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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Since her birth near Senegal's coast, the ocean has always given Ndeye Yacine Dieng life. Her grandfather was a fisherman, and her grandmother and mother processed fish. Like generations of women, she now helps support her family in the small community of Bargny. The women dry, smoke, salt and preserve1 the catch brought home by male villagers.
But when the pandemic hit, only a few men went out to sea. Many people were too afraid to leave their houses or go out to fish, for fear of catching2 the virus3. When the local women did get fish to process, there was no one to buy them. Markets had closed. Neighboring countries had closed their borders. Without savings4, many families went from three meals a day to one or two.
Dieng is among more than a thousand women in Bargny, and many more in other villages along Senegal's coast, who process fish. Fish exports are an important part of the economy5 for Senegal. The industry employs hundreds of thousands of its citizens. The fish provide more than half of the protein eaten by Senegal's 16 million people.
"It was catastrophic -- all of our lives changed," Dieng said. But, she noted6, "Our community is a community of solidarity7."
New hope with a new fishing season
Last month was the first fishing season since the pandemic began. It brings a new hope to the processors, their families and the village. The brightly painted wooden fishing boats are again carrying men to the sea. Crowds wait on the beach to help the fishermen carry in their catch.
The coronavirus is not the only problem the people of Senegal face. Rising seas and climate change threaten the livelihoods8 and homes of people on the coast. They do not have enough money to build new homes or move away. Near Bargny's beach, builders work on new factories to make steel and cement9. These raise fears about pollution but supporters10 say they are necessary.
Dieng and the other processors use old ways do their work. New factories that process fish pay more for the fish and produce a fish powder used for animal food.
A bad year
Before the pandemic, a good season could bring Dieng about $1,000. Last year, she said, she made little to nothing. She depended on the help of neighbors and her family.
"Since there is COVID, we live in fear," said Dieng, 64, who has seven adult children. "Most of the people here and women processors have lived a difficult life." She said they are very tired, "But now, little by little, it's getting better."
Dieng has become a local leader and informal11 teacher. She and others are now part of a rising group of women in Senegal working for change along the coast and beyond.
Dieng's neighbor, Fatou Samba, is a town leader and president of the Association12 of Women Processors of Fish Products. She speaks in public about the problems facing the traditional fish industry. She hopes to stop much of the growth13 of big industry as fishmeal companies take large amounts of fish and send the product to Europe and Asia.
Women must be empowered
"If we let ourselves be outdone, within two or three years, women will not have work anymore," Samba said. "We are not against the creation14 of a project that will develop Senegal. But we are against projects that must make women lose the right to work."
"Especially in Africa, women are fighters. Women are workers. Women are family leaders," Samba said. "Therefore, women must be empowered."
Late last month, fishermen finally came back to Bargny with fish in their boats. Dieng and others hurried to meet them on the beach. She bought a load of fish and took it to the piece of land she and friends claimed. Then she started the work she's known15 for many years.
They put the fish on the sand and covered them in peanut16 shells17, which they burned. Smoke filled the air. The women stepped away after making sure the fire would continue burning. After a day or so, they returned to turn the fish and let it dry in the sun. Another day passed, and the women returned to clean it. Finally, they packed the fish in large nets and sold it. Others took fish away in trucks.
The pandemic also is not over, so Dieng and other women go door to door to ask people to get vaccinated18. She speaks to the other women, hoping they will stay in the industry.
"It's our gold. This site is all, this site is everything for us," Dieng said of the coast and its importance to Bargny. "All the women must rise up...We must work, to always work and work again for our tomorrows, for our future."
Words in This Story
preserve – v. to prevent (food) from decaying19
catastrophe20 – n. a terrible disaster
(be) outdone – adj. having the experience of someone else being more successful than you
net -–n. a device for catching and holding things like fish that is made of pieces of string woven together with spaces in between
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preserve
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| vt.保护，保持，保存，保藏；vi.做蜜饯，禁猎；n.蜜饯，果酱，禁猎地，禁区，防护物 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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virus
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| n.病毒，滤过性微生物，毒害，恶毒；（一个能够复制、感染其他程序或破坏操作系统的程序） | |
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savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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economy
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| n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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solidarity
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| n.团结；休戚相关 | |
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livelihoods
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| 生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 ) | |
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cement
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| n.水泥；胶结材料；vt.粘结；巩固 | |
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supporters
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| n.支持者，拥护者，赞助者( supporter的名词复数 ) | |
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informal
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| adj.非正式的，不拘礼的，通俗的 | |
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association
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| n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想 | |
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growth
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| n.生长，栽培 | |
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creation
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| n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物 | |
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known
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| adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的 | |
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peanut
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| n.花生 | |
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shells
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| n.（贝、卵、坚果等的）壳( shell的名词复数 )；外壳；炮弹；（人的）表面性格 | |
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vaccinated
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| [医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的 | |
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decaying
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| v.（使）腐烂，腐朽( decay的现在分词 )；衰败，衰退，衰落 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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