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SayuBhojwani_2016S-_移民的声音使民主更强大_
Good evening. 晚上好。
My journey to this stage began when I came to America at the age of 17. 我登上这个舞台的旅程 从我那时候我17岁 到美国开始。
journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行;
You see, I'm one of the 84 million Americans who are immigrants or children of immigrants. 我是美国公民中 八千四百万移民者 或是移民者的孩子之一。
immigrants:n.移民(immigrant的复数);
Each of us has a dream when we come here, a dream that usually has to be rewritten and always has to be repurposed . 我们每个人都心怀梦想来到美国, 一个通常会被改变 和不断调整的梦想。
repurposed:vt.改换意图;重新目的化;
I was one of the lucky ones. 我是幸运儿中的一个,
My revised dream led me to the work I do today: training immigrants to run for public office and leading a movement for inclusive democracy . 我改变的梦想使我拥有这份现在工作: 培训移民去竞选公共职位 和领导包容民主制的运动。
revised:v.改变;修改;复习;温习;(revise的过去分词和过去式) inclusive:adj.包括的,包含的; democracy:n.民主,民主主义;民主政治;
But I don't want you to think it was a cakewalk , that America opened its arms wide and welcomed me. 但是我不希望你认为 让美国敞开怀抱迎接我很简单。
cakewalk:n.步态竞赛,一种步态舞;易如反掌之事;vi.举行步态竞赛;
It's still not doing that. 至今都不是这样。
And I've learned a few lessons along the way that I wanted to share with you, because I think that together we can make American democracy better and stronger. 这一路来我学到了一些事情 我想和你分享, 因为我认为共同努力, 我们可以让美国的民主 更好更强大。
I was born in India, the world's largest democracy, and when I was four, my family moved to Belize , the world's smallest democracy perhaps. 我出生在印度, 印度是世界上最大的民主国, 然后在我四岁时 我的家庭移居伯利兹, 可能世上最小的民主国。
Belize:n.伯利兹城(拉丁美洲国家);
And at the age of 17, 在我17岁那年,
I moved to the United States, the world's greatest democracy. 我搬到到了美国, 世界上最伟大的民主国,
United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
I came because I wanted to study English literature . 我踏上这片土地是为了学习英语文学,
literature:n.文学;文献;文艺;著作;
You see, as a child, I buried my nose in books, and I thought, why not make a living doing that as an adult? 小时候我很喜欢看书, 然后我想,长大后为什么不以此为生呢？
make a living:谋生,维持生活;
But after I graduated from college and got a graduate degree, 但是当我大学毕业, 拿到了学位证书后,
I found myself moving from one less ideal job to another. 我发现我的工作一个比一个更不理想。
Maybe it was the optimism that I had about America that made me take a while to understand that things were not going to change. 可能是我对美国的乐观态度, 让我好一阵子后才明白, 事情是不会被改变的。
optimism:n.乐观;乐观主义;
The door that I thought was open was actually just slightly ajar — this door of America that would open wide if you had the right name, the right skin color, the right networks, but could just slam in your face if you had the wrong religion, the wrong immigration status , the wrong skin color. 我曾经以为打开的那扇门, 其实只留了一些缝隙, 这扇美国大门 会敞开,如果你拥有对的名字, 对的肤色, 对的人脉, 但也可以毫不留情地关上, 如果你信奉错的宗教, 是移民身份, 拥有错的肤色,
slightly:adv.些微地,轻微地;纤细地; ajar:adj.半开的;微开的;不和谐的;adv.半开地;微开地;不协调地; slam:v.(使…)砰地关上; n.猛关(或推,摔,撞等); in your face:挑衅;咄咄逼人的; immigration:n.外来移民;移居; status:n.地位;状态;情形;重要身份;
And I just couldn't accept that. 我无法接受这些,
So I started a career as a social entrepreneur , starting an organization for young people like myself — 因此我开启了社会企业家的生涯, 创立一个组织,为像我一样的年轻人,
career:n.职业;事业;生涯;经历; entrepreneur:n.企业家;承包人;主办者; organization:n.组织;机构;体制;团体;
I was young at the time that I started it — who traced their heritage to the Indian subcontinent . 那时候我还很年轻, 为了到南亚次大陆寻根的年轻人,
