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PaulAKramer_2019S-_我们关于移民问题的对话已经破裂——来看看如何进行更好的对话_-
We often hear these days that the immigration system is broken. 最近,我们总是会听到有人说 移民制度已经崩溃了。
immigration:n.外来移民;移居;
I want to make the case today that our immigration conversation is broken and to suggest some ways that, together, we might build a better one. 但我今天要说,崩溃的 是我们关于移民问题的讨论, 并且我要介绍一些方法,通过 共同努力来构建更好的移民对话。
In order to do that, I'm going to propose some new questions about immigration, the United States and the world, questions that might move the borders of the immigration debate . 为此,我要提出 关于移民, 美国, 和世界的一些新问题, 这些问题可能会改变 移民争议的格局。
propose:v.建议;提议;求婚;打算; United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式) debate:n.辩论;争论;考虑;v.辩论;争论;考虑;
I'm not going to begin with the feverish argument that we're currently having, even as the lives and well-being of immigrants are being put at risk at the US border and far beyond it. 我不会在一开始就讨论 现在争论最激烈的话题—— 即使现今移民的生命 和健康都在面临威胁, 而且不只是在美国的国界上, 在更大范围内也是如此。
feverish:adj.发热的;极度兴奋的; currently:adv.当前;一般地; well-being:n.幸福;康乐; immigrants:n.移民(immigrant的复数);
Instead, I'm going to begin with me in graduate school in New Jersey in the mid-1990s, earnestly studying US history, which is what I currently teach as a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville , Tennessee . 我要先说说我在 90 年代中期的新泽西 读研究生时认真学习 美国历史的事情,这也正是 正是我目前以教授的身份 在田纳西州纳什维尔的范德堡大学 所教授的课程。
graduate school:研究所,研究院; earnestly:adv.认真地;诚挚地; Nashville:n.那什维尔(美国田纳西州首府); Tennessee:n.田纳西州(美国州名);
And when I wasn't studying, sometimes to avoid writing my dissertation , my friends and I would go into town to hand out neon-colored flyers , protesting legislation that was threatening to take away immigrants' rights. 当我不学习的时候, 有时候为了逃避写论文, 我和朋友会去镇子里, 发一些荧光色的传单, 以此抗议 可能会威胁移民权利的法规。
dissertation:n.论文,专题;学术演讲; flyers:n.飞行员;飞机乘客;地面操纵飞行器的人;(flyer的复数) protesting:v.(公开)反对;抗议;坚决地表示;申辩;(protest的现在分词) legislation:n.立法;法律;
Our flyers were sincere , they were well-meaning , they were factually accurate ... 我们的传单很真诚, 也是善意的, 而且信息准确真实......
sincere:adj.真诚的;诚挚的;真实的; well-meaning:adj.善意的;好心的; factually:adv.真实地;确实地; accurate:adj.精确的;
But I realize now, they were also kind of a problem. 但我现在意识到,某种意义上说 它们本身也是种麻烦。
Here's what they said: "Don't take away immigrant rights to public education, to medical services, to the social safety net . 传单上写着: “不要夺走移民接受教育、 享受医疗 和社会保障网络的权利。
safety net:n.安全保障;为防止人摔落而设置的安全网;
They work hard. 他们工作刻苦。
They pay taxes. 他们按规定缴税,
They're law-abiding . 他们遵纪守法。
law-abiding:adj.守法的;
They use social services less than Americans do. 他们占用的社会服务资源 比美国人占用的还少。
social services:n.社会福利制度(由当地政府组织,向困难者提供帮助的制度);
They're eager to learn English, and their children serve in the US military all over the world." 他们渴望学习英语, 他们的孩子也为 全球的美国军队效力。”
military:adj.军事的;军人的;适于战争的;n.军队;军人;
Now, these are, of course, arguments that we hear every day. 这些也是我们现在 经常能听到的观点。
Immigrants and their advocates use them as they confront those who would deny immigrants their rights or even exclude them from society. 移民及其支持者们用这些观点 来反驳那些否认移民权利, 甚至把他们排挤出社会的人。
