3 questions to ask yourself about US citizenship | Jose Antonio Vargas

翻译人员: psjmz mz 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Four years after arriving in the United States,

来美国四年以后，

like any typical 16-year-old,

就像其他十六岁的人一样，

I went to get my driver's permit.

我也去考了驾照。

After I showed the clerk my immigration papers, my green card,

在给了那位办事员 我的移民文件和绿卡后，

she told me it was fake.

她跟我说“这是假的。

"Don't come back here again," she said.

别再来这儿了。”

That's how I found out I was in America illegally.

我这才发现， 原来自己是一名非法移民，

And I'm still here illegally.

现在也依然是。

I'm a journalist and filmmaker.

我是一位记者和制片人。

I live in stories.

我的生活充满了 各种各样的故事。

And what I've learned

我发现，

that what most people don't understand about immigration

大多数人对移民，

is what they don't understand about themselves:

就和他们对 自己的身份一样知之甚少：

their families' old migration stories and the processes they had to go through

他们家族的移民故事，

before green cards and walls even existed,

以及在绿卡和边境墙 出现之前的移民流程，

or what shaped their understanding of citizenship itself.

或者是什么形成了他们 对公民身份的理解。

I was born in the Philippines.

我出生在菲律宾。

When I was 12, my mother sent me to live with her parents,

我十二岁的时候， 妈妈把我送去和她的父母同住，

my grandparents,

也就是我的外公外婆，

or, as we say in Tagalog, lolo and lola.

加禄语中的称谓是 洛洛 和 洛拉。

Lolo's name was Teofilo.

洛洛的名字是特奧菲洛。

When he legally emigrated to America and became a naturalized citizen,

他合法移民到了美国 并成为公民后，

he changed his name from Teofilo to Ted,

把自己的名字改成了泰德，

after Ted Danson from the TV show "Cheers."

来自电视剧《欢乐酒店》中 泰德·丹森（Ted Danson）的名字——

Can't get any more American than that.

不能比这更有美国味儿了。

Lolo's favorite song was Frank Sinatra's "My Way,"

洛洛最喜欢的歌是弗兰克·西纳特拉 （Frank Sinatra）的《My Way》，

and when it came to figuring out how to get his only grandson, me,

当他想把我，他唯一的孙子

to America,

送来美国时，

he decided to do it his way.

他决定用自己的办法。

According to Lolo, there was no easy and simple way to get me here,

他说，让我入境美国并不容易，

so Lolo saved up 4,500 dollars --

所以他存了 4500 美金——

that's a lot of money for a security guard

对一个保安来说，那是很多钱，

who made no more than eight dollars an hour --

因为他一个小时 只能赚 8 美元——

to pay for the fake green card

他用这些钱 给我买了个假绿卡，

and for a smuggler to bring me to the US.

并请一个走私者把我带到了美国。

So that's how I got here.

我就是这么到美国的。

I can't tell you how many times people tell me that their ancestors

我记不清多少人告诉过我，

came to America "the right way,"

他们的祖先是用 “合法的方法”来到美国的。

to which I remind them,

而我总会提醒他们，

America's definition of "the right way"

美国对“合法的方法” 的定义

has been changing ever since the first ship of settlers dropped anchor.

从第一批移民到来开始 就在不断改变了。

America as we know it is more than a piece of land,

美国不只是一片土地，

particularly because the land that now makes up the United States of America

尤其因为构成美国的这片土地

used to belong to other people in other countries.

曾经属于其他国家的其他人民。

America as we know it is also more than a nation of immigrants.

我们所认识的美国 也不只是个移民者的国家。

There are two groups of Americans who are not immigrants:

有两群美国人不是移民：

Native Americans, who were indigenous to this land

美洲土著， 即美国的原住民，

and who were killed in acts of genocide;

也是在种族灭绝中被屠杀的民族；

and African Americans, who were kidnapped, shipped and enslaved

以及非洲裔美国人， 一群被绑运、被迫为奴

to build this country.

并建立了这个国家的人。

America is, above all, an idea,

美国，在很大意义上， 只是个理念——

however unrealized and imperfect,

尽管尚未实现且并不完美——

one that only exists because the first settlers came here freely

这个理念的存在只是因为 来到这里的第一批定居者

without worry of citizenship.

无须担心公民身份的问题。

So, where did you come from?

所以，你从哪里来？

How did you get here?

你是怎么来的？

Who paid?

