VOA标准英语2012--Emergency Aid Being Sent to Stranded Chadians

Emergency Aid Being Sent to Stranded¹ Chadians

Emergency aid is being sent this week to about one thousand people – mostly children – stranded in a remote area of Chad. The International Organization for Migration² says the Chadians fled violence in neighboring Nigeria between government forces and the militant³ group Boko Haram.

The displaced migrants are in the village of N’Gbouboua in the Lac region of western Chad, about 48 kilometers from the Nigerian border. Their presence there was first discovered late last month. A truck convoy⁴ loaded with emergency supplies is being readied thanks to a donation by the United States.

“I would like first of all to sincerely thank the U.S. embassy here in Chad that has made this timely donation to the IOM to assist this vulnerable group of migrants that are still stranded in this very, very unsafe area. The situation is very precarious,” said Dr. Qasim Sufi is the country director for the International Organization for Migration.

Koranic students

The IOM is working with the Chadian government, International Committee of the Red Cross, World Food Program and UNICEF to gather the needed supplies.

“Food, temporary shelter, medication, psychosocial support and so on. But then our ultimate goal is really to assist them, the kids, to reunite with their families, biological family members, and then other people – elderly and families – also to take them to their final destination,” he said.

The stranded children are Koranic pupils called Talebs. They fled with their teachers, the Marabout, from four eastern Nigerian villages three weeks ago.

Sufi said, “They stay with them until they become big and one day they come back home. So this is sort of a traditional business that they do because even the area where they come from it is predominantly inhabited by Chadians. Some of them are as small as five years, six years (old).”

Sufi likens their stay in Nigeria to an education scholarship program. Earlier reports said some of the villages they fled were destroyed in the fighting between Nigerian forces and Boko Haram.

Family tracing

Usually, the Koranic students live in eastern Nigeria for many years. Sufi said some can’t remember who their parents are. That’s where the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Chadian Red Cross / Red Crescent Society step in with a program called family tracing.

“This is the most complicated part of the whole operation I must say. And I have doubts that this will last only for three weeks,” he said.

The four wheel drive truck convoy carrying emergency aid will travel hours on unmarked desert roads and make a ferry crossing to reach the migrants. Besides being remote, the area also has roaming elephants and packs of possibly rabid dogs. One child was bit, but humanitarian⁵ workers did manage to get serum⁶ to the child for treatment. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

5 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。

6 serum   

n.浆液，血清，乳浆

参考例句：

• The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
• Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质，共11种，称为补体。