advocates:n.拥护者; vt.主张(advocate的第三人称单数); confront:v.直面;无法回避;降临于;处理;对抗; deny:v.否定,否认;拒绝给予;拒绝…的要求; exclude:v.不包括;不放在考虑之列;防止…进入;阻止…参加;
And up to a certain point, it makes perfect sense that these would be the kinds of claims that immigrants' defenders would turn to. 在一定程度上, 我们完全可以理解 为什么移民的支持者们 会使用此类观点。
claims:v.宣称; n.声明; (claim的第三人称单数和复数) defenders:n.后卫;防御者(defender的复数);
But in the long term, and maybe even in the short term, 但是从长远来看, 甚至从短期的角度考虑,
I think these arguments can be counterproductive . 我认为这些论点 都可能适得其反。
counterproductive:adj.反生产的;使达不到预期目标的;
Why? 为什么？
Because it's always an uphill battle to defend yourself on your opponent's terrain . 因为这终归是场艰苦的战斗, 因为你得在敌人的地盘上 守护你自己。
uphill:adj.上坡的,向上的;adv.向上地;往上坡;n.上升;登高; terrain:n.[地理]地形,地势;领域;地带;
And, unwittingly , the handouts my friends and I were handing out and the versions of these arguments that we hear today were actually playing the anti-immigrants game. 而且,在不知不觉中, 我和朋友发出去的传单, 还有我们至今还能听见的 这些观点的不同版本, 正在玩一场反移民的游戏。
unwittingly:adv.不知不觉地;不知情地;不经意地; handouts:n.讲义;宣传册子,宣传品(handout的复数形式);
We were playing that game in part by envisioning that immigrants were outsiders , rather than, as I'm hoping to suggest in a few minutes, people that are already, in important ways, on the inside. 所以称作反移民的游戏, 是因为我们总想象移民是外来者, 而非在各个重要方面 都已经融入社会内部的成员, 这也是我希望在 接下来几分钟内详细介绍的。
envisioning:想像,展望(envision的现在分词); outsiders:n.[劳经]局外人,外来者(outsider复数形式);
It's those who are hostile to immigrants, the nativists, who have succeeded in framing the immigration debate around three main questions. 那些对移民 持有敌对态度的本土主义者 已经成功地构建了移民议题的框架, 主要围绕这三个问题:
hostile:adj.敌意的; n.敌对分子; framing:v.给…做框;作伪证陷害;制订;拟订;n.框架;结构;骨骼;(frame的现在分词)
First, there's the question of whether immigrants can be useful tools. 第一,移民到底能不能成为实用工具。
How can we use immigrants? 我们如何利用移民？
Will they make us richer and stronger? 他们会不会使我们更加富强？
The nativist answer to this question is no, immigrants have little or nothing to offer. 本土主义者 对这个问题的答案是,不行, 移民能对社会做出的贡献 微乎其微,甚至毫无用处。
nativist:n.先天论者;本土主义者;本土文化保护者;
The second question is whether immigrants are others. 第二个问题是, 移民到底是不是异己者。
Can immigrants become more like us? 移民能不能变得更像“我们”？
Are they capable of becoming more like us? 他们具不具备变成“我们”的能力？
capable:adj.能干的,能胜任的;有才华的;
Are they capable of assimilating ? 他们能否被同化？
assimilating:v.透彻理解;消化;吸收;(assimilate的现在分词)
Are they willing to assimilate ? 他们愿不愿意被同化？
assimilate:v.透彻理解;消化;吸收;
Here, again, the nativist answer is no, immigrants are permanently different from us and inferior to us. 本土主义者的答案同样是否定的, 移民永远与我们不同, 而且低我们一等。
permanently:adv.永久地,长期不变地; inferior:adj.较差的; n.不如别人的人;
And the third question is whether immigrants are parasites . 第三个问题是, 移民到底和我们是不是寄生关系。
parasites:n.[基医]寄生虫;[生物]寄生生物(parasite的复数);
Are they dangerous to us? And will they drain our resources ? 他们对我们有没有威胁？ 他们会不会用光我们的资源？
drain:v.排水;流干;喝光,耗尽;n.排水;下水道,排水管;消耗; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数);
Here, the nativist answer is yes and yes, immigrants pose a threat and they sap our wealth . 本地人的答案是不容质疑的肯定: 他们认为,移民会对我们造成威胁, 且吸取着我们的财富。
sap:n.[植]树液; vt.使衰竭,使伤元气; vi.挖坑道; wealth:n.财富;大量;富有;