traced:v.发现;追踪;追究;描绘;记述;(trace的过去分词和过去式) heritage:n.遗产;传统;继承物;继承权; subcontinent:n.次大陆;
In that work, I became and advocate for South Asians and other immigrants. 这个事业,我成为了南亚人以及其他移民者的发声人,
advocate:v.拥护;支持;提倡;n.支持者;提倡者;辩护律师;出庭辩护人; Asians:adj.亚洲的;亚洲人的;n.亚洲人;
I lobbied members of Congress on policy issues . 我在政策方面说服议员,
lobbied:v.游说(从政者或政府);(lobby的过去分词和过去式) Congress:n.国会;代表大会;会议;社交; policy:n.政策,方针;保险单; issues:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;(issue的第三人称单数和复数)
I volunteered on election day to do exit polling . 我自愿在选举日做投票站调查。
volunteered:v.自愿做;义务做;自愿参军;(volunteer的过去分词和过去式) polling:n.投票;民意测验;v.获得(票数);对…进行民意调查;(poll的现在分词)
But I couldn't vote, and I couldn't run for office. 但是我不能投票,也不能竞选职位。
So in 2000, when it was announced that the citizenship application fee was going to more than double 所以在2000年,当政府宣布 申请美国公民的费用将要翻一倍多
citizenship:n.[法]公民身份,公民资格;国籍;公民权; application:n.应用;申请;应用程序;敷用;
I decided it was time to apply before I could no longer afford it. 我决定在我法承担费用前申请。
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求; afford:v.给予,提供;买得起;
I filled out a long application, answering questions about my current and my past affiliations . 我填了一份长篇的申请, 回答关于我现在以及过去的亲属关系的问题。
affiliations:n.联盟;附属机构;加入(affiliation的复数);
And once the application was submitted , there were fingerprints to be taken, a test to study for, endless hours of waiting in line. 当申请书被提交上去后, 我还需要录入指纹, 完成一个测试, 无尽的排队。
submitted:v.提交;顺从;投降;表示;认为;建议;(submit的过去分词和过去式) fingerprints:n.[法][特医]指纹(fingerprint的复数); v.取…的指印(fingerprint的三单形式); endless:adj.无止境的;连续的;环状的;漫无目的的;
You might call it extreme vetting . 你可以称这是严格的检验。
extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物; vetting:v.审查;仔细检查,审查;(vet的现在分词)
And then in December of 2000, 到了2000年的12月份
I joined hundreds of other immigrants in a hall in Brooklyn where we pledged our loyalty to a country that we had long considered home. 我和上百其他移民, 来到了布鲁克林的一个大厅, 在这里我们宣誓 忠诚于这个我们早已认为是家的国家。
pledged:v.保证给予(或做);正式承诺;抵押(pledge的过去分词和过去式) loyalty:n.忠诚;忠心;忠实;忠于…感情;
My journey from international student to American citizen took 16 years, a short timeline when you compare it to other immigrant stories. 我从国际学生到美国公民的旅程花了16年, 比较其他移民,算是短的了。
timeline:n.时间轴,时间线;大事年表; compare:v.比较;对比;n.比较;
And soon after I had taken that formal step to becoming an American, the attacks of September 11, 2001, changed the immigration landscape for decades to come. 在我正式成为 美国公民后不久, 2001年9月11号的袭击, 改变了移民几十年的命运。
formal:adj.适合正式场合的; n.(美)须穿礼服的社交集会; (口)夜礼服; landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境;
My city, New York City, was reeling and healing , and in the midst of it, we were in an election cycle. 我的城市,纽约, 踌躇着,恢复着, 期间, 我们正在选举,
reeling:v.踉跄;摇摇晃晃地挪动;蹒跚;感到震惊;(reel的现在分词) healing:n.康复; adj.痊愈中的; v.(使)康复,复原; (heal的现在分词) midst:n.当中,中间;prep.在…中间(等于amidst);
Two things happened as we coped with loss and recovery in New York City. 发生了两件事情, 当我们适应纽约的损失和恢复时,
coped:vi.处理;对付;竞争;n.长袍; recovery:n.恢复,复原;痊愈;重获;
Voters elected Michael Bloomberg mayor of New York City. 选民选举迈克尔彭博当纽约市长。
mayor:n.市长;镇长;
We also adopted by ballot referendum the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York. 我们也通过投票记名的方式 成立了纽约市移民事务局。
adopted:adj.被收养的;被采用的;v.采用;接受;(adopt的过去式和过去分词); ballot:n.投票;投票用纸;投票总数;vi.投票;抽签决定;vt.使投票表决;拉选票; referendum:n.公民投票权;外交官请示书;
