VOA教育报道2022--收容所为墨西哥的移民儿童寻找学校

Shelters Find Schools for Migrant Children in Mexico

Child migrants often miss months or even years of schooling¹. This hurts their chances of escaping poverty and having safer futures².

Ciudad Juárez is a large city in Mexico, along the country's border with the United States. For thousands of migrants and their children, it is the last stop before they enter the U.S.

In Juárez, they wait for that chance to cross the border. U.S. policies make some people wait in Mexico for their court hearings to seek asylum³.

A number of Christian-based shelters in Juárez work to serve the urgent⁴ needs of this population, including education of school-aged children. The shelters have partnered with local schools in the effort.

The curriculum⁵ is not religious. But a strong belief in the good of education drives the programs. Teachers believe education will help the children socialize and find jobs wherever they find a permanent home.

Teresa Almada runs Casa Kolping through an organization supported by the Catholic⁶ Church. She said the migrant students get included "in the educational system so they can keep gaining confidence." She added: "It's also important ... that the families feel they're not in hostile⁷ territory."

Victor Rodas is a 12-year-old student. His 22-year-old sister and guardian⁸, Katherine, led him and two other siblings⁹ out of Honduras. The family fled after receiving death threats from organized crime groups. In Juárez, Katherine and her husband will not leave the safety of the shelter. But, she praised its educational program, which provides bus transportation so her siblings can attend Casa Kolping.

"They say the teacher always takes good care of them, plays with them," Rodas said. "They feel safe there."

Many housed in their shelter fled from Central America. Growing numbers of Mexican families fleeing illegal drug trafficking groups are arriving too.

For a while after the school program started in October, teachers asked parents to join their children in their classrooms to build trust. Among them was Lucia, a single mother of three children. She fled the Mexican state of Michoacan after drug traffickers "took over the harvest and everything" in their home. She asked to be identified by just her first name for safety.

"Education is important so that they can develop as people and they'll be able to defend themselves from whatever life will put before them," Lucia said. She and her family have been living there for nine months.

More than 30 children from the Christian-based shelters around Ciudad Juárez attend Casa Kolping. First to third graders gather in one classroom. Fourth to sixth graders meet in another.

In the U.S. Victor hopes schools will be "big, well-cared for," and will help him reach his goal of becoming a building designer.

"If you ask the kids, their biggest dream is to cross to the United States," said teacher Yolanda Garcia.

Many parents do not want to send their children to school in Mexico, where they do not plan to stay. Also, many public educators do not want to bring in migrant students. There is a fear of losing teachers if class sizes decrease when students leave suddenly, said Dora Espinoza. She is a school official in Ciudad Juárez.

In addition to uncertainty¹⁰, poverty and discrimination keep nearly half of refugee¹¹ children from school worldwide, says the United Nations refugee agency¹², UNHCR.

But the biggest barrier is insecurity. Threatened with violence by gangs¹³ both in their hometowns and along the trip to the U.S., many parents are afraid to leave their children alone. The shelters address that by providing secure¹⁴ transportation for the children.

The migrant children have experienced¹⁵ a lot of trauma¹⁶, educators say.

Samuel Jimenéz is a teacher at one of the schools. He said students will tell him they are there "'because they murdered my parents. ' They tell it in detail, children don't cover anything up." But, Jimenéz said, "the moment they're here, we can take them out of that reality. They forget it."

Other students arrive unable to read or write.

"We are faced with all kinds of falling behind," said Garcia at Casa Kolping. "But most of all, with a lot of desire to learn. They missed school. When you give them their notebooks, the emotion on their face ... some even tell you, ‘How lovely it feels to learn.'"

Words in This Story

curriculum — n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.

confidence — n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

address — v. to give attention to ; to deal with

trauma — n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

1 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

2 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

3 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。

4 urgent   

a.紧急的，急迫的，紧要的

参考例句：

• He asked to see the manager for something urgent. 他有急事求见经理。
• A part of this urgent task was allotted to us. 这项紧急任务的一部分分给了我们。

5 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。

6 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

7 hostile   

adj.不友好的，敌对的；敌方的，敌人的

参考例句：

• The local people are hostile to outsiders.当地人敌视外地人。
• Their hostile looks showed that he was unwelcome.他们怀敌意的表情说明他不受欢迎。

8 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

9 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

11 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

12 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

13 gangs   

n.（罪犯有组织的）一帮( gang的名词复数 )；一伙；（闹事青少年的）一群；（工人有组织的）一队

参考例句：

• Gangs of youths went on the rampage in the city yesterday. 成群结伙的年轻人昨天在城里横冲直撞。
• a vicious turf war between rival gangs of drug dealers 对立贩毒团伙之间的猛烈火并

14 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

15 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

16 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。