The fundamental right to seek asylum | Melanie Nezer

翻译人员: Jonas Liu 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Last summer, I got a call from a woman named Ellie.

去年夏天，我接到一个电话， 是一个叫埃莉的女人打来的。

And she had heard about the family separations at the southern border

她听说了在南部边境 发生家庭分离的故事。

and wanted to know what she could do to help.

她想知道， 有没有她能帮上忙的地方。

She told me the story of her grandfather and his father.

她跟我讲述了 他祖父和父亲的故事。

When they were kids in Poland,

她父亲和兄弟幼时生活在波兰，

their father,

他的父亲，

fearing for his son's safety,

因为担心儿子的安全问题，

gave them a little bit of money and told them to walk west,

给了他们些许钱 然后告诉他们往西出发，

to just keep walking west across Europe.

一直往西，穿过欧洲。

And they did.

他们成功了。

They walked all the way west across Europe,

他们一路向西穿越欧洲，

and they got on a boat and they got to America.

搭上一艘船，踏上了美国的大陆。

Ellie said that when she heard the stories of the teens

埃莉说当她听闻，那些少年们

walking up across Mexico,

他们一路穿越墨西哥的故事时，

all she could think about was her grandfather and his brother.

她唯一能够想到的 就是她祖父和父亲的兄弟。

She said that for her, the stories were exactly the same.

她说，对她而言， 这些故事几乎一模一样。

Those brothers were the Hassenfeld Brothers --

这对兄弟就是 哈森菲尔德兄弟，

the "Has" "bros" --

也就是"孩之（Has）" "宝（bros）"——

the Hasbro toy company,

孩之宝玩具公司，

which, of course, brought us Mr. Potato Head.

为我们带来了“蛋头先生”。

But that is not actually why I'm telling you this story.

然而，这并不是我给你们 讲这个故事的原因。

I'm telling you this story because it made me think

我讲述这个故事， 是因为它让我思考

about whether I would have the faith,

我是否会有信心、

the courage,

有勇气，

to send my teens -- and I have three of them --

把我的孩子们—— 我有三个孩子，

on a journey like that.

送上这样一段旅程。

Knowing that they wouldn't be safe where we were,

当我知晓待在这个地方 他们不再安全的时候，

would I be able to watch them go?

我能做到目送他们离开吗？

I started my career decades ago at the southern US border,

早在数十年前，我就开始 在美国南部边境展开工作，

working with Central American asylum seekers.

帮助来自中美洲的难民。

And in the last 16 years, I've been at HIAS,

过去 16 年，我就职于 希伯来移民援助协会（HIAS)，

the Jewish organization that fights for refugee rights around the world,

一个为全世界 难民权利斗争的犹太组织，

as a lawyer and an advocate.

在那里担任一名律师和辩护人。

And one thing I've learned is that, sometimes,

我学到的一个道理是，有时候，

the things that we're told make us safer and stronger

那些别人告诉我们， 让我们更安全也更强大的事情，

actually don't.

实际上并非如此。

And, in fact, some of these policies have the opposite of the intended results

不仅如此，事实上，有一些政策 还会产生适得其反的效果。

and in the meantime, cause tremendous and unnecessary suffering.

与此同时，造成巨大的 而且不必要的伤害。

So why are people showing up at our southern border?

为什么会有难民 出现在我们的南部边境呢？

Most of the immigrants and refugees that are coming to our southern border

绝大多数的这样的移民和难民，

are fleeing three countries: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

都从这三个国家逃难而来， 危地马拉、洪都拉斯和萨尔瓦多。

These countries are consistently ranked

这些国家长期以来被视为

among the most violent countries in the world.

世界上暴力事件最多的国家之一。

It's very difficult to be safe in these countries,

在这些国家生活， 是很难保证安全的，

let alone build a future for yourself and your family.

更不要说为自己 和家庭创造未来了。

And violence against women and girls is pervasive.

侵害妇女和女童 的暴力行为无处不在。

People have been fleeing Central America

人们逃离自己位于中美洲的家园，

for generations.

