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来源：慢速英语   时间：2011-08-16 09:14:04

农业报道 - 香蕉种植园与非洲农民关系紧张

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.


A movie from Cameroon called "The Big Banana" has come to the United States. It looks at issues with the banana industry like disputed land rights, food insecurity and pollution.

一部名为"The Big Banana"的喀麦隆电影已经来到美国。这部影片聚焦于香蕉行业的一些争端，例如土地所有权争议，粮食不安全（即食品匮乏）和污染问题。


This woman in Cameroon says the land belongs to local villagers and they are asking operators of banana plantations to give it back.


Franck Hameni Bieleu directed the documentary film. He says officials prevented a showing in Yaounde, the capital. He says making the movie was difficult, and even led to his brief detention.

Franck Hameni Bieleu执导了这部纪录片。他说，有关官员阻止影片在喀麦隆首都雅温得上映。他表示，制作这部电影异常艰难，甚至导致他被短暂拘留。

FRANCK BIELEU: "I got arrested because the chief of that part of the village did not want me to film because he is being paid by the banana company. You understand, the thing is, everything around that area is controlled by the company. If you look at the congressman of the region, he is also the director of public relations of the company. The minister of trade of Cameroon is also president of the board of directors of the company."

FRANCK BIELEU：“我被拘留是因为该地区领导不希望我拍摄，因为他们拿着香蕉公司的报酬。你知道，事实是该地区周边所有事务都被该公司所控制。如果你看一下该地区的议员，他还担任该公司的公关总监。喀麦隆贸易部长也是该公司董事局主席。”

"The Big Banana" shows the effects of an export banana plantation on the Mungo area of Cameroon.

The company, Plantations du Haut Penja, is French and American owned. Representatives would not talk to the filmmakers. The company and Cameroonian officials did not answer a request for a VOA interview.

这家名为Plantations du Haut Penja的公司为法国和美国所有。该公司代表不愿和电影制片人交谈。该公司和喀麦隆官员没有接受美国之音记者采访的请求。

Mr. Bieleu says large parts of fertile land in Cameroon are being used for banana exports. As a result, local residents have more and more difficulty growing their own food or finding food to buy.


Big Banana Trailer from Franck on Vimeo.

Also, the use of pesticide chemicals is blamed for polluting water and causing health problems. Villagers accuse the company of destroying their fields to expand the banana plantations after getting land leases from the government.


Mr. Bieleu says the problem exists across Africa as foreigners increasingly invest in agricultural land. He says government corruption is stronger than the people's traditional rights to the land.


FRANCK BIELEU: "When a company arrives and just shows the money, the big cash, what happens is the government just gives them the land that they want, and these people cannot defend themselves because they do not have any rights on that land."

FRANCK BIELEU：“当一家公司一抵达，只要拿出大把钞票，政府就会给他们想要的土地。而这些土地上的人们无以自保，因为他们没有任何土地权利。”

Emira Woods with the American-based Institute for Policy Studies helped organize showing the film in the United States. In her opinion the biggest issue facing Africa this century is what many activists call the "land grab."

Emira Woods就职于总部位于美国的政策研究院，她协助组织了该影片在美国的上映。在她看来，本世纪非洲面临的最大问题是许多活动人士所说的“土地掠夺”。

EMIRA WOODS: "The structure of the problem has to be changed so that more and particularly small- and medium-sized farmers have the opportunities to remain on their land. And at the moment, because of threats from multinational corporations, from sovereign wealth funds, whether it is Saudi Arabia or Iran, the list is actually growing of countries that are looking to Africa as a source of access to land when arable land is becoming much more scarce on this planet."

EMIRA WOODS：“这一结构问题必须被改变，这样更多农民，特别是中小型农场主才能有机会保住他们的土地。而此时，由于来自跨国公司、主权财富基金的威胁，无论是沙特还是伊朗，当耕地在地球上日益稀缺的时候，将非洲视为土地来源的国家也越来也多。”

The organizers said they hoped Washington policy makers would watch the film to better understand the need to protect local food production around the world.


And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can watch scenes from "The Big Banana" at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Karen Leggett.

Contributing: Nico Colombant