VOA标准英语2010年-Washington DC Marchers Protest Darfur

The march called Hope for Darfur, Justice in Sudan was organized by the Darfur Interfaith Network. Christians¹, Muslims, Jews and other faiths participated in congregations throughout the Washington area, 23 May 2010

More than 100 people marched and attended an interfaith rally Sunday in Washington to protest the status of genocide victims in the Darfur region of Sudan.

 "President Obama, President Obama, President Obama, President Obama, stop the violence in Sudan, stop the violence in Sudan."

The march began under gray skies and light rain symbolically² at the Holocaust³ Museum, where the murder of six million Jews in World War II is documented and remembered.

Darfur rebel groups have been fighting troops and militia⁴ of the Sudanese government since 2003.

The United Nations says the violence has killed up to 300,000 people and displaced some 2.7 million others.

 The march was called Hope for Darfur, Justice in Sudan. 

"We are hoping to send out a message to people in Darfur that there are people who still care, people who worry about them and people willing to work and take to the streets to support their needs and their cause," said march co-chair Richard Young.

The march was organized by the Darfur Interfaith Network, which consists of Christians, Muslims, Jews and other faiths in congregations throughout the Washington area.

"Well I think we hope to both empower and to educate," said the Senior Rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation M. Bruce Lustig. "To take an opportunity to make sure that the indifference⁵ that the American  people have had to the cause in Darfur ends, that we recognize we are all part of one human family and that it is very important that we stand up and that we make our voices be heard."

A recent report from the United Nations says clashes between government forces and rebel groups continue to cause substantial civilian⁶ casualties, displace communities and hamper⁷ the delivery of humanitarian⁸ assistance.

The marchers are calling for more pressure on the Sudanese government from the Obama administration.

Three years ago a group of interfaith activists¹⁰ began to hold monthly vigils at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington to speak up for the people of Darfur.

"We really are calling upon President Obama to make this a priority the way that President Clinton did with Bosnia," said group member Laura Cutler.  "You know you can send all the envoys¹¹ in the world, you can listen, you can encourage, but I understand all the priorities that he has tugging¹² at him, but I think that that is what it is going to take."

As the march reached the White House and a rally was held across the street at Lafayette Square, Darfur activist⁹ and native Mohamed Yahya joined the protest.

"It is very unfortunate to see those tragedies going on in Darfur," he said. "Our people are brutalized and killed, and I lost 21 of my family members in one day."

Talks have been underway in Doha, Qatar between negotiators for the Sudanese government and various rebel groups, but so far there has been little visible progress to end the fighting.

These protesters vow¹³ to keep the issue in front of the American public until peace and justice prevail in Darfur.

 

1 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

2 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

3 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

4 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。

5 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

8 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。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

12 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

13 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。