美国国家公共电台 NPR--Despite civil war, Arab states seek to build ties with Syria

Despite civil war, Arab states seek to build ties with Syria

Transcript¹

Arab states that once opposed and even sought to topple Syria's leadership are now building ties with the regime that is still in power, despite years of civil war.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The earthquakes that devastated² Syria and Turkey in February have sped up a political shift with potentially major consequences around the region. Arab states that provided emergency aid are also reengaging with the Syrian government they once isolated⁴ or even tried to topple. Today, a group of Arab foreign ministers are discussing just that, and NPR's Aya Batrawy joins us to talk about it from Dubai.

Good morning.

AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So what exactly are these countries hoping to achieve in this meeting?

BATRAWY: So there are eight foreign ministers meeting in Saudi Arabia. And they're meeting to basically talk about what they want from Syria before ending the country's isolation⁶ and bringing it back into the Arab League - a bloc⁷ that represents all 22 countries of the region. This group suspended Syria in 2011 because of its lethal⁸ response against Arab Spring protesters who had taken to the streets demanding change, and that violence quickly spiraled into a civil war. So some Arab states were concerned also about Iran's support for Syria. Iran sent weapons and militias⁹ to back the government there, and Iran continues to have influence on the ground.

So what we're seeing today is a meeting of the biggest and most influential¹⁰ nations in the Arab League, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and others, meeting. And years ago, countries like Saudi Arabia - they were not only arming the Syrian rebel opposition¹¹; they were even allowing their own citizens to go there and fight. So now many Arab countries say, we want to rebuild ties with Syria, and there are some like Qatar that are still holding out. But when the Arab League meets next month, the question on the table is, will Syria be allowed back in?

FADEL: OK. So if Syria is allowed back in, what would that mean for ordinary Syrians?

BATRAWY: For Syrians, it would be a first step towards ending a deeply painful isolation that was sparked by the regime's bombing and its torture of civilians¹² and rebels and besieging¹³ of cities during the civil war, and with the end of an isolation could come rebuilding the country. When I was in Syria after the earthquakes, I met Hanaa Milhem and her 23-year-old daughter, Marianna el-Heffe, in Lattakia, and their home was destroyed by the earthquakes. They were exhausted¹⁴ and out of hope.

HANAA MILHEM: (Non-English language spoken).

BATRAWY: Yeah. Hanaa Milhem was basically saying, we're living day by day and can't see a future. Her daughter is questioning, why should she keep paying for her studies when they're living on the streets and running after any kind of aid?

So the diplomatic outreach to Syria could help people like Hanaa and her daughter return to something closer to normal again. But there are other Syrians, of course, that risked everything to bring down President Bashar al-Assad's government. And they want him punished - not shaking hands and welcomed back on the world stage.

FADEL: I mean, I guess that's the big question, is, you know, a lot of these countries try to isolate³ and overthrow¹⁵ him, as you point out, over these issues - a painful and violent repression¹⁶ of the opposition, this civil war. What's changed, though, in his leadership to bring him back? Why are these countries open to welcoming Syria back now?

BATRAWY: Well, the war has had major spillovers. I mean, we're talking about millions of refugees - Syrian refugees - in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and other countries. And these countries are already suffering their own economic pressures and turmoil¹⁷. And then you also have Syria's neighbors. They want Syria to help fighting terrorism, and they also want Syria to end its drug smuggling¹⁸ into Gulf¹⁹ Arab states like Saudi Arabia and others. But ending Syria's pariah²⁰ status and rebuilding the country faces a hurdle²¹, and that's the United States has hundreds of troops in Syria backing Kurdish rebels there. And the U.S. and the EU maintain heavy sanctions on Syria that are supposed to isolate it. But as Arab states rebuild ties with Syria, it puts pressure on the U.S. to reconsider its policies.

FADEL: That's NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you so much, Aya.

BATRAWY: Thanks, Leila.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

9 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

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

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 besieging   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They constituted a near-insuperable obstacle to the besieging infantry. 它们就会形成围城步兵几乎不可逾越的障碍。
• He concentrated the sun's rays on the Roman ships besieging the city and burned them. 他把集中的阳光照到攻城的罗马船上，把它们焚毁。

14 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

15 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

16 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

17 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

18 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

19 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

20 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

21 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。