VOA标准英语2014--中非的儿童士兵越来越多

 

CAR Sees Child Soldier Increase 中非的儿童士兵越来越多

A growing number of fighters in Central African Republic’s two year old civil war are children. It’s estimated there may be as many as 10-thousand child soldiers, four times more than when the conflict began.

The charity organization Save the Children says both boys and girls are being recruited by former Seleka rebels and anti-balaka militias¹. Some of the kids are as young as eight.

Véronique Aubert, Senior Conflict & Humanitarian² Policy and Research Adviser³ for Save the Children, said, “The situation is of great concern to Save the Children. Children are on a daily basis exposed to violence. Many of them have been killed. Many of them have been victims of sexual violence. Many of them have lost their relatives – have seen their house destroyed – or had to flee either within the country or outside the country.”

Many lack access to food, education and health care.

“Some are being abducted⁴ and recruited by force, like commanders who come in and take them -- very often just to use them to serve in [a] combat zone or to be their slave and sex slave. And others are joining for lack of protection, for lack of security and for lack of access to education, which is a great concern,” she said.

Some children said they joined armed groups due to pressure from parents or peers – or a desire to protect their communities or to seek revenge for the death of family members.

About two years ago, mostly Muslim Seleka rebels toppled President Francoise Bozize. Their leader Michel Djotodia became interim⁵ president. But many former rebels turned to banditry and attacked Christian⁶ and traditional religion communities. Then, last December, in response to those attacks, anti-balaka militias formed. They launched revenge attacks against Muslims. Djotodia resigned last January and an interim government was formed. However, ongoing⁷ violence has killed thousands of civilians⁸ and displaced hundreds of thousands of others.

Aubert said that many children are traumatized from witnessing violence or being forced to take part in it.

“That’s why Save the Children tried to respond on the ground with some programs to try to provide some psychological support to some of these children through some community-based program to try to assist those children – or to try to provide them with some education emergency response program. But so much more is needed,” she said.

But before Save the Children can help these kids, the organization must meet with the commanders of each armed group. Some agree to let the children go, others do not.

“There is a need for a more systematic⁹ and organized demobilization process. And that’s why one of the recommendations of the report is to call on the U.N. – on the peacekeeping operation – on the government – and on the partners to make sure that there is a proper demobilization strategy that’s been put in place [and to ensure] the peacekeeping operation has the capacity to reach out to those children to try to demobilize them and reintegrate them,” she said.

Some child soldiers are ordered to hold a talisman¹⁰ during attacks. It is believed by group members to have mystical powers that will protect them from harm. Bullets can quickly dispel¹¹ that myth.

Education has been hit hard. Many children have not been to school in two years.

Aubert’s Colleague – Julie Bodin – is the organization’s Child Protection Manager in CAR. She said that Save the Children has set up – what are called – Child Friendly Spaces and Youth Clubs. These provide a safe place to learn and receive psycho-social support.

“So a Youth Club is a kind of group of teenagers, and we are developing some talks about the risk of recruitment, children’s rights. [The club aims] to make them understand that if they are associated with armed groups it is a violation¹² of their own rights. And so, step-by-step, they start to change. And from [age] 14 to 18, we are doing [a] reintegration process through vocational training. We are developing income generating activities,” she said.

She said former child soldiers are usually placed in the care of foster families – often for several months -- while Save the Children tries to find their blood relatives. Bodin said it’s hoped 2015 will be more stable and allow humanitarian groups to reach all the children in need.

Despite the presence of U.N. and African peacekeepers, violence in CAR continues.

1 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

5 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 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。

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 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。

9 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

10 talisman   

n.避邪物，护身符

参考例句：

• It was like a talisman worn in bosom.它就象佩在胸前的护身符一样。
• Dress was the one unfailling talisman and charm used for keeping all things in their places.冠是当作保持品位和秩序的一种万应灵符。

11 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。