美国国家公共电台 NPR--We should not being using human beings as pawns, Mass. state Sen. Cyr says

We should not being using human beings as pawns¹, Mass. state Sen. Cyr says

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks Massachusetts state Sen. Julian Cyr, who represents Martha's Vineyard, about the migrants that were flown to the resort island. The community welcomed the migrants.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Fox News was all over this story where host Jesse Watters dwelled on the idea of elite³ liberals having to deal with migrants. He spoke⁴ with presidential hopeful Mike Pompeo.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JESSE WATTERS: The Obamas have a home. Oprah, Beyonce, even James Taylor is going to be seeing fire, rain and migrants - not to mention Rosie O'Donnell. I mean, everybody basically that you know on the left has a home there. Do you think they're going to be embracing their new neighbors?

MIKE POMPEO: You know, these are all sanctuary⁵ cities until they're in their sanctuary.

WATTERS: Right.

POMPEO: I doubt they'll embrace them.

INSKEEP: Let's hear a voice next from Martha's Vineyard. Massachusetts State Senator Julian Cyr represents the island. Welcome to the program.

JULIAN CYR: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: OK, so the presumption⁶ of the bit we just heard is that migrants are a burden and that you don't want them, that you just want to force Texas to deal with them. Is that in fact how you feel?

CYR: That's not at all how we feel in Martha's Vineyard and across the region. And if you look at the outpouring of support, how the island scrambled⁷ and pulled together shelter for these 47 migrant families with no notice, we actually, I think, are proud to welcome these vulnerable people. You know, I know for folks who don't know Martha's Vineyard, we're seen as this - you know, as Governor DeSantis said, a bastion of liberal elites⁸. You know, most islanders who live here year-round wait on tables. They're firefighters. They're teachers. The population actually on Martha's Vineyard has increased almost 50% since the last census⁹, largely actually driven by immigrants. The diversity that we have in our schools - nearly a dozen languages spoken in our schools. So, you know, these folks, of course, don't - you know, don't sort of appreciate, you know, what we are year-round. But the response and the welcome here has been nothing short of remarkable¹⁰.

INSKEEP: I'm interested in this because I was hearing this argument that Texas has the whole burden or that Florida has the whole burden. And I looked at a map of where immigrants live, and they seem to be in every state of the union, but - and that's what you're confirming to me. You have a very diverse population where you are already. Is that correct?

CYR: We do, and we've become more and more diverse. Immigrants have been coming to our community. In part, we've got a bit of a - we've got a workforce¹¹ crisis here. We really rely - immigrants have really become sort of the backbone¹² of our economy here. And we've been in the business of welcoming immigrants. I think the problem here - right? - is that there was no sort of facilitation of transport. This is not about, you know, alleviating¹³ burden for border communities or helping¹⁴ these people, right? These are people who were caught up in a calculated political stunt¹⁵. The intention - right? - is political, not helping these people and not in helping border communities. And that's just shameful¹⁶.

INSKEEP: What did you see and hear when you spoke with them?

CYR: I saw - I spent, you know, quite a bit of time, as did, you know, a number of colleagues and volunteers. Volunteers built up a wonderful shelter in a church in Edgartown, which is one of our villages here on the island. We heard a lot of gratitude¹⁷ from these migrant families. I had asked one of them, you know, did you feel manipulated? Did you feel tricked? And they said, yes, we felt tricked, but we were so overwhelmed by the response that we've seen here. One woman, you know, described to me that she felt like she had been kidnapped. So certainly they've had quite a perilous¹⁸ journey but a lot of gratitude to islanders and to the people of Massachusetts who, you know, are rallying to support them and to welcome them.

INSKEEP: There is, I suppose, a political reality here that is reflected by this stunt, that there is a cost to dealing¹⁹ with migrants. There can be some difficulty. There are a lot of people coming, and there are voters who feel uncomfortable about that. And you have politicians who want to represent those voters. What would you say to those voters who have those concerns?

CYR: I appreciate the challenges that we have at the border. You know, look, we've had a failed immigration - the failure of immigration reform at the national level. You know, that's on both, you know, Republicans and Democrats²⁰, right? But - you know, something we haven't done for years, but this isn't the way to go about having states that are not border states helping out in this crisis, right? And this really harkened back to fundamentally racist²¹ tactics that we've seen used. We've seen this used in the civil rights era with Reverse Freedom Rides, actually bringing people to Cape²² Cod²³. And we're seeing that today. And unfortunately, this is just really a cruel ruse²⁴ that's manipulating families who are seeking a better life. And I just think our politics should be better than that. We should not be using human beings as pawns.

INSKEEP: I guess we should remind people this is correct, what you're saying - that in the 1960s, Black people were put on buses and sent North, the presumption being that Northerners would hate being around Black people and that they would get a taste of their own medicine. That was tried then, and you're saying the same thing is being done now.

CYR: Yes. And then in the '60s, those families were welcomed. Ninety-six families were sent to Hyannis in the 1960s, and they actually were welcomed, were - helped found housing, became part of our community on Cape Cod, right? So that was a political stunt then, and it backfired. And I think we're hoping the same outcome happens now with this sad situation.

INSKEEP: State Senator Julian Cyr, thanks.

1 pawns   

n.（国际象棋中的）兵( pawn的名词复数 )；卒；被人利用的人；小卒v.典当，抵押( pawn的第三人称单数 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• The hostages are being used as political pawns. 人质正被用作政治卒子。
• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

6 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

7 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

9 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

12 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

13 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

16 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

17 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

18 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

19 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。

20 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

22 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

23 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

24 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。