美国国家公共电台 NPR Refugees Leave The U.S. In Hopes Of Better Treatment in Canada

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Let's follow more of the trail of refugees who flee the United States. Some choose to go to Canada out of concern about President Trump¹'s immigration ideas. Last month, we took you to the border where people originally from war-torn countries have been crossing North.

It's often a dangerous and snowy crossing from upstate New York to Quebec, where Canadian authorities arrest them. Today, North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann has the story of what happens next.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE²: A group of men stand outside a drab YMCA hostel³ in downtown Montreal, smoking cigarettes and enjoying the warm spring sun. This place is part of a system of shelters for refugees coming into Canada from all over the world.

MOHAMMED AHMED: My name is Mohammed Ahmed. I'm from Pakistan.

MANN: Ahmed spent a year in New Jersey⁴, but says he was afraid he would be detained and separated from his wife and two children.

AHMED: The Trump policy, he was just deporting⁵ the guys over there. We didn't see any future there, so that's why we came over.

MANN: These days, a growing number of refugees arrive in Canada after first living for a time in the U.S. Canadian officials say more than 2,500 people crossed the border in January and February alone, seeking asylum⁶.

Ahmed's family walked across last month just north of Plattsburgh, N.Y. After being briefly⁷ detained, the family was allowed to go free and given a voucher⁸ to live at the YMCA. Ahmed says he no longer feels hounded or like a criminal.

AHMED: Canada is the best place. They give us the shelters. My lawyer, she's being paid by the government. Everyone in here in the YMCA and the immigration office, they help us a lot.

MANN: Ahmed says he was receiving death threats back home in Pakistan, so he's confident he'll be allowed to stay in Canada.

FRANCINE DUPUIS: (Speaking French).

MANN: Across town, Francine Dupuis’ Montreal office is busy with new immigrants to Canada, many of them refugees. She's leading the government-funded effort to resettle the wave of asylum seekers arriving in Quebec from the U.S.

DUPUIS: We're managing them now. We're not overwhelmed because we've been used to waves. We've had the Mexican wave, Kosovo wave and more recently the Syrian wave.

MANN: The treatment of immigrant families here is starkly⁹ different when compared to the U.S. Those seeking refugee status are unlikely to be detained for more than a day or two, even if they entered the country illegally or came originally from Muslim countries.

Newcomers are quickly vetted¹⁰ by border agents. If they're found to have criminal records, they're deported¹¹. But Dupuis says the vast majority of families are encouraged to begin settling in Canada, even while their applications for refugee status are being decided¹².

DUPUIS: They get their card, their Medicare card. We've registered their children in schools. They have a nonpermanent work permit. The basics are taken care of.

MANN: She acknowledges that some Canadians are uncomfortable with the latest surge of refugees. A debate is growing here over the question of how many newcomers Canada should welcome. But Dupuis predicts that most of the asylum seekers fleeing the U.S. will be allowed to stay.

Just a few weeks after crossing the border illegally, Mohammed Ahmed says his family's life is already totally different. They're looking for an apartment. And he's trying to find a job and maybe go back to school.

AHMED: I'm a graduate. So further on, I am planning to have some diplomas in management so that I can have a good or better future.

MANN: A last note about Mohammed Ahmed's family. His 3-month-old son was born while they were still in New Jersey. So while they look for a more secure and prosperous future in Canada, one member of the family will remain a U.S. citizen. For NPR News, I'm Brian Mann.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 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。

3 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

9 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

10 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

11 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。