VOA慢速英语2015 巴黎帐篷营地是寻求庇护的难民问题的一个标志

AS IT IS 2015-03-05 Paris Tent Camp a Sign of Troubles Facing Asylum¹ Seekers 巴黎帐篷营地是寻求庇护的难民问题的一个标志

Paris is known as the City of Lights. But it is also home to many refugees. About 40 percent of people seeking asylum in France live in Paris. Many of them live on the streets.

Rights activists² have sharply criticized the country’s treatment of asylum seekers. The most recent criticism came from the Council of Europe, Europe’s top rights group.

French lawmakers are now considering a plan to improve the asylum process. Activists say the asylum issues in France can also be found in other European Union nations. They say the EU’s hardening position toward illegal immigration has hurt those who truly need shelter.

Many people visit the Montmartre neighborhood in Paris. But few visitors ever see an area about 1.6 kilometers from Montmartre. It has a busy overpass³ that houses a collection of small, dirty tents. The Paris Metropolitan⁵ Area, or Metro⁴, transport system operates over the bridge. Trains pass below.

Most of the people living in this tent camp come from East Africa. Everyone has a different story. But nobody wanted to live on this bridge, with no home and, for now, no future.

Twenty-four-year-old Mikias says he was a student in Ethiopia’s capital before leaving the country in 2013. He spoke⁶ with reporter Lisa Bryant.

“Why did you leave Ethiopia?”

“Because we had a political war. Like you know, (the) ethnic⁷ group Oromo? Well, I’m Oromo.”

Mikias says he asked for asylum in France and received papers. He is waiting for a final meeting on his request with French officials. That meeting is set for six months from now. Until then, he is stuck in this tent camp.

Twenty-five-year-old Prasi says he also was a student. He formerly⁸ lived in the Darfur area of Sudan. He says he left the area because the government would not leave him alone. So he crossed the desert to Libya and joined a large number of people on a small boat. But the boat broke in the Mediterranean⁹ Sea. He says the Coast Guard rescued the passengers and brought them to Europe.

Rights activists have heard the stories many times before. France has Europe’s second largest number of asylum seekers, after Germany.

Jean-Francois Dubost is the head of Amnesty International France’s Uprooted¹⁰ People’s Program. He says many asylum seekers go to Paris.

“That explains (why) there is a huge problem of reception conditions, housing and accommodation for these people. And that’s why we can find places where they are just living everywhere, in places where there is nothing.”

Asylum seekers are not meant to live on the streets. Under French law, the government is required to give asylum seekers a place to stay while their claims are processed. The European Union also sets rules that governments must meet. But for now, France simply does not have enough places to house all the asylum seekers.

Eric Lejoindre is the top official in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, where the tent camp is found. He says things must change.

“They come from countries where it’s impossible to live. And up to today, we haven’t had problems of violence or theft … but the campment can’t stay. The campment can’t stay because it’s not a place to live.”

A bill in the French parliament aims to fix some of the problems. It would cut in half the time to process asylum requests to about nine months.

“I think it’s important that France … stays a place where people who seek refuge can find refuge. But everything can’t be concentrated around Paris, and the country as a whole has to be part of the asylum policy. And that’s the whole point of the reform which is being passed in parliament.”

Amnesty International’s Jean-Francois Dubost says there are good parts of the bill. But he also has concerns.

“The whole spirit of the law proposed by the French government is quite oriented into the fight against false refugees. And this is our great concern. The spirit isn’t going the right way.”

Rights activists say resisting refugees is a problem in other parts of Europe. The U.N. refugee agency says it is worried about reports that some E.U. countries have blocked the entry or forcibly returned asylum seekers and refugees.

Back at the camp on the bridge, the asylum seekers say they do not trust the political system. They are instead counting on hope – and a long wait.

Words in This Story

asylum – n. political protection given by a government to a person from another country

rights – n. what a person legally and morally should be able to do or have

transport – adj. moving people or goods from one place to another

camp – n. a place with temporary housing

passengers – n. people travelling by airplane, train, boat or car who are not the pilot or driver

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 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 overpass   

n.天桥，立交桥

参考例句：

• I walked through an overpass over the road.我步行穿过那条公路上面的立交桥。
• We should take the overpass when crossing the road.我们过马路应走天桥。

4 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

5 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

6 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。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

9 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

10 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》