非洲之角災民急需更多援助

Current and former U.S. representatives at the United Nations Food and Agriculture agencies Saturday wrapped up their three-day visit to Kenya to assess the international response to the Horn of Africa's ongoing drought and famine. They said aid agencies are able to access More areas in southern Somalia and that aid is reaching people in need, but more must be done.

聯合國糧農組織的現任和前任美國代表星期六結束了對肯尼亞爲期三天的訪問，他們在那裏評估國際社會對非洲之角地區持續乾旱和饑荒作出的迴應。他們說，援助機構現在能夠進入索馬里南部的更多地區，援助物資已經發放到有需要的人手中，但是還必須做得更多。

The World Food Program's regional director, Stanlake Samkange, told reporters in Nairobi his agency is expanding food distributions in Mogadishu.

世界糧食計劃署的地區主任斯坦萊克·薩姆坎戈在內羅畢對記者說，世糧署正在索馬里首都摩加迪沙擴大糧食發放。

The agency can now operate directly in the Gedo region as well as in other pockets north and south of the Somali capital that were previously sealed off by the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab.

該機構現在能在索馬里的蓋多地區(Gedo)以及摩加迪沙北部和南部的其它地區直接運作，這些地區之前被與基地組織有關聯的武裝組織青年黨封鎖。

"The access situation is changing in southern Somalia, I think because of the pressure and the serious condition there, and we are responding to that very actively and very aggressively," said Samkange.

薩姆坎戈說：“索馬里南部地區的准入情況正在改善，我想是因爲壓力和那裏的嚴峻形勢，我們正對當地的乾旱和饑荒作出非常積極和強有力的迴應。”

But, he says, Mogadishu is still dangerous because of what he calls a "security vacuum" that was created following al-Shabab's recent withdrawal from there.

但是他說，摩加迪沙仍然危險，因爲青年黨最近從那裏撤出後，形成了他所說的“安全真空”。

"Unfortunately, at a distribution a little over a week ago, after 70 percent of the distribution had passed peacefully, there was a disturbance amongst the security elements providing security there, and a number of people lost their lives and there was looting of some quantities of food," added Samkange.

薩姆坎戈說：“不幸的是，在一個多星期前的一次糧食發放中，70%的發放物資已經平穩地運送之後，在那裏維持治安的安全人員中出現了混亂，有一些人喪生，一些援助糧食被搶。”

Samkange was part of a U.S.-led delegation visiting the Kenyan capital and the Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenyan-Somali border earlier in the week. The aim of the three-day visit was to assess the effectiveness of international efforts to deal with drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.

薩姆坎戈是一個美國領銜的代表團成員，這個代表團本週早些時候訪問了肯尼亞首都內羅畢和靠近肯尼亞和索馬里邊界的達達布難民營。這次爲期三天的訪問旨在評估國際社會對非洲之角地區乾旱和饑荒的援助成效。

Samkange said that, in the month of July, more Somali refugees showed up at Dadaab than in any other month in the camp's 20-year history, creating in his words, an "unprecedented challenge." Dadaab was meant to house 90,000 people, but the population now stands at 440,000 and rising.

薩姆坎戈指出，今年7月份，達達布難民營的索馬里難民人數比該難民營20年曆史上任何月份都多，用他的話說，這帶來了“史無前例的挑戰。”達達布難民營的建造是以容納9萬人爲目標，而現在那裏的難民人數達到了44萬人，而且這一數字還在上升。

He said aid workers have had to be flexible and innovative in dealing with the crisis.

薩姆坎戈說，援助人員不得不靈活和創造性地應對這一危機。Ertharin Cousin, the current U.S. representative at the United Nations Food and Agriculture agencies, said discussions with the Kenyan government to expand the Dadaab refugee camp were successful, with the government giving the United Nations' refugee agency permission to open the Ifo II camp, which can accommodate up to 40,000 people.

美國駐聯合國糧農組織現任代表庫贊(Ertharin Cousin)稱，與肯尼亞政府關於擴建達達布難民營的商談取得成功，該政府允許聯合國難民機構開放伊福三號難民營，這個難民營可以最多容納4萬人。

Cousin lauded efforts by aid agencies to deliver food and other supplies to people desperately in need, at Dadaab refugee camp and elsewhere.

庫贊對援助機構向達達布難民營和其它地方急需援助的人提供糧食等援助表示讚賞。

"I talked to someone yesterday, a mother and father with four young children, who had walked for 17 days to come from their home to the camp. We were looking at two young boys who literally were skin and bones. But these were parents trying to save their children. When they arrived at the camp, the assistance was there," noted Cousin.

庫贊說：“昨天我和一對有4個孩子的父母談話，他們從家裏步行到這個難民營一共走了17天，我們看到兩個年幼的男孩真是瘦得皮包骨。這些作父母的設法挽救孩子。當他們到達這個難民營，就受到了援助。”

Cousin reported that $1 billion has been pledged and raised to date by the international community, but the United Nations says it needs an additional $1.5 billion to assist drought and famine victims across the Horn of Africa until the rains come, usually in October.

庫贊指出，到目前爲止，已籌集到國際社會承諾的10億美元援助金，但聯合國說，還需要15億美元，以便在雨季10月到來之前向非洲之角的乾旱和饑荒災民提供援助。

The World Food Program's Samkange says normally his agency aims to have enough food and supplies in stock to cover three months, but at the moment they are operating on a month-by-month basis.

世界糧食計劃署的薩姆坎戈說，通常世糧署會儲備足夠用三個月的糧食和其它物資，但是現在，他們只能過一個月算一個月。

He urged donors to continue giving support to drought and famine efforts.

他敦促捐助國繼續爲這次乾旱和饑荒提供援助支持。

"We still need to be sure that in two or three or four months' time we don't find ourselves back in the situation of having to reduce support to people because the international community may have looked elsewhere," Samkange said.

薩姆坎戈說：“我們仍需確保，在未來兩三個月或四個月的時間內，我們不會因爲國際社會可能已將目光轉向別處，而回到不得不減少援助的狀況。”

The drought ravaging the Horn of Africa is said to be the worst in decades, with more than 12 million people facing hunger and starvation. Exacerbating the situation in Somalia is conflict between the militant Islamic group al-Shabab and the transitional government, which has caused many parts of the south to be closed to relief work until recently. The United Nations recently declared several regions there as being famine zones.

這次非洲之角遭遇的乾旱據說是數十年來最嚴重的，1200多萬人面臨饑荒。索馬里伊斯蘭激進武裝組織青年黨與過渡政府之間的衝突導致索馬里南部的許多地區禁止援助物資進入，直到最近纔有所改善。聯合國最近宣佈，索馬里南部的幾個地區爲饑荒區。