2007年VOA标准英语-Growing Numbers of Venezuelans Emigrate to US

By Steve Mort
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
05 April 2007
 
Watch Venezuelans in US

The number of Venezuelans settling in the United States is growing. Experts say the reelection in December of leftist President Hugo Chavez has triggered a wave of migration¹ from the oil-rich South American country. Many of those leaving are wealthy and fear the government's socialist² policies. Steve Mort reports from the U.S. state of Florida, which has seen a large influx³ of Venezuelan residents.

Up the highway from Miami is the upscale Fort Lauderdale suburb of Weston. It is known locally as "Little Caracas". Venezuelans gather at the Don Pan bakery. one of a chain of Venezuelan-owned cafes.

 
Oscar Franco
Among those who come here for a taste of home is Oscar Franco, a Venezuelan lawyer and a director of the Venezuelan-American Chamber⁴ of Commerce. "Venezuelans will come here, we have our arepas, our traditional food, and you feel like you're at home," he explains. "And that's only natural. It's a very rewarding experience."

Franco, who came to Florida six years ago after accepting a job at a law firm, is one of thousands of Venezuelans now living in the United States.

The 2000 census⁵ put the number of Venezuelans in the United States at 126,000.  But a more recent study by the Miami-based El Venezolano newspaper, suggests there may be as many as 180,000 Venezuelans living in Florida alone.

Many vehemently⁶ oppose the socialist policies of President Hugo Chavez, whom they accuse of wanting to turn their country into a Cuban-style communist dictatorship. 

Miami's Cuban exile community has welcomed the Venezuelan immigrants and found common cause in denouncing the Chavez government's support for Fidel Castro.

 
Eduardo Gamarra

Unlike some of their Cuban counterparts, most Venezuelans in the United States are wealthy.  Professor Eduardo Gamarra of Florida International University says many came to the United States because they were worried about losing their money.

"The future in Venezuela, in the views of many of the migrants that are here, is reserved primarily for lower class people who have been in some measure excluded from the political and economic spoils of the system over the last 40, 50, 100 years," says Gamarra.

President Chavez won reelection last year with a promise to push forward with what he calls a "socialist revolution" in Venezuela. His victory with more than 60 percent of the vote came with massive support from Venezuela's poor and working class.

 
Oscar Levin
Oscar Levin, a leading U.S. immigration attorney, believes rich Venezuelans are looking for both economic and political security, "because they're being threatened or put in jail, they have their properties taken away, they have their families threatened, they have their opportunities to continue to live in a peaceful manner being threatened."

But for the rich in Venezuela, leaving their privileged lifestyle behind to move to the United States is not always an attractive option.

Business leader Oscar Franco says some Venezuelan immigrants go through a grieving process. "You grieve for your language, you grieve for the scenery, you grieve for your family, you grieve for your friends, you grieve for your social status, financial status," he explains." You grieve because you have lost all of that, and it's a very, very difficult thing to adjust to."

But life in Venezuela, according to some, has become so difficult that people line up outside embassies to apply to live abroad.

Venezuelan immigration to U.S. cities like Miami and New York has risen steadily⁷, and experts believe the trend will continue until Venezuela sees political change.

1 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。

2 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

3 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

7 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。