美国国家公共电台 NPR Thousands Wait In Juárez, Mexico, For A Chance At Sanctuary In The U.S.

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Up and down the U.S. border, thousands in Mexico are waiting for their turn to request asylum¹ from U.S. officials. In the Mexican city of Juarez alone, authorities² say there are nearly 5,000 migrants. Long wait times and fears about changing U.S. policies have spurred³ some migrants to choose to cross illegally. Last week on one night, over a thousand people were apprehended⁴ near El Paso. Reporter Lorne Matalon was in Juarez recently and reports that city's become a destination for people fleeing conflicts and violence from all over the world.

(CROSSTALK)

LORNE MATALON, BYLINE⁵: Most of the people hunkering down in this migrant shelter are from Honduras and Guatemala, but Cubans and Venezuelans are also passing through, as well as people from at least three African countries - Angola, Uganda and Cameroon. Everyone at this shelter is waiting for their turn to request asylum at a U.S. port of entry. Florant is from Cameroon in Central Africa.

FLORANT: As soon as they get my story, they'll believe me and I'll make it there. So I have a lot of faith. That's my power.

MATALON: Florant, like other African migrants, asked that his last name not be used because he feared retribution against his family at home. He's waiting to have what's known as a credible⁶ fear interview with U.S. authorities. It's the first step in the asylum process. Tamra from Uganda says she's bracing⁷ herself for that interview.

TAMRA: It's so painful, very painful. That's why I can't even share my story.

MATALON: The waiting process begins like this - when migrants seeking asylum arrive in Juarez, they first give their names to Mexican authorities. They're given a number and put on a list - a list now more than 10,000 names long. Each day, U.S. authorities tell Mexican officials how many people will be allowed off that list, across the border for an initial⁸ hearing in El Paso.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Foreign language spoken).

MATALON: Musika from Uganda said before getting on that list, he and two friends had tried to present themselves to U.S. authorities as soon as they arrived. But they were sent back.

MUSIKA: We had to go back and then wait for a time that we are permitted to go inside.

MATALON: Some of the people in this group had flown from Nairobi, Kenya, to Brazil and then headed north through Colombia and Central America on a journey that in some cases took several months. It was a rough journey. Musika claims he was attacked by members of a street gang⁹ in Mexico City.

MUSIKA: Because of this kind of gang things, getting us because we are blacks and then we don't know the Spanish kind of thing, pulling out guns on us.

MATALON: Shelter director Juan Fierro Garcia says the long wait time has created tension¹⁰ at the shelter. Tension compounded¹¹ a few months ago when there was a threat to close the border completely.

JUAN FIERRO GARCIA: (Speaking Spanish).

MATALON: And he says that prompted¹² some migrants to leave Juarez and cross illegally. Although Africans are now part of the migrant population here, Mexican officials say the vast majority are Cubans. An analysis by the Cato Institute finds that citizens of Cuba are now among the top three nationalities making asylum requests at U.S. borders. Here in Juarez, 52-year-old Pedro Luis Tamayo said he was a dissident in Cuba. He said even if his application is rejected, he won't enter the U.S. illegally.

PEDRO LUIS TAMAYO: (Speaking Spanish).

MATALON: "Honest people don't slip in the backyard or the window," he says. "They go legally through the front door."

A few feet away, Michael from Uganda said he'd received his number on that list two days before.

MICHAEL: Twelve thousand six hundred thirty-one.

MATALON: Twelve thousand six hundred thirty-one.

MICHAEL: Yeah.

MATALON: That means at least a two month wait. Shelter director Juan Fierro says no one will be asked to leave. But given the numbers of migrants arriving here, the shelter may not have room for more.

For NPR News, I'm Lorne Matalon in Juarez.

(SOUNDBITE OF LANTERNA'S "ADRIATIC")

1 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。

2 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spurred   

adj.装有马刺的v.策（马）前进( spur的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指用马刺）策（马）加速；鞭策；策马飞奔

参考例句：

• What spurred them on was alchemy,the'science" of changing ordinary metals into gold. 激励他们的是炼金术，即把普通金属变为金子的“科学”。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was spurred on by ambition. 他胸怀大志。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

5 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。

6 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

7 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

8 initial   

adj.最初的，开始的，词首的；n.首字母，姓名的开头字母；vt.标注姓名的首字母于

参考例句：

• After she'd overcome her initial shyness,she became very friendly.她克服了起初的羞怯之后，变得十分友善。
• The experiments have given initial results eventually.那些试验总算初见成效了。

9 gang   

n.一伙，一帮；结伴的朋友

参考例句：

• The gang live abroad,beyond reach of the British police.这帮匪徒住在国外，英国警方鞭长莫及。
• Some gang came in and shot the place up.有股匪帮进来对这个地方开枪扫射。

10 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

11 Compounded   

adj.混[复]合的v.混合，组合( compound的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The heavy rain compounded the trouble of the lost hikers. 大雨增加了迷路的徒步旅行者们的困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He compounded water, sand and soil and formed bricks. 他用水拌和沙和泥土做成砖块。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 prompted   

v.为（演员）提示台词( prompt的过去式和过去分词 )；促使；为（发言者）提示；导致

参考例句：

• His evasive reply prompted me to ask another question. 他的含糊其辞的答复促使我又提了一个问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sight of the ships prompted thoughts of his distant home. 看到船使他想起遥远的家乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》