VOA常速英语:Activists Seek End to Child Begging ’Culture’ in Nigeria(翻译)

These boys are learning to memorize the Koran here at a traditional Islamic school called tsangaya.They were sent here by their parents who live far away.And as part of the tradition, they are required to beg for food.
Tsangaya是一所传统的伊斯兰学校，这里的的孩子们在学习背诵《古兰经》。他们是由生活在千里迢迢之外的父母送来。他们必须乞讨食物，因为这是一项传统。

"Begging is luck, sometimes you get food immediately when you go out. Sometimes you don’t."
“行乞全靠运气。有时候你一出去立马就能讨到食物，有时候就没这么幸运。”

Thousands of koranic students are on the streets begging everyday in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. For decades, the almajiris(child beggars)have been a normal part of life here. But these days, more people see them as nuisance.
在博尔诺州的首府迈杜古里，每天都有数千名学习《古兰经》的孩子在街上行乞。几十年来，almajiris（指那些乞讨的孩子）已成为人们生活中很常见的一个群体。但是最近，越来越多的人对此嗤之以鼻。

Cultural historian Bulama Mali Gubio says the practice has got out of hand.
文化史学家Bulama Mali Gubio称，这种现象已经到了一发不可收拾的程度。

Young kids at the age of five, six, seven have been dropped in Maiduguri here in the thousands. They have no parents, no teacher, no guardian, nobody to take care of them.
数千名约五六七岁的小孩在迈杜古里流浪。他们没有父母，老师，监护人，没有任何人照顾。

Activists estimate there are more than 5 million almajiris in Nigeria.
活动人士估计，如今尼日利亚大约有500多万名乞讨儿童。

Usman Mohammed was almajiri many years ago, these days he is trying to reform the system.
多年前，Usman Mohammed也曾是一位乞讨儿童。如今，他正致力于改变这种现象。

"If they are begging, some people will beat them, harass them, abuse them, all kind of insult.They have been experiencing all kinds of humiliation."
“他们上街乞讨，会遭到一些人痛打，折磨，侮辱等各种虐待。他们受尽了各种羞辱。”

Mohammed goes around the city to find almajiris. One teacher Umar Mohammed, has more than 100 students under his care.He says that forcing children to beg is un-Islamic, but necessary.
Mohammed如今在市里四处寻找这些流浪的孩子。Umar Mohammed老师如今照顾100多位学生，他认为要求孩子们乞讨虽然不符合伊斯兰教教义，但确是十分必要的。

"This tradition has been around since our grandparents, so you can’t just wake up and condemn it."
“这项传统都追溯到我祖父母时代了，所以现在不能意识到它不合理然后宣布放弃这种做法。”

But more people are condemning it. Mohammed Keana is an activist in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
然而越来越多的人在抵制这种做法。Mohammed Keana是一位尼日利亚首都阿布贾的活动人士。

"How some prominent people—religious political and traditional rulers— from the northern part of the country to speak on it.Let’s have their position on camera. Are you in support of this? Do you condemn it? Let him condemn it on camera.You know, and once we have that, we can drive citizens,you know, to rally the government you know,to have it take major policies, you know that will bring an end to this system."
“北部地区的一些知名人物（无论是宗教政治党派还是传统的统治者）是如何看待这些问题的。用摄像机录下来他们的立场。比如问他们，你支持这个现象吗？你反对这种做法吗？让他在镜头前抵制这种行为。一旦如此，我们就可以呼吁市民和政府团结起来，采取一些重大措施来根除这种体制。”

Ending the system means challenging deeply entrenched tradition.It’s only after a long day in the streets that these that these almajiris put down their begging bowls.
废除这种体制是对根深蒂固的传统的重大挑战。孩子们只有在街上经过漫长的一天乞讨后才能放下乞讨的饭碗。