Amy Pope, new head of the IOM, wants to change the conversation about migrants

Amy Pope, new head of the IOM, wants to change the conversation about migrants

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Amy Pope, newly elected director general of the International Organization for Migration², about the U.S.-Mexico border, and global attitudes toward migrants.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

An American is about to take charge of the International Organization for Migration. The many nations that are part of it voted for President Biden's choice, Amy Pope. When we spoke³, Pope began listing events that prompt people to move from African drought to South Asian floods, to the war in Ukraine.

AMY POPE: We're seeing the drivers of migration grow around the world and become increasingly complex. And so that's what I'll be taking on. That's what the organization is facing.

INSKEEP: The IOM counts about 105 million people displaced on this planet, pushed aside by wars or disasters. Hundreds of millions more migrate for work, arriving anywhere from California to Dubai. The IOM aims to help people move safely and smoothly⁴. It may provide supplies or help with paperwork. It may work with governments to refine their policies or give them research. It takes the view that migration is often good in a world where many people presume it is not.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP⁵: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best.

INSKEEP: Donald Trump won the presidency⁶ on a pledge to stop illegal immigration. And it's not only a right-wing concern. This month, the Biden administration lifted pandemic-era immigration rules. And some Democrats⁷ warned about possible chaos⁸. Among them, Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, who spoke on this program.

HENRY CUELLAR: Looking for a better life, trying to get away from crime are not reasons to stay. And I'm sorry, but that's what the law says.

INSKEEP: As Amy Pope knows, democratically elected governments around the world have had to reckon with the anxieties that migration brings.

POPE: It's a huge challenge. And I think one of the things that IOM needs to do as we move forward is to help frame the conversation differently. I mean, we know as Americans that migration has actually led to tremendous benefits in our own country. We know even recent evidence shows that migration has revitalized communities that have been dying, in fact.

INSKEEP: When you talk about revitalizing communities, we did some reporting last year in Akron, Ohio, which had lost a lot of population and has encouraged migration from a number of countries in Asia. Is that the kind of thing you're talking about?

POPE: That's exactly what I'm thinking of. I was born in Cleveland, grew up part of my life in Akron then in Pittsburgh. All of those cities have benefited from migration.

INSKEEP: When you have conversations with officials in Europe or, for that matter, from the United States, do you run into people who say, I agree with your concerns, I want to be helpful, but there are political limits to what I can do?

POPE: Yes and no. I mean, I think everybody recognizes the political constraints⁹. And so people are looking for where we can demonstrate success that doesn't raise the same issues.

INSKEEP: How do you assess the situation at the U.S. border right now?

POPE: Well, the United States has been struggling for the last several years with the situation across Latin America, where people have found it more difficult to make a life for themselves, to live safely. For me, that's a reason why we need to be looking at migration much more comprehensively. My view is that if you wait until people have already left home, crossed many different countries, spent their life's savings¹⁰ to get there and then try to deal with the migration issues at the border, we've missed a lot of opportunities to engage and come up with better policies.

INSKEEP: When you say comprehensive, do you mean reaching out to the countries from which people are coming to try to figure out ways to stabilize¹¹ the situation?

POPE: Yes. I mean, most people we know don't choose to leave under such circumstances, right? And our goal at IOM is to enable the choice to migrate as opposed to people who are migrating out of desperation or lack of other choice. And so it's engaging the countries where people live. It's building policies and programs there to provide more stability, to provide opportunity. We have to approach it from all angles.

INSKEEP: Amy Pope, thanks very much for the time.

POPE: It's my pleasure. Thank you very much.

INSKEEP: She's the newly elected director general of the International Organization for Migration.

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 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。

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 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 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》

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。