VOA标准英语2014--尼日利亚人躲避博科圣地极端组织

 

Nigerians Fleeing Boko Haram Languish¹ in Camp Near Capital 尼日利亚人躲避博科圣地极端组织

ABUJA—

In its five-year effort to impose Islamic law in northeastern Nigeria, the Boko Haram extremist group has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.  Some of those who ran for their lives now live in squalor on the edges of the capital, Abuja.

Shanties² made of old sacks and pieces of wood are now home for people who fled Gwoza, a town in Nigeria’s Borno State.  Boko Haram overran the town earlier this year and declared it part of a caliphate.

Some of the people from Gwoza went to a settlement called Sabon Kuchigora on the outskirts³ of Abuja, joining relatives who already lived in the capital.

Many tell tales of fleeing Boko Haram violence.  Few have any idea what has become of their hometown, says Alhaji Usman Adamu.

"The houses are burnt, there is nobody. Everybody has run to mountains where they're struggling or trying to see how they can escape from the mountain," Adamu said. "Those who succeeded in escaping went to Cameroon where they also suffered hunger and they hardly got food, so they had to leave.”

'No way I can go back'

Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has registered more than 868,000 people displaced by fighting in the northeast.  Other estimates increase that number up to 1.5 million.

NEMA has distributed food and other supplies to people it registered, but it is not sure how many fled to the Federal Capital Territory because many have integrated into local communities.

Some displaced people, who have taken over a half-completed house outside of Abuja, say they face harassment⁴ from the local police and military who are suspicious they might be collaborating⁵ with Boko Haram.  

People like these are stuck, says Ishaya Isa Chonoko of the emergency management agency.

“They are not happy staying here. They too want to go back.  But amidst this crisis, honestly, they will not want to go back until peace is restored in their places,” Chonoko said.

Establishing peace may not be easy. Boko Haram continues to carry out bombings in major cities in the northeast and capture territory in Borno and neighboring Adamawa state.  

Many of the people in Sabon Kuchigora speak of deep trauma⁶ from fleeing Boko Haram.  Some have gunshot wounds.  Others lost family members. 

Elizabeth Yohana says she won't try to return home.

“Even if there is military, are they going to be there permanently⁷, forever?  Now, we don’t have houses, we don’t have food," she said. "There is no way I can go back.”

For now, the people of Sabon Kuchigora can only wait and try to make a living, far from home.

1 languish   

vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎

参考例句：

• Without the founder's drive and direction,the company gradually languished.没有了创始人的斗志与指引，公司逐渐走向没落。
• New products languish on the drawing board.新产品在计划阶段即告失败。

2 shanties   

n.简陋的小木屋( shanty的名词复数 )；铁皮棚屋；船工号子；船歌

参考例句：

• A few shanties sprawl in the weeds. 杂草丛中零零落落地歪着几所棚屋。 来自辞典例句
• The workers live in shanties outside the factory. 工人们住在工厂外面的小棚屋内。 来自互联网

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

5 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

6 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

7 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。