美国国家公共电台 NPR 1st-Generation Mexican American Attempts To Save Migrant Lives In The Arizona Desert

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's Friday, which is when we hear from StoryCorps. For the past 17 years, Maria Ochoa has ventured into the Arizona desert to try to help people crossing the border from Mexico, people who find themselves stranded¹ or in danger. She also searches for those who've gone missing. She came to StoryCorps in Tucson, Ariz., with her friend and fellow volunteer Alma Schloor (ph).

MARIA OCHOA: If you fall and you sprain² an ankle or you break an arm or something like that, you can no longer keep up with the group, so they leave you behind. And if you can't move and you lay there for a while, there's vultures circling all the time. And I have stopped and walked towards where they're circling to see is it an animal that they're circling or is it a person that's out there? Whenever we have found a person in the desert, we ask, are you in any pain? When was the last time you ate or drink anything? Or do you know where you're at? If they're OK, then we hand them food and water and we leave them there. If they're not OK, we call for help.

ALMA SCHLOOR: What does it feel like when you have to leave people?

OCHOA: That is the saddest thing. You want to help them, especially when they tell you, well, just take me into town and I can have somebody come and get me from there. And you can't do it. You can't do it because if you should get stopped by Border Patrol³, you can end up in prison.

SCHLOOR: Is there anyone you still think about?

OCHOA: The one that always comes to my mind is searching for a 19-year-old young woman that was seven months pregnant⁴ travelling with her husband. She was tired and couldn't keep walking any longer, so the group left them behind. They looked for a shady⁵ spot where she could stay. The husband left her there to try and find help. He got a little bit lost but finally found a Border Patrol officer, and they went back to look for her, and she was gone. We went out four or five weekends searching in the desert. We never found her. Her name was Grecia. My whole life - I mean, I come from an immigrant family. My mother herself crossed into the U.S. when she was 12 years old. I have family on both sides of the border. And we can't generalize⁶ and say they're all, you know, bad people because they're not.

SCHLOOR: What do you like the most about doing this work?

OCHOA: One of the greatest satisfactions has been being able to help people. Keep them from dying - that's the most important part. If we can save one life, our work is worth it.

(SOUNDBITE OF FREDRIK'S "MILO")

INSKEEP: That was Maria Ochoa speaking with her friend, Alma Schloor, about her work with the Tucson Samaritans. Their StoryCorps conversation will be archived, along with hundreds of thousands of others, at the Library of Congress.

(SOUNDBITE OF FREDRIK'S "MILO")

1 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

2 sprain   

n.扭伤,扭筋

参考例句：

• He got a foot sprain in his ankle. 他脚踝受了严重的扭伤。
• The sprain made my ankle swell up. 我的脚踝扭伤肿了起来。

3 patrol   

v.巡逻，巡查；n.巡逻，巡查，巡逻队

参考例句：

• They attacked two soldiers on patrol.他们袭击了两名正在巡逻的士兵。
• Policemen patrol the streets.警察在街上巡逻。

4 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

5 shady   

adj.成荫的，多荫的，可疑的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• This is a shady avenue.这是条林阴大道。
• He's a rather shady person.他是个相当靠不住的人。

6 generalize   

vt.概括出；vi.形成概念

参考例句：

• When we use "he",we generalize for both sex.当我们用he时，我们泛指男女。
• Since I do not know the details,I can only generalize about the matter.由于不了解详情，我对此事只能泛泛而谈。