美国黑人移民讲述家乡的故事

 

African-American Immigrants Tell Story ofTheir Homeland

美国黑人移民讲述家乡的故事

 

Millions of people in the United States can trace their roots back to Africa, but there is an increasing number of people who have come here directly from an African nation. These Africans in America are trying to establish their own identity and play a larger role in their communities.

 

When African officials and oil industry executives come to Houston, one of the places they can go to get a taste of home is Kenny's restaurant in the southwest part of the city. Owner Kenny Adebiyi, an immigrant from Nigeria, says he is also trying to build an identity for African food and culture among both black and white people living in Houston.

 

Kenny Adebiyi: Definitely, we are not being recognized because other cultures, like the Chinese, cling to certain areas. We need that here. That is why we are doing this. We need to be recognized and have a place of our own.

 

Kenny Adebiyi and several other African immigrants have now formed a group called the African Coalition¹ to promote the image of African immigrants in Houston and to develop some clout² both politically and socially.

 

His friend and fellow Nigerian immigrant Sam Uzoh is especially keen on the idea of bringing a better understanding of Africa and Africans to the people of the United States. In the two stores he owns in the Houston area, Sam sells African art, crafts and clothes mostly to African-Americans who want to get closer to their cultural origins.

 

But Sam Uzoh was distressed³ by the questions some of them asked him.

 

"Isn't there something good going on in Africa? Is there anything good at all or is everything war and starvation and stuff like that?" some asked him.

 

To counter the image created by news reports out of Africa depicting⁵ violence and poverty, Sam Uzoh began importing African movies on video tape and in the DVD format⁶ to sell in his stores.

 

He says this venture has been quite successful and that many customers come back for more.

 

Sam Uzoh: The movies have some wonderful stories, with great acting⁷, we go out and we pick out those movies in English and with subject matter that would be of interest to Americans.

 

Most of the movies currently come from Nigeria, which has an active film production industry, but Sam Uzoh is on the lookout⁸ for films from elsewhere with good, compelling stories that will both entertain and educate his customers.

 

African immigration to the United States is small compared to immigration from many other nations. In 2003, for example, 115,000 Mexicans were admitted legally into the country, while 48,738 people from all of Africa entered.

 

Census⁹ data indicate there are around 27,000 African-born immigrants living in the Houston area, but members of the Houston Africa Coalition believe the actual number is much higher. Many Africans come here for jobs in the oil and gas industry or to study in local universities. Nigeria is by far the country that has supplied the most immigrants to the area, followed by South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Ethiopia.

 

Greg Flakus, VOA news, Houston.

 

注释：

trace [treis] vt. 追踪，回溯

immigrant [5imi^rEnt] n. 移民，侨民

cling to 依附，依靠

clout [klaut] n. 影响

be keen on 喜爱

starvation [stB:5veiFEn] n. 饥饿

depict⁴ [di5pikt] vt. 描述，描写

census data 户口普查资料

Ghana [5^B:nE] n. 加纳

Ethiopia [7i:Wi5EupjE] n. 埃塞俄比亚（非洲东部国家）

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

3 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

4 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

5 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

6 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

9 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。