已经持续了好几代人。

Generations of refugees have been coming to our shores,

一代又一代难民移民美国，

fleeing the civil wars of the 1980s,

因 20 世纪 80 年代的内战逃难而来，

in which the United States was deeply involved.

这些战争的爆发， 美国都深深涉足其中。

This is nothing new.

这并不是什么新鲜事。

What's new is that recently, there's been a spike in families,

新鲜的是最近逃难家庭的数量 出现了飙升现象，

children and families, showing up at checkpoints

孩子们和逃难的家庭， 出现在过境关卡，

and presenting themselves to seek asylum.

提出寻求庇护的请求。

Now, this has been in the news lately,

这已经出现在最近的新闻中，

so I want you to remember a few things as you see those images.

所以我希望各位在看这些图片 的时候记住几件事。

One, this is not a historically high level of interceptions at the southern border,

一，南部边境被截留的难民人数 并没有达到历史高位，

and, in fact, people are presenting themselves at checkpoints.

而且，事实上， 人们滞留在过境关卡。

Two, people are showing up with the clothes on their backs;

二，逃难的人们衣不蔽体；

some of them are literally in flip-flops.

有一些人的鞋破得像拖鞋一样。

And three, we're the most powerful country in the world.

三，我们的美国是 世界上最强大的国家。

It's not a time to panic.

这不是该恐慌的时候。

It's easy from the safety of the destination country

从目的国的安全角度考虑， 我们很容易

to think in terms of absolutes:

从绝对的视角来思考问题：

Is it legal, or is it illegal?

这是合法的，还是非法的？

But the people who are wrestling with these questions

但是正是这些 为上述问题纠结的人们，

and making these decisions about their families

在关乎难民家庭的问题上进行决策。

are thinking about very different questions:

而这些家庭思考的 是截然不同的问题：

How do I keep my daughter safe?

我怎样保证我女儿的安全？

How do I protect my son?

我怎样保护我的儿子？

And if you want absolutes,

如果你要求绝对的视角，

it's absolutely legal to seek asylum.

寻求避难的做法是绝对合法的。

It is a fundamental right in our own laws and in international law.

这是我们的法律以及国际法 规定的一项基本权利。

And, in fact --

而且，事实上——

(Applause)

（掌声）

it stems from the 1951 Refugee Convention,

这一规定源于 1951 年 的《难民公约》，

which was the world's response to the Holocaust

这是国际社会 对犹太人大屠杀的回应，

and a way for countries to say never again would we return people to countries

也是所有国家对遣返难民 这种行为坚决说不的一种途径，

where they would harmed or killed.

在迁出国他们会被伤害甚至杀害。

There are several ways refugees come to this country.

有好几种难民迁移到 这个国家的方式。

One is through the US Refugee Admissions Program.

一种就是通过美国 难民安置计划。

Through that program, the US identifies and selects refugees abroad

通过这一计划，美国政府确认 和选取国外的难民，

and brings them to the United States.

然后带至美国领土。

Last year, the US resettled fewer refugees

去年，美国重新安置的难民数量

than at any time since the program began in 1980.

是该计划自1980年 实施以来最低的数字。

And this year, it'll probably be less.

而今年，这个数字可能还会减少。

And this is at a time when we have more refugees in the world

而这一刻，世界上 拥有的难民数量

than at any other time in recorded history,

比历史上任何时候都要多，

even since World War II.

甚至要比二战时还要多。

Another way that refugees come to this country is by seeking asylum.

另一种就是难民通过 寻求避难的方式来到这个国家。

Asylum seekers are people who present themselves at a border

寻求避难者是一群 出现在一国边境

and say that they'll be persecuted if they're sent back home.

声明他们如若被遣返回国 将遭受迫害的人们。

An asylum seeker is simply somebody who's going through the process

一名寻求避难者只是一个 通过相关流程

in the United States

在美国边境，

to prove that they meet the refugee definition.

来证明自己符合难民标准的人。

And it's never been more difficult to seek asylum.

