马里移民救儿童感动法国,获总统接见并授予法国籍

France Offers Malian Migrant Citizenship¹ After Heroic² Rescue

This is What’s Trending Today…

He has been called “France’s Spiderman” by the media. And to French President Emmanuel Macron, he is a “hero.”

His name, though, is Mamoudou Gassama. He is a 22-year-old undocumented migrant from Mali. He arrived in Europe in 2014 and came to France last September.

On Saturday evening, Gassama was in a Paris neighborhood with his girlfriend. He noticed a crowd of people gathered on a street. He looked up from the crowd and saw a small, young child hanging high above from a building.

Gassama immediately crossed the street and, “without thinking twice,” he said, he began climbing up the building. He moved from balcony to balcony. Then, he quickly and expertly pulled the child to safety.

The child, a four-year-old boy, had been left unattended by his father.

The crowd below screamed and cheered. Some took videos of the rescue, which they then put on social media. Many of those videos went viral.

Soon, Gassama’s actions were known around the world.

Gassama showed no fear as he climbed. Yet, he told the VOA Bambara service, after the rescue, “I was shaking and couldn’t stand on my feet. I was so shaken by what I did.”

On Monday, Gassama was invited to meet with Macron. He told the French leader about the rescue. He also told him about his own path to Europe.

Gassama left Mali as a teenager, crossed the Sahara Desert and made it to Libya. From there, he tried to take a boat to Italy. The first time, he said, authorities³ caught and jailed⁴ him before sending him to Niger. He tried one more time. This time, he made it to Italy.

He left Italy for France last year to join his older brother, who already lived in Paris.

Macron told Gassama, “Because this is an exceptional⁵ act...we are obviously⁶, today, going to regularize all your papers.”

The president also said he would offer Gassama French citizenship and a job as a firefighter.

The special treatment for Gassama comes as France is preparing to remove about 2,400 migrants from temporary camps in Paris. The forced closure of the camps has led to a heated debate between city leaders and national politicians.

Another Malien, Lassana Bathily, was given French citizenship in 2015. He saved lives by hiding people in a freezer during a terror⁷ attack on a Jewish⁸ food store where he worked.

And that’s What’s Trending Today…

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

balcony - n. a raised platform that is connected to the side of a building and surrounded by a low wall or railing

authorities - n.?people who have power to make decisions and enforce⁹ rules and laws?

exceptional - adj.? not usual : unusual or uncommon¹⁰?

regularize - v.? to make (something, such as a situation) regular, legal, or officially accepted

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 heroic   

adj.英雄的，英勇的，崇高的

参考例句：

• Many people have heard of the man's heroic deeds.许多人都已经听说了这个人的英雄事迹。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

3 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 jailed   

监禁，拘留( jail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was jailed for life for murder. 他因杀人罪被终生监禁。
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。

5 exceptional   

adj.优越的，杰出的，例外的，独特的，异常的

参考例句：

• He is a man of exceptional talent.他是位具有非凡才能的人。
• He showed exceptional musical ability.他显示出特殊的音乐才能。

6 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

7 terror   

n.恐怖；可怖的人(事)

参考例句：

• We were in mortal terror of being found out. 我们非常害怕被发现。
• That guy is a proper terror. 那家伙真是讨厌。

8 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

9 enforce   

vt.实施，执行；强制，强迫；加强，坚持

参考例句：

• You have no right to enforce your own views on me.你无权把你自己的观点强加给我。
• They tried to enforce agreement with their plans.他们企图迫使人们同意他们的计划。

10 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。