将欧洲变成一个堡垒?

AS IT IS 2015-11-17 Is Europe a Fortress¹? 将欧洲变成一个堡垒?

The terrorist attacks that killed more than 100 people in Paris on Friday night complicate² the refugee situation.

Europe is overwhelmed with how to register and integrate hundreds of thousands of migrants. They are streaming from the Middle East and Africa into Europe.

News agencies report that fingerprints³ were taken of a man who police say detonated a suicide bomb in Paris. In October, he was fingerprinted⁴ by Greek authorities as part of the refugee process.

The Paris attacks confirm the fears of authorities who worry that mass migration⁵ includes terrorists.

European Union politicians have discussed how to reduce migration from countries like Syria and Eritrea. Some EU countries are shutting their borders.

In the wake of Friday’s massacre⁶, French President Francois Hollande tightened⁷ his country’s borders and declared a state of emergency.

The Schengen Agreement eliminated the EU’s internal borders in 1995. It allows for passport-free travel between 26 nations. But the agreement also allows for temporarily reinstating border controls for security reasons.

Other times countries have tightened their borders in recent years include events like the soccer World Cup or major policy conferences.

Before Friday’s attacks, some countries with liberal immigration policies tightened border security because of the wave of refugees and migrants. Now those borders may be sealed for some time.

To understand how many people are entering Europe, think of this: More than 200,000 migrants made their way to Europe in October.

That’s more than the number of people who made the trek⁸ into Europe from distressed⁹ countries in all of 2014.

The United Nations and other agencies that track the welfare of migrants and refugees say there are almost 750,000 new arrivals in Europe this year. 

The United Nations refugee agency – UNHCR – says the migrants are overwhelming resources in Greece, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.

For example, Slovenia recently built a barbed-wire fence along its border with Croatia.

At the sea crossings, the death toll¹¹ seems to increase every day. Flimsy boats make their way into water that is rougher and colder each day.

The International Organization for Migration said this month almost 3,500 migrants have died along this route into Europe in 2015. 

The Greek and Turkish coast guards are not able to save every boat that gets into trouble. Last week, the Turkish state-run news agency reported 14 migrants drowned in the Aegean Sea.

And nobody knows what to do with people waiting at borders to be processed or relocated to places like Luxembourg.

For years, Sweden had one of the most liberal immigration policies. But it plans to introduce temporary border controls, too.

There are fewer than 10-million people in Sweden. Up to 200,000 refugees and migrants are expected to arrive this year. That is by far the largest proportion of refugees in Europe.

Sweden has accepted refugees and immigrants for years. And it has strong assimilation policies.

New arrivals in Sweden are offered skills assessments¹³ so they can be placed in suitable jobs. They are also offered free language classes.

But what happens if these migrants fail to find work or adapt to life in Sweden?

Experts are concerned about immigrant communities and governance. Acceptable practices in some countries are not accepted in others.

For example, the European Institute for Gender¹⁴ Equality says lawmakers should be mindful of practices like female genital mutilation. This practice is a crime in the European Union. It is punishable by jail time in most countries.

Host countries are struggling with the balance between Western and Muslim legal traditions. As the humanitarian¹⁵ crisis continues, that struggle is not expected to end soon.

Words in This Story

assessment¹² – n. to make a judgment¹⁶

assimilation – n. becoming part of a new society or country

barbed – adj. having a sharp point that sticks out and backward from a larger point, having a barb¹⁰

capsize – v. to turn over so that the bottom is on top

eliminate - v. to end something

female genital mutilation– n. the act of cutting off female sexual parts

flimsy – adj. easily broken, torn, etc., not strong or solid

integrate - v. to mix, to bring people into a country or an organization

litmus test – n. a judgment or test 

massive – adj. large amount or degree

overwhelming – adj. confusing, difficult, heavy 

proportion – n. an amount in comparison to another amount 

reception – n. receiving, welcoming, or accepting

shut - v. to close or restrict

stream -- v. a continuous flow 

toll – n. the number of people who are killed or injured in an accident, disaster, war, etc. — usually singular

trek – v. to walk for a long distance

1 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

2 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

3 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 fingerprinted   

v.指纹( fingerprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The criminal was fingerprinted in the sheriff's office. 罪犯在警长办公室里被取下指纹。 来自辞典例句
• They were then taken to be photographed and fingerprinted. 然后，他们被带去照相、留指纹。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

7 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

8 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

9 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

10 barb   

n.（鱼钩等的）倒钩，倒刺

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• A fish hook has a barb to prevent the fish from escaping after being hooked.鱼钩上都有一个倒钩以防上了钩的鱼逃走。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

13 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

14 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

15 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

16 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。