VOA标准英语2010年-Tamil Boat People Seek Asylum in Canad

Internally displaced ethnic¹ Tamils watch Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse during his visit to the Manik Farm refugee camp, in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka (file photo)

The United Nations refugee agency reports that all 490 Tamil passengers on a cargo² ship that landed in Vancouver, Canada, recently are seeking asylum³.  The United Nations High Commissioner⁴ for Refugees, or UNHCR, says it is encouraged by the way Canada is handling the cases of the Tamil nationals who fled Sri Lanka several months ago.

The Tamil boat people's odyssey⁵ across the Pacific Ocean aboard the cramped⁶ cargo ship reportedly began in April.  It ended last Friday when the boat, the Sun Sea, docked at Vancouver Island in British Columbia. 

Most of the 490 passengers are men, but the group also includes dozens of women and children.  The Canadian Border Services Agency, which had been tracking the vessel⁷, took custody⁸ of the passengers as they disembarked.

The U.N. refugee agency commends the manner in which Canadian authorities treated the Tamils.  UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic says the people were given food and water, and they received proper medical care.

"The UNHCR supports the important work of the law enforcement agencies in combating human smuggling⁹ - an issue that has received much attention in relation to the Sun Sea case," said Mahecic.  "It is nonetheless important to recognize that while refugees and migrants might use the same means of transportation, sometimes illegal, refugees are a distinct group with critical protection needs.  It is not a crime to seek asylum." 

The 25-year civil war between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels ended more than a year ago.  In the final stages of the war, an estimated 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians¹⁰ reportedly were killed.

More than 200,000 Tamils were interned¹¹ in camps for months, while the government processed the inhabitants to identify Tamil Tiger members. 

The Sri Lankan government rejects calls by the United Nations for an international, independent investigation¹² into alleged¹³ war crimes committed by both the government and the rebels. 

During the war, most Tamils fleeing persecution¹⁴ were granted asylum.  Although the war has ended, the UNHCR says Tamils might still have legitimate¹⁵ reasons for seeking asylum.  UNHCR's Mahejic, however, says the situation in Sri Lanka has changed.  So the agency is revising the guidelines that governments should follow in reviewing requests for asylum.

"Those guidelines include our recommendation that in light of the improved security situation since the end of Sri Lanka's conflict in May 2009, claims by asylum seekers from that country should be considered on their individual merits rather than on a group basis,"  said Mahecic.

UNHCR statistics show there are nearly 150,000 refugees from Sri Lanka in 64 countries.  Most are in India, followed by France and Canada.  The agency also says Switzerland, Malaysia and Canada lead the list of the top 10 countries hosting Sri Lanka asylum seekers.

 
 

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

3 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。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

6 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 interned   

v.拘留，关押( intern的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was interned but,as he was in no way implicated in war crimes,was released. 他曾被拘留过，但因未曾涉嫌战争罪行而被释放了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These soldiers were interned in a neutral country until the war was over. 这些士兵被拘留在一个中立国，直到战争结束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

14 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

15 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。