How art and society connect

 

From VOA Learning¹ English, welcome to AS IT IS!

AS IT IS --- our new magazine show in Special English. Today and in the days to come, we will be expanding on major world events and reporting on issues that concern you. We will be talking with newsmakers, experts and VOA’s own reporters to help make sense of this quickly changing world --- AS IT IS.

Hello, I’m your host, Mario Ritter. 

This week on our program, we talk about how art and society connect. For instance², a writing program in Afghanistan permits women to share their ideas about the politics and culture in their country. Another young Afghan woman uses her art to say something about American politics. But first, we bring you music from some South African and American young people.

Bokamosa Youth is the name of a South African organization.  For over 10 years, about 20 Bokamosa members have spent a month at a high school and college in the United States. The program offers more than just an exchange between two cultures. It gives young people the opportunity to talk about what is important to them, and to imagine a different kind of life for themselves. 

While the Bokamosa Youth perform, many of the American students join in. 

“Bokamosa has been doing that here for years, so many of us are familiar with this.” 

Drew Looney is in his third year of high school at Saint³ Andrew’s Episcopal School in the eastern state of Maryland. Singing together helps the American and South African students get to know each other. Teachers at Saint Andrew’s say meeting the South Africans makes some American students think about living or working in another country one day. And attending an American school, even for only a few weeks, often makes members of the South African group decide to get more education.

“I wanted to go a mile from where I was.”

That was Themba. He is 19. Like other members of Bokamosa, he grew up in a town outside of Pretoria called Winterveldt.

“I can say it’s a place under construction.”

As part of Bokamosa, students also write poems and perform plays for schools and churches in Winterveldt. A lot of their creative work discusses issues in the community. For instance: teenage pregnancy⁴, finding⁵ a job, or women entering the corporate⁶ world.  

“Normally a woman doesn’t work, a man must provide. These plays, they address the issues because sometimes conflicts arise when men can say:  ’No, you want to take away my pride?’” 

Thapelo is 27. Bokamosa helped him with his education. Now he volunteers for the group as a drama director. Thapelo works⁷ with young people like Lovely, who said she used to be very shy.

“Here I am now. I can be able to stand in front of many, many people and present myself.” 

Roy Barber⁸ goes to Winterveldt in the summer to help Lovely and other participants create plays and develop songs. The rest of the year he teaches music and other classes at St. Andrew’s, back in Maryland. He says making music and telling stories helps young people look at their lives and make choices -- or, put another way, to find their voices.

The Afghan Women’s Writing Project was founded three years ago. The goal is to change the image of women in Afghanistan. Kelly Jean Kelly reports on how Afghan women are using computer and language skills to tell their own stories.

Zahra is in her twenties. She teaches English to children who live at an orphanage⁹. She also writes about Afghan girls’ life experiences and hopes. 

American writer Naomi Benaron helps Zahra write her poems and stories. Ms. Benaron reads from one of Zahra’s poems, called “Daughter of War.”

“…I will try 

I will stand for my right 

I will break the silence 

I will show my power 

And I will bring peace 

In my country once again.”

Zahra is one of about 100 writers in the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. The stories and poems are published on a website. The group also connects Afghan writers with other writers around the world who help them with their ideas and skills. American journalist and writer Marsha Hamilton founded the project in 2009. That was 10 years after her first visit to Kabul.

“It’s important for a certain kind of survival¹⁰ to tell your own story, to tell it out loud.”

Recently, the project moved into a building in Kabul. Now, women writers not only can meet on the Internet — they can also meet in person. 

“I feel I’m not alone. There needs to be change.”

That was Mahnaz. She joined the project three years ago. One of her poems is called “Legitimizing Inequality.” It describes how women become victims of cultural and religious beliefs.

“They use our body, then 

Mock¹¹ our beauty and call us weak. 

We are not infidel. 

We are different but equal. 

We are women 

Strong in our faith and ability.” 

Mahnaz wants to continue writing. She dreams of writing books and becoming a novelist.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Mario Ritter. You are listening to AS IT IS.

Another young woman in Afghanistan has created a special gift for President Obama.  Jerilyn Watson has more.  

Aisha Rasekh lives in a mud house in Jowzjan Province.  It is also where she does her weaving. 

“This is Barack Obama’s picture on carpet which I wove in eight months and want to present it personally to President Obama.”

Aisha goes to school and she also works to help support a family of ten.

“We all weave carpets.  We make our livelihood¹² out of this.”

Afghan carpets are produced mostly in the northern area of the country where Aisha lives.  The carpets are becoming more popular in world markets today. 

And that’s AS IT IS for today. I’m Mario Ritter.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

3 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

6 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

7 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

8 barber   

n.理发员，美容师

参考例句：

• She asked the barber to crop her hair short.她叫理发师把她的头发剪短了。
• My Mum took me to the barber's.我妈带我理发去了。

9 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。

10 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

11 mock   

n.嘲笑，戏弄，模仿；adj.假的，伪造的；vt.嘲弄，模仿，轻视；vi.嘲弄

参考例句：

• Those who mock history will be mocked by history.嘲弄历史的人必将被历史所嘲弄。
• The students have done mock A levels at school.学生们在学校参加过模拟高级考试。

12 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。