Immigrant voices make democracy stronger | Sayu Bhojwani

翻译人员: Conway Ye 校对人员: Jiawei Ni

Good evening.

晚上好。

My journey to this stage

我登上这个舞台的旅程

began when I came to America

从我那时候我17岁

at the age of 17.

到美国开始。

You see, I'm one of the 84 million Americans

我是美国公民中

八千四百万移民者

who are immigrants

或是移民者的孩子之一。

or children of immigrants.

Each of us has a dream when we come here,

我们每个人都心怀梦想来到美国，

a dream that usually has to be rewritten

一个通常会被改变

and always has to be repurposed.

和不断调整的梦想。

I was one of the lucky ones.

我是幸运儿中的一个，

My revised dream led me to the work I do today:

我改变的梦想使我拥有这份现在工作：

training immigrants to run for public office

培训移民去竞选公共职位

and leading a movement for inclusive democracy.

和领导包容民主制的运动。

但是我不希望你认为

But I don't want you to think it was a cakewalk,

that America opened its arms wide and welcomed me.

让美国敞开怀抱迎接我很简单。

It's still not doing that.

至今都不是这样。

这一路来我学到了一些事情

And I've learned a few lessons along the way

that I wanted to share with you,

我想和你分享，

because I think that together

因为我认为共同努力，

we can make American democracy

我们可以让美国的民主

better and stronger.

更好更强大。

I was born in India,

我出生在印度，

印度是世界上最大的民主国，

the world's largest democracy,

然后在我四岁时

and when I was four,

my family moved to Belize,

我的家庭移居伯利兹，

可能世上最小的民主国。

the world's smallest democracy perhaps.

And at the age of 17,

在我17岁那年，

我搬到到了美国，

I moved to the United States,

世界上最伟大的民主国，

the world's greatest democracy.

I came because I wanted to study English literature.

我踏上这片土地是为了学习英语文学，

小时候我很喜欢看书，

You see, as a child, I buried my nose in books,

and I thought, why not make a living doing that as an adult?

然后我想， 长大后为什么不以此为生呢？

But after I graduated from college

但是当我大学毕业，

拿到了学位证书后，

and got a graduate degree,

I found myself moving from one less ideal job to another.

我发现我的工作一个比一个更不理想。

Maybe it was the optimism that I had about America

可能是我对美国的乐观态度，

让我好一阵子后才明白，

that made me take a while to understand

that things were not going to change.

事情是不会被改变的。

The door that I thought was open

我曾经以为打开的那扇门，

其实只留了一些缝隙，

was actually just slightly ajar --

这扇美国大门

this door of America

会敞开，如果你拥有对的名字，

that would open wide if you had the right name,

对的肤色，

the right skin color,

the right networks,

对的人脉，

but could just slam in your face

但也可以毫不留情地关上，

if you had the wrong religion,

如果你信奉错的宗教，

the wrong immigration status,

是移民身份，

the wrong skin color.

拥有错的肤色，

And I just couldn't accept that.

我无法接受这些，

So I started a career as a social entrepreneur,

因此我开启了社会企业家的生涯，

starting an organization for young people like myself --

创立一个组织，为像我一样的年轻人，

I was young at the time that I started it --

那时候我还很年轻，

who traced their heritage to the Indian subcontinent.

为了到南亚次大陆寻根的年轻人，

In that work, I became and advocate for South Asians and other immigrants.

这个事业，我成为了南亚人 以及其他移民者的发声人，

I lobbied members of Congress on policy issues.

我在政策方面说服议员，

I volunteered on election day to do exit polling.

我自愿在选举日做投票站调查。

但是我不能投票，也不能竞选职位。

But I couldn't vote, and I couldn't run for office.

所以在2000年，当政府宣布

So in 2000, when it was announced

that the citizenship application fee was going to more than double

申请美国公民的费用将要翻一倍多

from 95 dollars to 225 dollars,

从95美元升到225美元时，

I decided it was time to apply before I could no longer afford it.

