美国国家公共电台 NPR Native American Leader: 'A Wall Is Not The Answer'

Native American Leader: 'A Wall Is Not The Answer'

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A Native American tribe whose land extends along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border says President Trump¹'s proposed border wall would devastate² its community. The Tohono O'odham Nation says it has 34,000 enrolled³ members. Some live on tribal⁴ lands in southwestern Arizona. Some live in Mexico. While they already have to contend with some barriers that tear apart their nation, they say a wall would be different.

VERLON JOSE: It would be as I, say, if I walked into your home and felt that your home was not safe, but I want to build a wall right smack⁵ in the middle of your home. And let me divide your family. And in order for go from one end of your house to the other, you would have to go through me.

GREENE: That's Verlon Jose. He's the vice⁶ chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation. Now, there's this. He opposes building a wall, but Jose says he also understands firsthand why it's important to deter⁷ migrants from crossing that border illegally.

JOSE: We have a ranch⁸ a few miles just north of the international border, and they come by the ranch way too often. There's been a decrease over the years, but they still come by. And if we're not there - my cousin, who takes care of the ranch - they'll break in and help themselves to food and water. Or if we're there, they get water, they go on their way.

GREENE: And how do you feel about that?

JOSE: Well, Tohono O'odham, we've always been hospitable⁹ people, even with the first European contact. So that's just our thing. Nowadays, a lot of drugs are being involved and so forth¹⁰. They seem to just want to go in and destroy your homes. And that's where we feel that we're being disrespected and that we're being violated by these migrant crossers. But at the same time, there are two probably different groups of people that come through the border. You got the migrants that are coming, that looking for the American dream, and then you got those who are hauling drugs.

GREENE: So when we hear President Trump talking about the need to increase security and to stop migrants from crossing the border illegally because, the president argues, some of them are dangerous, some of them are bringing drugs into the United States - I mean, you share that concern?

JOSE: We share that concern, but a wall is not the answer.

GREENE: Why not?

JOSE: Facts will tell you that the majority of those things are coming through ports of entry. So that's why we believe that a border wall in or on the Tohono O'odham Nation is not the answer.

GREENE: We had a Republican congressman¹¹ from Alabama, Gary Palmer, on our show recently. And he said, you know, even if this is not a route we're talking about that is used often by people who are dangerous, it only takes one person getting through to carry out a terrorist attack that could kill hundreds, even thousands, of people in the United States. I mean, can your tribal police, working with border agents, really do as much as a wall could do?

JOSE: I believe that working together, we can do more. Technology is a key. Right now, they're proposing the Integrated Fixed¹² Towers. That's a virtual wall that's going to be out there that will be the eyes out there that a human eye can't see. And so that's why we believe that a wall would not work. Yes, one terrorist could come through there. But look at all the tragedies that happen in America. And I have not done any research on this in myself. But if you look at it, how many of those devastations that America has faced, with the shootings and so forth, are caused by people coming across the border? It's America killing¹³ America.

GREENE: Mr. Vice Chairman, thank you so much for your time.

JOSE: Thank you.

GREENE: Verlon Jose is vice chair of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

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 devastate   

v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒

参考例句：

• A few days before,a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.几天前，温莎城堡的大部分被一场大火烧毁。
• Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis,which devastate coastal regions.地震还引发海啸，它直接破坏海岸地区。

3 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

8 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

9 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。