Five months after that election, the newly elected mayor appointed me the first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs for this newly established office. 选举后的五个月, 新上任的市长 指名我成为移民局这个新成立的机关 的第一个局长。
appointed:adj.(时间)指定的,约定的; v.任命; (appoint的过去分词和过去式) Commissioner:n.理事;委员;行政长官;总裁; established:adj.已确立的;著名的;v.建立;创立;设立;(establish的过去分词和过去式)
I want you to come back to that time. 我想让你追溯到那个时候。
I was a young immigrant woman from Belize. 我是一个年轻的伯利兹女性移民。
I had basically floundered in various jobs in America before I started a community-based organization in a church basement in Queens. 我基本上在美国挣扎着做过几份工作 在我开始一个社区机构之前 在皇后区的一个教堂地下室。
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; floundered:vi.挣扎,折腾;错乱地做事或说话;n.挣扎,辗转;比目鱼; community-based:adj.社区的;以社区为基础的;
The attacks of September 11 sent shock waves through my community. 911的袭击震惊了我的社区。
People who were members of my family, young people I had worked with, were experiencing harassment at schools, at workplaces and in airports . 我的家人,我工作过的年轻人, 都遭受侵扰, 在学校,在工作场所,在机场。
harassment:n.骚扰;烦恼; workplaces:n.[管理]工作场所(workplace的复数); airports:n.[航]机场;[航]航空港(airport的复数形式);
And now I was going to represent their concerns in government. 然而现在我要在政府 表达他们的顾虑。
represent:v.代表;表现;描绘;回忆;再赠送; concerns:n.关注; v.使关心(concern的三单形式);
No job felt more perfect for me. 没有工作能比这更完美了。
And here are two things I learned when I became Commissioner. 我当局长学会了两件事,
First, well-meaning New Yorkers who were in city government holding government positions had no idea how scared immigrants were of law enforcement . 第一,在纽约市政府工作的善良的公职人员, 完全不知道移民对法律的实施 有多么害怕。
well-meaning:adj.善意的;好心的; enforcement:n.执行,实施;强制;
Most of us don't really know the difference, do we, between a sheriff and local police and the FBI. 绝大多数人并不知道 治安官,地方警察和FBI的区别。
sheriff:n.州长;郡治安官;执行吏;
And most of us, when we see someone in uniform going through our neighborhoods feel curiosity , if not concern. 大多数人,当我们看到穿着制服的人 走过我们的社区 我们会感到好奇。
uniform:adj.统一的;一致的;相同的;始终如一的;n.制服;v.使穿制服;使成一样; curiosity:n.好奇,好奇心;珍品,古董,古玩;
So if you're an undocumented parent, every day when you say goodbye to your child, send them off to school and go to work, you don't know what the chances are that you're going to see them at the end of the day. 所以如果你是一个未注册的父母, 每天当你对你的孩子说再见, 送他们到学校或去工作, 你不知道你会不会 在那天结束再看到他们。
undocumented:adj.无事实证明的;无正式文件的;
Because a raid at your workplace, a chance encounter with local police could change the course of your life forever. 因为一个对你工作场所的突然袭击, 可能遇见一个地方警察 可能永远改变你的人生。
raid:n.袭击;突击;(军舰等的)游击;(盗贼,狐等的)侵入;v.袭击(警察)抄查; encounter:v.遭遇,邂逅;遇到;n.遭遇,偶然碰见;
The second thing I learned is that when people like me, who understood that fear, who had learned a new language, who had navigated new systems, when people like us were sitting at the table, we advocated for our communities' needs in a way that no one else could or would. 我学会的第二件事是当像我一样的, 能够体会那种恐惧, 学会了一种新语言,体验过新体制的人 我们代表着其他人没有的社区需求。
navigated:vt.驾驶,操纵;使通过;航行于;vi.航行,航空; advocated:vt.提倡,主张,拥护;n.提倡者;支持者;律师;
I understood what that feeling of fear was like. 我知道那种恐惧的感觉,
People in my family were experiencing it. 我家里的人正在经历这种恐惧。
Young people I had worked with were being harassed , not just by classmates, but also by their teachers. 我工作的年轻人被骚扰, 不仅仅被同学, 还被他们的老师。
harassed:adj.疲惫焦虑的;v.侵扰;骚扰;不断攻击(敌人);(harass的过去分词和过去式)
My husband, then boyfriend, thought twice before he put a backpack on or grew a beard because he traveled so much. 我的丈夫,男朋友, 会在背上包或者蓄胡子之前三思, 因为他逃亡的太多了。