I would suggest that these three questions and the nativist animus behind them have succeeded in framing the larger contours of the immigration debate. 我要说的是,这三个问题, 以及它们挟带的本土主义的仇恨, 已经成功地塑造了移民讨论的大框架。
animus:n.敌意;意图;基本态度;女性的男性意向; contours:n.轮廓(contour的复数); v.画等高线;
These questions are anti-immigrant and nativist at their core , built around a kind of hierarchical division of insiders and outsiders, us and them, in which only we matter, and they don't. 这些问题的核心都是反移民、本土主义的, 而且构建了一种等级制度, 创造了本地人和外来者的对立、 “我们”和“他们”的对立, 而且其中只有“我们”才重要, “他们”不重要。
anti-immigrant:反对移民; core:n.核心;要点;果心;[计]磁心;vt.挖...的核; hierarchical:adj.分层的;等级体系的; division:n.师;分配;分开;分歧; insiders:n.[劳经]内部人员(insider的复数);局内人;
And what gives these questions traction and power beyond the circle of committed nativists is the way they tap into an everyday, seemingly harmless sense of national belonging and activate it, heighten it and inflame it. 而且,在本土主义者的圈子外 仍给予这些问题力量的, 是它们以一种极其平常、 看似无害的方式利用着 人们的民族归属感, 激起它,强化它, 煽动它。
what gives:出了什么事; traction:n.牵引;[机][车辆]牵引力; committed:adj.坚信的; v.做出错事; (commit的过去分词和过去式) seemingly:adv.看来似乎;表面上看来; activate:vt.刺激;使活动;使活泼;使产生放射性;vi.激活;有活力; heighten:v.提高; inflame:vt.激怒;使燃烧;使发炎;vi.燃烧;发炎;激动;
Nativists commit themselves to making stark distinctions between insiders and outsiders. 本土主义者们总是竭力将 本地人和外来者 明确地划分开。
distinctions:区别;卓越;特质;荣誉;区分;
But the distinction itself is at the heart of the way nations define themselves. 但是这种划分本质上取决于 一个国家如何自我定义。
define:v.定义;使明确;规定;
The fissures between inside and outside, which often run deepest along lines of race and religion, are always there to be deepened and exploited . 所谓“内部”和“外部”之间的裂隙 常常延伸到诸如种族、 宗教的深层因素中, 而且总是被别有用心者 深化并利用着。
fissures:n.裂纹(fissure的复数形式); v.(使)分裂(fissure的第三人称单数形式); deepened:v.加强,变强烈;(使)变糟,恶化,严重;(使)变深;(deepen的过去分词和过去式) exploited:v.剥削;压榨;运用;利用;发挥(exploit的过去分词和过去式)
And that potentially gives nativist approaches resonance far beyond those who consider themselves anti-immigrant, and remarkably , even among some who consider themselves pro-immigrant. 这还给了本土主义方针 潜在的支持者, 其中远不只有自认为 是反对移民的人, 甚至还在很大程度上 涵盖了支持移民的人。
potentially:adv.可能地,潜在地; approaches:v.靠近,接近; n.方式,方法,态度; resonance:n.[力]共振;共鸣;反响; remarkably:adv.非常;极为;格外;出乎意料地
So, for example, when Immigrants Act allies answer these questions the nativists are posing , they take them seriously. 举个例子,在移民法案的支持者 回答本土主义者提出的问题时, 他们确实把这些问题当回事了。
allies:n.盟友,支持者:v.与…结盟(ally的第三人称单数和复数) posing:v.造成;引起;产生;提问;摆好姿势;(pose的现在分词)
They legitimate those questions and, to some extent , the anti-immigrant assumptions that are behind them. 他们会将这些问题合理化, 同时在某种程度上, 将这些问题背后的反移民思想 也合理化了。
legitimate:adj.合法的;正当的;合理的;正统的;v.使合法;认为正当(等于legitimize); extent:n.程度;范围;长度; assumptions:n.假定;假设;承担;获得;(assumption的复数)
When we take these questions seriously without even knowing it, we're reinforcing the closed, exclusionary borders of the immigration conversation. 当我们无意识地开始重视这些问题时, 我们就把移民问题封闭、 排外的交流界限 进一步强化了。
reinforcing:vt.加强(reinforce的ing形式); exclusionary:adj.排他的;
So how did we get here? 我们是怎么走到这一步的？
How did these become the leading ways that we talk about immigration? 这些又是怎么变成 我们讨论移民问题的主要方式的？
