Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez: What's missing from the American immigrant narrative | TED

翻译人员: Yanyan Hong 校对人员: Lark Yu

Hi, everyone, my name is Elizabeth,

大家好，我叫伊丽莎白，

and I work on the trading floor.

我是一名股票交易员。

But I'm still pretty new to it.

但对于这份工作，我还是新手。

I graduated from college about a year and a half ago,

大概一年半之前，我从大学毕业，

and to be quite honest,

但坦白说，

I'm still recovering from the recruiting process

我到现在还没有 从当初的面试过程中

I had to go through to get here.

回过神来。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, I don't know about you,

我不知道你们怎么想，

but this is the most ridiculous thing

但是，我依然记得，

在整个过程中最荒唐的事，

that I still remember about the whole process,

was asking insecure college students what their biggest passion was.

就是问没什么安全感的大学生， 他们最大的热情是什么。

Like, do you expect me to have an answer for that?

真的吗？ 你确定我知道怎么回答吗？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Of course I did.

当然，我认真回答了。

And to be quite honest,

而且说实话，

I really showed those recruiters just how passionate I was

我努力的向那些招募人员 展现了我对这份工作多么有热情，

by telling them all about my early interest in the global economy,

我告诉他们 我对于全球经济的早期兴趣，

which, conveniently, stemmed from the conversations

而且很自然的，这个兴趣是源于

that I would overhear my immigrant parents having

我曾无意中听到我的移民父母聊到

about money and the fluctuating value of the Mexican peso.

有关钱和墨西哥比索的价值波动。

They love a good personal story.

招募人员喜欢动人的个人故事。

But you know what?

但是你们知道吗？

I lied.

我撒谎了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And not because the things I said weren't true --

并不是因为我说的不是事实——

I mean, my parents were talking about this stuff.

我父母的确谈到过这个话题，

But that's not really why I decided to jump into finance.

但这并不是我决定 投身金融行业的真正原因。

I just really wanted to pay my rent.

我真的只是想有能力 支付我的房租。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And here's the thing.

原因就在于，

The reality of having to pay my rent and do real adult things

很少有人原意向雇主、 他人，甚至向我们自己坦白

is something that we're rarely willing to admit to employers,

我们很需要钱

来交房租和承担成年人的责任。

to others and even to ourselves.

I know I wasn't about to tell my recruiters

我知道我不会告诉招募我的人，

that I was there for the money.

我是为钱而去的。

And that's because for the most part,

这是因为大部分情况下，

we want to see ourselves as idealists

我们想把自己当成理想主义者，

and as people who do what they believe in

并且认为人们是在做 他们坚信的事，

and pursue the things that they find the most exciting.

去追求他们觉得最让人兴奋的事情。

But the reality is

但现实是，

very few of us actually have the privilege to do that.

很少有人有这样做的特权。

Now, I can't speak for everyone,

当然，我不能代表所有人，

but this is especially true for young immigrant professionals like me.

但对我这样的年轻移民职场人士， 现实尤其是如此。

And the reason this is true has something to do with the narratives

而这背后的原因与社会不断

that society has kept hitting us with

向我们灌输的一些叙述有关——

in the news, in the workplace

包括在新闻中、在职场中，

and even by those annoyingly self-critical voices in our heads.

甚至我们脑海里恼人的自我批判声。

So what narratives am I referring to?

那么，我指的是什么样的叙述呢？

Well, there's two that come to mind when it comes to immigrants.

说到移民，我们脑海中 马上就会涌现出两种说法。

The first is the idea of the immigrant worker.

第一种是对移民劳工的看法。

You know, people that come to the US in search of jobs as laborers,

很多人来美国以劳工、

or field workers, dish washers.

外勤人员或洗碗工的身份找工作。

You know, things that we might consider low-wage jobs

通常是我们可能 认为是低薪的工作，

but the immigrants?

但移民者怎么想呢？

That's a good opportunity.

当然是很好的机会。

The news nowadays has convoluted that whole thing quite a bit.

现在的新闻报道会把整件事情曲解。

You could say that it's made America's relationship with immigrants complicated.

