关注科特迪瓦和加纳可可业童工

    This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

    Chocolate comes from cocoa beans, and more than half of those beans come from two countries in West Africa. But the situation is not all sweetness for poor cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana. The United States has announced ten million dollars for renewed efforts to end the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa industry in those countries.
    巧克力是由可可豆制成的,并且,有一半以上的可可豆产自西非的科特迪瓦(Ivory Coast,又译作象牙海岸)和其邻国加纳(Ghana)。但对于这2个国家的贫困的可可种植户来说,处境并不乐观。美国已宣布投入1千万美元,用于进一步终结这些国家可可行业童工的糟糕状况。

    The grant will support efforts to reduce poverty so parents do not have to depend on the labor of their children. Another aim is to give children more access to education.
    该款项将用于减少贫困,以便让父母不再依赖子女打工。另一个目的是让儿童接受更多的教育。

    The money will go toward a new "Framework of Action" related to an international agreement from two thousand one. That agreement is called the Harkin-Engel Protocol. American Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Elliott Engel led negotiations with the chocolate and cocoa industries.
    该款项将用于一项新的“行动框架”,该“行动框架”和2001年发起的名为哈金·恩格尔协议(Harkin-Engel Protocol)相关。美国参议员汤姆·哈金(Tom Harkin)和众议员埃利奥特·恩格尔(Elliott Engel)主持了与巧克力和可可业的谈判。

    The Department of Labor announced the grant in September, along with seven million dollars promised by the international cocoa industry. The governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast have also promised resources and policy support for the new efforts.
    美国劳工部今年9月宣布了这笔款项,同时还有来自国际可可行业承诺的700万美元。加纳和科特迪瓦政府承诺对这项工作提供资源和政策支持。

    Kevin Willcutts is an official in the Labor Department's Office of Child Labor.
    凯文·维尔卡茨(Kevin Willcutts)是美国劳工部童工办公室的官员。

    KEVIN WILLCUTTS: "We're at a point in time when we think we have a real opportunity because with the signing of this joint declaration, the parties are coming together and saying that we share a common commitment to address the situation and to offer children better hope for the future through education."
    维尔卡茨:“由于这项联合声明的签署,我们认为迎来了真正的机遇。各方齐聚一堂共同承诺处理当前状况,并通过教育让儿童拥有更好的未来。”

    Daan de Vries is with Utz Certified, a program that tries to create a fair marketplace for agricultural products. Mr. de Vries says some crops are grown closer to cities because they must be processed quickly.
    Daan de Vries是Utz认证机构的工作人员,该认证体系试图为农产品创建一个公平贸易市场。Mr. de Vries表示,一些农作物种植地之所以离城市更近,是由于它们必须尽快被加工。

    But he says crops like cocoa and coffee are often grown in very rural areas with more poverty and less enforcement of rules.
    但他表示,像可可和咖啡这样的农作物通常种植在更贫穷,监管更少的农村地区。

    Bama Athreya directs the International Labor Rights Forum.
    巴玛·阿瑟瑞娅(Bama Athreya)执掌国际劳工权益论坛(International Labor Rights Forum)。

    BAMA ATHREYA: "There's been a real unwillingness to act that I think is driven by the business proposition of getting cheap child labor to produce the cocoa for quite some time. And that is a major challenge."
    阿瑟瑞娅:“我认为,受长期雇用廉价童工生产可可的商业利益驱使,(实施这项协议)存在着巨大的阻力。这是最大的挑战。”

    Larry Graham, president of the National Confectioners Association in Washington, represented industry groups at the launch of the framework. He said "Our industry is fully committed to helping even more cocoa farming families through this innovative partnership."
    美国糖果协会主席(National Confectioners Association)拉里·格雷厄姆(Larry Graham)在框架创建时作为行业机构代表,他表示,“我们行业将通过这个富有革新精神的合作伙伴关系,尽全力帮助更多的可可种植户。”

    Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa grower. But the country has been split in half since a failed overthrow in two thousand two led to armed conflict. A long-delayed presidential election is set for this Sunday.
    科特迪瓦是世界最大的可可种植国。但该国由于2002年政变失败导致武装冲突一直处于分裂状态,长期搁置的总统选举将于本周日进行。