Here, we need some backstory , which is where my history training comes in. 这里,我们需要一些背景故事。 这也是我的历史学科背景 发挥作用的时候。
backstory:背景故事;
During the first century of the US's status as an independent nation, it did very little to restrict immigration at the national level. 美国在成为独立国家的第一个世纪中, 它几乎没有在国家层面限制移民。
status:n.地位;状态;情形;重要身份; independent:adj.独立的; n.无党派议员(或候选人等); restrict:v.限制;约束;阻碍;束缚;
In fact, many policymakers and employers worked hard to recruit immigrants to build up industry and to serve as settlers , to seize the continent . 事实上,很多政策制定者 和老板都努力地 吸收移民、 建立产业, 以移民者身份做贡献, 充分利用美洲大陆的发展机会。
policymakers:n.决策人;(policymaker的复数) employers:n.雇主;雇用者;(employer的复数) recruit:n.新兵; v.吸收(新成员); (通过招募)组成; settlers:n.移民;殖民者;(settler的复数) seize:v.抓住;夺取;理解;逮捕; continent:n.大陆,洲,陆地;adj.自制的,克制的;
But after the Civil War, nativist voices rose in volume and in power. 但是在内战之后, 本土主义的声浪渐渐增强, 变得更有分量。
Civil:adj.公民的;民间的;文职的;有礼貌的;根据民法的; volume:n.体积;容积;音量;响度;一册;合订本
The Asian, Latin American, Caribbean and European immigrants who dug Americans' canals, cooked their dinners, fought their wars and put their children to bed at night were met with a new and intense xenophobia , which cast immigrants as permanent outsiders who should never be allowed to become insiders. 来自亚洲、拉丁美洲、 加勒比地区和欧洲的移民, 即便帮助了美国开凿运河, 帮他们做了晚饭, 替他们打了仗, 悉心照顾了他们孩子, 仍遭遇了新一轮 强烈的仇外心理。 这让移民变成了永远的“局外人”, 并且永远不能 成为这个国家的“局内人”。
Caribbean:adj.加勒比海的;加勒比人的;加勒比语的;n.加勒比海; intense:adj.强烈的;紧张的;非常的;热情的; xenophobia:n.仇外;对外国人的畏惧和憎恨;
By the mid-1920s, the nativists had won, erecting racist laws that closed out untold numbers of vulnerable immigrants and refugees . 1920 年代中期,本土主义者大获全胜, 建立了种族主义的法律, 将不计其数的 弱势的移民和难民拒之门外。
erecting:v.建筑;竖立;使…直立(erect的ing形式); racist:n.种族主义者;种族主义的; untold:adj.数不清的;未说过的;未透露的;无限的; vulnerable:adj.易受攻击的,易受…的攻击;易受伤害的;有弱点的; refugees:n.避难者;逃亡者;难民;(refugee的复数)
Immigrants and their allies did their best to fight back, but they found themselves on the defensive , caught in some ways in the nativists' frames . 移民和他们的支持者 尽了全力回击, 但最后还是发现自己处于被动一方, 被困在本土主义者 所建立的话语框架中。
defensive:n.辩护;守势;adj.防御的;保护的;保卫的;戒备的; frames:n.[计][电子][通信]帧,[电影]画面;[建][计]框架;眼镜架(frame的复数);
When nativists said that immigrants weren't useful, their allies said yes, they are. 当本土主义者说 移民者毫无用处时, 他们的支持者说, 不,他们有用。
When nativists accused immigrants of being others, their allies promised that they would assimilate. 当本土主义者指责移民 成为异己分子时, 他们的支持者保证 他们会被社会同化。
accused:v.控告;控诉;谴责;(accuse的过去分词和过去式)
When nativists charged that immigrants were dangerous parasites, their allies emphasized their loyalty , their obedience , their hard work and their thrift . 当本土主义者指控移民是 危险的寄生虫时, 他们的支持者又强调 他们的忠诚、恭顺、 勤奋和节俭。
emphasized:v.强调,着重(emphasize的过去式); loyalty:n.忠诚;忠心;忠实;忠于…感情; obedience:n.顺从;服从;遵守; thrift:n.节俭;节约;[植]海石竹;
Even as advocates welcomed immigrants, many still regarded immigrants as outsiders to be pitied , to be rescued , to be uplifted and to be tolerated , but never fully brought inside as equals in rights and respect. 就算有倡导者欢迎移民, 很多人仍然把移民当作异己分子, 只能被可怜,被拯救, 被激励, 被忍受, 但是从未被平等地、 有尊严地完全接纳。
