欧洲移民危机引发问题

Issues Collide Over Europe’s Migrant Crisis 欧洲移民危机引发问题

Europe’s migrant crisis has brought the situation of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict or seeking a better life to the world’s attention.

The migration¹ has put pressure on the border security of many nations. It has raised concerns in countries receiving refugees about religious differences. In addition, there are concerns that militants² could use the refugee movements to enter other countries.                    

Europe seeks “compulsory³” measures

On Wednesday, the European Parliament approved an emergency plan to relocate 40,000 refugees. Jean-Claude Juncker is the president of the European Commission. He said to the parliament, “We Europeans should never forget why giving refuge and complying with fundamental right of asylum⁴ is so important.”

The European Commission president called on EU member states to resettle 160,000 refugees. Mr. Juncker said the settlement of refugees and migrants in the 22 member states must be “compulsory.”

Migrant arrival points and campsMigrant arrival points and camps

The current migrant crisis is the largest Europe has faced since World War Two. However, the idea of a quota⁵ for migrants is disputed. At a meeting Friday in Prague, the foreign ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia rejected the resettlement plan. Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said, “We need to have control over how many [migrants] we are capable of accepting.”

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the crisis is "the biggest challenge for the EU in its history.” He called for a "fair distribution mechanism⁶" for dealing⁷ with the additional migrants. Germany has received more asylum requests than any other European nation. The country expects up to 800,000 migrants to arrive this year.

Adding to tensions are religious differences between migrants and their possible hosts. Two French mayors said that their towns would only accept Christians⁸ and not Muslim migrants.

This week, French and United Nations leaders condemned⁹ those statements. France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on French national television that Christians, Muslims and other minorities were being persecuted¹⁰ in Syria.

Meanwhile, no Syrian refugees have been officially resettled in Persian Gulf¹¹ states such as Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Rulers in these states have been criticized for not doing more to help the migrants.

The U.S. response to migrant crisis

The United States said on Thursday that it will accept 10,000 Syrian refugees in the coming year. A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama had directed officials to let the refugees into the country starting in October.

The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said there were also concerns that Islamic State militants, known as ISIS or ISIL, could enter countries along with migrants.

He said, "I don't obviously put it past the likes of ISIL (the Islamic State insurgents) to infiltrate¹² operatives among these refugees.  So that is a huge concern of ours.”

He added that he believes measures are in place to avoid that happening in the U.S. But he is not certain that is the case for each of the European countries faced with welcoming or permitting refugees into their country.

Words in This Story

relocate – v. to move to a new place

comply –v. to do what has been asked or ordered     

fundamental –adj. relating to the most important or basic part of something     

compulsory –adj. required by a rule or law

quota –n. an official limit on the number or amount of people or things that are allowed

persecuted –adj. to treat a person or people unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

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 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

4 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。

5 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 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。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 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。

11 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。

12 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。