美国国家公共电台 NPR Improved U.S.-Cuba Relations Are Creating A Surge Of Cuban Migrants

Improved U.S.-Cuba Relations Are Creating A Surge Of Cuban Migrants 

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Let's go now to the Florida Keys, just 90 tantalizing² miles from Cuba. Law enforcement authorities are confronting a surge of Cuban migrants trying to make the dangerous journey by boat across the Florida Straits, the highest numbers they've seen in two decades. The Cubans know that if they manage to reach American soil, they'll be allowed to stay legally in the U.S.

But now that the U.S. and Cuba are normalizing relations, the Cubans fear their special immigration status will end soon. And that fear is fueling an ever more desperate migrant tide, as NPR's Melissa Block discovered on a trip to the Florida Keys. And she joins us with that story.

Good morning.

MELISSA BLOCK, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, Renee.

MONTAGNE: Melissa, this special immigration status that I just mentioned, that is a policy unique to Cubans?

BLOCK: That's right. It's known as the wet-foot, dry-foot policy. And here's how it works. If you are a Cuban migrant, you're trying to get to Florida and the U.S. intercepts⁵ you at sea, you have wet feet. You're considered illegal. You're sent back home. But if you make it, if you step foot on U.S. soil, you have dry feet. You can legally stay and you're put on a fast track towards citizenship⁶. And, yes, Cuba is the only country that enjoys that special status.

MONTAGNE: And that's because this policy dates back to the Cold War?

BLOCK: Right, back to the 1960s. It's a policy that was designed to protect Cubans who were fleeing political persecution⁷ under the communist Castro regime. But now the Cubans who are leaving are mostly economic migrants. They're seeking better opportunity here. And a lot of people say, look, the policy simply makes no sense anymore.

So what U.S. law enforcement is seeing with rumors⁸ that the policy might change is this huge surge of migrants. The number of Cubans trying to make the crossing to Florida has nearly doubled over the past year. And they're steering⁹ their way to American shores on makeshift boats and rafts. Some just have sails and paddles. Others, if they're lucky, have managed to salvage¹⁰ an old car engine and mounted it in the middle of the boat.

GLENN SIMPSON: So in front of us is a small wooden vessel¹¹...

BLOCK: Otherwise known as a chug. This one - painted bright blue - landed on a remote island in Dry Tortugas National Park in the Gulf¹² of Mexico, 70 miles from Key West.

SIMPSON: Came to us about 10 days ago...

BLOCK: With 12 Cubans onboard, Park manager Glenn Simpson tells me. The chug reeks¹³ of fuel. The engine flooded and drenched¹⁴ the migrants. And this boat is far more seaworthy than some.

SIMPSON: Sometimes you'll see just a rebar steel frame with spray foam¹⁵ used to create a flotation device. Makes you think about what the crossing is like and what the people who come have gone through to get here.

BLOCK: In fact, the week I visit, a crowded Cuban vessel has recently capsized off the Florida Keys. Three migrants made it to shore. Four others were found dead. Sixteen more are missing and presumed drowned.

JOHN APOLLONY: All right. Hats secure. Everything secure. Good?

BLOCK: For a view from the water, I head out on a fast boat from Key West with John Apollony. He's a marine¹⁶ interdiction¹⁷ agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

APOLLONY: Coming up.

BLOCK: It's up to agents like John Apollony to keep the Cubans out.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT ENGINE)

BLOCK: We ride through gorgeous turquoise¹⁸ waters and stop by an uninhabited island.

APOLLONY: This is the Marquesas Keys.

BLOCK: And because it's remote, this is a hotspot for Cuban migrant landings.

APOLLONY: One, two, three.

BLOCK: Apollony scans the beach through binoculars¹⁹, counting the abandoned Cuban chugs that line the shore.

APOLLONY: Eight, nine.

BLOCK: Wait a second, you just counted nine Cuban chugs on this one beach here?

APOLLONY: Yeah. I see at least nine.

BLOCK: What's driving the spike²⁰ in numbers? Dire²¹ economic conditions in Cuba, for one, but also real fear that the wet-foot, dry-foot immigration policy will end with the warming of U.S.-Cuba relations. Those coming now figure this might be their last best chance to get in before the door slams shut. And John Apollony says that means the migrants are more emboldened²² than ever.

