“在一些人看來，非洲是貧窮、落後的地方，非洲人是懶、笨的代名詞。這種經濟功利邏輯暴露了那些人骨子裡的種族主義偏見。”
Africa has a lot that China can learn from
Photo: IC
I often write on the flight. This habit makes me more productive, but it carries huge risks. For example, it is easy to forget the laptop on the cabin seat. Two weeks ago, when I was transferring flights in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the risks finally boiled over.
我常在旅途飛行中寫作。這個習慣讓我比較高產，卻潛藏著巨大風險，比如，容易將筆記本電腦遺忘在機艙座位上。兩週前，在埃塞俄比亞首都亞的斯亞貝巴轉機，風險終於爆發了。
It happened on my way back to Beijing from a visit to Zimbabwe. When a friend who works for a Chinese company in Harare heard that I was on the same plane as his parents, he asked me to help the aging couple to find their way around the Addis Ababa airport for a transfer to Shanghai.
那是發生在我結束津巴布韋訪問回北京的路途中。一位駐哈拉雷中資企業朋友聽說我與他父母同機在亞的斯亞貝巴轉機，於是託我幫助兩位老人找到轉至上海的登機口。
Once the plane landed, all I could think about was how to find the two elderly people on board, take the shuttle bus and find the transfer passage and other details. It was only during the security check at the transit gate when laptop must be taken out of the luggage to be scanned that I realized I had left my laptop on my cabin seat. For a scholar, the loss of a laptop equals a disaster of magnanimous proportions.
飛機一落地，我滿腦子想著如何找到同機老人、坐擺渡車、尋找轉機通道等細節。直到轉機口安檢需取出電腦時，猛然醒悟電腦落在座位上了。對一位學者來說，電腦遺失幾乎等於滅頂之災。
I chose to accompany the two old people to the boarding gate, but it took me more than half an hour. As I made my way back, pulling the heavy check-in suitcase to the departure point of the shuttle bus, I was struck by the fact that the hope of finding the plane and retrieving the laptop in a short layover at Africa's largest airport was probably harder than climbing the Everest.
我選擇先陪同兩位老人找到登機口，但那花費了我半個多小時。當我一路返回，拖著沉重的登機箱回到此前擺渡車的下車點時，驚然發現，在這個非洲最大機場內，要在短暫轉機時間內找到剛乘坐過的那架飛機且找回電腦的希望，恐怕比登上珠峰還難。
I asked each shuttle bus driver anxiously whether they knew where the ET863 I was flying was. No one gave me a clear answer. Until a driver of a minibus told me that he was on his way to pick up the plane's crew and offered to help me find the laptop. This time, the fire of hope that had been extinguished was rekindled.
我焦急地問每一位送客到站的擺渡車司機，是否知道我原來乘坐的那架ET863在哪？沒有人給我明確答案。直到一輛接送機組人員到站的中巴車司機告訴我，他正好要去接這架飛機的機組，願意幫我去找電腦。此時，原本已熄滅的希望之火重新點燃了。
He drove to ET863 at a speed of 60 miles per hour. The flight attendants were waiting in the cabin. A flight attendant said to me: "I just called you on the radio, but no one responded. Now the laptop has been handed over to the airport security staff."
他用60碼車速飛奔至ET863。空乘們已在機艙下等候。一位空乘對我說：“剛還在廣播中喊你呢，但沒人回應。現在已把電腦交給機場安保人員了。”
The driver hurriedly asked the flight attendants to get on the bus and continued to chase the security car at a speed of 60 miles per hour. He was in a bigger hurry than I, and I had to apologize to the dozen or so flight attendants on the bus. The comfort and tolerance of the flight attendants made me feel the warmth of Africa yet again.
只見司機連忙招呼空乘們上車，繼續以60碼車速狂追安保車。他比我更著急，我不得不對同車的十多位空乘們連連道歉。空乘們的安慰與寬容，讓我又一次深深感受到在非洲的溫暖。
The driver got off and asked around several security vehicles. He used a walkie-talkie to call all the tarmac security, and also dropped these crew members off at the destination. He then transferred another new batch of crew to another aircraft. He kept comforting me, "Don't worry. I'll help you find it."
