美国国家公共电台 NPR--Sending asylum-seekers from Britain to Rwanda is human trafficking, an advocate says

Sending asylum-seekers from Britain to Rwanda is human trafficking, an advocate says

Transcript¹

Great Britain's plan to send asylum-seekers from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere on a plane to Rwanda constitutes human trafficking, an activist² argues.

Nearly a dozen people were scheduled to board a flight Tuesday, but the flight was halted after last-minute injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights.

Immigrant rights advocates had mounted legal challenges to stop the deportations. Responding to the court, U.K. officials said they would attempt to move forward with more flights. "Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now," said Home Secretary Priti Patel.

More court battles over the policy are expected in the coming weeks.

British officials argue the flights are an effort to reduce the demand and incentives⁴ for human traffickers bringing asylum-seekers into the country illegally by boat, which puts refugees' lives at risk.

Karen Doyle, the national organizer for immigrant rights organization Movement for Justice, calls it "obfuscation⁵ and lies" to call the deportations a humanitarian⁶ move.

"These asylum-seekers, we expect multiple suicide attempts in the coming 24 hours," Doyle told Morning Edition before the injunctions were announced. "Because they're being told they're being sent thousands of miles away to a country that they have no connection to."

Instead, Doyle argues, this is part of an effort by the government to distract from its own ongoing⁷ troubles. Those include COVID restriction-busting parties at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's residence, ongoing messiness regarding Brexit rules for Northern Ireland, and an announcement on Tuesday that Scotland would pursue another vote on separating from Great Britain.

"They throw some red meat to their racist⁸ base and hope it distracts from their corruption⁹ and failures," she said.

And the effort likely will fail, Doyle said: The problems in the refugees' home countries will keep them from returning, and a similar effort by Israel in 2014 resulted in all rerouted asylum-seekers using the same human trafficking networks and either returning to Europe or getting enslaved in Libya.

And Rwanda is a troubling destination, Doyle added, noting that police there recently fired on and killed protesting refugees in 2018. The BBC reports that the country, which has a population of about 13 million, already is home to 150,000 refugees from other African nations.

If it's allowed to move forward, the deportation³ effort could send a signal to leaders around the world.

"If Britain gets away with it, other countries are going to try as well," Doyle said.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 obfuscation   

n.昏迷，困惑；发暗

参考例句：

• Only pedants believe in the advantage of obfuscation. 只有书呆子才相信使人困惑会有好处。 来自辞典例句
• An automated way to get shorter names is to use obfuscation tools. 自动获取短名字的办法就是使用混淆工具。 来自互联网

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。