美国国家公共电台 NPR When Elmo And Big Bird Talk To Refugees

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Elmo and Big Bird have lots of experience educating children about all kinds of things from the alphabet to autism. Well, now, Sesame Workshop wants to help millions of refugee children from Syria, Iraq and other war-torn countries. But first, they're doing their homework. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has our story.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE¹: At Sesame Workshop's headquarters in New York recently, CEO Jeff Dunn told a small crowd the company has a responsibility to help the most vulnerable among us.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF DUNN: There are no more vulnerable, you know, people in the world than these refugee families and kids.

BLAIR: So Sesame Workshop is working with the IRC, the International Rescue Committee. The two organizations invited relief workers and public health experts from around the world to come together to share their knowledge, answer questions and watch some "Sesame Street."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SESAME STREET")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Elmo) Must count down - 10, nine, eight, seven, six...

BLAIR: Sesame Workshop's director of international education, Abby Bucuvalas, showed the group existing content with different themes like coping.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ABBY BUCUVALAS: Some of the things that we're really trying to influence are children understanding that they have big feelings, and there are things that they can do to manage those feelings or those emotions.

BLAIR: Like taking deep breaths, as the adult human Gordon shows the Muppet Telly when he's really angry.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SESAME STREET")

ROSCOE ORMAN: (As Gordon) OK. Try it. In.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Telly) In through my nose and out through my mouth.

ORMAN: (As Gordon) Good. Now, talk to yourself and say calm down - like that.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As Telly) Calm down, Telly.

BLAIR: Another big theme that came up was inclusivity. In a clip from "Sesame Street" in Brazil, Big Bird feels left out because he's too tall to play limbo² with the other Muppets, so his friends adapt the game so that he can play, too.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SESAME STREET")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character, foreign language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As Big Bird, foreign language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character, foreign language spoken).

BLAIR: But this video clip raised a red flag for some who work in the Middle East. Cairo Arafat oversees³ the production of the Arabic-language "Sesame Street" from Abu Dhabi. She urged her colleagues not to make assumptions that refugees will share their values like inclusivity.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CAIRO ARAFAT: Many of these populations, children are still taught no, be wary⁴ of the people who don't talk like you, don't look like you, don't, you know, or come from a different sect⁵.

BLAIR: With the special conditions in refugee camps, Arafat said think carefully about what you're trying to teach. For Sesame Workshop, it was a full day of lessons like this. Another big one - teach refugee children what their caregivers are going through.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RABIH EL CHAMMAY: Children notice what their parent goes through, but they don't understand it.

BLAIR: Dr. Rabih El Chammay is a psychiatrist⁶ and head of the National Mental Health Program of Lebanon, where there are more than a million Syrian refugees.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

EL CHAMMAY: They get puzzled - why is daddy shouting at me now? I mean, I didn't do anything wrong. And it's very important to explain to children how parents feel about displacement⁷, about losing their homes, about coming to another country.

BLAIR: Shari Rosenfeld, Sesame's senior vice⁸ president for social impact, says while the seminar in New York was important, it's just the beginning of their process.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SHARI ROSENFELD: It's insufficient⁹ until we go back to the region, go back to Jordan, back to Lebanon, back to Iraq and bring some of the working hypotheses to say, you know, OK, we're going to test these with you. What makes sense? Help us figure out where to focus.

BLAIR: A team from Sesame Workshop is traveling to Amman next week. They've organized a kind of focus group for Syrian refugees. Children and families will view existing "Sesame" content and give feedback. Grover will be there, too. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I AM BLUE")

ERIC JACOBSON: (As Grover, singing) I am blue.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

3 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

4 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

5 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

6 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

7 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。