I am an immigrant from Uganda living in the United States while waiting for my asylum application to go through.
﻿我是住在美国的乌干达移民， 正在等待 我的庇护申请获得通过。
Migrants do not enjoy much freedom of movement in our world today. This certainly applies to those who are desperate enough to navigate choppy and stormy seas in boats. These are the risks my cousins from West Africa and North Africa face while trying to cross over to Europe. Indeed, it is a rare but fortunate opportunity for a migrant to address a gathering like this.
在我们今天的世界里， 移民没有多少行动自由。 这当然包括那些 绝望到要坐船穿过汹涌大海的人。 我在西非和北非兄弟们 试图跨海去往欧洲时， 就要面对这样的危险。 确实，让一个移民在这种场合发言， 是稀有而幸运的机会。
But this also signifies what often is missing in the global debate over refugees, migrants and immigrants, voices of the disenfranchised. Citizens of many host countries, even those that previously welcomed newcomers, are uneasy about the rising numbers of individuals coming into their countries. The immediate criticism is that the newcomers upend the stability of social welfare and employment in their countries. Uncertain and skeptical citizens look towards politicians who are competing against each other to see who can claim the prize of the loudest voice of populism and nationalism. It is a contest of who is the toughest on migrants, the most willing to impose travel bans and the most eager to propose projects in building walls.
但这也暴露了 在关于难民 和移民迁徙的全球辩论中， 我们常常漏掉的—— 被剥夺权利者的声音。 很多接收国的公民， 甚至之前欢迎新移民的那些国家， 对来到他们国家的人不断增多 感到不安。 直接的批评是， 新来的人影响了， 本国的社会福利和就业稳定性。 不安和疑虑的人们 指望政界人士解决， 政客们相互比赛，看谁能获得 民粹主义和民族主义的最响声音。 这场比赛要看谁对移民最狠心、 谁最想实施旅游禁令， 和谁最着急提出筑墙规划。
All these restrictions simply address symptoms of the problem, not the causes. Why are they coming? Migrants can share perspectives, if only politicians would be willing to listen.
所有这些限制 仅仅解决问题的表症， 而没有指出根本原因。 他们为什么要来？ 只有政界人士愿意倾听， 移民才能分享自己的观点。
In Dubai, I chronicled injustices and inequalities inflicted regularly on the migrant labor force. As a result, pressures from the governments of the respective countries led to me being forced out of my career as a journalist in the Middle East. I was deported to Uganda, where economic deprivation puts everyone at the risk of starvation. I fled Uganda to come to the United States in the hope of sustaining a voice for my brothers and sisters who experience a more serious plight as migrants.
在迪拜，我记录了移民劳工 经常遭受的不公正和不平等。 结果，来自各国政府的压力 导致我被迫失去了 在中东的记者工作。 我被驱逐到乌干达， 那里的经济匮乏让每个人 都面临着被饿死的危险。 我逃离乌干达，来到美国， 希望能为那些兄弟姐妹发声， 他们在经历更严重的移民困境。
My father told me he was not happy about me writing a book that risked deportation and unemployment. He had been diabetic for many years when I still worked in Dubai, and my salary was always sufficient to pay for his treatments. After I was expelled, I could not afford to sustain his treatment, and even in the last days of his life, I could not afford to take him to a hospital. As I carried his body in my hands to lay it in the ground in June of last year, I realized I had paid a profound price for amplifying my voice.
我父亲告诉我， 他对我写书这事不满意， 我写这书在冒着 被驱逐和失业的风险。 我在迪拜工作时， 他已经患糖尿病多年， 我的薪水一直足够 支付他的治疗费用。 在我被驱逐之后， 我无法再负担他的治疗， 甚至在他生命的最后几天， 我也没钱送他去医院。 去年六月， 当我抱着他的尸体埋进土里时， 我才意识到， 为了喊出自己的声音， 我付出了巨大的代价。
The act of speaking up against injustices that are multilayered is never easy, because the problems require more than just rhetoric. So long as gold mines, oilfields and large farms in Africa continue to be owned by foreign investors and those vital resources are shipped to the West, the stream of African migrants will flow continuously. There are no restrictions that could ever be so rigorous to stop the wave of migration that has determined our human history.
声讨多层次的 不公正向来很难， 因为这些问题需要的 不仅仅是言辞。 只要非洲的金矿、 油田和大农场 继续由外国投资者所有， 且这些重要资源继续被运往西方， 非洲的移民迁徙就会持续不断。 没有任何限制能够严格到 足以阻止决定人类历史的移民潮。
Before border controls can be tightened and new visa restrictions imposed, countries that have long received migrants should engage in a more open discussion. That is the only practical start for reconciling, finally, a legacy of exploitation, slavery, colonialism and imperialism, so that together, we can move forward in creating a more just global economy in the 21st century -- one that benefits all.
在加强边境管制和 实施新签证限制之前， 长期接受移民的国家 应该进行一场更加开放的讨论。 那才是唯一的实际启动， 为了最终能够调和 由剥削、 奴役、 殖民主义， 和帝国主义遗留的问题， 然后我们才能一起 在21世纪创造出 更加公正的全球经济， 让所有人都受益的全球经济。