1、瑟利夫夫人在哈佛大学2011年毕业典礼上的演讲【人物介绍】埃伦约翰逊 瑟利夫（Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf，1938年10月29日- ） ，非洲女政治家，利比里亚总统。生于利比里亚首都蒙罗维亚。毕业于美国威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的会计专业，同时也获得了美国科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的经济学学位，后又拥有哈佛大学公共管理硕士学位。70年代，在利比里亚政府中担任驻联合国官员，后任财政部长。1980年，利比里亚发生政变后，被迫流亡国外，先后供职于纽约联合国开发计划署以及世界银行。1985年，回国竞选议员，但被当时的多伊政府以“肆意煽动“ 的罪名判处10年监禁。在美国的压力下，她在服刑两个月后
2、获释，但仍受到跟踪和监视。1989年，泰勒发动政变，推翻利比里亚政府，她被迫逃亡。1997年，利比里亚举行总统选举，她作为13个总统候选人之一参加角逐，但因只得到10%的选票而未能如愿。2005年，在第二轮总统选举中，以59.4的选票当选为利比里亚新一届总统。她不仅是该国历史上的第一位女总统，也是非洲有史以来的第一位女总统。President Drew Gilpin Faust, members of the Harvard Board of Overseers, members of the Harvard Corporation, faculty, staff and students,
3、fellow alumni, members of the graduating Class of 2011, parents, family and friends, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends:福斯特校长，哈佛监管理事会的各位理事，哈佛集团的各位成员，各位老师，各位教工，各位同学，各位校友，各位 2011 级的毕业生，各位毕业生的家长和亲朋，各位贵宾，先生们，女士们，朋友们，I am honored not only to be the 360th Commencement speaker at my alma m
4、ater, but to do so in the year Harvard University celebrates 375 years of preparing minds as the oldest institution of higher learning in America. Thank you for the invitation and congratulations to you, Dr. Faust, the first female president of Harvard! It is a great privilege to share in Harvards d
5、istinguished and storied history. Harvard has produced presidents, prime ministers, a United Nations secretary-general, leaders in business, government, and the church. But more than anything, Harvard has produced the men and women on whose talent our societies function the leaders in law, health, b
6、usiness, government, design, education, spirituality, and thought.我感到非常荣幸，不仅因为担任母校第 360 届毕业典礼的演讲嘉宾，还因为赶上了哈佛大学-这个美国最早的高等教育机构- 第 375 周年校庆。福斯特博士，您是哈佛历史上第一位女校长，谢谢您邀请我，向您表示祝贺。成为哈佛大学卓越传奇的历史的一部分，这是一种莫大的荣誉。哈佛培养了总统、首相、联合国秘书长、商界领袖、政界领袖、宗教领袖。但是更重要的是，哈佛培养了维持我们社会运转的各类充满才华的学生-优秀的法律工作者、医生、商人、公务员、设计师、教育家、心理指导师和思想家。
7、An event four decades ago put me on the path that has led me to where I am today. I participated, as a junior official of Liberias Department of Treasury, in a national development conference sponsored by our National Planning Council and a team of Harvard advisers working with Liberia. My remarks,
8、which challenged the status quo, landed me in my first political trouble. The head of the Harvard team, recognizing, in a closed society, the potential danger I faced, facilitated the process that enabled me to become a Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government. The Mason Program provided me
9、with the opportunity to study a diversified curriculum for a masters degree in public administration. Perhaps more importantly, in terms of preparation for leadership, the program enabled us to learn and interact with other Fellows and classmates who represented current and potential leaders from al
10、l continents.四十年前的一件往事，让我走上了今天的道路。当时，我作为利比里亚财政部的低级职员，参加了由我们的”国家规划委员会 ”赞助的一次国家发展会议，与一组哈佛大学的顾问一起在利比里亚合作。我在发言中批评了政府，这使我遇到了人生第一次政治麻烦。哈佛顾问团的团长看出了这一点，在一个封闭的社会中，我可能会遭受到危险，他设法让我成为肯尼迪政府学院的梅森研究员。梅森项目使我有机会学习多种课程，得到公共管理硕士学位。它的更重要的作用，可能是培养领导能力。这个项目使我们与其他研究员和同学一起学习和互动，如今他们正在或将要走上各国政治领袖的位置。I engaged, thrilled to b
11、e among the worlds best minds, yet overwhelmed by the reality of being a part of the worlds most prestigious institution of learning. As a result, I did things that I should have done, like studying hard, going to the stacks to do the research for the many papers and for better knowledge of the hist
12、ory of my country. I notice a few blank stares evidence of the generation gap so let me explain: the stacks contained books, which people used to write, and other people used to read, before Google Scholar was created. I also did things that I should not have done, like exposing myself to frostbite
13、when I joined students much younger than I to travel by bus to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.与全世界最优秀的人在一起，成为世界最富盛名的教育机构的一份子，让我兴奋异常，全身心地投入，忙得不可开交。因此，我不仅做那些应该做的事情，比如刻苦学习、阅读一堆堆与研究项目和祖国历史有关的文献。（我看到有些听众不太理解的眼神，这就是”代沟”了，让我来解释一下，所谓”一堆堆” 是指里面有很多书籍。 Google 学术搜索诞
14、生之前，人们习惯写作和阅读书籍。）我还做那些本不应该做的事情，比如与许多比我年轻很多的学生，一起坐巴士，去华盛顿游行示威，反对美国卷入越南战争，这让我得了冻疮。It is difficult to imagine achieving all that I have, without the opportunity to study at Harvard. It is, therefore, for me a profound honor to be counted as an alumna. I salute my fellow graduates who share that rich he