司機連續下車問數輛安保車，一邊用對講機向所有停機坪安保人員呼叫，又順道把這個機組人員送至登機樓，接著又接送新一批機組到另一架飛機。他沿途不斷安撫坐在副駕駛座位上的我，“不要著急，我一定幫你找到。”
As the minutes ticked by, he helped me consult at least eight security points while he was transferring crews. In the dark, the minibus honked, flashed its warning lights as it zoomed on the runway of Addis Ababa airport and among hundreds of planes for half an hour, much like a thrilling scene in a Hollywood movie starring Tom Cruise. At the ninth security point, a security officer was waiting with my laptop, which was unharmed. I lost it and found it again. I embraced the driver, as if I were born again.
時間一分一秒地過去，他在有限、緊張且繁忙的接送機組人員之餘，幫我問詢了至少8處安保點。黑夜中，中巴車按著喇叭、開著雙閃，在亞的斯亞貝巴機場跑道、上百架飛機之間飛馳穿梭了半個小時，像極了湯姆•克魯斯主演的好萊塢電影中的某個驚險場景。在問到第9處安保點時，一位安保人員已拿著我的電腦在那等候，毫髮無損。電腦失而復得，我如獲重生，深深地擁抱這位司機。
I will always remember this passionate, caring, intelligent, responsible and professional Addis Ababa airport driver, Tefer Mekonenne. I will always remember the thrilling but warm night at the airport. More importantly, I will always be grateful for this adventure in Africa, which made me rethink the method of looking at the underdeveloped continent from an economic perspective.
我會永遠記住這位富有激情、愛心、智慧、責任感與職業精神的亞的斯亞貝巴機場司機，他叫Tefer Mekonenne。我也會永遠記住在亞的斯亞貝巴停機跑道的驚險卻溫暖的夜晚。更重要的是，我會永遠感激這次在非洲的奇遇，讓我反思以經濟視角看待這片尚未發達大陸的方法論。
In the eyes of some people, Africa means poverty and backwardness and Africans are synonymous with laziness and stupidity. This utilitarian logic exposes the racist prejudice of those people. Tefer's bravery, wit and professionalism are further evidence of their narrow-mindedness and short-sightedness that have lasted for hundreds of years.
在一些人看來，非洲是貧窮、落後的地方，非洲人是懶、笨的代名詞。這種經濟功利邏輯暴露了那些人骨子裡的種族主義偏見。Tefer的勇敢、機智與專業更印證了那些人的狹窄、短視與持久了上百年的陋習。
I cannot imagine if it happened at an airport in China or any other country, could I meet a warm-hearted person like Tefer? He reflects a kind of simple cultural and social power and represents the powerful charm of the most ancient land of mankind.
我難以想象，如果發生在中國或其他國家的機場，是否能遇到像Tefer這樣的熱心人？他折射著某種淳樸的文化與社會力量，代表著這片人類最古老土地的強大魅力。
I argued in many of my articles, and now I believe more firmly, that the Chinese people need to completely change their view of Africa. They should show more appreciation to Africa for the help the continent has given to China in the past and the fact that it is still better than China in some aspects, so as to better tap the great potential for cooperation in the future.
我再次堅定過往曾寫過多篇關於非洲的文章所講，中國人須徹底改變對非洲的看法，不妨多向非洲表示學習與感激，既為過去他們曾給予中國的幫助，也為現在仍在某些方面強於中國的素養，更為未來共同繁榮與巨大的合作潛力空間。
Thank you, Mr. Tefer Mekonenne. You are the pride of Africa.
謝謝你，Tefer Mekonenne先生。你是非洲的驕傲。
(作者是中國人民大學重陽金融研究院執行院長、中美人文交流研究中心執行主任，其新著《強國長征路：百國調研歸來看中華復興與世界未來》正在熱賣中。他的郵箱是 [email protected] )
閱讀更多 環球時報英文版 的文章
