美国国家公共电台 NPR When A Somali-American Woman Was Attacked, Support Came From An Unlikely Source

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's Friday and time for StoryCorps - and today, a story about a woman who was attacked in public and who found support from an unlikely source.

In 2015, Asma Jama was out to dinner with her family at an Applebee's in Coon Rapids, Minn. Asma, who is Somali-American and Muslim, was wearing a hijab and speaking Swahili when a woman seated nearby demanded she speak English. She then smashed¹ Asma in the face with a beer mug.

ASMA JAMA: I could see it from the doctor's face that it was really bad. I had lacerations across my chest, all over my hands and 17 total stitches².

GREENE: Asma's attacker was convicted³ of assault⁴ and jailed. After the trial, the attacker's sister, Dawn Sahr, contacted Asma online. And at StoryCorps, they met in person for the first time.

DAWN SAHR: I wanted to reach out to you so much. I just wanted to know that you were OK. That was my biggest concern.

JAMA: That was my biggest concern, too. I used to be carefree. I used to go everywhere by myself. I would say hi to strangers. But after what happened to me, I felt like I have to look over my shoulder every time I go outside.

SAHR: I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

JAMA: Did you stop talking to her because of what she did to me?

SAHR: I did, yeah.

JAMA: Why can't you forgive her?

SAHR: Because then it's telling Jodie that it's OK, and it's not OK.

Do you feel like you can't speak Swahili in public anymore?

JAMA: Yes because I realize I don't belong. I have to prove myself every single day, and - makes me feel like I had to give up a lot of who I was.

SAHR: I'm going to pray that you can eventually become that person you used to be.

JAMA: I will get there. It's going to take me a while. But for you to stand up for somebody you don't know and to say that what she did was unacceptable - that meant the world to me.

SAHR: I will support you in any possible way I can. You know, they say blood's thicker than water, and you stand behind your family no matter what. Well, you've got to draw a line somewhere. And you're my line.

JAMA: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF KAI ENGEL'S "HOPES AND DREAMS")

GREENE: That was Asma Jama with Dawn Sahr, who's the sister of the woman who attacked Asma for speaking Swahili. They spoke⁵ at StoryCorps in Minneapolis. And their interview is archived at the Library of Congress.

1 smashed   

adj.喝醉酒的v.打碎，捣烂( smash的过去式和过去分词 )；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• Several windows had been smashed. 几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。
• In time-honoured tradition, a bottle of champagne was smashed on the ship. 依照由来已久的传统，对着船摔了一瓶香槟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stitches   

n.（缝纫或编织中的）一针( stitch的名词复数 )；缝法；衣服；（缝合伤口的）缝线v.缝，缝补，缝合( stitch的第三人称单数 )；[引申]把某物连在一起

参考例句：

• Try to keep the stitches small and straight. 针脚要尽量缝得小而直。
• Knit the next two stitches together to make the garment narrower. 下两针织在一起，把衣服弄瘦点儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 convicted   

adj.已被判刑的，被宣布有罪的 动词convict的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was convicted of fraud. 他被判犯有诈骗罪。
• He was convicted at a court martial. 他在军事法庭上被判有罪。

4 assault   

v.猛烈地攻击，袭击；n.突然而猛烈的攻击

参考例句：

• She appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and assault.她因受到拐骗和侵犯人身的指控而出庭。
• The trainees were put through an assault course.受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

5 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。