People around the world are looking forward to the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20 as president of the United States. Many hope he will bring change to a world they believe is in crisis. For others, Mr. Obama's ancestral roots in Africa mean even more.
世界各国人民都在期待着奥巴马1月20号就任美国总统。许多人希望他能给处于危机中的世界带来改变。奥巴马的非洲血统也对一些人有着超乎寻常的意义。
Millions of members of the African diaspora stayed up all night, like many people in America, to cheer when Barack Obama was declared the next president of the United States.
千百万的非洲人和许多美国人一样等待，在奥巴马被宣布将成为美国下一任总统时欢呼雀跃。
A professor at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University, Veronique Tadjo, says for people with African ancestry it was an emotional as well as historic moment.
约翰内斯堡金山大学的教授塔乔说，对有着非洲血统的人们来说，这是一个充满感情而且具有历史意义的时刻。
"Obama has brought a big hope and has changed a lot of things for a lot of people in terms of how they view themselves. A black man becoming the most powerful man on the planet is something that is very important," she said.
她说：“奥巴马带来了巨大的希望，而且改变了许多人对自己的看法。一个黑人能成为全世界上最有影响力的人，这是非常重要的历史事件。”
But an African-American researcher who has lived on the continent for 13 years, Francis Kornegay of Johannesburg's Institute for Policy Studies, says African commentators are warning against expecting too much from the Obama presidency.
不过，约翰内斯堡政策研究所的研究员利恩盖说，非洲的评论人士正在提醒人们不要对奥巴马的任期抱有过高的期望。利恩盖是一名非洲裔美国人，他已经在非洲生活了13年。
"There is a lot of euphoria around his becoming president and a feeling that because of that he will give the continent a lot of attention. But there is nothing that really goes beyond that, that critically looks at what is in prospect," he said.
他说：“奥巴马当选总统这件事给人们带来了巨大的喜悦，人们觉得，因为他成了总统，他就会特别关注非洲。然而，如果认真地分析一下未来的情况，你就会发现，奥巴马能给非洲人带来的仅仅是喜悦而已。”
Kornegay notes that the Obama administration will inherit several crises that are priorities for U.S. policy, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East conflict, Pakistan and India.
他指出，奥巴马的政府班子将接手处理几项危机，这些危机也是美国最重要的政策议题，那就是伊拉克、阿富汗、中东冲突、巴基斯坦和印度。
"That is where the focus of U.S. policy is going to be. So there is no realistic prospect that Africa would overtake any of those concerns. On the other hand there are some pressing security concerns on the continent," said Kornegay.
他说：“这些问题才是美国政策关注的焦点。认为非洲的重要性将超过这些议题只是不切实际的想法。不过，从另一方面讲，非洲大陆上也的确有一些紧迫的安全问题值得美国关注。”
For example, he says new ideas are needed for the crisis in Somalia, which after two decades as a failed state and millions of dollars in aid is about to be overtaken by Islamic militants.
他说，比如，需要想出新的办法来处理索马里危机。索马里政府在过去20年中执政失败，虽然得到了数百万美元的援助，索马里却即将被伊斯兰激进分子控制。
Darfur and eastern Congo are simmering conflicts that risk exploding into war again. And Zimbabwe will need concerted international action, preferably through African multilateral groups, to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis.
此外，苏丹的达尔富尔地区和刚果东部地区不断酝酿冲突，可能会再次暴发战争。在津巴布韦，国际社会最好能通过非洲多边组织协调行动，以防止那里出现大范围人道主义危机。
Tadjo says she hopes the Obama administration will adopt a tough stance with African leaders who abuse their powers and their people.
金山大学的塔乔教授说，她希望奥巴马政府能对那些滥用权力、迫害人民的非洲国家领导人采取强硬立场。
"Our main problem is leadership and bad governance so until we sort this out, there is nothing we can do," she said. "In Africa there are countries that are extremely rich in terms of natural resources, but nothing is happening. So, governance, governance, governance."
她说：“我们的主要问题是领导问题和糟糕的政府，在解决这个问题之前，我们什么都做不了。有一些非洲国家拥有非常丰富的自然资源，但却没有取得一点进步。所以最重要的是政府的执政水平。”
But Senegalese analyst Lamine Savane says whatever the policy goals, a new style of leadership is needed.
塞内加尔分析人士萨瓦内说，无论设定什么样的政策目标，美国都需要一种新的领导风格。
"What is it [leadership] going to be? Is it going to be a big brother-little brother in a positive way? Or is it going to be a big brother in a bully way? I think the way the world is today, the bully thing does not work anymore," said Savane.
他说：“新的领导方式会是什么样呢？是正面的、像兄长照顾弟弟般的态度么？还是以大欺小的态度？我认为，在当今的世界中，恃强凌弱的领导方式已经不能再发挥作用了。”
Tadjo, who is of French-Ivorian heritage, says she fears Mr. Obama will face additional challenges because of his mixed-race heritage.
塔乔教授是法国和科特迪瓦混血。她说，她担心奥巴马的美国和肯尼亚混血儿身份可能会使他面对更多的挑战。
"It will be a hard presidency, and from both sides, from the white side people waiting for him to fail, and from the black side because people have always looked at mixed-race people with a bit of suspicion, who are they, who do they represent? So he is going to have a tough job," she said.
她说：“他的任期将会很艰难。白人等着看他失败，而黑人一直对混血儿抱有怀疑的态度，他们会问：他是谁？他代表谁的利益？因此，奥巴马这个总统很不好当。”
But many believe Mr. Obama can also be a bridge between races, cultures and peoples. And they hope he will listen and bring greater balance to relations between Africa and the United States.
不过，许多人相信，奥巴马能成为不同种族、文化和民族间的桥梁。他们希望奥巴马能倾听人们的意见，使非洲和美国的关系更趋于平衡。 |