環(huán)球英語 — 360：Reuniting Refugees

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Voice 1

Hello and welcome to Spotlight I'm Adam Navis

Voice 2

And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 3

‘We were living in such fear. The big guns never stopped. In April, the people who slept near us were injured. Five people died. There were no medicines to reduce pain. A doctor had to cut off one girl's hand without such medicines. My small daughter was crying and afraid. I decided then that we had to leave.'

Voice 1

Mister Kumar and his family lived on the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka. On this island, rebel groups and the government had fought for many years. In early 2009, the fighting reached one of its worst points. Mr Kumar and his family lived in a ‘no-fire' area. It was supposed to be safe. But they reported that this was not the case. They feared for their lives. Mr Kumar was one of the many people trapped in the middle of fighting. And so he, and others, fled their town. They left on small fishing boats. The people described their long and dangerous trips across Indian waters. Some people were lost at sea, not everyone survived. Others reached the coast of India. They had become refugees.

Voice 2

The United Nations estimates that there are around eleven million [11,000,000] refugees in the world today. And this does not include people trying to find safety inside their own countries. June 20th is World Refugee Day. And in today's programme we look at a new project that aims to help refugees.

Voice 1

Search engines on the Internet are nothing new. Google has become a central part of many people's lives! Want to know the answer to something? ‘Just Google it!' Want to find something?' Google it. But what about finding missing people who are refugees? There is now a special search engine for this too. It is called Refunite.

Voice 2

There are lots of projects that aim to reunite divided refugee families. The Red Cross receives millions of requests each year. People from all around the world ask them for help. There are children looking for parents, parents looking for children, lovers divided. Each of them has a tragic story to tell. Some have escaped a difficult political situation. Others have run away from armed conflict. The Red Cross and other organisations work hard to try and help such people. But Refunite is different because people can do the searching themselves. So how does it work? Ruby Jones investigates!

Voice 4

I am looking at the Refunite website now.

I can search for someone without giving my name, address, or any details about me. I like that! So, now I choose my language. They have twenty-four [24] languages. Right. I am on the search page. I am hoping that the person I am looking for knows about Refunite. I am hoping that they have entered some details so that I can find them.

I describe what they look like in the box marked ‘personal information.' Tall, brown hair, a birthmark on their left leg. I enter their first name. I select their age - 31. What sex? Male. Which country is he from? I type that in too. Does he have brothers and sisters? He is the second child in the family. I add this detail.

Next, I click on the ‘search' button and wait about a second. A list of names appears. There are names and descriptions of some people who fit the details I typed in. If I click on one of them more details appear. There is a space where I can type a message for this person. It tells me not to give my personal details unless I am sure this is my friend or family member. I write details that only this person would know. Then, I click 'send'! What a great website!

Voice 1

Refunite is short for ‘Refugees United'. It was started by two brothers, Christopher and David Mikkelsen. The idea came from their work with a refugee from Afghanistan, Mansour. Mansour fled Afghanistan in 2000. He and his family were supposed to travel together. However, because Mansour was the oldest son, he went first. He was twelve years old. Mansour travelled across Europe and ended his trip in Copenhagen. He waited hopefully for his family. But they never came. It was in Copenhagen that Mansour met David Mikkelsen. David worked as a teacher at a school for young refugees. David and his brother tried to help Mansour reunite with his family. However this proved very difficult. Finally, they did manage to discover where one of Mansour's brothers was - in Russia! They managed to arrange a meeting. And the brothers were finally reunited. Mansour remembers how nervous and excited they both were:

Voice 5

‘The hairs on the back of our necks were standing up. Tears flooded our eyes.'

Voice 2

Mansour's story had part of a happy ending. But reuniting the brothers had been a very long and difficult process. And this made Christopher and his brother question why. Christopher said:

Voice 6

‘We began talking about why no one had created a system that could cross borders, barriers, conflicts and official papers

Voice 2

So the idea for the Refunite website was born! And today it is working well. Now, the brothers are trying to spread the word! The website can only help to reunite refugees if they about it. Then, a refugee can visit the website to type in his or her own information so that other people can find them. David adds:

Voice 7

‘We advise everyone not to type their full details. There is no need for you to provide information about your phone number or where you are'

Voice 1

The brothers hope that Refunite will help to reunite many of the divided refugee families and friends across the world. There are still problems to get past. One of the biggest difficulties is making it possible for refugees to use the internet! However, the Refugees United team have ideas for this too. They are speaking to major computer companies. The team hopes to encourage the companies to give equipment to refugee camps. The team are also looking at different technology. They would like to make it possible for people to reach the Refunite website from their mobile telephone.

Voice 2

Christopher and David may not be able to reduce the number of refugees in the world. But the brothers are doing their best to make lives easier for refugees. As their refugee friend Mansour said,

Voice 5

‘Knowing there is someone out there makes all the difference.'