美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-12-19

 Tonight new information about a former U.S. Marine¹ who has been in prison in Mexico since August. His name is Johnny Hammar. He is 27 years old and until recently his story hasn’t been known outside of his immediate² family, but now his parents are speaking out and you’re going to hear from them in a moment while I interview them. Their son’s story is finally getting the kind of traction³ that his parents hope will help bring him home. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson brought Hammar’s plight⁴ to the Senate floor yesterday. 

 

“Bring this Marine home Mexican government and now that you have a new president just installed in Mexico, the relations with United States are especially important to treat the United States citizens who are response peaceful in their intent, innocent in their observation of the Mexican laws. Where no harm has been done, send that U.S. Marine back to America and back to his family in Miami. “

 

Well, Senator Nelson spoke⁵ for nearly six minutes vowing⁶ to keep pressing for Hammar’s release. So how did he end up in prison to begin with? Frankly⁷, the deeper we dig into the story, it gets kind of stranger and stranger. Like many other veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, Johnny Hammar has struggled post traumatic stress disorder⁸, a lifelong surfer. He finds peace on the water riding waves. So after completing a PTSD treatment program last summer, he set off to go on a surfing trip to Costa Rica and that’s when his life took a terrifying turn. Here’s Gary Tuchman. 

 

Johnny Hammar is an American war veteran. He was a Marine serving in the Infantry⁹ in Afghanistan and Iraq. He decided¹⁰ to drive with a fellow Marine from Florida in a Winnebago, all the way through Mexico to Costa Rica for a surfing vacation. Johan and Olivia Hammar are Johnny’s parents. 

 

“I mean, he had been there before and surfed. I mean, they took every single decent board they had.”

 

So he was looking forward to a cool trip, driving in there. I mean, he knew it was Mexico, but he wasn’t planning on staying in Mexico. 

 

No, they were going to drive through. The only reason they stopped was to get more gas. 

 

His parents were concerned when he said he wanted to bring an antique Sears & Roebuck shot gun. His great-grandfather once owned. One that looks just like this. His parents said he wanted to be able to hunt with it. They said he got the proper forms from U.S. border agents to declare it. But once he did declare it, the nightmare began. 

 

How far was he from the United States of America when he was arrested?

 

He was on the border. He was crossing the border. 

 

So he was…

 

He was not…

 

40 feet away from America? 

 

Or less

 

Johnny Hammar’s friend was released, but Johnny was brought to this jail in Matamoras, Mexico, charged with violating Mexico’s strict gun laws. His parents say they were told the jail is largely controlled by Mexican drug cartels members. A few nights after Johnny was imprisoned¹¹, his parents got a call from someone threatening to kill their son unless the parents paid money. 

 

So then, he said, I have your son, and he said I’m going to F him up and he said, and I already have. And for some stupid reason, my response was, oh, no, I’m gonna call the consulate¹². And he put Johnny on the phone, and I just, I couldn’t believe it. I just, then I realized, I was like, oh, my god, and I really thought he wasn’t in the prison. I thought, someone has taken him out of the prison. Because, I just couldn’t conceive of this going on in a government facility. 

 

Olivia, what did Johnny tell you?

 

He said, mom, you need to do whatever they say. And he said, they’re really serious. 

 

The Hammars never heard from the caller again. Although the U.S. consulate has known about this from the beginning, Johnny’s parents kept the story out of the press. Scared that attention could be bad for their son, but increasingly desperate they are speaking out now. 

 

The longer we go in with him in there, the greater chance is that he is not going to get out alive. 

 

The Hammar’s congresswoman is Illena Ros-Lehtinen who heads up the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The family has just informed her about this. 

 

This is outrageous¹³ and I’m asking for the State Department to be more proactive. I’ve communicated with them. I’ve communicated with our U.S. ambassador in Mexico. This week I meet with the Mexican ambassador to the United States, and enough is enough. 

 

Their son had looked forward to a surfing vacation. Now he’s passed the four-month mark in a Mexican prison. He talked to his parents on the phone Friday.

 

I said, Johnny, we’re going to get you out. And he said, mom, you’ve been telling me that since August.

1 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。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

4 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

7 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

10 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。

11 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

12 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

13 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。