VOA标准英语2011--Haiti Quake Survivors Cope with Physical, Emotional Scars

Haiti Quake Survivors¹ Cope with Physical, Emotional Scars

Thousands of Haitians sought refuge in the United States after the devastating² earthquake in Haiti last year. Many suffered unimaginable trauma³ and bear both physical and emotional scars.

For the Jean family, life together is a blessing⁴.

“Because we were in [the] face of death. That’s the work of God, because we are alive,” Stevenson Jean says.

Stevenson lived through Haiti's earthquake with his mother and six siblings⁵.

His father, Jean Claude, was in Miami, working to support them.

“I call my family, the phone, the phone is dead,” he recalls.

All are safe now, but life still is not easy.

“We had many difficulties after the earthquake. I had two children hurt in the quake and myself," explains Marie-Rolle, Jean Claude's wife.

And with another child on the way, the Jeans also struggle financially.

“$400 per week. Not enough for my family,” Jean Claude says.

To help cope, they rely on faith. Emmanuel Zizi is the pastor⁶ at Worshipers' House of Prayer in Miami.

“All of us have the same problems, so this is really, we help each other carry our burdens,” the pastor notes.

Another group helping⁸ quake victims is Haitian Women of Miami, a social services agency for immigrants known as FANM. Marleine Bastien founded the group.

“These victims, they go through a lot. A lot of them need housing, they need to move, they need access to school,” she explains.

Nerline Cajuste came to FANM for help applying for health care aid. She had hip⁷ replacement⁹ surgery after suffering injuries in the quake.

"After the surgery, I have a blood clot¹⁰. Now I feel pain, I feel pain in my leg. I cannot walk good now," Nerline says.

The pain is not just physical.

"It makes me sad," Nerline adds.

"250,000 people died. These people, they are traumatized," notes Marlene Bastien.

When Brutus Michel relives the earthquake, he remembers his wife.

"Her heart was beating so fast, that she died 12 days later," he explains.

Michel says moving in with family in the U.S. has helped him cope.

It's a daily battle all too familiar to Claude Cyntia Riou. She shares her story with the help of a translator.

"This picture is the last picture that I took of him," she says, holding a photo of her son.

Riou had just picked up eight-year-old Tonton from school when the earthquake hit.

"When I saw his feet out of the car, I said 'Oh my God, Tonton died.'"

Riou says she relives that moment every day.

"I’m laughing, I talk, but it’s not me. I’m here, but not really," she says.

But with the help of her other children and her faith...Riou, like other survivors, carries on.

"For me, Tonton is not dead," Riou says.

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 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。

4 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

7 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

8 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。

9 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

10 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。