谁付了钱？

All across America, in front of diverse audiences --

在美国各地， 在不同的听众面前——

conservatives and progressives,

无论是保守派还是激进派，

high school students and senior citizens --

高中生还是老年人——

I've asked those questions.

我都问过这些问题。

As a person of color, I always get asked where I'm from,

作为一个有色人种， 我经常被问从哪里来，

as in, "Where are you from from?"

比如， “你老家是哪里的？”

So I've asked white people where they're from from, too.

所以我也问白人， 他们的老家是哪里的。

After asking a student at the University of Georgia

在问了乔治亚大学的一名学生，

where he was from,

他从哪里来之后，

he said, "I'm American."

他说，“我是美国人。"

"I know," I said, "but where are you from?"

我说， “我知道，但你从哪儿来的呢？”

"I'm white," he replied.

他说， “我是白人。”

"But white is not a country," I said.

我说， “ ‘白人’ 可不是一个国家。

"Where are your ancestors from?"

你的祖先是从哪儿来的？”

When he replied with a shrug,

他耸了耸肩，

I said,

我又说，

"Well, where did you come from?

“那么，你到底从哪儿来的？

How did you get here? Who paid?"

你怎么来到这儿的？谁付的钱？”

He couldn't answer.

他无法回答。

I don't think you can talk about America as America

我觉得在讨论现在的美国时，

without answering those three core questions.

我们没有办法回避 这几个核心问题。

Immigration is America's lifeline,

移民是美国的生命线，

how this country has replenished itself for centuries,

是这个国家这几个世纪下来 还一直流动新血液的原因。

from the settlers and the revolutionaries who populated the original 13 colonies

从最初定居在十三个州的 定居者和革命者，

to the millions of immigrants, predominantly from Europe,

到数百万名主要来自欧洲，

who relentlessly colonized this land.

并一直将殖民体系 延续下来的移民者。

Even though Native Americans were already here

尽管已经在这里的美国原住民

and had their own tribal identities and ideas about citizenship,

有自己的部落和公民身份概念，

they were not considered US citizens until the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.

他们直到 1924 年的 《印地安人公民法案 》 颁布后才被认可为美国公民。

The landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act that Black Americans fought for

美国黑人不断为之奋斗的、 里程碑式的《1964 年民权法案》，

inspired the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act,

则催生了《1965 年移民和国籍法》，

which ended America's race-based exclusionary system

并终结了在美国持续 40 年之久的

that had lasted for 40 years.

基于种族的排他制度。

I could go on and on here,

这样的例子还有很多，

but my point, my larger point, is this:

但我的要点是，

How much do any of us,

我们中有多少人，

whether immigrants of the past or the present,

不管是昔日还是现时的移民，

know of these crucial parts of American history?

对美国这些关键历史有所了解？

How much of this history makes up the actual US citizenship test?

这段历史在多大程度上构成了 真正的美国公民资格测试？

Have you ever seen it?

你们见过吗？

It's a mostly oral test,

基本上大部分是口语测试，

and government officers ask applicants up to 10 of the 100 questions.

政府官员会从一百个问题当中 选出十个来问。

To pass, applicants must get at least six answers right.

想要通过，至少要答对六个问题。

I looked at the test recently,

我最近看过了测试题目，

and I was aghast at the questions posed

并对问题内容，以及对这些

and what constitutes acceptable answers to the glaring omissions.

明显被遗漏的合理答案 感到十分惊讶。

There's a question about the Statue of Liberty and where it is.

有一个关于自由女神像 和它在哪里的问题，

There's no question about Ellis Island,

却没有关于埃利斯岛，

about the United States as an immigrant nation

以及美国作为一个移民国家

and the countless anti-immigrant laws that were passed.

和它所通过的无数 反移民法律的问题。

There's nothing about Native American history.

完全没有关于美国原住民的问题。

There's a question about what Martin Luther King, Jr. did,

有一个关于马丁·路德·金的问题，

but largely, there's inadequate and irresponsible contexts

但在很大程度上， 对非裔美国人的背景描述

about African Americans.

是非常不充分和不负责任的。

Here's an example.

这里有个例子。

Question number 74 under the American history section

美国历史部分的第 74 号问题

asks applicants to "name one problem that led to the Civil War."

要求申请者 “列举一个导致美国内战的问题”。

There are three acceptable answers:

有三个比较合理的答案：

slavery,

奴隶制、

states' rights,

州权

economic reasons.