可以说它把美国 和移民的关系弄得很复杂，

And as immigrant expert George Borjas would have put it,

移民专家乔治 · 波哈斯 （George Borjas）的说法很有意思，

it's kind of like America wanted workers,

大概说的是，美国想要 “劳工”，

but then, they got confused when we got people instead.

但当他们得到的却是 “人” 时， 就会很困惑。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I mean, it's natural that people want to strive

毕竟，人们都想要全力奋斗，

to put a roof over their heads and live a normal life, right?

想要有个家，过正常的生活，对吧？

So for obvious reasons,

所以，基于很明显的理由，

this narrative has been driving me a little bit crazy.

这样的叙述让我有点抓狂。

But it's not the only one.

但这并不是唯一一个。

The other narrative that I'm going to talk about

还有另一种说法，

is the idea of the superimmigrant.

就是超级移民。

In America, we love to idolize superimmigrants

在美国，我们喜欢把超级移民

as the ideal symbols of American success.

当作美国人成功的理想标志。

I grew up admiring superimmigrants,

我从小到大都很羡慕超级移民，

because their existence fueled my dreams and it gave me hope.

因为他们的存在激励了 我的梦想并且给了我希望。

The problem with this narrative is that it also seems to cast a shadow

然而这种叙述的问题在于，

它似乎让那些没有成功的人 心里蒙上了阴影，

on those that don't succeed

or that don't make it in that way, as less than.

或者让那些没有实现 这种成功的人感到自惭形秽。

And for years, I got caught up in the ways

然而很多年来， 让我一直感到困惑的是，

in which it seemed to celebrate one type of immigrant

这种说法看似在赞颂一种移民，

while villainizing the other.

但同时却在轻视另一群移民。

I mean, were my parents' sacrifices not enough?

我是说，我父母 做的牺牲还不够多吗？

Was the fact that my dad came home from the metal factory

是因为我爸爸从金属工厂回家，

全身落满腐蚀性粉尘的状态

covered in corrosive dust,

was that not super?

并没有什么了不起吗？

Don't get me wrong,

别误会，

I've internalized both of these narratives to some degree,

我把这两种叙述 在某些程度上内在化了，

and in many ways,

而且无论怎样，

seeing my heroes succeed, it has pushed me to do the same.

看到我的英雄走向成功， 一直激励着我一往无前。

But both of these narratives are flawed in the ways

但这两种叙述， 在某些方面上均有不足，

in which they dehumanize people if they don't fit within a certain mold

如果人们不符合特定的形象， 或者以某种方式获得成功，

or succeed in a certain way.

他们就会否定人们人性一面。

And this really affected my self-image,

这也真正影响了我的自我认知，

because I started to question these ideas for who my parents were

因为我开始质疑关于我父母是谁，

and who I was,

以及我是谁的说法，

and I started to wonder,

然后我开始纳闷，

"Am I doing enough to protect my family and my community

“从我们每天都能 感觉到的不公平中，

from the injustices that we felt every day?"

我有没有尽力去保护 我的家庭和社区?"

So why did I choose to "sell out"

那么，当悲剧在我眼前发生时，

while watching tragedies unfold right in front of me?

我为什么会选择向现实屈服？

Now, it took me a long time to come to terms with my decisions.

我花了很长时间 来接受自己的决定。

And I really have to thank the people

并且我真的需要感谢那些

running the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, or HSF,

为了在初期就证实此过程的价值

for validating this process early on.

而运营西班牙裔奖学金基金会， 简称 HSF 的人。

And the way that HSF --

并且在 HSF 基金会——

an organization that strives to help students achieve higher education

一个致力于通过指导和奖学金

through mentorship and scholarships --

来帮助学生 接受高等教育的组织——

the way that they helped calm my anxiety,

他们帮助我平复焦虑的方式，

it was by telling me something super familiar.

就是告诉我一些 我非常熟悉的东西。

Something that you all probably have heard before

比如在登机之后的前几分钟，

in the first few minutes after boarding a flight.

你们都听过的信息：

In case of an emergency,

如遇紧急情况，

put your oxygen mask on first before helping those around you.

在帮助别人之前， 请先给自己戴好氧气面罩。

Now I understand that this means different things to different people.