pitied:n.怜悯,同情;遗憾;vt.对…表示怜悯;对…感到同情; rescued:v.营救;援救;抢救;(rescue的过去分词和过去式) uplifted:adj.上升的;举起的;v.提高;抬起(uplift的过去分词形式); tolerated:v.容许;忍受;包容;有耐受性;(tolerate的过去式和过去分词)
After World War II, and especially from the mid-1960s until really recently , immigrants and their allies turned the tide , overthrowing mid-20th century restriction 在第二次世界大战之后, 尤其是从 1960 年代中期至今, 移民及其的支持者们 逆转了这股洪流, 推翻了二十世纪中期的限制,
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; recently:adv.最近;新近; tide:n.潮汐; v.顺应潮水航行; overthrowing:v.推翻;打倒;赶下台;(overthrow的现在分词) restriction:n.限制;约束;束缚;
and winning instead a new system that prioritized family reunification , the admission of refugees and the admission of those with special skills. 并且赢得了优先考虑家庭团聚、 接纳难民、 接纳有特殊技能的人的新体制。
prioritized:v.优先化(prioritize的过去分词); reunification:n.重新统一;重新团结; admission:n.入场费;进入权;招供;门票费;
But even then, they didn't succeed in fundamentally changing the terms of the debate, and so that framework endured , ready to be taken up again in our own convulsive moment. 但是就算如此, 他们还是没有从根本上 改变辩论的主题, 导致讨论框架仍在延续, 而且随时会伴着 我们的惊骇被再次提起。
fundamentally:adv.从根本上;基础地;重要地 endured:v.忍耐;忍受;持续;持久;(endure的过去分词和过去式) convulsive:adj.抽搐的;惊厥的;震动的;起痉挛的;
That conversation is broken. 关于移民问题的讨论已经破裂。
The old questions are harmful and divisive . 那些老旧的问题是有害的、分裂的。
divisive:adj.分裂的;区分的;造成不和的;
So how do we get from that conversation to one that's more likely to get us closer to a world that is fairer, that is more just, that's more secure? 那么我们如何才能 从破裂的交流中走出来, 进入新的交流,好让我们 更有可能朝着一个更加公平、 更加正义、 和更加安全的世界迈进一步？
I want to suggest that what we have to do is one of the hardest things that any society can do: to redraw the boundaries of who counts, of whose life, whose rights and whose thriving matters. 我想要说的是,我们现在要做的, 是任何社会都最难做到的事情之一: 重新规划界限—— 重新决定谁重要, 重新决定谁的生命、权利 和繁荣发展重要。
redraw:vt.重画; boundaries:n.边界;分界线;(boundary的复数) thriving:v.兴旺发达;繁荣;旺盛;茁壮成长;(thrive的现在分词)
We need to redraw the boundaries. 我们需要重新规划这些界限。
We need to redraw the borders of us. 我们需要重新定义“我们”的范围。
In order to do that, we need to first take on a worldview that's widely held but also seriously flawed . 为此,我们首先需要 接纳一种被广泛采纳, 却有着严重缺陷的世界观。
worldview:n.世界观; flawed:adj.有缺陷的;有瑕疵的;有裂纹的;
According to that worldview, there's the inside of the national boundaries, inside the nation, which is where we live, work and mind our own business. 根据这种世界观, 国家有国境线内部、国家内部, 即我们生活,工作 和过自己日子的地方。
According to:根据,据说;
And then there's the outside; there's everywhere else. 然后国家有“外部”:所有其它地方。
According to this worldview, when immigrants cross into the nation, they're moving from the outside to the inside, but they remain outsiders. 根据这种世界观, 当移民跨境进入一个国家时, 他们从国家“外面”来到“内部”, 但他们也只是“外来者”。
Any power or resources they receive are gifts from us rather than rights. 他们获得的任何权力或资源 都是我们给的礼物,而非权利。
Now, it's not hard to see why this is such a commonly held worldview. 我们不难理解为什么 这种世界观如此普遍。
It's reinforced in everyday ways that we talk and act and behave , down to the bordered maps that we hang up in our schoolrooms . 它被我们日常 说话、做事和行动的方式所强化, 其中甚至还包括我们挂在教室里的、 划分了国境的地图。
reinforced:adj.加固的;加强的;加筋的;v.加强;增援;(reinforce的过去式和过去分词) behave:v.表现;(机器等)运转;举止端正;(事物)起某种作用; schoolrooms:n.教室;(schoolroom的复数)
