18 一位“前”儿童士兵的心声

Former Child Soldier Speaks Out
Breck Ardery
United Nations
13 Jun 2001 01:53 UTC

A former child soldier from Sierra Leone says a cycle of revenge is often created by the use of child soldiers.
Ismmael Beah says he joined the Sierra Leone army at the age of 14, after his parents died during the conflict with Revolutionary United Front guerilla forces. At the time, he thought 1)military service was a good way to 2)avenge the deaths of his parents.
But now, at 19 years old and attending college in the United States, Mr. Beah says he has a different 3)perspective. "I realize that that [seeking revenge] causes even more trouble because once you are part of the military or RUF you kill other people's parents," he said. "Then, they in turn will join the military or the RUF to avenge the deaths of their parents. It is just a continuous trend of revenge and revenge, and it will not bring a stop to anything."
Mr. Beah told reporters his 4)initial 5)enthusiasm about being an armed soldier at the age of 14 6)faded quickly under actual 7)combat conditions. "When you actually go to the front line to fight it is a whole different issue," he said. "I was in an 8)ambush and I saw friends of mine that I joined the military with, at the same time, being shot and killed. I really did not want to pull the 9)trigger, but I had no choice."
Mr. Beah says child soldiers can be rehabilitated and that, having suffered in war, they can become effective 10)advocates for peace.
Mr. Beah's appearance at the United Nations was 11)sponsored by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The group is urging all nations to sign and ratify a U.N. treaty that 12)prohibits military service by anyone under 18 years of age.

(1) military service n.兵役
(2) avenge[E5vendV]vt.为...报复, 报仇
(3) perspective[pE5spektIv]n.观点, 看法, 观点, 观察
(4) initial[I5nIF(E)l]adj.最初的,初始的n.词首大写字母
(5) enthusiasm[In5Wju:zIAz(E)m; (?@) -Wu:-]n.狂热, 热心, 积极性
(6) fade[feId]vi.(声音等)减弱下去, 褪色, 消失vt.使褪色n.淡入, 淡出
(7) combat[5kCmbAt]n.战斗, 格斗v.战斗, 搏斗, 抗击
(8) ambush[5AmbJF]n.埋伏, 伏兵v.埋伏
(9) trigger[5trI^E(r)]vt.引发, 触发n.板机
(10) advocate[5AdvEkEt]n.提倡者, 鼓吹者vt.提倡, 鼓吹
(11) sponsor[5spRnsE(r)]vt.发起, 主办v.赞助
(12) prohibit[prE5hIbIt; (?@) 5prEJ-]vt.禁止, 阻止