美国国家公共电台 NPR--Siblings forged an unbreakable bond after leprosy tore apart their family

Siblings¹ forged an unbreakable bond after leprosy tore apart their family

Transcript²

The Hawaiian island of Molokai was once the site of America's largest leprosy colony. A brother and sister in Hawaii discuss how their lives were shaped by leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Today's StoryCorps comes from the Hawaiian island of Molokai. It was once the site of America's largest leprosy colony, known as Kalaupapa. About 8,000 people from across the U.S. were quarantined there. For centuries, leprosy was a misunderstood disease. Many believed wrongly that you could catch it from a handshake. Thousands with the disease were taken from their families and exiled to leprosy colonies in the U.S. Doug Carillo and Linda Mae Lawelawe came to StoryCorps to talk about how their lives were affected³ by leprosy.

LINDA MAE LAWELAWE: Kalaupapa is at the bottom of this huge mountain. There's no roads. There's nothing, nothing, nothing. Nobody can go there.

DOUG CARILLO: And our dad was sick for six years in Kalaupapa. And we knew that he got married to some woman. But he got cured, so he came back home. And he just said, you have a sister, but she's been adopted. She was given away.

LAWELAWE: I was that child that Dad was talking about.

CARILLO: You know, I knew I had a sister - a half sister. But there's no way of finding out how to trace you 'cause they never had records.

LAWELAWE: My mom had leprosy, and as soon as she delivered me, the nurse picked me up and put me in another room. And there was windows, and my mom could see, but she never had the opportunity to touch me. Finding you took 55 years.

CARILLO: Exactly. But when I first seen your face...

LAWELAWE: I remember.

CARILLO: ...I said, she look just like Dad. So I knew you were my sister.

LAWELAWE: You just ran to me and gave me the most biggest hug I ever had.

CARILLO: We'd been looking for you for such a long time. So when we finally met, there was relief in my heart.

LAWELAWE: I've known you for almost 20 years, brother. And just feeling that love, I can carry you with me for the rest of my life.

MARTIN: That was Doug Carillo and Linda Mae Lawelawe. Today, leprosy is called Hansen's disease and is now curable. Nine former patients remain at Kalaupapa, all in their 80s and 90s. They still call the community home. This conversation is archived at the Library of Congress.

1 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

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。