The problem with this worldview is that it just doesn't correspond to the way the world actually works, and the way it has worked in the past. 这个世界观的问题是, 它与世界实际的运作方式, 还有其以前的运作方式 已经脱节了。
correspond:vi.符合,一致;相应;通信;
Of course, American workers have built up wealth in society. 诚然,美国本土劳动者 在社会中积累了财富。
But so have immigrants, particularly in parts of the American economy that are indispensable and where few Americans work, like agriculture. 但是移民也一样, 特别是在美国经济 一些不可或缺, 而且少有美国人工作的领域, 例如农业。
particularly:adv.特别地,独特地;详细地,具体地;明确地,细致地; economy:n.经济;节约;理财; indispensable:adj.不可缺少的;绝对必要的;责无旁贷的;n.不可缺少之物;必不可少的人;
Since the nation's founding, 自美国建国以来,
Americans have been inside the American workforce . 美国国民一直在 美国劳动人口的“内部”。
workforce:n.劳动大军;全体员工;
Of course, Americans have built up institutions in society that guarantee rights. 诚然,美国人已经建立了 可以保障权利的 社会机构。
institutions:n.机构;慈善机构;风俗习惯,制度;(institution的复数) guarantee:n.保证;担保;保证人;保证书;抵押品;v.保证;担保;
But so have immigrants. 但移民也是如此。
They've been there during every major social movement, like civil rights and organized labor, that have fought to expand rights in society for everyone. 所有重大社会运动中 都有他们的身影, 例如争取公民权和工会的过程, 为扩展每个人的社会权利而斗争。
civil rights:na.公民权; organized:adj.有组织的; v.组织; (organize的过去分词和过去式) expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开;
So immigrants are already inside the struggle for rights, democracy and freedom. 所以,移民早已在斗争过程的“内部”, 与其他人一起争取权利、民主和自由。
democracy:n.民主,民主主义;民主政治;
And finally , Americans and other citizens of the Global North haven't minded their own business, and they haven't stayed within their own borders. 最后,美国国民和 北半球其他发达国家的公民 并未只关注自己的生活, 而且没有只留在自己国家境内。
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; Global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的;
They haven't respected other nations' borders. 他们并未尊重 其他国家的边境线,
They've gone out into the world with their armies, they've taken over territories and resources, and they've extracted enormous profits from many of the countries that immigrants are from. 而是他们已经带着自己的军队 向这个世界进发; 他们已经接管了领土和资源, 他们从那些移民的原属国 获得了巨大的利润。
territories:n.地区;领土;边疆区(territory的复数); extracted:adj.萃取的;引出的;v.提取(extract的过去式及过去分词); enormous:adj.庞大的,巨大的;凶暴的,极恶的; profits:n.利润; v.获益; (profit的第三人称单数和复数)
In this sense, many immigrants are actually already inside American power. 从这种意义上说,许多移民 实际上已经在美国管辖“内部”了。
With this different map of inside and outside in mind, the question isn't whether receiving countries are going to let immigrants in. 只要我们心里有这种 展现不一样的“内部”和“外部”的地图, 问题就不在于国家 会不会允许移民进入。
They're already in. 他们已经进去了。
The question is whether the United States and other countries are going to give immigrants access to the rights and resources that their work, their activism and their home countries have already played a fundamental role in creating. 问题是,美国和其他国家 是否会允许移民们 获得本国的权利和资源, 尽管移民们的工作、 对权利的积极争取,还有他们的祖国 在本国构建权利和资源的过程中 已经扮演了重要角色。
activism:n.行动主义;激进主义;
With this new map in mind, we can turn to a set of tough, new, urgently needed questions, radically different from the ones we've asked before -- questions that might change the borders of the immigration debate. 心里有了这张新地图, 我们可以开始处理一系列艰难的、 迫切需要解决的新问题, 它们完全不同于 我们之前曾问过的那些—— 这些问题可能会改变 移民讨论话题的边界。
