VOA新闻杂志2022--偷渡移民讲述德克萨斯州高温卡车中的生存故事

Migrant Tells Story of Survival¹ in Hot Truck in Texas

Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás was one of the migrants found trapped in an abandoned trailer in very hot conditions in the U.S. state of Texas last week.

Simple advice from a friend to stay near the door may have saved her life. Fifty-three others died.

Cardona Tomás spoke² to The Associated Press by telephone from her hospital bed on Monday. She is from Guatemala's capital and is 20 years old. She said it was already hot on June 27 when she entered the trailer on the Texas side of the U.S. border with Mexico where she had been waiting.

She said the smugglers took their cellphones and covered the trailer's floor with what she believes was powdered chicken seasoning⁴. The seasoning was possibly used to hide people's smell from dogs used by law enforcement officials at the border. As she sat inside the crowded trailer with many others, the powder hurt her skin.

Cardona Tomás said a friend told her to stay near the door where it would be cooler. She shared the advice with another friend she had made during the trip.

"I told a friend that we shouldn't go to the back and should stay near (the entrance), in the same place without moving," said Cardona Tomás. She is being treated at a hospital in San Antonio. The friend survived, too.

As the truck moved on, it made stops to pick up more migrants. People also gathered near the door like Cardona Tomás. She had no way to know the time.

"The people were yelling⁵, some cried. Mostly women were calling for it to stop and to open the doors because it was hot, that they couldn't breathe," she said.

The truck continued making additional stops. It was moving slowly just before she passed out. She woke up in the hospital.

She said the driver or someone else at the front of the truck yelled⁶ back that "we were about to arrive, that there were 20 minutes left, six minutes."

"People asked for water, some had run out, others carried some," she said.

The driver and three others were arrested and charged by U.S. officials.

Guatemala's Foreign Ministry⁷ has said that 20 Guatemalans died in the incident, 16 of whom have been identified.

Cardona Tomás said the truck was going to Houston, but she was headed to North Carolina.

Mynor Cordona is her father. He said Monday in Guatemala City that "she didn't have a job and asked me if I would support her" in migrating⁸ to the U.S. He said he knew of other cases of children who left without telling their families and ended up lost or dead.

He paid $4,000 for a smuggler³ to take her to the U.S. She left Guatemala on May 30, traveling in cars, buses and finally the trailer in Texas.

"I didn't know that she would travel in a trailer," he said. "She told us it would be by foot. It seems like at the last moment the smugglers decided⁹ to put (her) in the trailer, along with two more friends, who survived. One of them is still in critical condition."

Cordona had been communicating with his daughter up until the morning of June 27.

It was not until late that night that Cardona Tomás' family learned of the trailer. It was two more days before relatives in the United States confirmed that she was alive and in the hospital.

"We cried so much," Cordona said. "I even was thinking where we were going to have the wake and bury her. She is a miracle."

Words in This Story

abandoned — adj. left without help or support

smuggler — n. a person who moves goods or people from one country to another secretly and illegally

powder — n. a substance made of very fine pieces like dust

seasoning — n. something added to food to improve its taste

passed out –v. to fall asleep or become unconscious

wake — n. a gathering¹⁰ to remember someone who has died

miracle — n. an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God

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1 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

2 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。

3 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

4 seasoning   

n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物

参考例句：

• Salt is the most common seasoning.盐是最常用的调味品。
• This sauce uses mushroom as its seasoning.这酱油用蘑菇作调料。

5 yelling   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The coach stood on the sidelines yelling instructions to the players. 教练站在场外，大声指挥运动员。
• He let off steam by yelling at a clerk. 他对一个职员大喊大叫，借以发泄怒气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 migrating   

v.迁移，移往( migrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mudflats offer a winter home to thousands of migrating swans. 泥滩成为成千上万只迁徙的天鹅越冬的场所。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many Asians are migrating to the West. 许多亚洲人移民去了西方国家。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。