我决定在我法承担费用前申请。

I filled out a long application,

我填了一份长篇的申请，

answering questions about my current and my past affiliations.

回答关于我现在以及 过去的亲属关系的问题。

And once the application was submitted,

当申请书被提交上去后，

there were fingerprints to be taken,

我还需要录入指纹，

a test to study for,

完成一个测试，

无尽的排队。

endless hours of waiting in line.

You might call it extreme vetting.

你可以称这是严格的检验。

到了2000年的12月份

And then in December of 2000,

我和上百其他移民，

I joined hundreds of other immigrants

来到了布鲁克林的一个大厅，

in a hall in Brooklyn

where we pledged our loyalty

在这里我们宣誓

to a country that we had long considered home.

忠诚于这个我们 早已认为是家的国家。

My journey from international student to American citizen took 16 years,

我从国际学生到 美国公民的旅程花了16年，

a short timeline when you compare it to other immigrant stories.

比较其他移民，算是短的了。

And soon after I had taken that formal step

在我正式成为

to becoming an American,

美国公民后不久，

2001年9月11号的袭击，

the attacks of September 11, 2001,

改变了移民几十年的命运。

changed the immigration landscape for decades to come.

My city, New York City,

我的城市，纽约，

was reeling and healing,

踌躇着，恢复着，

and in the midst of it,

期间，

we were in an election cycle.

我们正在选举，

Two things happened

发生了两件事情，

as we coped with loss and recovery in New York City.

当我们适应纽约的损失和恢复时，

Voters elected Michael Bloomberg mayor of New York City.

选民选举迈克尔彭博当纽约市长。

We also adopted by ballot referendum

我们也通过投票记名的方式

the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York.

成立了纽约市移民事务局。

Five months after that election,

选举后的五个月，

the newly elected mayor

新上任的市长

appointed me the first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs

指名我成为移民局这个新成立的机关

for this newly established office.

的第一个局长。

I want you to come back to that time.

我想让你追溯到那个时候。

I was a young immigrant woman from Belize.

我是一个年轻的伯利兹女性移民。

I had basically floundered in various jobs in America

我基本上在美国挣扎着做过几份工作

before I started a community-based organization

在我开始一个社区机构之前

in a church basement in Queens.

在皇后区的一个教堂地下室。

The attacks of September 11 sent shock waves through my community.

911的袭击震惊了我的社区。

People who were members of my family, young people I had worked with,

我的家人，我工作过的年轻人，

were experiencing harassment

都遭受侵扰，

在学校，在工作场所，在机场。

at schools, at workplaces and in airports.

And now I was going to represent their concerns

然而现在我要在政府

表达他们的顾虑。

in government.

No job felt more perfect for me.

没有工作能比这更完美了。

And here are two things I learned when I became Commissioner.

我当局长学会了两件事，

First, well-meaning New Yorkers

第一，在纽约市政府 工作的善良的公职人员，

who were in city government holding government positions

had no idea how scared immigrants were

完全不知道移民对法律的实施

有多么害怕。

of law enforcement.

Most of us don't really know the difference, do we,

绝大多数人并不知道

治安官，地方警察和FBI的区别。

between a sheriff and local police and the FBI.

And most of us, when we see someone in uniform

大多数人，当我们看到穿着制服的人

going through our neighborhoods

走过我们的社区

feel curiosity, if not concern.

我们会感到好奇。

所以如果你是一个未注册的父母，

So if you're an undocumented parent,

每天当你对你的孩子说再见，

every day when you say goodbye to your child,

送他们到学校或去工作，

send them off to school and go to work,

you don't know what the chances are

你不知道你会不会

that you're going to see them at the end of the day.

在那天结束再看到他们。

Because a raid at your workplace,

因为一个对你工作场所的突然袭击，

a chance encounter with local police

可能遇见一个地方警察

可能永远改变你的人生。

could change the course of your life forever.

