2007年VOA标准英语-For Senegalese Villagers, Illegal Immigration C

By Kari Barber
Thiaroye, Senegal
23 January 2007
 
watch Senegalese Immigration

Tens of thousands of Senegalese and other West Africans left their homes and set out for the Canary Islands during the past year, hoping to find economic opportunity.  The journey by small boat is long and hazardous¹, and many are lost at sea.  Educators and women's groups in Senegal are trying to persuade young men not to risk their lives, but desperate emigrants² say they will continue to try to find a better life outside Africa.  Kari Barber reports from Thiaroye, a Senegalese fishing village.

 
Senegal fishermen
Fishermen heading out to sea in their small wooden boats once filled the beaches of Thiaroye.  But foreign trawlers moved into nearby waters, catches declined and the local fishing industry dried up.

Young men have been leaving in droves, hoping for better-paying jobs in Europe.  Most set sail for Spain's Canary Islands, more than a thousand kilometers away, through often turbulent seas.  The journey claimed the lives of more than 150 villagers last year, according to a local tally³, and most of those who survived were detained and forced to return home.

 
Talla Gnang holds up his  broken chair
Schoolteacher Talla Gnang says he understands why so many want to leave Thiaroye. "This is the kindergarten.  And this is for the teacher -- a broken chair.  This is why most of the teachers are thinking of going to Europe or the U.S.A.  You know, clandestine⁴ immigration."

Gnang studied in the United States but returned to the village once he qualified⁵ as a teacher. "Everybody wants to go away.  And I said to myself, 'OK, after my stay in the U.S., I will go back home.'  I told my parents about that and they said, 'No, no, no, no.  Please don't come back.  Stay there and make money and send us money.'  I said, 'No, father, I'm going to come back.'"

Talla Gnang says persuading Senegalese to stay in the country is difficult.

A three-story house was built with money sent by Mamadou Fall's older brother, who works illegally in Spain. Mamadou Fall tried to reach Spain twice -- once by land and once by sea -- but authorities in Morocco detained him both times.  Now he helps deported⁶ migrants like himself. Fall says he would stay in Thiaroye if there were any jobs, but he has given up trying to sneak⁷ into Europe.

Instead he is trying his luck with the U.S. "green card" lottery⁸, hoping to win permission to live and work in America.

So many young men from Thiaroye have been lost at sea that their mothers have formed a support group.  The women are making a local grain meal to sell.  With their primary financial providers gone, their lives have become more difficult. 

 
Arame Leye
Arame Leye joined the group after her son left on a boat headed for Spain last year, and was no longer heard from.  He left after the birth of his first child, saying he wanted to provide his new family with a better life.   

Arame Leye says she believes her son is dead. 

With her son's income gone, Leye sells pancakes to make a living, and to feed the baby girl her son left behind.  She says she prays none of her seven other children will tempt⁹ the sea by setting sail in a search for a different life.

1 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

2 emigrants   

n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At last the emigrants got to their new home. 移民们终于到达了他们的新家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Truly, a decree for selling the property of emigrants.' “有那么回事，是出售外逃人员财产的法令。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

4 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

5 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

6 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

8 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

9 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。