2007年VOA标准英语-West African Youths Divided on Clandestine Migr

By Phuong Tran
Nouadhibou, Mauritania
05 September 2007

As West African youths continue to attempt illegal Atlantic ocean crossings to Europe, those who stay behind have mixed reactions.  Some say the crossing is suicidal; others say it is everyone's right to seek a better life. Phuong Tran speaks to youths in Senegal and Mauritania, two main departure points for Africa's would-be migrants, and has this report for VOA.

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Youth in a migrant detention center in Nouadhibou

At this seaside barber shop in the fishing village of Nouadhibou, Mauritania, 17-year-old Sierra Leonean Alvin Johnson takes his first customer of the day.

He came here three years ago, not to cut hair, but in the hopes of making it to Spain on a fishing canoe.

He says he was escaping the fallout from the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone that separated him from his family.

But he says he quickly changed his mind. 

"I came here. I see the process people pass through. It is very dangerous. I have seen a lot. The tides that brought them in," Johnson said. "A lot of them die here [in] the sea."

Instead, Johnson learned how to cut hair and now shares space with other West African migrants-turned-barbers.

Last year, more than 31,000 Africans, mostly men, made it to Spain's Canary Islands, a top destination for African boat migrants trying to reach Europe.

Officials are unsure how many have died at sea.

Three would-be immigrants sit on the Tejita beach in Granadilla on the Canary island of Tenerife, Spain, 13 Feb 2007

European officials started fighting back with more surveillance and repatriations.

In the first half of this year, Spain turned back 20,000 at its borders.

Vijaya Souri, deputy² director of the International Office for Migration³ office in Nouadhibou Mauritania, says many young people are still determined⁴.

She says they are taking bigger risks, cramming⁵ themselves into smaller canoes. 

"The numbers multiply toward the Canary Islands when the conditions are better at sea, and the conditions are much more difficult through land," Souri said.

Facely, a 21-year-old Guinean, says seeing his friends die has not changed his determination to leave.  He says he is ashamed that he cannot help his little brother financially. He says when he sees wealthy Africans who are able to travel easily to Europe, he also wants that.

Baye Gai is a 22-year-old Senegalese man who has also seen friends leave on the dangerous journey. He says he does not have several thousand dollars to hire a boat organizer to take him to the Canary Islands. But he says those who can afford the trip have the right to find a way to provide for their families.

He says Europeans do not have the right to close their borders, even if the migrants do not have travel documents. Gai asks whether Europeans had papers when they came and colonized⁶ Africa. If it was legal then, he says, it should be legal for Africans to go to Europe now, however they choose.

The Spanish government is experimenting with temporary work visas and job training programs to reduce illegal migration from West Africa.

Last month, the West African Economic and Monetary⁷ Union announced a $6 billion package to build roads, dig water wells and improve rural options over the next five years to help youth make money at home.

1 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

2 deputy   

n.代理人，代表，副职；adj.代理的，副的

参考例句：

• John will act as a deputy for me during my absence.我离开期间，约翰将代理我的职务。
• She is the deputy headmistress of the school.她是那所学校的代理校长。

3 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。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 cramming   

n.塞满，填鸭式的用功v.塞入( cram的现在分词 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课

参考例句：

• Being hungry for the whole morning, I couldn't help cramming myself. 我饿了一上午，禁不住狼吞虎咽了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She's cramming for her history exam. 她考历史之前临时抱佛脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。