和经济原因。

Did my Lola and Lolo get that question?

我的外公外婆 被问到这个问题了吗？

If they did get the question,

如果他们被问到这个问题，

do they even understand the history behind it?

他们了解这背后的历史吗？

How about my uncles and aunties and cousins

我的叔叔阿姨和堂兄弟们

and millions of other immigrants who had to take that test

以及数百万参加这个测试 成为美国人的

to become Americans?

其他移民呢？

What do immigrants know about America before we get here?

在入境美国前， 那些移民对美国了解多少？

What kind of citizenship are we applying for?

我们在申请什么样的公民身份？

And is that the same kind of citizenship we actually want to be a part of?

这跟我们想要获得的公民身份一样吗？

Come to think of it -- I've been thinking a lot about this --

回想起来——我想过很多次——

what does dignified citizenship look like?

有尊严的公民身份是什么样的？

How can I ask for it when I just arrived here 26 years ago,

我到底应不应该得到这个公民身份？ 我来这里才 26 年，

when Black and Native people

而在美国生活了数百年的

who have been here in America for hundreds of years

黑人和土著人

are still waiting for theirs?

却依然在等待他们的身份。

One of my favorite writers is Toni Morrison.

托尼·莫里森（ Toni Morrison） 是我最喜欢的作家之一。

In 1996, a year before I found out I was in the country illegally,

1996 年，也就是我发现自己 非法移民身份的前一年，

my eighth-grade class was assigned to read "The Bluest Eye,"

在八年级的课堂上，我们被要求阅读 《最蓝的眼睛》(“The Bluest Eye”)，

Morrison's first book.

莫里森的第一本书。

Instantly, the book challenged me to ask hard questions.

突然间，这本书向我抛出了 一些很难回答的问题。

Why does Pecola Breedlove,

为什么皮克拉·布莱得拉夫 （Pecola Breedlove）——

this young Black girl at the center of the book,

书中年轻的黑人女主角——

why did she want blue eyes?

想要蓝色的眼睛？

Who told her to want it?

谁告诉她自己需要蓝眼睛？

Why did she believe them?

她为什么会相信他们？

Morrison said she wrote the book to illustrate what happens

莫里森说她写这本书， 是为了解释当人们

when a person surrenders to what she called "the master narrative."

向“主流叙事”屈服时会发生什么。

"Definitions," Morrison said, "belong to the definers, not the defined."

莫里森说：“定义属于定义者， 而不是被定义者。”

Once I realized that I was here illegally,

在我意识到自己的 非法移民身份后，

I convinced myself that if I was not a legal citizen by birth or by law,

我说服自己，如果基于出生或按照法律， 我不算是合法公民，

another kind of citizenship was possible.

而另一种公民身份却是可能的。

Citizenship as participation:

作为“参与者：的公民：

I engage.

我参与其中。

I engage with all kinds of Americans, even Americans who don't want me here.

我和各种各样的美国人打交道， 甚至包括那些不希望我在这里的美国人。

Citizenship as contribution:

作为“贡献者”的公民：

I give back to my community in whatever ways I can.

我用一切可能的方法回馈我的社区。

As an undocumented entrepreneur -- and yes, there is such a thing --

作为一个没有身份的企业家—— 是的，确实有这样的事情——

I've employed many US citizens.

我雇佣了很多美国公民。

Citizenship as education:

作为“接受教育”的公民：

We can't wait for others to educate us about the past

我们不能等待其他人教授我们历史，

and how we got to this present.

以及我们如何走到了今天。

We have to educate ourselves and our circles.

我们得教育自己和我们的圈子。

Citizenship as something greater than myself:

比自身的意义更深远的公民身份：

We are, I think, individually and collectively,

我们，个人和集体，

rewriting the master narrative of America.

在重写美国的主流叙事。

The people who were once defined are now doing the defining.

过去被定义的人们 现在成了定义者。

他们在问需要被问的问题。

They're asking the questions that need to be asked.

A core part of that redefinition

这个重新定义的核心是，

is how we define not only who is an American

我们不仅会如何定义谁是美国人，

but what constitutes citizenship.

还要定义是什么构成了公民身份。

Which, to me, is our responsibility to each other.

这对我而言，是我们对彼此的责任。

So consider your own personal narrative

所以，请思考下你自己的个人经历，

and ask yourself:

并且问问自己：

Where did you come from?

你来自哪里？

How did you get here?

你是怎么来这里的？

Who paid?

谁付的钱？