What I learned in 2001 was that my vote mattered but that my voice and vantage point also mattered. 我在2001年学到我的选票很重要, 但是我的声音和地位也很重要。
vantage point:n.(观察事物的)有利地点;(尤指考虑旧时事物的)有利时刻;
And it's these three things — immigrants' votes, voices and vantage points — that I think can help make our democracy stronger. 这三件事, 移民的选票,声音和地位 我认为能够帮助使我们的民主更强大。
We actually have the power to change the outcome of elections, to introduce new issues into the policy debate and to change the face of the pale, male, stale leadership that we have in our country today. 我们有能力 改变选举的结果, 在政策辩论中引入新话题, 并改变我们国家现在有的 白色,男性,一成不变的领导人。
outcome:n.结果,结局;成果; debate:n.辩论;争论;考虑;v.辩论;争论;考虑; stale:v.走味; adj.不新鲜的; n.囮子;
So how do we do that? 所以我们该怎么做？
Well, let's talk first about votes. 我们先来说说投票。
It will come as no surprise to you that the majority of voters in America are white. 美国大多数选民都是白人, 这不会让你感到惊讶。
majority:n.大部分:大多数:多数票:成年人:
But it might surprise you to know that one in three voters are black, Latino or Asian. 但是你可能会吃惊,当你了解到 三分之一的选民是黑人,拉丁美洲裔,或亚洲人。
Latino:adj.拉丁美洲的;拉丁美洲人的;n.拉丁美洲人;
But here's the thing: it doesn't just matter who can vote, it matters who does vote. 但事情是这样的, 不仅谁能投票重要,谁投了票也很重要。
So in 2012, half of the Latino and Asian-American voters did not vote. 所以在2012年,一半的拉丁美洲裔和亚裔美国人 没有投票。
And these votes matter not just in presidential elections. 这些选票不仅对总统选举重要,
presidential:adj.总统的;首长的;统辖的;
They matter in local and state elections. 还对当地和州选举重要。
In 2015, Lan Diep, the eldest son of political refugees from Vietnam, ran for a seat in the San Jose City Council . 在2015年,兰迪普, 越南政治难民最年长的儿子, 竞选圣荷西市城市议员。
eldest:adj.最年长的;年事最高的(old的最高级);n.最年长者; refugees:n.避难者;逃亡者;难民;(refugee的复数) Council:n.(市、郡等的)政务委员会;市政(或地方管理)服务机构;
He lost that election by 13 votes. 他13票失去了那场竞选。
This year, he dusted off those campaign shoes and went back to run for that seat, and this time he won, by 12 votes. 今年,他卷土重来, 重新竞选那个位置, 这次他以12票赢得了竞选。
Every one of our votes matters. 每一个选民都很重要。
And when people like Lan are sitting at the policy table, they can make a difference . 当像兰这样的人能够制定政策时, 他们能够做出改变。
make a difference:有影响,有关系;
We need those voices. 我们需要那些声音。
We need those voices in part because American leadership does not look like America's residents . 我们需要那些声音 部分因为美国的领导人 长得不像美国居民。
residents:n.居民;住院医生;房客;(resident的复数)
There are over 500,000 local and state offices in America. 在美国有50万个地方和州政府官职。
Fewer than 2 percent of those offices are held by Asian-Americans or Latinos , the two largest immigrant groups in our country. 低于2%的政府官职是亚裔美国人或拉丁美洲裔, 我们国家的最大的两个移民群体。
Latinos:n.拉丁美洲人(Latino的复数);
In the city of Yakima, Washington, where 49 percent of the population is Latino, there has never been a Latino on the city council until this year. 在华盛顿州的雅基马, 49%的人口是拉丁美洲裔, 直到今年都没有一个拉丁美洲裔城市议员。
Three newly elected Latinas joined the Yakima City Council in 2016. 2016年三个新竞选的拉丁美洲裔加入了雅基马城市议会。
One of them is Carmen Méndez. 其中之一是卡门蒙德滋。
She is a first-generation college student. 她是第一代大学学生。
first-generation:adj.出生在美国的;原件第一代;
She grew up partly in Colima, Mexico, and partly in Yakima, Washington. 她在墨西哥克利马州 和华盛顿州雅基马长大。
She's a single mother, a community advocate. 她是一个单亲妈妈,一个社区倡导者。
Her voice on the Yakima City Council is advocating on behalf of the Latino community and of all Yakima residents. 她在雅基马城市议会的声音 代表着拉丁美洲裔社区, 和所有雅基马居民。
