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1、 EXPLORATIONS - Around the World, Helping Victims of War and Natural Disasters By Jerilyn Watson Broadcast: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Im Steve Ember. VOICE TWO: And Im Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we report on the International Red Cross and Red Cr
2、escent Movement around the world. The movement helps victims of wars and terrible natural events. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: In late December of last year, a severe earthquake in the Indian Ocean produced huge waves that washed over coastlines and deep onto land. The tsunami killed as many as two hundred ei
3、ghty thousand people and made millions of people homeless in eleven countries. As many as forty thousand people in Sri Lanka died in the disaster. The water destroyed or heavily damaged almost everything around Galle, Sri Lanka. Valuable coastline washed away. Hotels and entertainment businesses wer
4、e wrecked. VOICE TWO: The top official of the American Red Cross took part in aid work in Galle. Marsha Evans also traveled to other cities hit hardest by the tsunami. The Red Cross and Red Crescent movement have been active in the area since soon after the tsunami struck. Representatives of four Am
5、erican and Asian companies traveled with Miz Evans. Money given by their companies helped make aid work possible. Just outside Galle, schoolchildren at the Gintota School welcomed the visitors with smiles and friendly questions. The visitors gave them backpacks for carrying books and other school su
6、pplies. Most of their school buildings had been destroyed. But the American Red Cross had built the children a classroom. VOICE ONE: The visitors also observed aid workers feeding tsunami survivors at a community center in Galle. The American Red Cross and the World Food Program made it possible for
7、 the workers to provide food. In the town of Matara, young people welcomed the visitors with traditional dance and instrumental music. The Sri Lanka Red Crescent Society had filled a storage center in Matara with supplies for thousands of people. VOICE TWO: Miz Evans and the other visitors met one h
8、undred twenty families displaced by the tsunami. The Red Cross president and the donors gave the families sleeping mats and nets to protect against insects. They also gave out cooking supplies and water containers. During a single week in March, the American Red Cross provided needed supplies to mor
9、e than fourteen thousand families in Galle. Fifteen thousand families in Matara also received the goods. So did more than eleven thousand families in Hambantota (HUM- bun- toh- tah), also in southern Sri Lanka. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: People throughout the world welcome the flags and signs of the Red Cro
10、ss movement during natural disasters and war. The Red Cross flag shows two red lines crossing against a white background. The Red Crescent serves mainly Muslim countries. Its flag shows a red crescent. These flags on buildings, vehicles and aid workers clothing mean “Do not attack.” VOICE TWO: Red C
11、ross and Red Crescent organizations help survivors of natural disasters besides earthquakes and tsunamis. They also serve at floods, fires, landslides, wind and ocean storms and volcanic explosions. When thousands of people flee their homes, Red Cross and Red Crescent teams go to work. The teams stu
12、dy the situation and conditions. They observe if the people are moving from country to country or inside their homeland. Are the people running from oppression and war? Are they moving because of natural disasters or economic reasons? The answers help decide how the aid effort will be organized. VOI
13、CE ONE: During fighting, Red Cross and Red Crescent operations react to needs in order of importance. Safe water supply and personal health conditions are most important. So are emergency health care and temporary shelter. The International Committee of the Red Cross is the lead agency within the Re
14、d Cross and Red Crescent movement. In conflict areas, national societies support the movement. The agencies help people rebuild their lives after war. VOICE TWO: A coalition makes possible the work of the Red Cross movement. It has more than one hundred eighty national aid societies. The societies b
15、elong to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The American Red Cross is one such national organization. Money given by American citizens mainly supports this private organization. Most of its work is done by people who offer their services without pay. The American R
16、ed Cross trains millions of people in life- saving skills. It provides health care for more than two million people. VOICE ONE: The American Red Cross carries out many activities in the United States. It supplies more than half the nations blood products. The American Red Cross aids people in the armed services. It helps them communicate with their families. Thousands of families each year receive emergency information about service me
