美国国家公共电台 NPR--Haiti has lost its last few democratically elected officials

Haiti has lost its last few democratically elected officials

Transcript¹

Haiti is a country without a single democratically elected official. NPR's A Martinez talks to Cecile Accilien, a scholar of Haitian studies, about what this means for the country and its people.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Haiti is a country in crisis, and now it has lost its last few democratically elected government officials. The country's 10 remaining senators left office last week after their terms expired. What remains² of the government is struggling to maintain security as gangs overrun the country. Haiti's de facto leader, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, has yet to make good on repeated pledges to hold general elections. Now, to understand how the nation got to this point, we spoke³ with Cecile Accilien. She's the president of the Haitian Studies Association, a professor of Haitian studies who's based in Atlanta. She says since President Jovenel Moise's assassination⁴ in 2021, Haiti has been without legitimate⁵ leadership.

CECILE ACCILIEN: The country is being run illegally. You have a de facto prime minister, and you don't have any elected officials - do you? (ph) - in a country that is lawless. Like, the lawlessness, that is happening at all levels, both in terms of the gang and in terms of the government itself. I mean, the gang situation doesn't help, but how can you have elections when after the president was killed, to this day, there's nothing tangible⁶. We don't have any real investigation⁷ that say this is how it happened. This is how we are going to move forward.

MART?NEZ: Cecile, I know that you were born in Haiti. You came to the United States when you were about 11 years old. I mean, what you described sounds - I mean, it just sounds like there's so much uncertainty⁸ that it would just shake me, if I was in your situation knowing that my country, the country I was born in, is in such a unstable⁹ spot. I mean, how does that feel to know that Haiti is in this predicament?

ACCILIEN: I mean, the country is essentially¹⁰ in a civil war. And that breaks my heart because this is not the Haiti I grew up in. And make no mistakes, I grew up under dictatorship, so I'm not idealizing the Haiti I grew up under. But this is the first time I think we have seen this level of lawlessness, this level of gang violence where people's lives do not matter. And the outside world is just looking at it as if it's on television, as if it's a bad movie.

MART?NEZ: Do you still have family and friends in Haiti? And if so, do you talk to them often? What are they saying to you?

ACCILIEN: Yeah. I mean, I have - I still have family, friends, colleagues. And I have a close family member who was kidnapped about three weeks ago. And luckily, they were let go because it was - my understanding of how the kidnapping happened, it was a group of people who was teaching at a school, at a missionary¹¹ school in Port au Prince, and they were in a bus. And the gangs took the bus and just kept everyone - there were about 14 of them - and demanded ransom¹². And they let them go after the school paid the ransom. And this has become an everyday reality.

MART?NEZ: I mean, you mentioned how it feels like the world is just watching this like some kind of TV show. Do you feel that the U.S. has not done enough, or, you know, has the U.S. failed Haiti?

ACCILIEN: Yes, the U.S. has continuously failed Haiti, from the time it occupied Haiti in 1915 until today. For me, I get frustrated¹³ that there is this idea that Haitians are just sitting in Haiti waiting for du blanc (ph), meaning the white person or the foreigner, to come and save us, that we don't want to do anything. We're just waiting. And things are not that simple.

MART?NEZ: Considering this lack of trust that I'm sure exists in Haiti from any outside nation trying to help or offering help, would the country be OK with the United States coming in and offering that assistance? I mean, what kind of conditions would make you feel better about that?

ACCILIEN: I mean, I think for one thing, the Haitian diaspora in the U.S. have to be involved because when you go as the U.S., you go and you not talking to people. You don't know the culture. You don't know the people. You don't know the everyday life. Who is it that the U.S. is sending to be part of this conversation? So to me, you have to start there. I think people in Haiti are open to aid, but they don't want another occupation.

MART?NEZ: That is Cecile Accilien, a scholar of Haitian studies and a board member of the Haitian Studies Association. Cecile, thank you very much.

ACCILIEN: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SAIB'S "AFTERGLOW")

1 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。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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。

4 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

5 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。

6 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

12 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

13 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》