urgently:adv.迫切地;紧急地;急切地; radically:adv.根本上;彻底地;以激进的方式;
Our three questions are about workers' rights, about responsibility and about equality. 我们的三个问题 关乎劳工的权利, 关乎责任, 关乎平等。
First, we need to be asking about workers' rights. 首先,我们需要问有关 劳工权利的问题。
How do existing policies make it harder for immigrants to defend themselves and easier for them to be exploited, driving down wages , rights and protections for everyone? 现有政策如何 增加了移民保卫自己的难度, 使他们更容易被剥削, 还威胁了所有人的薪酬、 权利与应受的保护？
policies:n.政策;方针;原则;为人之道;保险单(policy的复数) wages:n.[劳经]工资; v.开展(运动等)(wage的第三人称单数形式);
When immigrants are threatened with roundups , detention and deportations , their employers know that they can be abused , that they can be told that if they fight back, they'll be turned over to ICE. 当移民面对着围捕、 监禁和驱逐出境的威胁, 他们的雇主知道他们可以被压迫, 还可以告诉他们, 如果他们反击, 就会被交给移民局。
roundups:n.综述;集拢;围捕;摘要; detention:n.拘留;延迟;挽留; deportations:n.驱逐出境;放逐;遣送回国;(deportation的复数) abused:v.滥用(以致危害健康); (abuse的过去分词和过去式)
When employers know that they can terrorize an immigrant with his lack of papers, it makes that worker hyper-exploitable, and that has impacts not only for immigrant workers but for all workers. 当雇主知道, 自己能以身份证明材料不足为由 恫吓移民劳工, 移民劳工便极易被剥削了。 而且,这不仅会影响到移民, 更会影响所有劳工。
terrorize:vt.使…恐怖;vi.实施恐怖统治; impacts:n.影响; v.有影响,有作用;
Second, we need to ask questions about responsibility. 其次,我们要问责任的问题。
What role have rich, powerful countries like the United States played in making it hard or impossible for immigrants to stay in their home countries? 像美国这样发达的国家, 在令移民难以乃至无法 留在原属国的过程中, 扮演了怎样的角色？
Picking up and moving from your country is difficult and dangerous, but many immigrants simply do not have the option of staying home if they want to survive. 从自己的国家搬出来 是困难而危险的, 但是很多移民为了生存, 根本没有 留在家里的选项。
option:n.选择;可选择的东西;
Wars, trade agreements and consumer habits rooted in the Global North play a major and devastating role here. 植根于发达国家的 战争、贸易协定和消费习惯 具有毁灭性作用,承担了主要责任。
consumer:n.[经]消费者;[生,生态]消费者; devastating:adj.毁灭性的; v.毁灭; (devastate的现在分词)
What responsibilities do the United States, the European Union and China -- the world's leading carbon emitters -- have to the millions of people already uprooted by global warming ? 像美国、欧盟和中国这样 世界主要的碳排放国家, 在全球变暖迫使数以百万计的人 背井离乡的过程中 又应承担怎样的责任？
European Union:n.欧洲联盟; carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; emitters:n.发射器;排放者;发射源;[物]发射体(emitter的复数); uprooted:vt.根除,连根拔起;迫使某人离开出生地或定居处;vi.迁离;改变生活方式; global warming:n.全球(气候)变暖;地球大气层变暖;
And third, we need to ask questions about equality. 第三,我们需要问有关平等的问题。
Global inequality is a wrenching , intensifying problem. 全球不平等的现象导致民不聊生, 而且这种情况还在加剧。
wrenching:n.苗木铲根;修截苗根;v.猛扭;歪曲;抢取(wrench的ing形式); intensifying:v.加紧,加剧;加强;增强(intensify的现在分词);
Income and wealth gaps are widening around the world. 收入和财富差距 在世界范围内都有所扩大。
gaps:n.差异,缺口;缝隙(gap的复数形式);v.裂开;使豁裂(gap的第三人称单数形式); widening:v.(使)变宽;拓宽;(使)扩展,程度加深,范围扩大;(widen的现在分词)
