VOA常速英语2014--伊拉克基督教徒在约旦教堂寻找庇护

 

Christian¹ Iraqis Find Refuge in Jordanian Church 伊拉克基督教徒在约旦教堂寻找庇护

NAOUR, JORDAN— 

More than 3,000 Iraqi Christians² have sought refuge from the fighting in their country  in churches in Jordan. And Caritas, an aid group affiliated³ with the Catholic Church says it expects more than 1,000 more to arrive in the coming days. Unlike the Muslim refugees who have taken shelter in UN-organized camps around the country, the Christians have sought safe haven⁴ among members of their faith.

A group from Qaraqosh and Mosul were some of the last Christians to leave an area known for being the home of one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

Only days have passed since Fouad and his family arrived at Amman International Airport.

佛阿德和他的家人抵达安曼国际机场已经过去几天。

“I went to the Catholic Church and he told me to be patient for a day or two so that they could find a place for us. Father Nour called us and said to come to this hall. He promised it's a safe place, and thank God we're fine."

“我去过天主教堂,那里的人告诉我耐心等待一两天,他们会为我们找个安身之所。后来神父努尔打来电话,让我们来到这个大厅。他承诺这是一个安全的地方,感谢上帝我们仍然安好。”

This hall is in Naour, a quiet town about 20 kilometers southwest of Amman, an area distinctively⁵ different than this bustling⁶ refugee camp in the nearby Jordanian capital.

这个大厅是在距安曼西南约20公里平静祥和的小镇努尔，相比约旦首都附近这个熙熙攘攘的难民营的确截然不同。

Lubna is Fouad's wife. She said she can finally breathe. She said the war on Christians had been ongoing⁷ since Saddam was ousted⁸ in 2003. But she said the last few days under the Islamist militants⁹ known as ISIL, or ISIS, were a nightmare.

佛阿德的妻子鲁巴娜表示终于可以安顿下来。她表示自从2003年萨达姆被推翻后对基督徒发动的战争一直持续不断。但最近被称为ISIL的伊斯兰武装分子简直就是噩梦。

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“They threatened us, saying you have to either leave, be slaughtered¹⁰, convert to Islam, or pay the jizya tax on non-Muslims. We couldn't bear living in Mosul, and we were scared for our girls and our honor."

“他们威胁我们,说你要么离开,被屠杀,皈依伊斯兰教,要么缴纳非穆斯林的jizya税。我们无法忍受摩苏尔的生活,我们对自己的女孩和我们的名誉深感担忧。”

ISIL confiscated¹¹ their home and destroyed sites where their forbears had practiced their faith for nearly 2000 years. According to one United Nations report, more than 1500 Iraqi civilians¹² were killed in June, a majority of them Christian.

ISIL将他们的家占为己有,并且破坏了他们的祖先履行信仰2000年之久的圣地。据联合国报告称6月份有超过1500名伊拉克平民丧生,绝大多数是基督徒。

“When we were leaving, one shot hit at our feet and a mortar¹³ sailed overhead. We were praying Mother Mary, please save us, we just need to get to this bridge.”

“当我们离开的时候,脚下是枪响，头上有迫击炮。我们向圣母玛丽祈祷,请救救我们,我们只需要到达这座桥。”

They finally arrived at the basement of this Catholic Church, ending up sharing everything with 45 people they had never met before.

他们历经艰辛终于到达这座天主教堂的地下室,最后同素未谋面的45人分享着一切。

“Even if here I'm living in a hall, getting handouts¹⁴ and so on, I feel like I'm better off with how people treat you here, not like how I was living."

“即使我在一个大厅中过活,拿着宣传册子等等,我觉得现在同以往自己的处境相比也已经很好。”

“We put up with leaving and the costs and everything for our girls, so that they can have rights, so that they can have a future, because in Iraq there isn't any future."

“我们忍受离开家园，各种开销花费以及对于我们女孩来说抛弃的一切,现在换来的是她们可以拥有权利,这样他们就可以拥有光明的未来,因为在伊拉克根本没有未来可言。”

But even here, the future is still uncertain. They are waiting for their second interview with the United Nations. After that, Fouad hopes they will grant him and his family permanent asylum¹⁵ in the U.S, Europe or Australia, something that can take years.

但即使在这里未来也仍然不确定。他们正在等待联合国的第二次到访。之后佛阿德希望自己和家人们能够在美国,欧洲或澳大利亚永久避难，然而这可能需要花费数年时间。

“I'm waiting to go to a country that has human rights. Human beings actually have their lives, you don't have to ask for it. I'll go to any country."

“我等待机会前往一个有人权的国家。那里人们过着不需要争取就能过上的生活。我要前往任何一个这样的国家。”

For now they'll stay right here. So far only France has granted asylum to Iraqi Christians escaping ISIL. Australia has pledged to accept 4000; what the U.S or other European countries will do, remains¹⁶ to be seen.

现在他们会呆在这里。到目前为止,只有法国愿意接纳逃离ISIL魔爪的伊拉克基督教徒。澳大利亚已承诺接受4000人；美国和其他欧洲国家仍在观望阶段。

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 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。

3 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

4 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

5 distinctively   

adv.特殊地，区别地

参考例句：

• "Public risks" is a recent term for distinctively high-tech hazards. “公共风险”是个特殊的高技术危害个人的一个最新术语。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• His language was natural, unaffected, distinctively vivid, humorous and strongly charming. 语言既朴实无华，又鲜明生动，幽默而富有艺术魅力。

6 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

12 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。

13 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

14 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

15 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。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。