而且也未出现过 寻求避难变得如此艰难的情况。

Border guards are telling people when they show up at our borders

护边员正在告诉避难者们 当他们出现在我们边境的时候，

that our country's full, that they simply can't apply.

我们国家的安置名额已满， 他们就是不能提出申请了。

This is unprecedented and illegal.

这是前所未有的， 也是不合法理的。

Under a new program,

在一个新项目下，

with the kind of Orwellian title "Migrant Protection Protocols,"

该项目有着奥威尔式的标题 “移民保护协议”，

refugees are told they have to wait in Mexico

难民被告知 他们需要在墨西哥等候，

while their cases make their way through the courts in the United States,

当他们的案件在美国法庭 进行审理批准的时候，

and this can take months or years.

而这一流程会耗上数月甚至数年。

Meanwhile, they're not safe,

同时，他们的安全 并没有得到保障，

and they have no access to lawyers.

他们也请不起律师。

Our country, our government, has detained over 3,000 children,

我们的国家，我们的政府， 已经扣留了超过 3000 名儿童，

separating them from their parents' arms,

将他们从家庭的怀抱中抽离，

as a deterrent from seeking asylum.

作为震慑寻求避难行为的一种手段。

Many were toddlers,

他们有许多还是蹒跚学步的孩子，

and at least one was a six-year-old blind girl.

而且至少有一名 是一个六岁的盲童女孩。

And this is still going on.

而这一切还在继续。

We spend billions to detain people in what are virtually prisons

我们花费了数百万来震慑避难者， 用着近乎对待罪犯的方式，

who have committed no crime.

而这群人并没有犯下任何罪行。

And family separation has become the hallmark of our immigration system.

分离家庭的做法已经成为 我们移民系统的标志。

That's a far cry from a shining city on a hill or a beacon of hope

这与一座山上熠熠生辉的城市 或一座希望的灯塔相距甚远，

or all of the other ways we like to talk about ourselves and our values.

也与其他我们习惯于 标榜的自我形象和价值观相去甚远。

Migration has always been with us, and it always will be.

移民现象一直存在于我们身边， 也会继续存在下去。

The reasons why people flee -- persecution, war, violence,

人们逃离迫害、战争、暴力、

climate change

气候变化的缘由，

and the ability now to see on your phone what life is like in other places --

还有你在手机上能看见的 其他角落生活状况都证明——

those pressures are only growing.

这些压力只会进一步增加。

But there are ways that we can have policies that reflect our values

但是我们也有一些方式来 制定反映我们价值取向的政策，

and actually make sense, given the reality in the world.

考虑到世界上目前的现状， 这也的确合乎情理。

The first thing we need to do is dial back the toxic rhetoric

我们要做的第一件事 就是减少于事无补的言论，

that has been the basis of our national debate on this issue for too long.

这一言论已经成为了我们国家 在这一议题上辩论基础太久了。

(Applause)

（掌声）

I am not an immigrant or a refugee myself,

我本人不是一名移民或难民，

but I take these attacks personally, because my grandparents were.

但我把这些攻击看作针对我个人的， 因为我的祖辈们就是他们的一员。

My great-grandmother Rose didn't see her kids for seven years,

我的曾祖母罗斯长达 7 年 没能见到自己的孩子们，

as she tried to bring them from Poland to New York.

她曾拼尽全力把他们 从波兰带到了美国，

她在我祖父 7 岁时就离开了家，

She left my grandfather when he was seven

直到祖父 14 岁时， 她才与祖父再次相见。

and didn't see him again until he was 14.

On the other side of my family,

在我家族故事的另一面，

my grandmother Aliza left Poland in the 1930s

我的祖母阿里扎 上世纪 30 年代离开波兰，

and left for what was then the British Mandate of Palestine,

来到了随后被称为 英属巴勒斯坦托管地的地方，

and she never saw her family and friends again.

从此再也没见过 她的亲人和朋友们。

Global cooperation as a response to global migration and displacement

国际合作要成为 应对国际移民的回应，

would go a long way towards making migration something that isn't a crisis

还有很长的路要走， 把移民不再当作是一场危机

but something that just is,

而是一件，仅仅是一件

and that we deal with as a global community.