Increasingly , what determines whether you're rich or poor, more than anything else, is what country you're born in, which might seem great if you're from a prosperous country. 在当今世界,决定你是 富人还是穷人的 首要因素, 是你出生于哪个国家。 如果你生在富裕国家, 感觉似乎不错,
Increasingly:adv.越来越多地;渐增地; determines:v.查明;测定;准确算出;决定;裁决;安排;(determine的第三人称单数) prosperous:adj.繁荣的;兴旺的;
But it actually means a profoundly unjust distribution of the chances for a long, healthy, fulfilling life. 但这实际上意味着极度的不公平: 实现长寿,健康,充实的人生的 机会分布极不平衡。
profoundly:adv.深刻地;深深地;极度地; unjust:adj.不公平的,不公正的;非正义的; distribution:n.分布;分配;分发;分销; fulfilling:adj.让人感觉有意义的; v.实现; (fulfill的现在分词)
When immigrants send money or goods home to their family, it plays a significant role in narrowing these gaps, if a very incomplete one. 移民向其家庭汇款、 邮寄生活用品的过程 在缩小这些差距上 起着重要的作用, 甚至是唯一的作用因素。
significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; incomplete:n.未完成;adj.不完整的;不完全的;不完善的;
It does more than all of the foreign aid programs in the world combined. 它的作用甚至比世界上 所有移民帮扶项目 加起来产生的作用还要大。
We began with the nativist questions, about immigrants as tools, as others and as parasites. 我们最开始从本土主义的问题出发, 探讨了移民的工具性、 异己性 与寄生性。
Where might these new questions about worker rights, about responsibility and about equality take us? 而这些探讨了劳工的权利、 责任 和平等的新问题 又把我们领向何处呢？
These questions reject pity, and they embrace justice . 这些问题拒绝怜悯,拥抱公平正义。
reject:v.排斥;拒收;拒绝接受;不予考虑;n.废品;次品;不合格者;被剔除者; embrace:n.拥抱,怀抱;v.拥抱;乐意采纳(思想、建议等);信奉;包括; justice:n.公平;公正;司法制度;审判;
These questions reject the nativist and nationalist division of us versus them. 这些问题拒绝本土主义、民粹主义 对“我们”和“他们”的割裂。
nationalist:n.民族主义者; adj.民族主义的(等于nationalistic); versus:prep.对;与...相对;对抗;
They're going to help prepare us for problems that are coming and problems like global warming that are already upon us. 这些问题将帮我们 为即将出现的问题做好准备, 也帮我们为全球变暖这种 已经存在的问题做好了准备。
It's not going to be easy to turn away from the questions that we've been asking towards this new set of questions. 摒弃我们长久以来所问的问题 并接受这些新问题 不会轻松。
It's no small challenge to take on and broaden the borders of us. 挑战并扩大 “我们”的范围是个不小的挑战。
broaden:v.加宽;变宽;(broaden的现在分词)
It will take wit, inventiveness and courage. 这个过程需要智慧、创造力和勇气。
inventiveness:n.创造性;发明的才能;
The old questions have been with us for a long time, and they're not going to give way on their own, and they're not going to give way overnight . 我们在旧的问题上纠缠已久, 它们不会自行解决, 也不会在一夜之间消失。
overnight:adj.夜间的; v.在夜间; n.(美)前一天的晚上;
And even if we manage to change the questions, the answers are going to be complicated , and they're going to require sacrifices and tradeoffs . 即使我们设法改变了这些问题, 答案将会非常复杂, 且需要牺牲与权衡。
complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式) sacrifices:n.牺牲,损失; v.牺牲,损失(sacrifice的单三形式); tradeoffs:n.权衡;折衷;(公平)交易(等于trade-off);
And in an unequal world, we're always going to have to pay attention to the question of who has the power to join the conversation and who doesn't. 在不平等的世界里, 我们必须时刻注意 谁拥有参与移民讨论的能力, 而谁没有。
unequal:adj.不平等的;不规则的;不胜任的;n.不等同的事物; pay attention to:注意
But the borders of the immigration debate can be moved. 但是移民辩论的边界 可以被修正,
It's up to all of us to move them. 而修正它们的责任 就落在我们每个人身上。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）