The disturbing sight of migrants crossing the English Channel in dinghies is a timely reminder that the seemingly unstoppable human urge to seek a better life has survived even the impact of Covid-19. So have the strenuous efforts of many states, including the UK, to limit the flows. Home secretary Priti Patel’s call to deploy the navy is only the latest move in a list topped by President Donald Trump’s wall and the EU’s marooning of migrants on Greek islands.
移民乘坐小艇横渡英吉利海峡(English Channel)这一令人心悸的景象适时地提醒我们，人类追求更好生活的愿望似乎是不可阻挡的，即便是新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠状病毒病）疫情也无法阻挡这一愿望。许多国家（包括英国）为限制人员流动付出的艰苦努力，同样无法阻挡这一愿望。各国政府采取了各种措施限制人员流动，其中最极端的两个例子是美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)修建隔离墙，以及欧盟(EU)将移民困在几个希腊小岛上，英国内政大臣普里蒂•帕特尔(Priti Patel)呼吁出动海军只是其中最新的一例。
Sonia Shah argues passionately that this is the wrong approach. In her view, migration has been integral to human history since people moved out of Africa, the continent where most scientists think human life first evolved. Wanderlust may even be hard-wired in our bodies, she suggests, with the 1999 discovery that a particular gene, DRD4 7R+, occurs more commonly in humans whose ancestors moved furthest out of Africa, and among nomads.
索尼娅•沙阿(Sonia Shah)充满感情地提出，这是错误的做法。在她看来，自人类走出非洲以来，迁徙一直是人类历史的核心元素（大多数科学家认为人类最初是在非洲大陆进化而来）。1999年一项研究发现，DRD4 7R+这一基因在祖先离开非洲最远的人类和游牧民族中更常见，她认为这说明漫游的欲望甚至写入了我们的身体中。