《经济学人》双语：如何从美国新泽西寄蛋糕到非洲阿克拉？
原文标题：
Family matters
How to send a cake from New Jersey to Accra
A Ghanaian app hints at the potential and problems of Africa’s diaspora
家庭事务
如何从新泽西寄蛋糕到阿克拉？
一个加纳APP反映了非洲侨民的潜力和问题
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SOME YEARS ago Christian Kofi Adu Vanlare wanted to buy a “really big birthday cake” for his uncle, the family patriarch, who was turning 88.
几年前，克里斯蒂安·科菲·阿杜·范拉雷打算为即将年满88岁的家族长辈——他的叔叔准备一个“巨大的生日蛋糕”。
But there was a problem. Mr Vanlare lives in New Jersey on America’s east coast. His uncle lives in Accra, Ghana’s capital.
但有个难题。范拉雷先生住在美国东海岸的新泽西。他的叔叔住在加纳首都阿克拉。
Icing and sponge do not travel well, and simple things like organising a cake can be onerous in a bustling African city. Various cousins said they were too busy to procure a gateau.
蛋糕上的糖霜和海绵层不易运输，而且在繁忙的非洲城市订购蛋糕这样的简单事情也很麻烦。几位堂兄堂妹都说他们太忙了，没法去购买蛋糕。
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Eventually he had a slice of luck when a friend relented and went to the shops. The big uncle got his big cake.
最终，幸运的是，他的一位朋友心软了，去商店买了蛋糕。这位大寿星终于如愿以偿地吃到了大蛋糕。
But making a meal out of buying a dessert was a reminder of the challenges of being abroad while having commitments back home.
但为一个蛋糕而大费周章，也让他意识到了在海外生活的同时还要兼顾家乡事务的艰难。
“For those of us who live in the diaspora this is our daily problem,” says Mr Vanlare.
范拉雷先生说：“对于我们这些漂泊在海外的人来说，这就是我们的日常难题。”
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So he came up with a solution.
于是他想出了一个解决办法。
Somafour (“One who is sent” in Akan, a language spoken by most Ghanaians) is an app that connects Ghanaians in the diaspora with those in Ghana who can run errands on their behalf.
Somafour（在加纳人常用的阿坎语中意为 “跑腿者”）是一款应用程序，可将海外加纳人与代为跑腿的加纳人联系起来。
Mr Vanlare’s startup is unlikely to attract the attention of venture capitalists in the near future.
范拉雷先生的初创公司近期不太可能吸引风险投资家的关注。
But its very existence reflects the growing number of Africans living overseas and their economic importance to the continent.
但程序的存在本身就反映了海外非洲侨民日益增多，以及他们对非洲大陆经济的重要性。
It also offers a lesson in the role of trust in getting things done.
同时，它也让我们看到了信任在完成任务中所起的作用。
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Africans account for a fraction of immigrants in most rich countries but their numbers are rising.
在多数富裕国家中，非洲移民所占的比例虽不高，但其数量却在不断上升。
More than 2m immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa lived in America as of 2019, a 16-fold increase since 1980, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank.
据智库“移民政策研究所”的数据显示，截至2019年，200多万来自撒哈拉以南非洲地区的移民居住在美国，与1980年相比增长了16倍。
By one estimate in 2022, there were roughly 500,000 Ghanaians living in OECD countries.
据2022年的一项估算，约有50万加纳人生活在经合组织国家。
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That is a fraction of the 34m in Ghana itself, but their money matters.
虽然这仅是加纳国内3400万人口的一小部分，但他们的资金却至关重要。
In 2023 the $4.6bn in remittances to Ghana was more than the country received in aid and FDI combined.
2023年，汇回加纳的46亿美元汇款超过了加纳获得的援助和外国直接投资的总和。
In addition, hard currency goes a lot further these days.
而且，如今硬通货更加值钱。
The Ghanaian cedi has lost about two-thirds of its value against the US dollar in the past five years.
过去5年里，加纳塞地兑美元汇率已贬值约2/3。
This has encouraged some in the diaspora to buy land while their dollars are worth more.
这促使一些海外侨民趁着美元更值钱时购买土地。
One Somafour agent says he was asked to visit the land a customer had bought to check the quality of the plot.
一位Somafour的代理人透露，他曾被要求前往客户所购土地处，检查地块的质量。
Dealing with bureaucrats at the land register office can also be part of the job.
与土地登记处的官僚打交道也可能是他职责的一部分。
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Other errands can be more personal, such as taking elderly relatives to the doctor or delivering drinking water to clients’ parents.
其他代办事项可能更加私人化，例如带年迈的亲戚就医，或是为客户父母送去饮用水。
Another agent recalls the funerals she has attended on behalf of friends of the deceased.
另一位代理人回想起她曾代表死者的朋友出席葬礼的情景。
She delivers donations to the bereaved families. (These may help with the cost of custom coffins that are popular in the west African country. Ghanaians have been known to be buried in coffins shaped as cars, cocoa pods and fish.)
她将捐款送到死者家属手中。（这些捐款可能有助于支付在西非国家流行的定制棺材的费用。据了解，加纳人会用汽车、可可豆荚和鱼等形状的棺材下葬。）
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Mr Vanlare admits, however, that business has been slow so far.
不过，范拉雷先生也承认，到目前为止，业务进展一直较为缓慢。
Many Ghanaians are wary of using an app rather than asking family for help, even if their kin are unreliable.
许多加纳人宁愿向家人求助，也不愿使用APP，哪怕他们的家人也可能不太靠谱。
In a global survey of values, albeit from a decade ago, just 5% of Ghanaians agreed with the statement “most people can be trusted”, a standard result for a poor country.
在一项全球价值观调查（尽管是10年前的）中，只有5%的加纳人同意“大多数人值得信赖”的说法，这对于一个贫穷国家来说是常态。
“In the African context it is very difficult to break into family networks,” says Mr Vanlare. It is not a piece of cake.
范拉雷先生说：“在非洲，想要打破家庭网络是非常困难的。”这绝非易事。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇561左右）
原文出自：2024年10月12日《TE》Middle East & Africa版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【重点句子】（3个）
But making a meal out of buying a dessert was a reminder of the challenges of being abroad while having commitments back home.
但为一个蛋糕而大费周章，也让他意识到了在海外生活的同时还要兼顾家乡事务的艰难。
But its very existence reflects the growing number of Africans living overseas and their economic importance to the continent.
但程序的存在本身就反映了海外非洲侨民日益增多，以及他们对非洲大陆经济的重要性。
Dealing with bureaucrats at the land register office can also be part of the job.
与土地登记处的官僚打交道也可能是他职责的一部分。