VOA标准英语2014--S. Sudan Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

 

S. Sudan Humanitarian¹ Crisis Worsens

Oxfam International says the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan will continue to grow worse until warring parties finally adhere to a three month old ceasefire agreement.

Oxfam’s spokesperson in Juba, Grace Cahill, said many South Sudanese are in need of immediate² aid.

“In the country at the moment, we have more than one-million people who have had to flee their homes -- many with sounds of gunshots ringing in their ears in the middle of the night. And we also have five-million people who are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. So that makes it clear that the conflict is not just affecting people who have been physically³ displaced from their homes, but it’s also affecting people who have not had to leave their homes, but who are suffering as a result of the conflict.”

She said Oxfam is providing life-saving services in the capital and six other locations further north.

“We focus on providing water, sanitation⁴ and food for the most vulnerable people. We began work just a few days after the fighting broke out in December last year. So, fighting started on the 15th. We had programs up and running in the capital Juba by the 20th of December,” she said.

Oxfam is currently reaching over 155,000 people with its programs. However, it and other humanitarian agencies face the same obstacle in trying to help those in need.

Cahill said, “The biggest problem is the fighting is ongoing⁵. There was a ceasefire agreement signed in January, which didn’t seem to mean anything – didn’t hold at all. And since then we’ve seen [a] terrific scaling-up in the amount of violence there has been. It seems to be that we take two steps forward in terms of our response reaching people and then more fighting flares-up and we take one step back.”

The fighting disrupts aid distribution. But the condition of the roads is also a problem. Cahill said very few are paved, and many are muddy due to the rains. That means supplies must be flown in. But fighting interferes⁶ with that, too.

“So, what Oxfam and the rest of the humanitarian community need, first of all, is for there to be a complete cessation of hostilities⁷ -- for the fighting to stop immediately.”

She said the U.N. has warned of a hunger crisis with seven million of South Sudan’s 10-million people in need of food aid.

“With the conflict continuing there’s been complete market breakdown⁸.  [It’s] so broken that we’ve seen women selling individual garlic cloves⁹, individual tomatoes, small, small things. [There’s] practically nothing in the market to try and raise some money. So that suggests there isn’t the food coming in to feed these people.”

The lack of food is affecting the displaced and non-displaced alike. Cahill said that those who did flee their homes left with nothing – cattle, goats and chickens were all left behind along with any grain they managed to harvest.

Oxfam is helping¹⁰ to distribute food aid, as well as providing seeds and farming tools so the displaced they can grow some food in the coming months.

1 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。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

5 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。

6 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。

7 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

8 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

9 cloves   

n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic)

参考例句：

• My country is rich in cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, and precious stones. 我国盛产肉桂、丁香、生姜、胡椒和宝石。 来自辞典例句
• Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and cloves are common spices. 姜、肉豆蔻、肉桂、胡椒、丁香都是常用的香料。 来自辞典例句

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。