Websites Put New Face on Business of Seeking American Husban

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Christopher Cruise.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:欢迎收听美国之音的今日美国节目，我是Christopher Cruise.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. Some people will celebrate this Valentine's Day with someone they met on the Internet through a dating site. But dating sites are not the only online places where people look for relationships.

FAITH LAPIDUS:我是Faith Lapidus. 有些人在这个情人节将会和他们在交友网站上遇到的人一起度过。但是交友网站并不是人们在网上寻找朋友的唯一途径。

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: This week on our program, we look at international marriage brokers who help American men marry women from other countries.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:在我们本周的节目中，我们将关注国际婚友网站（marriage broker：婚姻介绍人，文中则指婚友网站）帮助美国男子从外国迎娶新娘。

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FAITH LAPIDUS: The Internet is at the heart of a modern business with a long history. In America, the business of men sending for women from other countries began in the Old West in the eighteen hundreds.

FAITH LAPIDUS:互联网在现代企业中的核心地位已经有很长的历史了。在美国，负责帮男子向其他国家的女子联络的业务，早在18世纪的古老西方就已经展开了。

There were many men living on the frontier. These included the "forty-niners" -- men who moved to California in eighteen forty-nine to search for gold. But there were very few women willing to join them.

有许多男子住在边境地区。这些人中就包括“四九人”--在1849年去加州淘金的人。但是几乎没有任何女子愿意和他们同行。

As a result, demand grew for women from other countries. They were called "picture brides" -- better known today as "mail-order brides."

这样就增加了从其他国家寻找女子的需求。她们被称为“照片新娘”--今天可以更好的理解为“邮购的新娘”

These days, women who advertise online for husbands are sometimes called "e-mail-order brides." But some people consider either term insulting. They say it suggests that the women are products that can be purchased.

最近，做在线征婚广告的女子有时也被称为“电邮订购的新娘”。但是也有些人把这两种征婚方式的任何一种都视为一种侮辱。他们说这就意味着这些女子是商品可以被购买。

Finding an American husband, they say, might provide an escape from a life of poverty or danger or loneliness. No one blames people for seeking a better life. But critics say this business sometimes seems like just another form of human trafficking.

她们说找个美国丈夫，可以摆脱生活中的贫困、危险和寂寞。没有人会反对追寻更好的生活。但是批评人士认为这项业务有时像变相的贩卖人口。

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: One study of agencies that list women seeking husbands found there were around ten thousand "mail-order marriages" a year. About four thousand of these involved men from the United States.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:中介机构的一份调查表明，寻觅丈夫的女子发现她们一年有一万个“邮购的婚姻”。其中包括大约4千名美国男子。

Other husbands were Canadian, Australian, European and Japanese. The women were mostly Filipino or Russian, although there were listings of women from almost every country.

其他的丈夫有加拿大人、澳大利亚人、欧洲人和日本人。尽管他们列出的女子几乎来自各个国家，但大多是菲律宾人或者是俄罗斯人。

But these marriage numbers may be low. They are from a report published in nineteen ninety-seven when the Internet was still young.

尽管这些婚姻的数量看起来可能有些少。但他们是基于一份1997年的报告，那时还处于互相网的早期时代。

FAITH LAPIDUS: Former Air Force officer David Knabel met his Russian wife through an international marriage brokerage. He says he was so happy, he later bought the company. The business is called A Volga Girl, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Knabel introduces Russian women to American men.

FAITH LAPIDUS:前空军长官David Knabel是通过一个国际婚姻经纪人公司认识的他的俄罗斯妻子。他说他很高兴，后来他买下了这家公司。这个公司被称为“伏尔加河女孩”，总部位于肯塔基州的路易斯维尔。Knabel先生把俄罗斯女子介绍给美国男子。

DAVID KNABEL: “Why a few, very low percentage of ladies from Russia that are interested in finding a foreign husband is because of the problem with the Russian men. There’s a huge contingent of Russian men that are alcoholics and womanizers and several of the ladies have gone through that and they just don’t want that kind of man for their husband."

DAVID KNABEL:“为什么只有很少的俄罗斯女士有兴趣找个外国丈夫，问题出在俄罗斯男子的身上。大批符合条件的俄罗斯男子是酗酒和玩弄女性的人，有些女士有过这样的经历，因此她们不想要那种男子做她们的丈夫。”

Mr. Knabel's company has been in business for eleven years. He says just five percent of the marriages have ended in divorce, a claim that is difficult to confirm.

