VOA标准英语2011--Afrikaner Farmers Migrating to Georgia
时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(九月)
Afrikaner Farmers Migrating to Georgia
A South African court on September 12 convicted Julius Malema, president of the African National Congress Youth League, of hate speech for singing "shoot the Boer, kill the Boer" at a rally last year. But some Boers (white South African farmers) say they have had enough of violence and racial tension in South Africa and are planning to move out. VOA's James Brooke visited one Afrikaner who started farming this year in the former Soviet 1 Republic of Georgia.
Piet Kemp's family farmed in southern Africa for four centuries. But now at age 66, this Afrikaner farmer has traded South Africa's Eastern Transvaal for Eastern Georgia. Here, he is reviving wheat and corn production on what was once a Soviet collective farm. Kemp says he has no regrets:
"I have a new life here," said Kemp. "I try to make friends with all the people in Georgia, learning their culture. I have been here since 3rd of March, and I have not heard of one murder in Georgia in this time. I didn't hear about any bank robbery. I didn't hear about any one hijacking 2."
It was not just high crime rates that prompted Kemp to leave South Africa. "There is no security of land, absolutely no security of land in South Africa," Kemp added.
Kemp said that over the last decade he successfully helped hundreds of white farmers hold on to their farmland in face of legal challenges from black farm workers and squatters. But now, he says white farmers face threats of farm seizures 3 by ANC Youth League President Julius Malema and other politicians.
"With a huge leader like Malema, he can go up and stand and say to anyone I want this land for South Africa, for the future of South Africa," Kemp explained. "He can take just what he wants. For me, I just say no."
Georgia is playing on these insecurities, actively 4 recruiting Afrikaner farmers to help revive the nation's moribund 5 agriculture. In the 20 years since the collapse 6 of the Soviet Union, half of Georgia's farmland has gone out of production.
"They have done exceptionally great job over the years in South Africa, and to give them an opportunity to do the same thing here and for Georgian farmers to learn from the experience they will receive from their new neighbors, from the South African farmers," said Georgia's Canada-educated Economy Minister, Vera Kobalia.
Kobalia praises Sandra Roelofs, the Dutch-born wife of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, for promoting the program. Dutch is the mother language of Afrikaans.
"It helped in terms of making them feel more secure in Georgia," Kobalia noted 7. "There is definitely that connection, the Holland connection in Georgia."
Kemp says that Georgia's Dutch-speaking first lady impressed a visiting group of Afrikaner farmers last year.
"Sandra, she was touring a week with us," said Kemp. "We pick[ed] grapes together. We spoke 8 Netherlands."
Kemp is a devout 9 Protestant and feels a strong connection to Georgia's overwhelmingly Christian 10 Orthodox population.
"We believe in the same thing, believe in the same God," said Kemp.
Kemp says he and other Afrikaner pioneers feel welcome. But Mariam Jorjadze, who runs a farmers' aid organization, worries that the 10 Afrikaner families here now could lead to a big influx 11 of foreign farm directors. As in the Soviet days, Georgian farmers could again be reduced to laborers 13 on big industrial farms.
"If the trend will be many South Africa farmers coming and there will tendency to convert people in rural areas again into labor 12 force for foreign investors 14, I don't think that this system is viable 15. It resembles the former Soviet system," said Jorjadze.
Kemp believes that Afrikaners will help jump start Georgian agriculture. But he cautions that they must integrate into Georgian society.
"We must go into Georgia as Georgians - in Georgian culture, in Georgian language - so that they see us as Georgians, not as South Africans coming to Georgia," Kemp explained.
Kemp adds that he does not want his new life in Georgia to be like his old life in South Africa, where he was part of a successful minority envied by the majority population.
- Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
- Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。
- Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因,有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句
- During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
- We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。
- The moribund Post Office Advisory Board was replaced.这个不起作用的邮局顾问委员会已被替换。
- Imperialism is monopolistic,parasitic and moribund capitalism.帝国主义是垄断的、寄生的、垂死的资本主义。
- The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
- The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
- 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。
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
- His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
- The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
- The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
- Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施,因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。
- We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
- He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
- Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
- a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
- a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会