The second thing I learned is that when people like me,

我学会的第二件事 是当像我一样的，

who understood that fear,

能够体会那种恐惧，

学会了一种新语言， 体验过新体制的人

who had learned a new language, who had navigated new systems,

when people like us were sitting at the table,

担任政府官员，

we advocated for our communities' needs in a way that no one else could or would.

我们代表着其他人没有的社区需求。

I understood what that feeling of fear was like.

我知道那种恐惧的感觉，

我家里的人正在经历这种恐惧。

People in my family were experiencing it.

Young people I had worked with were being harassed,

我工作的年轻人被骚扰，

not just by classmates,

不仅仅被同学，

but also by their teachers.

还被他们的老师。

My husband, then boyfriend,

我的丈夫，男朋友，

thought twice before he put a backpack on or grew a beard

会在背上包或者蓄胡子之前三思，

because he traveled so much.

因为他逃亡的太多了。

What I learned in 2001 was that my vote mattered

我在2001年学到 我的选票很重要，

but that my voice and vantage point also mattered.

但是我的声音和地位也很重要。

And it's these three things --

这三件事，

immigrants' votes, voices and vantage points --

移民的选票，声音和地位

that I think can help make our democracy stronger.

我认为能够帮助使我们的民主更强大。

我们有能力

We actually have the power

改变选举的结果，

to change the outcome of elections,

在政策辩论中引入新话题，

to introduce new issues into the policy debate

and to change the face of the pale, male, stale leadership

并改变我们国家现在有的

白色，男性，一成不变的领导人。

that we have in our country today.

So how do we do that?

所以我们该怎么做？

Well, let's talk first about votes.

我们先来说说投票。

It will come as no surprise to you

美国大多数选民都是白人，

that the majority of voters in America are white.

这不会让你感到惊讶。

但是你可能会吃惊，当你了解到

But it might surprise you to know

that one in three voters are black, Latino or Asian.

三分之一的选民是黑人， 拉丁美洲裔，或亚洲人。

But here's the thing:

但事情是这样的，

it doesn't just matter who can vote, it matters who does vote.

不仅谁能投票重要， 谁投了票也很重要。

So in 2012, half of the Latino and Asian-American voters

所以在2012年， 一半的拉丁美洲裔和亚裔美国人

did not vote.

没有投票。

And these votes matter not just in presidential elections.

这些选票不仅对总统选举重要，

They matter in local and state elections.

还对当地和州选举重要。

In 2015, Lan Diep,

在2015年，兰迪普，

the eldest son of political refugees from Vietnam,

越南政治难民最年长的儿子，

ran for a seat in the San Jose City Council.

竞选圣荷西市城市议员。

He lost that election by 13 votes.

他13票失去了那场竞选。

This year, he dusted off those campaign shoes

今年，他卷土重来，

and went back to run for that seat,

重新竞选那个位置，

and this time he won, by 12 votes.

这次他以12票赢得了竞选。

每一个选民都很重要。

Every one of our votes matters.

And when people like Lan are sitting at the policy table,

当像兰这样的人能够制定政策时，

they can make a difference.

他们能够做出改变。

We need those voices.

我们需要那些声音。

我们需要那些声音

We need those voices

in part because American leadership

部分因为美国的领导人

does not look like America's residents.

长得不像美国居民。

在美国有50万个地方和州政府官职。

There are over 500,000 local and state offices in America.

Fewer than 2 percent of those offices are held by Asian-Americans or Latinos,

低于2%的政府官职是 亚裔美国人或拉丁美洲裔，

我们国家的最大的两个移民群体。

the two largest immigrant groups in our country.

In the city of Yakima, Washington,

在华盛顿州的雅基马，

where 49 percent of the population is Latino,

49%的人口是拉丁美洲裔，

there has never been a Latino on the city council until this year.

直到今年都没有 一个拉丁美洲裔城市议员。

Three newly elected Latinas joined the Yakima City Council in 2016.