Knabel先生的公司已经运营11年了。他表示有百分之五的婚姻是以离婚告终的，但这种情况很难验证。

He points out that the Federal Bureau of Investigation must do a background check on a man before he can bring a woman to America.

他指出联邦调查局必须检查每名迎娶外国女子来到美国的男子的背景资料。

DAVID KNABEL: “What protects the lady is when the FBI does their background check, and if this guy’s got a criminal record he’s not going to be allowed to bring a lady here.”

DAVID KNABEL:“当联邦调查局对他们的背景进行检查的时候，就是对要被迎娶进来的女士的一种保护。如果这个家伙有犯罪记录的话，他就不许在美国迎娶外国女士了。”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Other requirements involve the agency known as ICE, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. For example, couples must have met at least once in person sometime in the last two years.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:其他要求的条款包括中介机构要有ICE认证，或称为移民及海关执法局。例如，情侣两人必须在最近两年内面对面的见过一次。

A fiancé visa can let people come to the United States. But once they arrive they must get married within ninety days or return to their home country.

未婚妻签证能让她们来到美国。但她们一但入境必须在90天内完婚否则会被遣返回她们的祖国。

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FAITH LAPIDUS: The Tahirih Justice Center is a nonprofit group in the Washington area. It helps immigrant women who have been abused by American husbands. Heather Heiman is a lawyer there.

FAITH LAPIDUS:塔希瑞司法中心是华盛顿地区的非营利性组织。它帮助被美国丈夫虐待的移民女子。

HEATHER HEIMAN: “We try not to demonize or vilify the international marriage brokerage industry as a whole. We understand that there are some brokered relationships out there that do end in happy marriages. But what we have unfortunately encountered is many situations where brokered marriages have not ended in happy relationships. And unfortunately when abusive situations do occur, the abuse can be horrific."

HEATHER HEIMAN:“我们试图不去诋毁整个国际婚姻中介行业。我们明白在那的一些中介婚姻最后都很幸福。其中也有不幸，那就是当虐待的情况发生的时候，虐待是很可怕的。”

Ms. Heiman says foreign wives often do not know there are laws that protect them, even if they are not citizens.

Heiman夫人说外国来的妻子们通常不知道还有法律可以保护她们，即使她们不是合法的公民。

HEATHER HEIMAN: “In our experience, foreign brides are just often particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. For example, they’re dependent on their husbands for their legal immigration status. When they come over here they may be isolated from their support network of family and friends. They might have limited English skills. And often what we’ve found is they don’t know that domestic violence is a crime in this country or even where to seek help if they’re being abused."

HEATHER HEIMAN:“以我们的经验，外国新娘面对虐待和剥削时尤其脆弱。例如，她们是依靠她们的丈夫来获得合法的移民身份的。当她们来到这里时她们就会与支持她们的家人和朋友等关系失去联系。她们的英语水平有限。而且我们经常发现她们不知道家庭暴力在美国是犯罪，或者甚至不知道如果她们遭受虐待的时候该去哪里寻求帮助。

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: There have been some studies of the practice of foreign women marrying American men. Some women use international marriage brokers. Others join American dating websites.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:有一些关于外国女子嫁给美国男子的实践研究。一些女子用的是国际婚姻中介公司，其他的是在美国交友网站注册。

An estimated sixty percent of the women are twenty-five or younger. Half of the men are over the age of thirty-seven.

大约有60%的女子只有25岁或更年轻。有一半男子已经超过37岁了。

FAITH LAPIDUS: Researchers say power and control may be more important than love to men who seek a foreign wife. This may be true especially of men seeking a woman who advertises herself as "traditional." The men often say American women want a career and are not happy with "only" being a wife and mother.

FAITH LAPIDUS:研究者表示对于那些男人来说权力和控制也许要比找到爱更重要。这也许是事实，尤其是男子要找在广告中说她自己是“传统型”的女子。这样的男子通常会说美国的女子想要的是事业，不满意“只能”作为一个妻子或者母亲。

One study found that most of the men are white, have some college education and are economically middle class. The majority are politically and socially conservative. Most live in cities. Most have been married before. And most want children.

