Mandarin English Dialogue #34 – Onshore Protection Visa

Briefing

The following is a taped interview between an Indonesian Chinese named Lia and an immigration officer named Shawn from the Onshore Protection Department.

 

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Mandarin English Dialogue #34 – Onshore Protection Visa

Transcript and reference translation

Shawn: Good morning Lia. My name is Shawn Hayden, I’ll be your case officer for your Onshore Protection Visa application. Can I start with your name, and date and place of birth please? (早上好,莉亚。我名字叫肖恩•海登。我是你的签证官,负责你的境内难民保护签证申请。我可以先问一下你的名字,出生日期和地点吗?)

Lia: 好的。我叫Lia,L-I-A,姓黄。出生日期是1982年12月8日,在印度尼西亚雅加达出生的。我是一个华侨。(OK. My name is Lia, L-I-A. My last name is Huang. I was born on 8 December 1982, in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am an overseas Chinese.)

Shawn: Thank you. Before we start, I’d like to remind you that to be assessed as a refugee, you have to meet the criteria as defined by the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Are you familiar with these criteria? (谢谢。在我们开始之前,我想提醒你,你必须得符合标准,也就是联合国难民地位公约,才能够被评估为难民。你对这些标准熟悉吗?)

Lia: 是的,我熟悉。这么多年以来,我和我们国家很多人都因为我们的宗教信仰而被迫害。今年情况很严重,以至于我决定跟我的家人一起离开这个国家。回去的话太危险了。(Yes, I am. My fellow citizens and I have been persecuted for our religious beliefs for many years. It became so bad this year that I decided to leave the country with my family. It would be too dangerous to return.)

Shawn: OK. The first question I’d like to ask is: what denomination of Christianity are you? (那就好。我想问的第一个问题是,你属于是基督教的哪个分支?)

Lia: 我其实是一个天主教徒,我13岁的时候受洗的。(I’m actually a Catholic.  I was baptised when I was 13.)

Shawn: OK. You can start by briefly explaining why you are seeking asylum in this country. (好的。你可以先简单地说一下为什么你在这个国家寻求保护。)

Lia: 好的。我以前生活的地方叫做苏腊巴亚,是印尼第二最大的城市。大多数的人口信伊斯兰教,而且很多天主教徒被迫害,甚至一些也被杀了。我好不容易逃出了火海,我不敢再回去。(OK. The place I used to live is called Surabaya. It is Indonesia’s second biggest city. Most of the population are Muslims. Many Catholics are persecuted, some are even killed. I managed to escape the violence, and I dare not return.)

Shawn: What do you think will happen if you go back? (你觉得你回去的话会有什么结果呢?)

Lia: 我回去的话我担心被迫害。一是因为我是华人,那边的种族歧视很严重。二是因为在那边回教和基督教徒经常打架。他们上个月闯进了我们教堂,抓走了我和几个姐妹,关在一个小屋子里。(I’m afraid I’ll be persecuted if I go back. First, because I’m an overseas Chinese, and racism is rife over there. Second, because Muslims and Christians often fight. Last month they burst into my church, took several of my sisters and I away and locked us in a small room.)

Shawn: What happened after that? (然后发生什么了呢?)

Lia: 我一个人偷偷跑了出来。一个朋友帮我付钱买了船票,我是跟其他寻求庇护的人一起过来的。(I snuck out by myself. One of my friends helped me buy a boat ticket and I came over here with some other asylum seekers.)

Shawn: Yes, I know about this. Next I’d like to ask you a few questions about your religious beliefs. In your personal statement you said you go to church every week. Can I ask what you do during your Sunday service? (嗯,这些情况我都了解了。下一步我要问的是跟你的宗教信仰相关的一些问题。在你的个人说明中你说每个星期你都去教堂,我可以问一下,在周日做礼拜的时候你要做些什么事情呢?)

Lia: 我去做弥撒,领圣餐和在这之后会做告解。每次我都会为我在印尼的可怜的亲戚们祈祷,祈祷他们安全。(I go to Mass. I take communion and then afterwards I take confession. Every time I pray for my poor relatives for them to be safe.)

Shawn: OK. May I ask, in your religion, what day of the year is the most important to you and why? (好。我想问一下,在你的宗教里,一年当中的哪一天对你最重要,为什么?)

Lia: 复活节。因为复活之后,耶稣又重生了。在复活节和圣诞节之前,我们要做忏悔,这也是我向牧师忏悔我的罪的时候。(Easter. Because after the resurrection, Jesus was born again. Before Easter and Christmas, we need to take confession and that’s the time when I confess my sins to the pastor.)

Shawn: OK. And what’s your favourite story from the Bible and what’s it about? (好。你最喜欢圣经当中的哪个故事,是讲什么的?)

Lia: 最后的晚餐,讲的是耶稣有12个门徒,他们一起吃晚餐,这是在耶稣死之前。有一个学徒,叫做犹大,吃晚餐之后他亲了耶稣。在这之前他告诉犹太人说,他要亲的那个人就是你们想抓的人。(The Last Supper. It’s about the meal Jesus had with his 12 disciples before his death. One of his disciples named Judas kissed Jesus after the supper. Before that he had told the Jewish people that the person he would kiss is the person they are looking to arrest.)

Shawn: Why do you like this story though? (为什么你喜欢这个故事呢?)

Lia: 因为有很多世界级杰作的灵感都来自于这个故事,而且这让我想起在教堂领圣餐,牧师会给我们吃一个小面包和喝一口红酒。我们认为面包代表耶稣的身体,酒代表他的血,而且耶稣为了我们牺牲了自己。(Because many world-class masterpieces were inspired by the story. And it reminds me of taking communion at church, during which time the pastor gives us a small piece of bread to eat and a sip of red wine. We believe that the bread symbolises the body of Christ, that the wine symbolises his blood and that Jesus sacrificed himself for us.)

Shawn: OK. Another question I want to ask is what’s your favourite hymn? (好的。还有另外一个问题我想问你是你最喜欢的圣诗是哪首?)

Lia: 嗯,让我想一下,应该是《奇异恩典》。(Hmm, let me think. It would probably have to be “Amazing Grace”.)

Shawn: Could you sing that song for me now please? (你可以现在唱那首歌给我听吗?)

Lia: 没问题,我现在就唱给你听。(No problem. I’ll sing it for you now.)

6 Comments to "Mandarin English Dialogue #34 – Onshore Protection Visa"

  1. Jason's Gravatar Jason
    25/03/2014 - 1:09 pm | Permalink

    Case officer = 案子的负责人. Just a thought

  2. Jason's Gravatar Jason
    25/03/2014 - 1:12 pm | Permalink

    And onshore protection = 境内保护申请。 I say so because I think onshore is just antonym of offshore ( 境外, 离岸)。 So maybe use 境内is better.

  3. Jason's Gravatar Jason
    25/03/2014 - 1:15 pm | Permalink

    华侨= overseas Chinese is OK。 But can I translate to expatriate? Tell me what you think.

  4. Jason's Gravatar Jason
    25/03/2014 - 1:36 pm | Permalink

    Hymn = (大陆常用)赞美诗

  5. Jason's Gravatar Jason
    31/03/2014 - 5:08 am | Permalink

    “Before Easter and Christmas, we need to take confession and that’s the time when I confess my sins to the pastor.”

    I think here use Father is preciser than pastor because she is a catholic, though always translated as 牧师 in Chinese. Father= 神父, pastor= 牧师。 The first one is catholic and the latter for Protestants 。

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