More Rohingya Refugees Fleeing Bangladesh by Boat This Year

More Rohingya Refugees Fleeing Bangladesh by Boat This Year

今年更多的罗兴亚难民乘船逃离孟加拉国

【原文听力】

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　　By Anna Matteo

　　05 December 2023

　　The number of Rohingya taking risky boat trips to flee refugee camps in Bangladesh is rising even higher than last year. Human rights groups and aid agencies told VOA that those numbers could keep rising.

　　The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, said in a statement that a boat with 150 Rohingya on board landed in western Indonesia Saturday morning. Amnesty International's Indonesia office told VOA it had confirmed the landing as well.

　　That brings the total number of Rohingya fleeing across the Andaman Sea by boat to 3,722 so far this year, says the UNHCR.

　　In its statement, the refugee agency said it had also received several reports of two more boats with broken engines stranded in the Andaman Sea. Those boats hold 400 or more people. The agency issued an urgent search and rescue call to countries in the area.

　　In 2022, the UNHCR counted 3,705 Rohingya who tried to flee. That was the most for any year since 2015.

　　December is a time when the waters are somewhat calm. And it is the time when most Rohingya try to leave. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch noted, "We can't predict what is going to happen in December, but if we look at last year, 2022, the last three months were the ... busiest."

　　More to come

　　The Rohingya is a mostly Muslim minority from Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Nearly 1 million currently live in several large refugee camps in eastern Bangladesh.

　　Most arrived in 2017, fleeing what the U.N. calls a campaign of "genocidal intent" by the Myanmar military.

　　Now, some try to flee by boat to Malaysia or Indonesia, both Muslim-majority countries. Several hundred have died attempting to flee on old and overcrowded boats. Entire boats filled with refugees are believed to have been lost at sea.

　　Chris Lewa is with the Arakan Project, a group that closely follows the issue. She told VOA, "I believe there will be a lot more people on the way, but to [give] a figure ... is impossible."

　　Reasons for the increase

　　Aid groups and the Rohingya blame worsening conditions in the camps in Bangladesh for the increase in attempts to flee. The refugees complain of rising gang violence, a lack of jobs and schools, and little food.

　　The U.N. World Food Program is the main source of food aid for the refugees. In June, it reduced the amount of monthly food aid, for the second time, to $8 per person per month. The agency blamed lack of donor support for the cuts.

　　Additionally, the Rohingya are losing hope that they will be able to return safely to Myanmar where they are mostly denied citizenship.

　　Mohammed Rezuwan Khan is a Rohingya refugee. He said, "...All these things [are] driving the people to take the dangerous sea journeys." Khan said his sister and niece knew the risks but still fled by boat last year. They made it to Indonesia.

　　In years past, the boats carried mostly single men and women. But the UNHCR says more families with children are now traveling together. This year nearly a third of those making the dangerous trip are children.

　　Losing their lives

　　UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch says Indonesia is the only country willing to take in the Rohingya. A 2016 presidential decision in Indonesia ordered officials to aid any boats at risk in the country's waters and to let them land.

　　However, that may be starting to change. Last month, a boat that reached Aceh in Indonesia was reportedly pushed back out to sea twice. On the third try, it made it to land.

　　A representative of Amnesty International blamed this on the national government's failure to assist local officials in their efforts to help the refugees.

　　Should Indonesia stop helping, experts say more Rohingya will die when they cannot reach land at all. The UNHCR counted 348 dead or missing among those who set out in 2022 and 225 so far this year.

　　Baloch said, "We saw last year the consequences of not having a safe port or a safe place to disembark. These people risk losing their lives."

　　I'm Anna Matteo.