一份研究表明大部分的男子是白人而且有大学文凭，他们在经济上属于中产阶级。大部分是政治和社会的保守派。很多是住在城市的，很多以前是结过婚的，很多是想要孩子的。

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: John Baker is white, middle-class, divorced and conservative. He is sixty-four and retired from the Army. Mr. Baker has been talking with a woman in Russia for the past four years. Her name is Svetlana.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:John Baker就是个白人，中产阶级，离了婚并且是个保守派。他64岁从军队退役了。Baker先生在过去的四年一直与一名俄罗斯的女子谈恋爱。她的名字是Svetlana.

They talk online but Mr. Baker says he has also visited her. He says Svetlana is fifty-five years old and, like himself, has children who are grown. Mr. Baker says he knew there was a chance he could be tricked while looking for a relationship online.

他们在网上聊天，但Baker先生说他也探访过她。她说Svetlana 55岁了，像他自己一样有子女并且已经长大。Baker先生还说他知道如果在网上寻找爱情的话有被骗的可能。

JOHN BAKER: "I knew that there was a lot of scamming going on, mostly criminal men who would post some really gorgeous girl’s pictures on a website. And sometimes they win -- they take advantage of some guy. I went into this with my eyes open to that possibility and avoided that."

JOHN BAKER:“我明白有很多的欺骗行为正在进行，大部分犯罪男子会把一些真实的漂亮女孩的照片贴在网上。有时他们赢了 -- 他们利用一些人的优势。我把这种情况看在眼里记在心上尽量来避免被骗”

John Baker says he wants to bring Svetlana to the United States and marry her as soon as he has enough money saved.

John Baker先生说他想要把Svetlana女士带到美国来，当他一攒够钱时就和她尽快完婚。

FAITH LAPIDUS: John Adams has owned an international marriage brokerage in Phoenix, Arizona, for sixteen years. His business is called A Foreign Affair. Mr. Adams says there are a lot of mistaken beliefs about American men who want to marry foreign women.

FAITH LAPIDUS:John Adams在亚利桑那州的凤凰城拥有一个国际婚姻中介公司，已经有16年了。他的业务被称为外事。Adams先生说有很多关于美国男子想要娶外国女子的误解。

JOHN ADAM: "These aren’t guys that are losers, these aren’t guys that can’t get dates. These are guys that are very proactive. And they’re trying to find the best possibilities for what’s going to be the most important decision they ever make in their life -- who to spend the rest of their life with, who to build their family with. The stigma of 'Oh, they just want to go marry someone and bring her over and tie her up in the basement and keep her as a sex slave' is just ludicrous."

JOHN ADAM:“没有人是失败者，没有人不想要约会。有些人都是非常积极主动的。他们试图做最大努力尽可能的去寻找他们生活中最重要的决定 -- 他们在余生中会与谁相伴，会与谁组成他们的家庭。‘哦，他们只是想要同某人结婚，把她带过来，然后绑在地下室里，把她作为性奴隶’像这样耻辱的说法真是可笑。”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: In two thousand five, Congress passed a law that included what is known as IMBRA, the International Marriage Broker Registration Act. This legislation followed highly publicized cases of violence by American men against their foreign wives.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:在2005年，国会通过了一个包括被称为IMBRA的法律，IMBRA即国际婚姻中介公司注册法案。这项立法高度遵循美国男子对她们的外国妻子施暴的公开案件。

IMBRA bars an American with a history of violent crimes from bringing someone to the United States to marry. If the American has a record of other crimes, then the foreign spouse is supposed to receive a copy.

IMBRA禁止有暴力犯罪前科的美国人把任何人带回美国来与之结婚。如果这个美国人有过其它的犯罪记录的话，那么他的外籍配偶将会收到一份文件。

FAITH LAPIDUS: Heather Heiman at the Tahirih Justice Center says the law has some problems. But she says it has helped women who have been abused.

FAITH LAPIDUS:Heather Heiman在塔希瑞司法中心表示法律有些问题。但是她说它已经帮助过曾经受过虐待的女子。

HEATHER HEIMAN: “What IMBRA does is it just introduces some common-sense safeguards that we’re going to allow foreign women to make informed decisions and to better protect themselves. For example, one thing that IMBRA created was a fact sheet that should be distributed by international marriage brokers and by the US government that will inform a foreign bride about her rights and about resources available in the United States if she finds herself in a situation of abuse or exploitation."

