美国国家公共电台 NPR Christian Leaders Question Trump's Promise To Favor Christian Refugees

 

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President Trump¹ is promising² to give priority to Christian³ refugees fleeing persecution⁴, yet some of the strongest criticism of his executive order is coming from Christian leaders themselves. Some say the temporary ban on refugees challenges the Christian ethic⁵ of welcoming the stranger. Others worry that favoring Christians⁶ over other immigrants could actually backfire. Here's NPR's Tom Gjelten.

TOM GJELTEN, BYLINE⁷: Among the Christian groups criticizing President Trump's executive order are some who've been generally friendly to him. Eight evangelical leaders, including one who prayed at his inauguration⁸, sent Trump a letter yesterday asking him to reconsider his suspension of refugee resettlement. Another clergyman who prayed to Trump's inauguration, Cardinal⁹ Timothy Dolan of New York, told reporters yesterday that the executive order at first blush causes us some apprehension¹⁰.

TIMOTHY DOLAN: But we're looking forward to studying it, and we look forward to hearing the experts who work for us in the next couple days to say, here's what it says; here's the trouble it's going to cause, and here's what we need to do about it.

GJELTEN: Dolan is a longtime Trump friend. Other Catholic leaders were much harsher in their assessment¹¹ of the executive order. That criticism from the Christian world is notable because President Trump said he'll give special attention to Christian refugees. The executive order itself doesn't mention Christians by name, saying only that members of religious minorities will be given priority treatment. But in an interview last week with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump specifically said he sees Christians as a priority because they've been horribly treated.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If you were a Christian in Syria, it was impossible, very, very - at least very, very tough to get into the United States. If you were a Muslim, you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible.

GJELTEN: Actually, now it'll be completely impossible. Under Trump's executive order, all refugees from Syria including Christians are barred from the United States indefinitely. As for refugee law generally, it's not as though someone can qualify for refugee status simply by being a Christian.

PAUL ROSENZWEIG: The core of being a refugee is having a reasonable fear of persecution.

GJELTEN: Paul Rosenzweig is a law professor at George Washington University and an official in the Department of Homeland Security under George W. Bush.

ROSENZWEIG: If you cannot demonstrate that then you're not entitled to get any status at all.

GJELTEN: It's a case-by-case determination, a Christian who wants to come to the United States but cannot demonstrate that he or she faces persecution back home will not get special treatment. Christians have been persecuted¹² widely in the Middle East, especially in areas under the control of ISIS. But even those organizations most supportive of beleaguered¹³ Christians have mixed feelings about prioritizing them over others facing persecution. David Curry¹⁴, president of Open Doors USA, worries that putting Christians in a favored category could actually make things worse for them.

DAVID CURRY: What might exacerbate¹⁵ the challenges is if this is seen and interpreted as a religious test to get into America, they'll use that as an excuse to attack Christians even further.

CURRY: Curry's organization advocates giving priority simply to those people most in need of refuge, whether Christians or minority Muslims or Yazidis. Andrew Doran, senior policy adviser¹⁶ for the Organization in Defense¹⁷ of Christians, thinks the priority should be on preserving Christian communities in the Middle East. He'd like to see more of an effort to protect them where they now live.

DOLAN: It's very important for these Syrians to be safe, protected, and the best way to this is for a U.S.-led international coalition¹⁸ to establish protected zones.

GJELTEN: As recently as last week President Trump was saying he'd support the establishment of safe zones in Syria, that proposal was in an earlier draft of his executive order but it was omitted in the final version. Tom Gjelten, NPR News, Washington.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

5 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

6 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

9 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

10 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

13 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

15 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

16 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。