VOA慢速英语--非洲国家要求法国归还其艺术品

African Nations Ask for Their Art to Be Returned

In 2006, a private museum in the African country of Benin presented artifacts from the ancient Dahomey kingdom. Almost 250,000 people came to see them. But even though the pieces are part of the country’s history, they did not belong to Benin. They were on loan from France, which colonized¹ and ruled the country for over 60 years.

Now, France has promised to give Benin back 26 artifacts taken by the French army in 1892. This may prove a major change for other African countries asking for their art to be returned.

Marie-Cecile Zinsou is French-Beninese. She is among Africa’s strongest supporters of returning African art that has been taken. Her Zinsou Foundation hosted the Dahomey exhibit in 2006. She told VOA she believes if Benin succeeds in showing its cultural history, major changes will be possible.

"Then you'll have a real example of how African countries are getting their heritage back and showing it to the public. Then people will believe," said Zinsou.

Change may be coming

Up to 90 percent of African artifacts are located outside the continent. That includes in France, where an estimated 90,000 African artifacts are housed in French museums. Most are in the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum in Paris.

But some recent events show change may be coming. Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to temporarily or permanently² return artifacts to the continent within five years.

And in November, two researchers delivered a report asked for by Macron. It recommended France permanently return objects taken through "theft, looting, despoilment³, trickery and forced consent."

Senegalese economist⁴ Felwine Sarr and French historian Bénédicte Savoy wrote the report. In it they noted⁵ that 60 percent of the population of the African continent is under the age of 20. Young people should be able to enjoy and learn about “their own culture, creativity and spirituality from other eras," they wrote.

The report has had an effect. In December, the United Nations General Assembly put a resolution in place supporting returning objects to their home countries. The British Museum has also promised to return priceless metal artifacts to Nigeria. And Germany is helping⁶ Kenya find its valuable stolen artifacts that ended up in western museums, including German ones.

Questions

Some experts are not so sure about the moves. "We know the shortage in African museums" of quality conservation, art expert Alexandre Giguello told Agence France-Presse news agency.

France's culture minister supports loaning artifacts to Africa rather than permanent returns. Quai Branly Museum head Stephane Martin described the report on returning art as a bad answer. He told Le Figaro newspaper there were other ways to support cultural exchange with Africa.

Meanwhile, new museums are either being built or planned to be built across Africa. Supporters say the new museums disprove the arguments that the continent cannot properly house its heritage.

Returning art to places whose borders have changed over the years presents still other problems. Charline Kopf is a doctoral researcher at the University of Oslo. She noted that current claims for the return of artifacts are being made by a number of African nations. But sometimes such claims are also made by indigenous⁷ communities who do not accept some border divisions.

Robert Jonard sells African artifacts in Paris. He says smaller dealers⁸ like himself are not worried they may lose ownership of their most valued pieces. "It's mostly a discussion at a higher level, among leading experts and museum heads," he says.

Instead, Jonard is worried about returning valuable artifacts to places where they risk being stolen or badly cared for.

"Consider what might happen to French museums if all the art Napoleon plundered⁹ in Italy was sent home?" Jonard adds. "What will remain in the world's museums if each country asks for its art back?"

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

artifact(s) – n. a simple object, such as a tool or weapon, that was made by people in the past

colonize(d) – v. to take control of an area and send people to live there

heritage – n. the traditions, achievements and beliefs that are part of the history of a group or nation

theft – n. the act or crime of stealing

despoilment – n. the removal of belongings¹⁰, possessions, or value

consent – n. permission for something to happen or be done

priceless – adj. extremely valuable or important

conservation – n. the things that are done to keep works of art or things of historical importance in good condition

indigenous – adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

plunder(ed) – v. to steal things from a place, such as a city or town, especially by force

1 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 despoilment   

n.抢夺，剥夺

参考例句：

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

8 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

9 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

10 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。