VOA英语2010年-Stranded Migrants Dying on Yemeni-Saudi Bord

The International Organization for Migration¹ reports increasing numbers of stranded² migrants are dying on the Yemeni-Saudi border. It says 30 migrants from the Horn of Africa have died in recent weeks.

The International Organization for Migration says the latest deaths highlight the urgent need to help the growing number of irregular migrants left at the Yemeni-Saudi border in a desperate situation.

IOM spokeswoman, Jemini Pandya, says the migrants are stranded in the border town of Haradh after having made a long, perilous³ journey to Yemen from the Horn of Africa.

She says the migrants, who mainly are from Ethiopia, Somalia or Sudan start their journey in hopes of going to the Gulf⁴ or beyond in search of work. But, the reality, she says is quite different.

"They are living out in the open. They have no food," Pandya said. "They end up surviving on whatever scraps⁵ of food they can find. They are often severely⁶ dehydrated and there are no facilities at Haradh for them. And, to add to the situation, what is actually now happening is that there are an increasing number of migrants who are being deported⁷ from Saudi Arabia and dumped at the border with Yemen."

Pandya says the irregular migrants are picked up inside Saudi Arabia, put on buses and taken to the border. She says IOM does not know exactly how many migrants are deported and subsequently stranded.

"It is very clear to see there is a bottleneck⁸ that is rapidly developing and becoming increasingly acute," she added. "Yemen, as I have stressed already, is a major transit⁹ route for migrants and asylum¹⁰ seekers from the Horn of Africa. And, this all together with the deportations means that the figures are just simply mushrooming."

IOM and its partners recently began assisting a group of 2,000 Ethiopian irregular migrants at Haradh to go home. Since mid-November, IOM has assisted 785 of the migrants to voluntarily return home. And, it expects that number to increase to more than 1,000 by next week.Pandya says the group of migrants that has returned home includes 154 women and minors¹¹ who had been held in Yemeni detention¹² centers. She says IOM urgently needs $1 million to help the remaining migrants go home.

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bottleneck   

n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环

参考例句：

• The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
• China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。

9 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

10 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

11 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。