VOA标准英语2012--Alawites Fear Future as Syrian Conflict Intensifies

 

Alawites Fear Future as Syrian Conflict Intensifies¹

Inside a Cem house, an Alawite place of worship, in the Turkish city of Gaziantep close to Syria. The rituals, music and dance are alien to most other Muslim worshippers - as is the huge canvas picturing the twelve Holy Imams.

Alawites here feel their religion is little understood, and the conflict in Syria is making it worse.

The leader or 'Dede' of the Cem house, Huseyin Keskin, said the Turkish government has taken sides against the Alawites.

"It is obvious who the Turkish government supports in Syria. They are 'itching² the scratch,' they are making the problem worse in Syria," he said.

Keskin complains that as a minority, Alawites suffer in Turkey.

"The government sees us as different from themselves. They never take care of any of our problems," he said.

Such sentiments echo the fears of Alawites in Syria. If Assad falls - himself an Alawite - many minorities, including Christians³ and Druze, have voiced fears of Sunni dominance.

Opposition⁴ members say the Syrian government has depicted⁵ the uprising as a radical⁶ Sunni insurgency⁷ that Alawites must confront.

The Turkish city of Antakya near the border has a similar ethnic⁸ mosaic⁹. In the bazaar¹⁰, the Syrian crisis dominates conversation.

Spice seller Servet Duzgun said Turkey has made the situation worse in Syria.

"I myself am an Alawite," he said, "but I don't think the most important thing should be whether you are Sunni or Alawite, it should be about human values."

There is one thing that unites many of the shopkeepers in this ancient bazaar; the dramatic falloff in business since the conflict began.

Antakya used to be a shopping destination for Syrians, but now few make the trip.

Thaer Abboud did make that journey. An Alawite, Abboud nevertheless had been a pro-democracy activist¹¹ for many years before the uprising.

"Especially when you are Alawi [Alawite], you are so dangerous for them. You have to be punished twice," he said.

Abboud said he was jailed and tortured for several months last year before escaping to Turkey and leaving many family members behind.

"The whole body of the revolution is a civil one. There is Christians, there is Alawite, there is Druze, there is Sunni," he said. "You can kill a person in body, you can kill thousands, but you cannot kill an ideology¹². They are trying in vain to kill this ideology of revolution."

Abboud said the Syrian revolution is not about religion or race. He said it is about overthrowing¹³ a dictator - and he believes he will soon return to a free Syria. 

1 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

10 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

11 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。

12 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

13 overthrowing   

v.打倒，推翻( overthrow的现在分词 )；使终止

参考例句：

• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship. 他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I always delight in overthrowing those kinds of schemes. 我一向喜欢戳穿人家的诡计。 来自辞典例句