VOA常速英语:篮球为在美索马里青年提供积极出路

Too often young Somali-Americans in Minnesota have made headlines for all the wrong reasons:a small number have fallen prey to the lure of drugs, gangs and extremist ideology.
年轻一代的索马里裔美国人经常会成为新闻头条，而每次几乎都是因为下面这些错误的原因：少数人沦为毒品、黑帮和极端主义意识形态的牺牲品。

But youth organizations in the state are trying to challenge all that.A group of 12 youth basketball organizations representing mosques around the Twin Cities held a tournament where young people were given the chance to build athletic skills and gain self-esteem.
但如今美国各青年组织正在设法挑战这一切。12个青年篮球组织代表双城的清真寺举办了一场锦标赛，从而使年轻人有机会培养运动技能，赢得自尊心。

One of the players from the al-Rawda team, representing one of the mosques and won the tournament,explained why it was so important.
同样代表清真寺出战的al-Rawda队在本次比赛中获得了胜利，一名队员向我们解释了获胜的重要性。

Today we have succeeded in winning the cup after beating the finalist Umatul-Islam club.We had worked very hard for this and we are so excited about it."
“今天在击败决赛选手Umatul-Islam俱乐部之后，我们获得了奖杯。为了这个奖杯我们付出了很多努力，所以现在非常兴奋。”

Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the U.S.,with more than 20,000 people living in the state out of a total of 80,000 across the country.
明尼苏达州是美国最大的索马里社区所在地，全国总共有8万索马里人，其中有2万都生活在明尼苏达。

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), about a dozen people have joined militant groups in Syria in recent years and about 22 men have been lured to join al-Shabab in Somalia dating back to 2007.Most recently, nine Somali-American men were accused of plotting to join ISIS,a Minnesota federal court handed them jail sentences.
根据联邦调查局（FBI）的报道，近年来，大约有十几人加入了叙利亚武装组织，从2007年开始，大约已经有22名男子被引诱加入索马里青年党。最近又有9名索马里裔美国男子被控密谋加入ISIS，明尼苏达联邦法院已经对这些人处以监禁的惩罚。

Programs like the basketball tournament are geared toward providing extracurricular activities to fend off negative influences.
之所以举办像篮球锦标赛这一类的活动，是为了提供多样的课外活动，从而抵御负面影响。

A local organization behind the tournament, "For the Youth, by the Youth,"says the impact of the competition is felt far beyond the basketball courts.
支持举办本次比赛的一个当地组织“青年享，青年治”表示，比赛的影响远远超出了篮球场。

“The reason we start this proram is when we saw what the youth are going through and how they were involved with gang fights among themselves, when we saw how they are suspected or labeled as extremists,we started to bring them together in order to prevent them from getting involved with drugs.We found a place where they can stay fit and stay busy and avoid negative influences.”
“我们之所以开展这个项目，是因为目睹了年轻人的遭遇，亲眼看到了他们是怎么参与到帮派之间的斗争中，还眼睁睁地看着他们被怀疑，被贴上恐怖主义分子的标签，于是我们开始把他们召集到一起，防止他们参与到吸毒事件当中去。最终我们找到了一个地方，这里不仅可以让他们保持健康，还能保持忙碌的状态，避免产生那些负面的影响。”

One of the players, Abdullahi Bare, agrees that sport can be a unifying force for good.This kind of tournament brings us together as brothers.We come together and when we finish the games we eat together and communicate as well."
阿卜杜拉·拜尔也是球员之一，他表示，运动永远都是一股凝聚人心的力量。“这种比赛让我们相聚在一起，我们就像是兄弟一样，来时一起来，比赛结束之后会一起吃饭，也会相互交流。”

The basketball tournament is an annual event in Minnesota that has been going on for three years.
作为明尼苏达州一年一度的活动，篮球锦标赛如今已经走过了三个年头。

For Abdi H. Mahamud, Salem Solomon, VOA news.
VOA新闻，阿布迪·H·马阿穆德，塞勒姆·所罗门为您播报。