现在我明白了，这条信息 对不同的人有着不同的意义。

But for me, it meant that immigrants couldn't

但对于我来说，这意味着移民

and would never be able to fit into any one narrative,

不能且将永远不适合任何一种叙述，

because most of us are actually just traveling along a spectrum,

因为我们大多数只是 沿着既定轨道前行，

trying to survive.

努力生存。

And although there may be people that are further along in life

而且尽管有些人 或许可以走得更远，

with their oxygen mask on and secured in place,

位置安全，带着氧气面罩，

there are undoubtedly going to be others

但毫无疑问，总会有其他人

that are still struggling to put theirs on

还在拼命想戴上氧气面罩，

before they can even think about helping those around them.

顾不上考虑身边的人。

Now, this lesson really hit home for me,

这一点让我印象深刻，

because my parents,

因为我的父母，

while they wanted us to be able to take advantage of opportunities

虽然他们想让我们抓住机会，

in a way that we wouldn't have been able to do so anywhere else --

并且是以在其它地方 都做不到的方式——

I mean, we were in America,

我的意思是，我们在美国，

and so as a child, this made me have these crazy, ambitious

所以在我儿时就形成了 疯狂的、宏大的野心，

and elaborate dreams for what my future could look like.

并为我的未来做出了详细规划。

But the ways in which the world sees immigrants,

但这个世界看待移民的眼光，

it affects more than just the narratives in which they live.

影响的远不止是对他们的叙事，

It also impacts the ways laws and systems can affect communities,

同时也影响了法律以及社会体系

塑造社区、家庭和个人的方式。

families and individuals.

I know this firsthand,

我对此感同身受，

because these laws and systems, well, they broke up my family,

因为当前的法律和社会体系 破坏了我的家庭，

and they led my parents to return to Mexico.

迫使我的父母返回了墨西哥。

And at 15,

在我十五岁那年，

my eight-year-old brother and I,

我和我八岁的弟弟

we found ourselves alone and without the guidance

发现我们突然变得很孤独、无助，

that our parents had always provided us with.

我们失去了父母 一直给予我们的庇护。

Despite being American citizens,

虽然我们是美国公民，

we both felt defeated

但我们心中所谓的“机会之地”，

by what we had always known to be the land of opportunity.

却让我们感到了深深的挫败。

Now, in the weeks that followed my parents' return to Mexico,

在我的父母 回到墨西哥几星期后——

when it became clear that they wouldn't be able to come back,

很明显他们不可能回来了——

I had to watch as my eight-year-old brother

我不得不眼睁睁看着 我八岁的弟弟

was pulled out of school to be with his family.

被迫退学，跟父母回老家。

And during this same time,

在那段时间，

I wondered if going back

我也在想，如果我回去，

would be validating my parents' sacrifices.

会不会浪费了我父母的牺牲。

And so I somehow convinced my parents to let me stay,

所以我说服了父母让我留下来，

without being able to guarantee them that I'd find somewhere to live

尽管无法保证能找到新的住处，

or that I'd be OK.

或者能否独当一面。

But to this day, I will never forget how hard it was

直到如今，我还是无法忘却

having to say goodbye.

当时与他们的告别 是多么艰难，

And I will never forget how hard it was

并且我永远也不会忘记 看着我弟弟在他们怀里大哭，

watching my little brother crumble in their arms

而我在铁栅栏的另一旁 跟他们挥手说再见时，

as I waved goodbye from the other side of steel grates.

心中那刻骨铭心的酸楚。

Now, it would be naive to credit grit

把我从那天起到现在 所获得的这么多机会

as the sole reason for why I've been able to take advantage

都单纯归功为我的坚韧，

of so many opportunities since that day.

或许有些天真。

I mean, I was really lucky, and I want you to know that.

我想让你们知道，我非常幸运。

Because statistically speaking,

因为有数据显示，

students that are homeless or that have unstable living conditions,

无家可归或生活环境不稳定的学生，

well, they rarely complete high school.

极少人能完成高中学业。

But I do think

但是我觉得，

that it was because my parents had the trust in letting me go

是我父母对我独自生活能力的信任，

that I somehow found the courage and strength

让我找到了勇气和力量，

to take on opportunities

抓住了机会，

even when I felt unsure or unqualified.

