贝宁与法国总统讨论归还非洲文物事宜

Benin, French Presidents to Discuss Returning African Artifacts

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with the president of Benin not long after he promised to return artifacts taken from Africa during colonial¹ times.

Macron will meet with Beninese president Patrice Talon² in Paris on March 6. The two leaders are expected to discuss works of art from the former kingdom of Dahomey. Many of these artifacts were taken, and are now kept in French museums and private collections.

If the Macron government keeps its promise, experts say, its action might influence other European countries facing similar restitution³ demands.

The Quai Branly museum in Paris holds thousands of African artifacts. These include Kwele masks from Gabon, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. Other art works include Baoule and Dan statues from the Ivory⁴ Coast, and royal Dahomey artifacts from what is modern-day Benin.

Museums in France and around Europe that hold African art are now reconsidering their collections. Many people are questioning if some of the objects were stolen or taken unfairly from countries that were former European colonies.

Restitution claims are not new. But now, President Emmanuel Macron is giving them new importance.

During a speech in Ouagadougou last November, Macron said Africa's cultural heritage⁵ could no longer remain in European museums and private collections.

Over the next five years, he said, artifacts in France must be temporarily or permanently⁶ returned to Africa.

Mechtild Rossler is the head of the World Heritage Center of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. She says that the debate about African art has started in France.

"Each of the museums need to have a look at their own collections and identify pieces which may have been trafficked illegally or may have come out of some dubious⁷ circumstances during colonialism."

In 2016, Benin became the first African country to ask for the return of its artifacts. The country is seeking several thousand pieces it says were taken from the former Kingdom of Dahomey by French soldiers and religious workers.

Many works of art from Benin are at the Quai Branly museum. But earlier French administrations have said the art was now French property.

Beninese people, like Marie-Cecile Zinsou, disagree. She heads the Zinsou Foundation in Cotonou, which supports African art.

"Benin heritage is shown in France. It's shown in New York. It's shown in London, it's shown in Berlin. The only place where you can't see it is in Benin...the French left with everything."

There are also important economic considerations in the debate. Art attracts foreign visitors to countries. These tourists, says Louis-Georges Tin, bring economic activity. Tin heads the Representative Council of France’s Black Associations, a group that is calling for restitution.

"If you want tourists to come to your country, you need to have a cultural legacy⁸. And how can you do that when most of your legacy has been robbed by many people in the Western countries?"

Some people say African art is now something that belongs to the whole world. They argue that many African countries do not have museums to store artifacts that could easily be damaged.

Others believe these issues can be resolved. A group of Paris art museums, for example, built a small museum in Benin. They donated art from their own collections to it.

Gallery owner Robert Vallois led the effort. Vallois believes one answer would be to keep the art in European museums for now, where it is well preserved. Then, the goal would be to have artworks travel widely in Africa.

Vallois considers the artifacts as national treasures of both France and Africa. What is important, he says, is that the public in both places has access to them.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

artifact –n. objects made by people in the past

dubious –adj. doubtful, causing doubt or uncertainty⁹

heritage –n. the traditions, beliefs and objects that are part of a group or nation

legacy –n. something such as property that is received from someone who has died or from people in the past

kingdom –n. the area ruled by a king

restitution –n. the act of returning something that was lost or stolen to its owner

1 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

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。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

2 talon   

n.爪；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物

参考例句：

• Can you get a little tighter with the talon?你能不能把摄像探头固定住不动？
• This kind of spice is made of eagle's talon and has a unique flavor.这种香料味道独特，是用鹰爪作原料制成的。

3 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

4 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

5 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。