2006年VOA标准英语-Madonna Trip to Malawi Highlights Cross-Cultura

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
13 October 2006

Reports that pop star Madonna is in the process of adopting an orphan¹ from the African nation of Malawi have brought praise for raising awareness² about the rising number of orphans³ in Africa and other parts of the developing world. However, they have also brought criticism for encouraging what child welfare advocates believe is one of the least desirable solutions to the problem.

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Madonna walks between cars to avoid photographers at end of her visit to Kondanani orphanage⁴ in Bvumbwe 
  
Child welfare advocates say the visit to Africa by singer-actress Madonna has helped focus attention on the millions of children in the developing world who have been orphaned⁵ by poverty, conflict and AIDS.

But they are concerned that adoptions⁷ by famous couples may draw attention away from what many feel are better solutions to the problem.

The Malawian government Thursday, gave tentative approval for Madonna to adopt a one-year-old Malawian child, whose mother died after childbirth.

A childrens' rights specialist with the Plan Malawi group, Martin Nkuna, expresses a feeling common among child advocates that a child grows best within the environment of his or her own family.

"Look at the psychological effect of taking a child out of his or her cultural environment.," he said. J"ust taking the child to another culture would raise a number of issues in the development of the child."

Jackie Schoeman is executive director of Cotlands, a South African group that works with orphans whose parents have died of AIDS. She says there has been little long-term research on international or cross-cultural adoption⁶.

"Coming with adoption there are a lot of emotional issues as the children grow older. And we are not really sure yet would they have preferred to have remained within their own culture with the possibility of locating with extended family members," she said.

Statistics on international adoption are not complete but U.S. State Department figures show that international adoptions by Americans tripled during the 1990s, reaching nearly 20,000 in 2001. Most of the adopted children then came from Eastern Europe and Asia, but they are coming increasingly from African countries.

An international - Hague - convention on international adoption came into force 13 years ago aimed at protecting the rights of adopted children and preventing child trafficking. More than 60 countries have signed it.

The convention sets standards and procedures for international adoptions, but critics say it also creates expensive and time consuming bureaucratic⁸ hurdles⁹.

Schoeman notes that most would-be parents want to adopt a small baby and as a result, it is difficult to place children older than one year.

"If a child can't find a family and either are [is] going to remain in a child-headed household or in some kind of institution, then I think the possible problems of cross-cultural adoption can be more easily overcome than the problems of long-term institutionalization."

Madonna visits orphanage in Malawi   
  
War and the AIDS virus have multiplied the millions of orphans in Africa and some parts of the developing world.

The communities and extended families that traditionally took care of their orphans have been overwhelmed by the numbers or they have been unwilling¹⁰ to care for them because of the stigma¹¹ attached to AIDS.

However, the representative of the Hope for African Children Initiative, Bill Philbrick of CARE-USA, says the root cause of the crisis is poverty and declining social services.

 "What I think the debate should be about is looking at what can we do to strengthen the capacity of communities to keep the children in the communities, to enable the communities and the families themselves to take care of the children," he said.

Advocates acknowledge that children adopted by a wealthy families will have many advantages, including the resources to return to their origins and know their surviving family members if they want to.

Nevertheless, Philbrick urges celebrities¹² seeking to adopt internationally to avoid drawing attention away from what he says is the best solution.

"I would encourage any celebrities to be responsible that when they do go over there that they take great pains to look at the underlining reasons and draw attention on [to] the reasons why children are in a situation in which they are vulnerable. And then lets look at addressing those causes," he said.

Madonna has reportedly pledged $3 million to help children, many of whom are infected with HIV/AIDS, through her Raising Malawi charity. Other celebrities have founded schools and orphanages¹³.

Nevertheless, child activists¹⁴ say the amount of aid is far outpaced by the growing number of children without parents and by communities that are unable to care for them.

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Malawi Children's Group Challenges Madonna Adoption
By VOA News
13 October 2006

A children's rights groups in Malawi has called on the government to delay plans for American pop star Madonna to adopt a one-year-old boy.

The group Eye of the Child expressed concern Friday about the adoption process, saying it should not be like buying property. The group warned it may seek to block a court order this week granting interim¹⁵ approval for the adoption by Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie.

Under Malawi law, the couple's adoption will be reviewed for 18 months before the judge gives his final decision.

Madonna and her husband left the southern African nation Friday, ending a nine-day trip. But the one-year-old boy, David Banda, remained in the country because of ongoing¹⁶ legal procedures.

Madonna arrived in Malawi last week, in part to inspect an orphan care center she is funding near Lilongwe.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

1 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

2 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

3 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

4 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

5 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

6 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

7 adoptions   

n.采用，收养( adoption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Adoption agencies are always so open to alternative family adoptions. 领养中介机构永远都对领养家庭敞开。 来自电影对白
• The number of adoptions has grown in the past year. 去年，收养子女的数字增加了。 来自互联网

8 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

11 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

12 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

13 orphanages   

孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It is Rotarians running orphanages for children who have no homes. 扶轮社员们为没有家的孩子办孤儿院。
• Through the years, she built churches, hospitals and orphanages. 许多年来，她盖了一间间的教堂、医院、育幼院。

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。