VOA标准英语2013--Homeless Rohingya Boat People Face Detention Deadline

 

Homeless Rohingya Boat People Face Detention¹ Deadline

Deep in the hills of southern Thailand, local rubber tappers are known to be early risers.

But in recent months, there has been more than just the locals wandering through the plantations², out of sight to most people.

Earlier this year, Thai resident Arun Somphot woke up to a small group of “boat people” sleeping on her front porch.

“When I saw them sleeping there, I was behind this door trying to see who they were.  I have my family and relatives who stay in homes nearby.  I opened the door and saw many of them sleeping there and I was shocked.  They saw me and just got up and sat there.  Then I let out a scream," said Arun.

Since January, nearly 2,000 boat people, claiming to be Rohingyas fleeing sectarian violence in Burma have been apprehended³ and detained by Thai authorities.

Denied citizenship⁴ in their own country and desperate to escape persecution⁵, many are vulnerable to exploitation.

Abdul Salaman was held captive in the Thai jungle with a group of fellow Rohingya by traffickers who brought him from Burma.  He was released after his relatives in Malaysia paid $1,500 for his freedom. 

Now he is in a secure house, cooking meals for hundreds of boat people, detained at several overcrowded immigration centers.

“I was suffering in the past and now that I am free, many of my friends are still facing terrible conditions and lack of food.  I do not have any job now so I am cooking meals for them,” he explained.

Despite condemnation⁶ from human rights groups after video footage of mistreatment was aired, conditions for the men remain unchanged.

But mounting media reports implicating⁷ Thai security in the trafficking of some Rohingya seems to have gotten the attention of top officials.

“I know these are very crowded places.  That is why we are going to expand the new center for them to stay.  The new area will be more of a waiting camp.  We will have a doctor and medical treatment available for them,” said Lt. General Paradorn Pattanatabu of the National Security Council.

As the six-month deadline nears for what was considered a “temporary stay” in Thailand, questions over where the Rohingya will end up still remain. 

1 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。

2 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

3 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 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。

6 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

7 implicating   

vt.牵涉，涉及（implicate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was in the public dock, confessing everything, implicating everybody. 他站在被告席上，什么都招认，什么人都咬。 来自英汉文学
• No one would have had me get out of the scrape by implicating an old friend. 无论什么人都不能叫我为了自己摆脱困难便把一个老朋友牵累到这案子里去。 来自辞典例句