美国国家公共电台 NPR--Rwanda looks to gain political leverage after it agrees to a refugee deal with U.K.

Rwanda looks to gain political leverage¹ after it agrees to a refugee deal with U.K.

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Phil Clark, a professor of international politics at SOAS University of London, about what a British deal to move asylum-seekers to Rwanda means for the African country.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The European Court of Human Rights put on hold the U.K.'s deal to move asylum-seekers to Rwanda. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government is not backing down. They argue that the plan would save lives by deterring³ illegal trafficking and discouraging migrants from several countries from setting off on dangerous journeys across the English Channel. We wanted to understand what this deal means for Rwanda, so we called up Phil Clark, a professor of international politics at SOAS University of London whose work focuses on Rwanda and its neighbors. Clark says Rwanda is always on the lookout⁴ for ways to expand its influence.

PHIL CLARK: And it makes a very small country potentially quite politically powerful.

FADEL: Great Britain has already paid Rwanda the equivalent of about a hundred and fifty million U.S. dollars upfront. I asked Clark how much of Rwanda's motive⁵ was economic?

CLARK: The Rwandan government doesn't stand to make very much profit off of this deal. I think the bigger issue is the political leverage that Rwanda gets here. And what Rwanda's done in the past is that whenever it's criticized for its human rights record at home - for cracking down on the media or cracking down on political dissidents - if those critical noises get too loud, Rwanda threatens to pull out of international deals. In the past, it's threatened to pull its peacekeepers out of Darfur when foreign donors⁷ were threatening to pull foreign aid out of Rwanda. So that's the kind of leverage that I think Rwanda hopes to get out of this U.K. migration⁸ deal.

FADEL: Before we move on from this thought, I did want to ask you, though, about the concerns around human rights when it comes to refugees that are being taken to Rwanda from the U.K. That is also a lot of concerns when you talk to advocates in the U.K. about removing them from their country.

CLARK: There's certainly legitimate⁹ human rights concerns about the general state of politics in Rwanda. I think the Rwandan political system is very closed. I've been working there for 20 years now, and I think it's become increasingly difficult for critical opposition¹⁰ voices or critical media to operate in that space. Now, whether that directly affects refugees and asylum-seekers, I think, is a different question.

For the most part, Rwanda has quite a good record of looking after refugees and asylum-seekers from neighboring countries, and it's been running refugee camps - particularly for Burundian and Congolese refugees - for the last couple of decades. There was one incident in 2018 where the Rwandan authorities fired on refugees in a Congolese camp, and several refugees were killed. So there is that particular historical moment. But for the most part, Rwanda's track record in running these camps humanely¹¹ is quite positive.

FADEL: But these aren't the only refugees that Rwanda's dealing¹² with.

CLARK: No. And that's one of the complexities¹³, I guess, of this U.K. migration deal is at the same time as Rwanda is gearing up to take asylum-seekers from the U.K., the - Rwanda is embroiled¹⁴ in a huge refugee crisis brewing¹⁵ across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rwandan army is accused of funding a rebel movement - the M23 rebels - in eastern DRC. The M23, at the moment, are engaged in pitched battles against the Congolese army, and that conflict is generating a huge refugee flow out of eastern Congo. Some of those refugees, in fact, are going into Rwanda. So at the same time as Rwanda is gearing up to try to help the U.K. with its asylum-seeker situation, Rwanda is arguably generating a refugee problem.

FADEL: So could this deal backfire on Rwanda?

CLARK: It could backfire on Rwanda. I think what has happened is that the deal has already brought Rwanda a huge amount of international attention and international criticism. One of the points that's been raised with me quite consistently from my Rwandan colleagues based in Rwanda at the moment is they're concerned that this deal makes Rwanda look like the U.K.'s lackey¹⁶. Kagame has often prided himself on being this anti-Western, anti-imperial voice in Africa who was willing to stand up to donor⁶ pressure and external pressure. And this deal seems to put Rwanda in a subordinate position, where it's really dealing with the U.K.'s problem in taking these asylum-seekers.

So I think there are some concerns within Rwanda that this perhaps dilutes¹⁷ a message that the Rwandan government has been proclaiming quite loudly for a long time now. So there are undoubtedly¹⁸ some serious reputational risks that Rwanda is taking in even being part of this partnership¹⁹.

FADEL: Phil Clark is an international politics professor at SOAS University of London. Thank you so much for joining us.

CLARK: Thanks, Leila. Thanks for having me.

1 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

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 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

4 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

5 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

6 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

9 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 humanely   

adv.仁慈地；人道地；富人情地；慈悲地

参考例句：

• Is the primary persona being treated humanely by the product? 该产品对待首要人物角色时是否有人情味？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In any event, China's interest in treating criminals more humanely has limits. 无论如何，中国对更人道地对待罪犯的兴趣有限。 来自互联网

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

14 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

16 lackey   

n.侍从；跟班

参考例句：

• I'm not staying as a paid lackey to act as your yes-man.我不要再做拿钱任你使唤的应声虫。
• Who would have thought that Fredo would become a lackey of women?谁能料到弗烈特竟堕落成女人脚下的哈叭狗？

17 dilutes   

稀释，冲淡( dilute的第三人称单数 )； 削弱，使降低效果

参考例句：

• On the plus side, wind dilutes and scatters air pollutants, and carries pollen. 从好处来说，风能稀释和驱散空气中的污染物质，传播花粉。
• Ubiquity might not be toxic to authenticity, but it certainly dilutes it. 普遍性或许不至于毒害原真性，但确实会削弱它。

18 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

19 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。