APOLLONY: They're going to do everything to get their vessel to shore. Sometimes they'll have homemade weapons onboard - machetes, jagged oars²³. And they will, you know, swing them at you or threaten you to try to keep you away from them.

BLOCK: Border Patrol works in tandem²⁴ with the U.S. Coast Guard.

JEFF JANSZEN: My name is Capt. Jeff Janszen. I'm the commander of Sector²⁵ Coast Guard Key West. We're here in Key West, Fla.

BLOCK: Janszen figures patrolling for Cuban migrants takes up 80 percent of his sector's time and assets. Administration officials I've contacted have been tight-lipped about any potential changes to U.S. migration³ policy with Cuba. But if wet-foot, dry-foot were to end, according to Captain Jansen there is a plan to handle an eventual²⁶ Cuban exodus²⁷.

JANSZEN: We'd probably need Department of Defense²⁸ assets, Navy assets. We'd probably open up camps in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which we had to do actually in the '90s. So there is a plan in place to deal with a mass migration if it comes to that.

BLOCK: Janszen says the Cubans are so desperate, his crews have been seeing the unthinkable.

JANSZEN: You just can't make this stuff up. It's just - it's amazing to me what they'll do.

BLOCK: Some migrants will wound themselves in hopes they'll be medevaced to the U.S. and allowed to stay.

JANSZEN: They've cut themselves, they've shot themselves. We've seen them drink bleach²⁹. We've seen them drink gasoline.

KATE WEBB: Sometimes what they'll do is they'll take little nuts and bolts off the ship and occasionally they'll try to eat those, swallow them.

BLOCK: That's Lt. Kate Webb. These crews rescue many Cubans who are in real trouble - exhausted³⁰, hypothermic, dehydrated. They feed them, give them medical care and most often send them right back to Cuba. Webb got used to seeing the same faces over and over again, repeaters she calls them. She remembers one man in particular.

WEBB: Yeah. He - we dropped him off in Cabanas and he said, I'll see you in two weeks. I remember him very well (laughter).

BLOCK: And, Renee, Lt. Webb told me that she's sure that that man was going to turn right around and try to make the crossing one more time.

BLOCK: And, Melissa, when you were in Florida, you did meet with one of these repeaters?

BLOCK: That's right. His name is Yojany Pachecho, 33 years old. He finally made it to Florida on his sixth attempt. Six times, Renee, it gives you a sense of his determination to get here. He told me that this past April, he almost had made it. He was just a few miles from Key Largo³¹.

YOJANY PACHECHO: (Foreign language spoken).

BLOCK: So you could see the yachts, the boats, the cars, everything, you could see them?

PACHECHO: (Foreign language spoken).

BLOCK: But he was caught, sent back to Cuba. And he told us, I built another boat and now here I am.

MONTAGNE: Melissa, thanks very much.

BLOCK: You're welcome, Renee.

MONTAGNE: That's NPR's Melissa Block.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 tantalizing   

adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This was my first tantalizing glimpse of the islands. 这是我第一眼看见的这些岛屿的动人美景。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have only vague and tantalizing glimpses of his power. 我们只能隐隐约约地领略他的威力，的确有一种可望不可及的感觉。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 intercepts   

（数学）截距( intercept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It intercepts a portion of the light impinging on the photocell. 它遮住一部分照射在光电管上的光。
• The pelletfilter intercepts the particulate matter. 颗粒过滤器将颗粒物进行拦截。

6 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

7 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

8 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

10 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

11 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

12 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

13 reeks   

n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象）

参考例句：

• His statement reeks of hypocrisy. 他的话显然很虛伪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His manner reeks prosperity. 他的态度表现得好象有钱的样子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

16 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

17 interdiction   

n.禁止；封锁

参考例句：

• the Customs Service's drug interdiction programs 海关的毒品查禁方案
• In addition to patrol duty, blastboats are dispatched for planetary defense and interdiction missions. 除了例行巡逻，炮艇还被赋予行星防御和封锁的任务。

18 turquoise   

n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的

参考例句：

• She wore a string of turquoise round her neck.她脖子上戴着一串绿宝石。
• The women have elaborate necklaces of turquoise.那些女人戴着由绿松石制成的精美项链。

19 binoculars   

n.双筒望远镜

参考例句：

• He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
• If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。

20 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

21 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

22 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

25 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

26 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

27 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

28 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

29 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

30 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

31 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。