美国国家公共电台 NPR Renouncing Pablo Escobar's Sins, His Son Trafficks In Motivational Talks

Renouncing¹ Pablo Escobar's Sins, His Son Trafficks In Motivational Talks

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It is a common family drama - a son rejects everything his father stands for and strikes out on his own. But in this case, the father is the late Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. The son became an architect, but his last name got in the way of business. Today he is a motivational speaker who denounces drug cartels. Reporter John Otis has this story.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Spanish).

(APPLAUSE)

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE³: The son of Pablo Escobar, now known as Sebastian Marroquin, gets a warm welcome from the crowd in the Mexican city of Aguascalientes. Here and elsewhere in Latin America, he tells surreal stories of being raised by the founder⁴ of the Medellin cocaine⁵ cartel. During the 1980s and early '90s Escobar exploded car bombs, killed policemen and blew up an airliner⁶. He was responsible for the deaths of some 3,000 Colombians. He also became a billionaire.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SEBASTIAN MARROQUIN: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Now 39, his son describes the family's mansions⁷, sports cars, helicopters and airplanes. Marroquin, whose birth name is Juan Pablo Escobar, says, "we had every type of luxury you could imagine." But they were impossible to enjoy because the Escobars were constantly on the run. Marroquin recalls going hungry even though one of their hideouts was overflowing⁸ with $3 million in cash.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARROQUIN: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: "I asked myself, what's the point of having so much money if you can't even go out to the corner grocery to buy bread?" he says.

In 1993, Pablo Escobar was killed by Colombian police. A distraught Marroquin, who was only 16, decided⁹ to forge his own path. After receiving new identities from the Colombian government, Marroquin, along with his girlfriend, mother and sister, moved to Argentina. Accustomed to bodyguards¹⁰ and servants, Marroquin was suddenly on his own.

MARROQUIN: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: He tells me, "I was afraid to go into McDonalds and order a burger. I'd always been isolated¹¹. I lived in a bubble."

In Buenos Aires, Marroquin studied architecture. He wanted to put up buildings after watching his father knock them down with car bombs. But when clients learned his true identity work dried up, so Marroquin began giving conferences on what he's learned from his family's violent legacy¹². He also sought out Escobar's victims.

JORGE LARA: When my father was killed, I was 6. I was going to be 7.

OTIS: Jorge Lara is the son of Rodrigo Lara, a Colombian justice minister who was one of Escobar's fiercest critics. Escobar's hitmen killed Rodrigo Lara in 1984.

LARA: The bodyguards took the body of my father and ran away to the hospital. So we had some images that are impacted in our minds, you know?

OTIS: After Marroquin apologized to Lara the two became friends.

LARA: For him it's very difficult, the stigma¹³. People tell me sometimes, how can you talk to that guy? But he's traveling around. He's putting the face. He's not hiding. So he's a very brave guy but who's got a very difficult life.

OTIS: Marroquin tells his story in his autobiography¹⁴, "Pablo Escobar: My Father," which has just been published in the U.S. After his performances, fans line up to get their copies signed. In the book and in his talks, Marroquin tells young people to avoid the lure¹⁵ of drug gangs. To remove their power, he urges public officials to legalize cocaine. And he asks forgiveness for the sins of his father.

Marroquin's contrition¹⁶ comes as Columbia braces¹⁷ for a process of national reconciliation¹⁸. Later this month, the government and Marxist rebels will sign a historic peace treaty to end a half-century-old guerrilla war. That conflict has killed more than 200,000 people. But not all Colombians are in a forgiving mood.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

INES SARMIENTO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: During the question-and-answer period at Marroquin's talk, a Colombian woman says her father was kidnapped during the height of Colombia's drug war. The woman, Ines Sarmiento, adds that due to Escobar's violence, Colombians abroad are often viewed as criminals.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SARMIENTO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: As Marroquin listens, Sarmiento declares, "I suffered from the things that your father did." For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

1 renouncing   

v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• He enraged the government by renouncing the agreement. 他否认那项协议，从而激怒了政府。 来自辞典例句
• What do you get for renouncing Taiwan and embracing Beijing instead? 抛弃台湾，并转而拥抱北京之后，你会得到什么？ 来自互联网

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

5 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

6 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

7 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

13 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

14 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

15 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

16 contrition   

n.悔罪，痛悔

参考例句：

• The next day he'd be full of contrition,weeping and begging forgiveness.第二天，他就会懊悔不已，哭着乞求原谅。
• She forgave him because his contrition was real.她原谅了他是由于他的懊悔是真心的。

17 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

18 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。