美国国家公共电台 NPR A U.N. Migration Pact Is Dividing Europe — And Has Become Fodder For Nationalists

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

World leaders meet in Morocco this week and vote on a United Nations' global migration¹ compact. It is supposed to make migration more orderly and more humane³. Joanna Kakissis reports that many Europeans are not enthused.

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE⁴: To get a sense of how sympathy for asylum-seekers has waned⁵ in Europe, consider the fate of a charity-run rescue ship called the Aquarius.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Yelling in foreign language).

KAKISSIS: In the last two years, volunteers on the Aquarius rescued nearly 50,000 migrants trying to cross miles of sea between North Africa and Italy on very flimsy rafts.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Life jackets for everybody. Let's go.

KAKISSIS: But on Friday, after months of pressure from Italy's anti-immigrant government, the Aquarius was forced to stop its work. Amnesty International's Kumi Naidoo slammed the EU in a video message.

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KUMI NAIDOO: European leaders have shown where their true priorities lie. The closure of the Central Mediterranean⁶ route for refugees and migrants, even at the cost of the soaring death toll⁷ at sea...

KAKISSIS: Activists⁸ want to shame anti-immigrant nationalists in Europe.

GERALD KNAUS: Some leaders you can't shame because they openly want to change what is considered shameful⁹.

KAKISSIS: Gerald Knaus is an analyst¹⁰ in Berlin who helps EU leaders draft migration policy.

KNAUS: If you believe in human rights, in refugee rights, in humane policies, you need to actually present proposals that can be supported by majorities.

KAKISSIS: He says most Europeans want border control but with respect for human life. That's what the U.N. global migration pact² aims to do. Refugee politics specialist Anne Hammerstad calls it a guide for nations to work together.

ANNE HAMMERSTAD: It does involve wording such as the human rights of migrants and making their journey more safe, et cetera.

KAKISSIS: Europe's nationalists claim this wording proves there's a global conspiracy¹¹ to flood the continent with undocumented migrants.

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MARCEL DE GRAAFF: The compact for migration is legalisation of mass migration. It's declaring migration as a human right.

KAKISSIS: That's Marcel de Graaff, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, speaking to reporters last week.

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DE GRAAFF: So, in fact, it will become impossible to criticise¹² without being at risk to be jailed for hate speech. Criticism of migration will become a criminal offence.

KAKISSIS: Knaus calls statements like these...

KNAUS: Completely delusional¹³, but the mythology¹⁴ of a great conspiracy, which is spread in social media by far-right organizations very effectively, is becoming increasingly an important effect in European politics.

KAKISSIS: False claims about the U.N. pact have fueled the opposition¹⁵, and at least seven EU countries have refused to sign the document. It's also left to Belgium's government hanging by a thread. Matteo Villa¹⁶, a migration specialist in Italy, sees a debate disconnected from reality.

MATTEO VILLA: Migration is toxic¹⁷ right now in Europe. Here's why. Politicians have been very effective at portraying¹⁸ any number of migrants arriving by sea as an invasion.

KAKISSIS: And he expects that to keep happening even though the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the EU is at its lowest level in five years. For NPR News, I'm Joanna Kakissis.

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1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 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。

5 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

12 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

13 delusional   

妄想的

参考例句：

• You became delusional and attacked several people trying to escape. 你产生了错觉并攻击了许多人还试图逃走。 来自电影对白
• He is incoherent, delusional, suffering auditory hallucinations. 他出现无逻辑的，妄想的，幻听的症状。 来自电影对白

14 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

17 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

18 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说