美国国家公共电台 NPR Medical Clinics That Treat Refugees Help Determine The Case For Asylum

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's getting harder for people to seek asylum¹ in the U.S. Last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced stricter rules on people fleeing domestic abuse and gang violence. Now some applicants² are hoping to increase their chances of getting asylum status with help from a special medical clinic in Oakland, Calif. Reporter Anna Gorman has the story.

ANNA GORMAN, BYLINE³: Dr. Nick Nelson walks through busy Highland⁴ Hospital to a sixth-floor exam room.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Over PA) Level 2 trauma⁵ - ETA 5 minutes.

GORMAN: It's here Nelson treats people from around the world - Guatemala, Sudan, Mongolia. Most fled abuse or torture. Now they are seeking protection in the U.S. Nelson's patient Juan Lopez Aguilar is from Guatemala. He's indigenous⁶ Mayan and says he and his community have suffered decades of persecution⁷ and violence.

JUAN LOPEZ AGUILAR: (Speaking Spanish).

GORMAN: Aguilar is worried. He says there are a lot of gangs back home who kill people like him. He's hoping for asylum here.

AGUILAR: (Foreign language spoken).

GORMAN: He switches to his native language and says he has serious headaches. He lays down for the doctor to examine him.

NICK NELSON: And tell me where you feel the pain in your head.

GORMAN: This is the Highland Human Rights Clinic, part of a county hospital in Oakland. Nelson and his team evaluate asylum-seekers.

NELSON: Our job is to make sure that the asylum office understands all the medical and psychological facts about a person's case so that they can make a decision about whether to grant them asylum or not.

GORMAN: To do that, he listens to his patients' stories. He examines their injuries and evaluates their wounds to answer tough questions like...

NELSON: Is this burn scar consistent with the cigarette burn? Because this guy says he was burned by cigarettes by military officials back home.

GORMAN: Asylum-seekers must prove they face persecution or a fear of persecution based on certain factors, like race or political opinion. Federal officials say there's rampant⁸ fraud, and they want to make asylum harder to get. That's changed things at the border, where they've separated and locked up families.

NELSON: So a lot more people who are seeking asylum are detained and cannot come to the clinic because they are behind bars. And they're not allowed out for medical visits.

GORMAN: That's what happened to one farmer from Eritrea who showed up at the Mexican border last year.

MUGULETA HABTOM GEBRESLASIE: My name is Muguleta Habtom Gebreslasie.

GORMAN: The government denied his asylum case during the seven months he was in immigration detention⁹. Now he's out awaiting appeal. He wears an electronic monitor around his ankle.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in foreign language).

GORMAN: This afternoon, Gebreslasie listens to music from back home and cooks lunch at his Oakland apartment.

GEBRESLASIE: (Foreign language spoken).

GORMAN: Gebreslasie says he fled Eritrea in 2006 after being conscripted into military service. He crossed into Sudan only to be kidnapped and tortured. He eventually paid smugglers to take him to the U.S. Now he has an attorney, Haregu Gaime, who referred him to the Highland medical clinic for an evaluation¹⁰.

HAREGU GAIME: They help our clients because they're able to corroborate¹¹ their stories. Sometimes a traumatized person is not able to relay what happened to them in a way that tells the full story.

GORMAN: The full story is often written on the patients' bodies. The clinic's Dr. Nelson says he sees evidence of acid burns, electrocutions and bone fractures never set. He fears the administration's new policies may mean his patients won't get the refuge they need.

I'm Anna Gorman in Oakland, Calif.

(SOUNDBITE OF NITSUA'S "SEASIDE")

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

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 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

5 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

10 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

11 corroborate   

v.支持，证实，确定

参考例句：

• He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。
• It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。