2016年三个新竞选的 拉丁美洲裔加入了雅基马城市议会。

One of them is Carmen Méndez.

其中之一是卡门蒙德滋。

She is a first-generation college student.

她是第一代大学学生。

她在墨西哥克利马州

She grew up partly in Colima, Mexico,

and partly in Yakima, Washington.

和华盛顿州雅基马长大。

She's a single mother, a community advocate.

她是一个单亲妈妈，一个社区倡导者。

Her voice on the Yakima City Council

她在雅基马城市议会的声音

代表着拉丁美洲裔社区，

is advocating on behalf of the Latino community

and of all Yakima residents.

和所有雅基马居民。

And she's a role model for her daughter

她是她女儿和其他拉丁美洲裔的

and other Latinas.

道德模范。

美国民主第三大未使用的资源

But the third most untapped resource in American democracy

is the vantage point that immigrants bring.

就是移民带来的有利地位。

我们为了来到这里斗争。

We have fought to be here.

We have come for economic and educational opportunity.

我们为了经济和教育机会来到这里。

We have come for political and religious freedom.

我们为了政治和宗教自由来到这里。

We have come in the pursuit of love.

我们为了追求爱情来到这里。

那个宣誓典礼，

That dedication,

那个对美国的承诺，

that commitment to America

we also bring to public service.

也把我们带向公众服务。

People like Athena Salman,

像雅典娜萨尔曼一样的人，

who just last week won the primary

上周刚刚赢得亚利桑那州

for a seat in the Arizona State House.

议会位置的初选。

Athena's father grew up in the West Bank

雅典娜的父亲在约旦河西岸长大，

and moved to Chicago,

搬到芝加哥，

where he met her mother.

他遇到了她的母亲。

Her mother is part Italian,

她的母亲有意大利，

part Mexican and part German.

墨西哥和德国血统。

Together they moved to Arizona and built a life.

他们一起搬到亚利桑那州生活。

雅典娜，当她入驻州议会时，

Athena, when she gets to the statehouse,

is going to fight for things like education funding

会为像教育资金这样

that will help give families like hers a leg up

能够帮助家庭的事情奋斗，

这样那些家庭能够实现

so they can achieve the financial stability

他们寻求已久的经济平衡。

that we all are looking for.

Immigrants' votes, voices and vantage points

移民的选票，声音和地位

are what we all need to work to include in American democracy.

是我们要共同努力 使其包括在美国民主中。

It's not just my work. It's also yours.

这不仅只是我的任务，也是你的。

And it's not going to be easy.

而且这不会很简单。

We never know

我们永远不知道

what putting a new factor into an equation will do.

在等式中加入什么 变量能够完成这个任务。

And it's a little scary.

而且还有点令人害怕。

You're scared that I'm going to take away your place at the table,

你害怕我会在政府里夺走你的位置，

and I'm scared that I'm never going to get a place at the table.

然而我害怕我永远 不会成为政府公职人员。

And we're all scared

我们都害怕

that we're going to lose this country that we know and love.

我们会失去这个 我们熟悉和热爱的国家。

I'm scared you're going to take it away from me,

我害怕你会从我手中夺走它，

and you're scared I'm going to take it away from you.

你害怕我会从你手中夺走它。

听着，今年是一个困难的竞选年，

Look, it's been a rough election year,

a reminder that people with my immigration history

跟我一样的移民

会被领导人的一时兴起而驱逐。

could be removed at the whim of a leader.

But I have fought to be in this country

但是我曾为了这个国家奋斗过，

and I continue to do so every day.

每天我也会继续这样做。

So my optimism never wavers,

我的乐观不会消失，

because I know that there are millions of immigrants just like me,

因为我知道有百万像我一样的移民，

in front of me, behind me and all around me.

在我身前，身后和身边。

这也是我们的国家。

It's our country, too.

Thank you.

谢谢。

（鼓掌）

(Applause)