VOA慢速英语：法国葡萄酒之都波尔多市的奴隶制历史

History of Slavery in France's Wine Capital

法国葡萄酒之都波尔多市的奴隶制历史

The southwestern French city of Bordeaux is a center of the wine trade. But hundreds of years ago, it was the second-largest slave-trading port in France.

法国西南部的波尔多市是葡萄酒贸易中心。但是数百年前，这里曾是法国第二大奴隶贸易港口。

From the 17th to the 19th century, the city sent hundreds of ships carrying 130,000 slaves to America. The ships returned to Bordeaux with cotton, tobacco, sugar and rum, helping the city and its merchants grow rich.

从17世纪到19世纪，该市发出了数百艘船运送了13万奴隶到美国。这些船只满载着棉花、烟草、糖和朗姆酒回到波尔多，帮助该市及其商人致富。

Some former slave-trading cities have remembered that history with large public memorials. There is no such memorial in Bordeaux.

一些前奴隶贸易城市以大型纪念碑铭记了这段历史，但是在波尔多市并没与这样的纪念碑。

Karfa Diallo wants to change that. He immigrated to France from Dakar, Senegal, 20 years ago. Goree Island, near Dakar, was the place many slaves left Africa for the Americas.

Karfa Diallo希望改变这点。他于20年前从塞内加尔的达卡尔移民到了法国。达喀尔附近的戈尔岛是很多奴隶离开非洲前往美国的出发地。

Diallo is the director of the Memory and Sharing Association, which tells about Bordeaux's slave-trading past. He believes the city has not yet dealt with its history or admitted the benefits it received from slavery. He said after studying the city's history he realized it, in his words, "enriched itself on the blood and sweat of my ancestors and did nothing to remember this."

Diallo是记忆和分享协会的负责人，该协会讲述了波尔多市的奴隶贸易历史。他认为该市没有正确处理这段历史或承认从奴隶制中获得的好处。他说，在研究这座城市的历史之后他意识到，该市凭借“我祖先的血汗富裕起来，但是却没有做任何事情来记住这一点。”

His group offers travelers a two-hour trip through areas in the city where slave-trading activities took place.

他的组织为游客提供两小时的旅程，贯穿该市奴隶贸易的发生之地。

"The image of wine is very hard to reconcile with the image of slavery. That is why the town was very late in giving history the place it merited in public spaces and schools."

“葡萄酒的形象和奴隶制的形象很难统一起来。这就是为什么该市很迟才在公共场所和学校赋予这段历史它应有的地位。”

He explains that more than 12 city streets in Bordeaux are named after well-known slave traders.

他解释说，波尔多市有12条以上的城市街道是以知名的奴隶贸易商的名字命名的。

Diallo had asked the city to consider renaming those streets. But now, he is asking officials to place signs near the streets explaining the history of their names.

Diallo曾要求该市考虑重新命名这些街道。但是现在，他要求官员们在街道附近设置标志，解释这些名字的来由。

Even people who live in the city do not know much about its role in the slave trade.

即使是生活在这座城市的人们也不了解该市在奴隶贸易中扮演的角色。

The city government has created a group to study Bordeaux's slave-trading history. It has asked people who live in the city what they believe the government should do to remember the city's history. Marik Fetouh is the deputy mayor of Bordeaux. He says the city's efforts need to be done, in his words, "intelligently, without accusations."

市政府已经成立一个小组来研究波尔多市的奴隶贸易历史。市政府询问该市市民，他们认为市政府应该如何铭记该市的这段历史。Marik Fetouh是波尔都市的副市长。他说，该市需要“明智、不加指责地”采取措施。

Diallo agrees. He says his tours are not about "shaming" people. Instead, he aims to tell the story of the city's past in a way that is "measured and thought out."

Diallo表示认同。他说，他的参观游览并非想让人们感到羞愧。相反，他的目的是以“克制和审慎”的方式来讲述该市的历史过往。

I'm Caty Weaver.

卡蒂·韦弗报道。