　　Zsombor Peter reported on this story in Bangkok, Thailand for VOA News. Anna Matteo adapted this story for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Anna Matteo

　　2023年12月5日

　　冒险乘船逃离孟加拉国难民营的罗兴亚人数量正在超过去年的水平。人权组织和援助机构告诉美国之音，这个数字可能会继续上升。

　　联合国难民事务高级专员办公室（UNHCR）在一份声明中说，一艘载有150名罗兴亚人的船只于周六早晨在印度尼西亚西部登陆。国际特赦组织的印度尼西亚办公室告诉美国之音，它也确认了这次登陆。

　　联合国难民事务高级专员办公室说，这使得今年通过安达曼海乘船逃离的罗兴亚人总数迄今为止已经达到3722人。

　　在其声明中，难民机构表示，它还收到了几份报告，报告中说在安达曼海上有两艘发动机损坏、滞留的船只。这些船上有400人或更多人。该机构向该地区的国家发出了紧急的搜救呼叫。

　　在2022年，联合国难民事务高级专员办公室统计了3705名试图逃离的罗兴亚人。这是自2015年以来的任何一年中的最高数字。

　　十二月是海水相对平静的时候。这也是大多数罗兴亚人试图离开的时候。联合国难民事务高级专员办公室发言人巴巴尔·巴洛奇指出，“我们无法预测十二月会发生什么，但如果我们看看去年，2022年，最后三个月是……最忙的。”

　　更多的还在后头

　　罗兴亚人主要是来自佛教为主的缅甸的穆斯林少数民族。目前，近100万人生活在孟加拉国东部的几个大型难民营中。

　　大多数人是在2017年到达的，他们逃离了联合国称之为缅甸军方的“有种族灭绝意图”的行动。

　　现在，一些人试图乘船逃往马来西亚或印度尼西亚，这两个都是穆斯林占多数的国家。几百人在试图乘坐破旧和过度拥挤的船只逃离时丧生。据信，整艘装满难民的船只已在海上失踪。

　　Chris Lewa是阿拉干项目的成员，这个组织密切关注这个问题。她告诉美国之音，“我相信会有更多的人在路上，但给出一个数字……是不可能的。”

　　增加的原因

　　援助组织和罗兴亚人将尝试逃离的增加归咎于孟加拉国难民营的条件恶化。难民们抱怨说，帮派暴力日益增加，缺乏工作和学校，食物也很少。

　　联合国世界粮食计划署是难民的主要食品援助来源。今年六月，该机构第二次减少了每月的食品援助，每人每月降至8美元。该机构将削减援助归咎于缺乏捐助者的支持。

　　此外，罗兴亚人正在失去他们能够安全返回缅甸的希望，他们在那里大多被剥夺了公民权。

　　Mohammed Rezuwan Khan是一名罗兴亚难民。他说，“……所有这些事情都在驱使人们冒险进行海上旅行。” Khan说，他的姐姐和侄女知道风险，但仍然在去年乘船逃离。他们成功抵达了印度尼西亚。

　　在过去的几年里，乘船的大多是单身男女。但联合国难民事务高级专员办公室说，现在有更多的带着孩子的家庭一起旅行。今年，几乎三分之一的冒险者是儿童。

　　失去生命

　　联合国难民事务高级专员办公室发言人Babar Baloch表示，印度尼西亚是唯一愿意接纳罗兴亚人的国家。2016年，印度尼西亚的一项总统决定要求官员援助在该国水域内处于危险的任何船只，并允许他们登陆。

　　然而，这种情况可能开始改变。上个月，一艘抵达印度尼西亚亚齐的船只据报道被两次推回海上。第三次尝试时，它成功登陆。

　　国际特赦组织的一名代表将此归咎于国家政府未能协助地方官员帮助难民的努力。

　　专家表示，如果印度尼西亚停止提供帮助，更多的罗兴亚人将在无法登陆的情况下丧生。联合国难民事务高级专员办公室统计，2022年出发的人中有348人死亡或失踪，今年迄今为止已有225人。

　　Baloch说：“我们去年看到了没有安全港口或安全下船地点的后果。这些人冒着失去生命的风险。”

　　我是Anna Matteo。

　　Zsombor Peter在泰国曼谷为美国之音新闻报道了这个故事。Anna Matteo为美国之音学习英语改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　stranded – v. 被困，无法离开某地

　　urgent – adj. 需要立即处理的

　　predict – v. 根据观察、经验或推理预先声明

　　genocidal – adj. 对种族、政治或文化群体的有意和系统的破坏

　　intent – n.通常明确的制定或计划

　　figure – n. 数字符号

　　gang – n.一群联合在一起做非法事情的人

　　donor – n. 提供金钱或其他资源的人

　　journey – n.从一个地方到另一个地方的行程

　　consequence – n.由原因产生或必然跟随一组条件的结果

　　disembark – v.从船上卸货或下船