁶. "So, this kind of cyclical problem of displacement is extremely unsettling for the population and limits the possibility for the population to reinvest in economic activities such as agriculture, commerce and so on and so forth," he said. 

Mogwanja says U.N. officials have urged Pakistani authorities to make sure that areas are stable and military operations are at an end before people are encouraged to return.

He says a lot of work and a lot of money is needed to repair the damage from the conflict.  He says more than 400 schools have been damaged or destroyed and must be rebuilt. 

He says the more than 4,000 schools that were occupied by internally displaced people must be vacated and repaired.  He adds livelihoods⁷ must be restored, agriculture must be revived, infrastructure⁸ repaired and unexploded ordnance⁹ removed.

He says particular care must be given to the thousands of children who were left behind, many of whom have become traumatized by the events. "They witnessed horrific fighting, bombing, explosions, killing¹⁰ of all kinds.  And, these children are traumatized.  They need psycho-social assessment¹¹ and counseling and support in a community setting where the skills to undertake this are very, very limited," he said. 

Mogwanja says the Taliban stopped polio immunizations from taking place.  So, unfortunately, a number of children in the Swat Valley now are paralyzed from this disease.

He says the militants blew up hundreds of schools, mainly girls schools.  He adds many girls were threatened by the Taliban to block them from going to school. He says this too is creating psychological distress¹².

1 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。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 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。

7 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。