美国国家公共电台 NPR--Mohammed Amer's new series explores the tragedy and comedy in the refugee experience

Mohammed Amer's new series explores the tragedy and comedy in the refugee experience

Transcript¹

It's a story comedian² Mohammed Amer says he's had in his head for two decades and started writing nine years ago. Now, on Wednesday, Mo will be out on Netflix.

Co-created by Amer and Ramy Youssef, the show is a semi-autobiographical look at the trauma³ of displacement⁴. Amer's family was forced to leave home and travel to another part of Palestine in the 1940s. They were displaced again to Kuwait and then again in the 1990s during the Gulf⁵ War. He and his family ended up in a suburb of Houston as refugees.

"It speaks to a second generation statelessness, right? And the ripple⁶ effect that happens from being stateless," he told Morning Edition.

Amer finds the comedy and tragedy in his family's tale. He explores the way the wounds that come from being forced from your homeland by war and occupation are passed down, as his character navigates⁷ a 20-year journey through the asylum⁸ process in the U.S.

"Once you're waiting for your asylum to be granted, you're just out there, no home on paper," he said. "All a person like that wants is to feel like he belongs, and feel like they're seen, and feel like they're equal to their other human counterparts."

While his character is in immigration limbo⁹, he can't legally work. He has no papers. So he resorts to working under the table and hawking¹⁰ knock-off luxury goods to support his family. Then he ends up getting addicted¹¹ to codeine after he has to be treated for a gunshot wound at a tattoo¹² parlor¹³ because he doesn't have health insurance.

Amer, who stars in the show, is quick to point out the codeine addiction¹⁴ is not real. There are many dramatic flourishes of this story based on his life for comedic or storytelling purposes.

The show looks at what can be the American experience: gun violence, a broken healthcare system, and a broken immigration system that puts people in the position of having to skirt the law.

"It's tragic¹⁵. It's heartbreaking. It almost forces you to do illegal things while you're trying to be an upstanding citizen," he said.

The backdrop of this dramedy is the Houston suburb where Amer grew up.

"Alief is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in America, 80 languages are spoken there," he said.

Houston was the only place Amer wanted to film this story. He wanted the show to look like an "urban western." The city is its own character with a rich mix of cultures and languages.

"Houston's incredible, and it's been an exporter of phenomenal artists for many years," he said. "There's something in the water there, for sure."

Mo showcases those Houston stars. Amer's character, Mo Najjar, has a best friend played by Nigerian American rapper Tobe Nwigwe. There are cameos by rappers Bun B as a Catholic priest, and Paul Wall as a courthouse security guard.

Amer's Palestinian, Houstonian, American and Muslim roots are all on full display. His character carries a little glass bottle of Palestinian olive oil around in his pocket. He's on a mission to stop the awful things being done to hummus in the U.S., like chocolate hummus — "a war crime," he calls it.

He switches from a Texas twang, to Spanish to Arabic seamlessly. He blasts hip¹⁶ hop¹⁷ from his car then brims with excitement over the traditional Zaffa (wedding procession) at a friend's nuptials¹⁸, and cries at his father's grave as he recites a Muslim prayer.

It's heartbreaking, heartwarming, hilarious¹⁹ and tragic all at the same time.

While Amer's story is a singular experience of a Palestinian family in Houston, it also has a universal relatability.

Before he wrote the show, he talked to his mother about telling their family story. He asked her to tell him more about what his family went through, including the things she protected him from when he was a child. But first he explained why he wanted to portray²⁰ that on screen for a global audience.

"'Millions of people are going to relate to this and it can empower them to better their lives. And also people who didn't go through it can relate to it and have empathy for it,'" he recounted telling his mother. "Once we had that conversation, she just opened up completely. It was just incredible to understand the strength of this woman, but also get some better understanding about my family as well, our experiences and what makes us who we are today."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

3 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

4 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

7 navigates   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的第三人称单数 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• Dolpins also navigates by some kind of echo system. 原来海豚也是借助某种回声系统寻向的。 来自辞典例句
• Navigates in menus, lists, choice screens and into edited texts. 可以操纵菜单、列表、屏幕选项和进入编辑文本。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

10 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

11 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

12 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

13 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

14 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

15 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

16 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

17 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

18 nuptials   

n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their nuptials were performed by the local priest. 他们的婚礼由当地牧师主持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• If he married, when the nuptials would take place, and under what circumstances? 如果他结婚，那么什么时候举行婚礼？在什么情况下举行婚礼？ 来自辞典例句

19 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

20 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？