我们作为一个国际社会 可以应对的事情。

Humanitarian aid is also critical.

人道主义援助也至关重要。

The amount of support we provide to countries in Central America

我们花在中美洲国家的援助金额，

that are sending refugees and migrants

用以转移难民和移民的部分

is a tiny fraction of the amount we spend on enforcement and detention.

只是我们花在执行法令 和扣留儿童上的一小部分。

And we can absolutely have an asylum system that works.

而我们完全可以制定一套 发挥作用的难民庇护系统。

For a tiny fraction of the cost of a wall,

只需修建边境墙资金的一小部分，

we could hire more judges,

我们就可以雇佣更多的法官，

make sure asylum seekers have lawyers

确保寻求避难者请的起律师，

and commit to a humane asylum system.

以及帮助建立一套 人道的难民庇护系统。

(Applause)

（掌声）

And we could resettle more refugees.

我们可以重新安置更多的难民。

To give you a sense of the decline in the refugee program:

为了让你知晓 难民安置项目的缩减：

three years ago, the US resettled 15,000 Syrian refugees

三年前，美国政府重新安置了 15000 名叙利亚难民

in response to the largest refugee crisis on earth.

作为对世界上 最大的难民危机的回应。

A year later, that number was 3,000.

一年后，这个数字是 3000。

And last year, that number was 62 people.

去年，这个数字是 62。

62 people.

62 名难民。

Despite the harsh rhetoric and efforts to block immigration,

尽管存在激烈的舆论 和各方势力来阻挡难民潮，

keep refugees out of the country,

阻止难民进入这个国家，

support for refugees and immigrants in this country, according to polls,

然而根据民意调查，这个国家 对于难民和移民支持的呼声，

has never been higher.

已经到达了史无前例的高度。

Organizations like HIAS, where I work,

类似于我就职的 HIAS 这样的组织，

and other humanitarian and faith-based organizations,

还有其他的人道主义 和信仰为基础的组织的存在，

make it easy for you to take a stand

为你提供了选择立场的便利，

when there's a law that's worth opposing

当有这么一条法律值得反对时，

or a law that's worth supporting or a policy that needs oversight.

或是有这么一条法律值得支持时， 或有这么一条政策需要监督时。

If you have a phone,

如果你有一部手机的话，

you can do something,

你就可以做一些事情，

and if you want to do more, you can.

甚至可以做得更多。

I will tell you that if you see one of these detention centers

我会告诉你，如果你看见 其中一个拘留中心

along the border

坐落在边境边上，

with children in them -- they're jails --

还关押着孩子们——它们是监狱——

you will never be the same.

而你永远无法感同身受。

What I loved so much about my call with Ellie

在我和埃莉的通话中 我十分欣赏的部分是，

was that she knew in her core that the stories of her grandparents

她在内心深处知道 她祖辈们的故事

were no different than today's stories,

和如今发生的故事并无区别，

and she wanted to do something about it.

她还想做一些事情来帮助他们。

If I leave you with one thing,

如果今天我只能给各位留下一句话，

beyond the backstory for Mr. Potato Head,

在“蛋头先生”的背景故事之外——

which is, of course, a good story to leave with,

当然，这是值得被留下一句话——

it's that a country shows strength

那就是一个国家要展现自身的强大，

through compassion and pragmatism,

是通过同情和务实

not through force and through fear.

而不是通过武力和恐惧。

(Applause)

（掌声）

These stories of the Hassenfelds and my relatives and your relatives

哈森菲尔德兄弟的故事， 我的亲人还有你的亲人们的故事，

are still happening today; they're all the same.

今天还在上演； 这些故事都是一样的。

A country is strong when it says to the refugee,

一个强大国家会对难民说的

not, "Go away," but,

不是“滚开”，而是

"It's OK, we've got you, you're safe."

“没事，有我在呢，你安全了。”

Thank you.

谢谢！

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thanks.

谢谢！

(Applause)

（掌声）