HEATHER HEIMAN:“IMBRA所能做的就是引入一些常识性保障措施，然后我们允许外国女子来做个明智的决定来更好的保护她们自己。例如，IMBRA制作过一个情况说明书，然后以国际婚姻中介公司和美国政府的身份分发给外籍新娘，告诉她们在美国如果身陷虐待和剥削的情况下，她们会有哪些权力和可用的资源。”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: In some cases, there may be a question of whether a foreign wife is exploiting her American husband -- using him just to come to America.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:在有些案件中，也会有这样的问题，就是一个外国妻子是不是在利用她们的美国丈夫 -- 仅仅是为了来到美国。

One study found three times when a relationship involving a foreign bride most commonly ends. The first is immediately upon coming to America. The next is three months after the marriage. This is when the wife may be declared a legal resident of the United States.

一项研究发现结束跨国婚姻的3个时间点。首先是来到美国后立即结束。然后就是在结婚三个月后结束。这时这种妻子就可以被视为合法的美国公民了。

And the third is two years after the marriage, when the wife can seek permission to stay permanently.

第三就是结婚2年后结束，那时这种妻子可以寻求永久居留权的许可了。

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Marriage broker David Knabel says he advertises women who went to college and have professional jobs. But he agrees that not all the companies in his industry work like that.

FAITH LAPIDUS:婚姻经纪人David Knabel说他建议女人去上大学然后拥有专职的工作。但是他也同意在他所从事的行业中并不是所有公司都是这样运作的。

DAVID KNABEL: "You can’t group all international marriage agencies into one piece, just like you can’t group all companies being all the same. I mean there’s a lot of agencies out there that specialize in third-world country brides, that are coming from poverty, uneducated, that kind of thing."

DAVID KNABEL:“你不能把所有的国际婚介结构归成一个组织，就像你不能把所有的公司归成一类一样。我的意思是在那有很多的中介公司从事介绍第三世界国家的新娘，她们都很贫穷和缺少教育等。”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Lawyer Heather Heiman says she sees only the bad side of the industry because she works with women who have been mistreated. She agrees that some brokered marriages work, but she says agencies sometimes create unrealistic expectations in men.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE:Heather Heiman律师说她只能看到这个行业的消极一面，因为和她一起工作的女士就曾经遭受过虐待。她肯定一些中介公司的工作，但她说中介公司有时给男人们提供一些不切合实际的期望。

HEATHER HEIMAN: “For example they may market women on their websites as traditional or submissive or promote them as great investments."

HEATHER HEIMAN:“例如他们也许在他们的网站上把女人们描述的既传统又顺从，或者把她们推销成是高回报的投资”

She says, in her experience, the kind of men who use an international marriage broker may be looking for a kind of woman who does not exist anymore in America.

她说，以她的经验看来，那些用国际中介公司来找女人的男人，是在寻找在美国本土已经不存在的那种类型的女人。

HEATHER HEIMAN: “One thing, unfortunately, that I think we have seen is some of them that are interested and partake of this industry are really, sort of, resisting the progress of women, I guess I would say. They’re looking, it seems to us, for a type of woman that existed in the forties and fifties and perhaps doesn’t conform with the typical type of woman you’d find today. And that’s again just something that raises a flag for us and that sometimes can be a cause for concern. These mismatched expectations can just lead to problems."

HEATHER HEIMAN:“有一点，很不幸，我认为我们看到的他们中的一部分是感兴趣，想从事这个行业，或许真的是在抵制妇女的进步，我想我会这样说。他们所在寻找的在我们看来是存在于四十或五十年代妇女的类型，或许不符合当今能找到的女人的典型特征。而这再一次的向我们发出了一个信号，就是有时能引起人们的关注。这些不切合的期望就能导致问题的发生。”

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FAITH LAPIDUS: What do you think of the business of international marriage brokers? You can post comments at voaspecialenglish.com or on Facebook at VOA Learning English.

FAITH LAPIDUS:你认为国际婚姻中介公司这个行业如何呢？

I'm Faith Lapidus with Christopher Cruise, who wrote this week's program. Brianna Blake was our producer. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.