VOA标准英语2012--Religious Minorities Find Sanctuary in Kurdistan
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十一月)
Religious Minorities Find Sanctuary 1 in Kurdistan
At some point in life, every follower 2 of the Yezidi faith is supposed to make a pilgrimage here.
Long unfairly stigmatized 3 as "devil worshippers" by their Muslim and Christian 4 neighbors, Iraq’s half-million strong Yezidi minority suffered some of the worst sectarian attacks after the fall of President Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Now under the autonomous 5 Kurdistan Regional Government, the pilgrims are returning. The Yezidis have their own minister in government.
“Before we were not free to pray and could not visit here easily," said Lokman Suleiman, a local Yezidi teacher. "Now we can. The Kurdistan government is not only good for us, it is good for all people. The sun now rises over a Kurdistan of many colors, free and proud.”
Like the Yezidis, Iraqi Christians 7 were targeted by Sunni and Shi'ite militants 8 after Saddam Hussein's ouster.
Down in the heat of Erbil city, Father Aesha Dawoud leads an Assyrian church in a suburb of the Kurdistan capital.
“Now our churches and our holy places are honored and respected by the people who live around us,” said Father Aesha. “In celebration and in peace, people come here. The people of this city guard our places of worship.”
There were tens of thousands of Christians living in cities like Baghdad and Basra in southern Iraq. The majority have fled - some overseas, many to Kurdistan.
Father Aesha said his congregation would support an independent Kurdish state.
“If the situation is like now, if they don’t change things for us, then yes we would support the Kurds,” he said.
Many Christians have settled in the town of Ainkawa outside Erbil.
Ragat Hana Yousef moved to Ainkawa from Baghdad after his liquor store there was bombed in 2005.
"Kurdistan is different from the rest of Iraq because now everyone is free to speak," he said. "There is more democracy and what’s most important, it is safe.”
Nearby, a Kurdish barber - who gave only his first name, Mohamed - said the people in Kurdistan should unite with the Kurds who now control a large part of Syria.
“It is better for one people to live in one house, not be divided in two,” he said.
- There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
- Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
- He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
- Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
- He was stigmatized as an ex-convict. 他遭人污辱，说他给判过刑。 来自辞典例句
- Such a view has been stigmatized as mechanical jurisprudence. 蔑称这种观点为机械法学。 来自辞典例句
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
- They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
- This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
- The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
- He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。
- Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
- His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。