advocating:v.拥护;支持;提倡;(advocate的现在分词) on behalf of:代表;为了;
And she's a role model for her daughter and other Latinas. 她是她女儿和其他拉丁美洲裔的 道德模范。
role model:n.榜样;崇拜对象;
But the third most untapped resource in American democracy is the vantage point that immigrants bring. 美国民主第三大未使用的资源 就是移民带来的有利地位。
untapped:adj.未开发的;未使用的;塞子未开的; resource:n.资源;资料;才智;财力;v.向…提供资金(或设备);
We have fought to be here. 我们为了来到这里斗争。
We have come for economic and educational opportunity. 我们为了经济和教育机会来到这里。
economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的; educational:adj.教育的;有关教育的;有教育意义的
We have come for political and religious freedom. 我们为了政治和宗教自由来到这里。
religious:adj.宗教的;虔诚的;严谨的;修道的;n.修道士;尼姑;
We have come in the pursuit of love. 我们为了追求爱情来到这里。
in the pursuit of:追求;为了追求;
That dedication , that commitment to America we also bring to public service . 那个宣誓典礼, 那个对美国的承诺, 也把我们带向公众服务。
dedication:n.奉献;献身;(建筑物等的)落成典礼;(书、音乐或演出前部的)献词; commitment:n.承诺;投入;保证;许诺; public service:n.公共事业;公营事业;公益事业(或服务);政府;
People like Athena Salman, who just last week won the primary for a seat in the Arizona State House . 像雅典娜萨尔曼一样的人, 上周刚刚赢得亚利桑那州 议会位置的初选。
Arizona:n.美国亚利桑那州; State House:n.(美国)州议会大厦;
Athena's father grew up in the West Bank and moved to Chicago, where he met her mother. 雅典娜的父亲在约旦河西岸长大, 搬到芝加哥, 他遇到了她的母亲。
Her mother is part Italian, part Mexican and part German. 她的母亲有意大利, 墨西哥和德国血统。
Together they moved to Arizona and built a life. 他们一起搬到亚利桑那州生活。
Athena, when she gets to the statehouse , is going to fight for things like education funding that will help give families like hers a leg up so they can achieve the financial stability that we all are looking for. 雅典娜,当她入驻州议会时, 会为像教育资金这样 能够帮助家庭的事情奋斗, 这样那些家庭能够实现 他们寻求已久的经济平衡。
statehouse:n.州议会的议场;州议会大厦; funding:n.基金;资金;提供资金;v.为…提供资金;拨款给;(fund的现在分词) financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; stability:n.稳定性;坚定,恒心;
Immigrants' votes, voices and vantage points are what we all need to work to include in American democracy. 移民的选票,声音和地位 是我们要共同努力使其包括在美国民主中。
It's not just my work. It's also yours. 这不仅只是我的任务,也是你的。
And it's not going to be easy. 而且这不会很简单。
We never know what putting a new factor into an equation will do. 我们永远不知道 在等式中加入什么变量能够完成这个任务。
factor:n.因素;要素;[物]因数;代理人;v.做代理商;v.把…作为因素计入; equation:n.方程式,等式;相等;[化学]反应式;
And it's a little scary. 而且还有点令人害怕。
You're scared that I'm going to take away your place at the table, and I'm scared that I'm never going to get a place at the table. 你害怕我会在政府里夺走你的位置, 然而我害怕我永远不会成为政府公职人员。
And we're all scared that we're going to lose this country that we know and love. 我们都害怕 我们会失去这个我们熟悉和热爱的国家。
I'm scared you're going to take it away from me, and you're scared I'm going to take it away from you. 我害怕你会从我手中夺走它, 你害怕我会从你手中夺走它。
Look, it's been a rough election year, a reminder that people with my immigration history could be removed at the whim of a leader. 听着,今年是一个困难的竞选年, 跟我一样的移民 会被领导人的一时兴起而驱逐。
whim:n.奇想;一时的兴致;怪念头;幻想;
But I have fought to be in this country and I continue to do so every day. 但是我曾为了这个国家奋斗过, 每天我也会继续这样做。
So my optimism never wavers , because I know that there are millions of immigrants just like me, in front of me, behind me and all around me. 我的乐观不会消失, 因为我知道有百万像我一样的移民, 在我身前,身后和身边。
wavers:n.匀墨辊; v.摇摆;
It's our country, too. 这也是我们的国家。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （鼓掌）