即使我心中惶恐，缺乏自信。

Now, there's no denying that there is a cost

不可否认，在美国实现梦想

to living the American dream.

是要付出代价的。

You do not have to be

你不需要成为一个

an immigrant or the child of immigrants to know that.

移民或移民子女就会知道。

But I do know that now, today,

但是我知道的是，在今天，

I am living something close to what my parents saw

我生活在一个我父母眼中的

as their American dream.

美国梦里。

Because as soon as I graduated from college,

因为在我大学毕业之后，

I flew my younger brother to the United States to live with me,

我把立刻把弟弟接到美国来 跟我一起生活，

so that he, too, could pursue his education.

让他也可以接受教育。

Still, I knew that it would be hard flying my little brother back.

但是，我知道 把弟弟接过来绝非易事。

I knew that it would be hard

我知道平衡生活需求

having to balance the demands and professionalism

和需要一份基本技能的

required of an entry-level job

专业工作会很难，

while being responsible for a child with dreams and ambitions of his own.

同时，我还要负担一个 有梦想和雄心的孩子的生活。

But you can imagine how fun it is to be 24 years old,

但是你们也能想象， 在我最年轻的时候，住在纽约，

at the peak of my youth, living in New York,

有一个讨厌洗碗、 焦虑的青少年室友为伴——

with an angsty teenage roommate who hates doing the dishes.

这对一个 24 岁的人来说 会多么“好玩”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The worst.

简直不能更糟了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But when I see my brother learning how to advocate for himself,

但是当我看到我弟弟 知道怎么为他自己发声，

and when I see him get excited about his classes and school,

并且看到上学的日子 让他感到欢欣鼓舞时，

I do not doubt anything.

我的所有疑虑都消失了。

Because I know that this bizarre,

因为我知道这有点奇怪，

beautiful and privileged life that I now live

我现在所拥有的美好 和享受优待的生活，

is the true reason for why I decided to pursue a career

是我追求事业的真正原因——

that would help me and my family find financial stability.

可以为我和我的家人 带来稳定的经济来源。

I did not know it back then,

我当时并不知道，

but during those eight years that I lived without my family,

但是在我和家人分开的这八年里，

I had my oxygen mask on and I focused on survival.

我戴上了氧气面罩， 并用力生存下去。

And during those same eight years,

同样在这八年里，

I had to watch helplessly the pain and hurt

我只能无助地看着 家人分离带来的

that it caused my family to be apart.

悲伤和痛苦。

What airlines don't tell you is that putting your oxygen mask on first

航空公司没告诉你的是， 当你先戴上氧气面罩时，

while seeing those around you struggle --

还要同时目睹你旁边的人 挣扎着想戴上氧气面罩——

it takes a lot of courage.

这需要太多的勇气。

But being able to have that self-control

但是能够掌控自己的生活，

is sometimes the only way that we are able to help those around us.

是我们能够帮助 身边的人的唯一办法。

Now I'm super lucky to be in a place where I can be there for my little brother

现在，我非常幸运能够 陪伴在我弟弟身边，

so that he feels confident and prepared

以便他能够信心十足的准备好

to take on whatever he chooses to do next.

迎接自己将来选择的任何道路。

But I also know

但是，我也知道，

that because I am in this position of privilege,

因为我身处有特权的位置，

I also have the responsibility

我也有责任来确保

to make sure that my community finds spaces where they can find guidance,

我的社区能够 获得指引，找到出路，

access and support.

并得到支持。

I can't claim to know where each and every one of you are

我并不知道在座的每一个人

on your journey through life,

正身处人生中的哪一个阶段，

but I do know that our world is one

但是我知道， 当不同的声音汇聚在一起时，

that flourishes when different voices come together.

我们的世界就会蓬勃发展。

My hope is that you will find the courage

我希望你们能够找到

to put your oxygen mask on when you need to,

当你需要氧气面罩时 能够把它戴上的勇气，

and that you will find the strength

并且有能力

to help those around you when you can.

帮助那些身边的人。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）