15、ritage of academic excellence and the pursuit of truth.如果没有来到哈佛学习，很难想象我会得到今天的成就。因此，能够被哈佛承认为校友，对我来说是一种特别的光荣。我向那些一起毕业的同学致敬，他们继承了学术传统，追求真理，发扬光大了哈佛精神。In preparation for this Address, I was pleasantly surprised to learn how far back Liberias connection to Harvard goes. The establishment of the Liberia Co
16、llege (now the University of Liberia) in 1862, the second-oldest institution of higher learning in West Africa, was led and funded by the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia. Simon Greenleaf, the Harvard College law professor who drafted Liberias Independence Constitution of 1847, was the
17、 founder and president of the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia.准备这篇演讲稿的过程中，我很高兴和震惊地了解到，利比里亚与哈佛大学的联系可以追溯到非常久远之前。利比里亚学院（现为利比里亚大学）成立于 1862 年，是西部非洲第二古老的高等教育机构。这所学校是由”利比里亚教育基金会” 资助和领导的，而这个基金会的创始人和主席是 Simon Greenleaf。他是哈佛大学法学教授，在 1847 年起草了利比里亚独立宪章。The first Liberian graduate of Harvard did s
18、o in 1920, and since then there has been a steady trail of Liberians to Cambridge. Most of them returned home to pursue successful careers.1920 年，第一个利比里亚学生从哈佛大学毕业。此后，一直不断有利比里亚人来到坎布里奇求学。他们中的大多数后来都回国，取得了事业的成功。Thank you, Harvard, and thank you to the many Mason Program professors, dead and alive, for t
19、he compliments you paid when my papers and interventions were top rate, and for the patience you showed when I struggled with quantitative analysis.感谢你，哈佛大学。感谢许多已故和健在的梅森项目教授，感谢你们对我的论文和其他活动的高度评价，感谢你们在我学习数量分析遇到困难时显示的耐心。The self-confidence, sometimes called arrogance, that comes from being a Harvard gr
20、aduate can also lead one down a dangerous path. It did for me. One year after my return from Cambridge, I was at it again, in a Commencement Address at my high school alma mater. I questioned the governments failure to address long-standing inequalities in the society. This forced me into exile and
21、a staff position at the World Bank. Other similar events would follow in a life of in and out of country, in and out of jail, in and out of professional service. There were times when I thought death was near, and times when the burden of standing tall by ones conviction seemed only to result in fai
22、lure. But through it all, my experience sends a strong message that failure is just as important as success.毕业于哈佛，给人带来的自信（有时是自大），也能使人走上一条危险的道路。我就是这样。我从哈佛毕业回国一年后，又不得不再次来到美国。原因是我参加高中母校的毕业典礼，质疑政府在改变社会长期以来不平等方面的完全失败。这使得我不得不流亡海外，在世界银行担任职员。后来又发生了许多类似的事件，使得我回国又出国、入狱又出狱、就业又失业。好几次我觉得离死不远，还有好几次自己的坚定信念看来只会导致失败
23、。但是经过这一切，我的经历表达了一个强烈的信息，那就是失败同成功一样重要。Today I stand proud, as the first woman president of my country, Liberia. This has allowed me to lead the processes of change, change needed to address a long-standing environment characterized by awesome challenges: a collapsed economy, huge domestic and externa
24、l debt arrears, dysfunctional institutions, destroyed infrastructure, poor regional and international relationships, and social capital destroyed by the scourge of war.今天我作为我的祖国利比里亚的第一位女总统站在这里，非常骄傲。这个职位允许我领导变革的进程，我的祖国需要变革，来面对现实中长期存在的许多巨大的挑战：崩溃的经济，巨大的国内外逾期债务，丧失功能的各种机构，被摧毁的基础设施，脆弱的地区和国际关系，毁于战火的各种社会资源。
25、After election, I moved quickly in mobilizing our team, sought support from partners, and tackled the challenges. In five years, we formulated the laws and policies and strategies for growth and development. We removed the international sanctions on our primary exports; introduced and made public a
26、cash-based budget; increased revenue by over 400 percent; and mobilized foreign direct investment worth 16 times the size of the economy when I assumed office. We built a small and professional army and coast guard, and moved the economy from negative growth to average around 6 percent. We have virt
27、ually eliminated a $4.9 billion external debt, settled a large portion of international institutional debt, as well as domestic arrears and suppliers credit. We restored electricity and pipe-borne water, lacking in the capital for two decades; reconstructed two modern universities and rural referral
28、 hospitals; constructed or reconstructed roads, bridges, schools, training institutions, local government facilities, and courts throughout the country; established and strengthened the institutional pillars of integrity; decentralized education by establishing community colleges; brought back the P
29、eace Corps; and mobilized financial and technical resources from U.S. foundations, sororities, and individuals for support of programs aimed at the education of girls, the empowerment of adolescent youth, and improved working conditions for market women.当选后，我迅速动员我们的团队，向支持者寻求支持，应对各种挑战。在五年的时间中，我们制定了法律
30、、政策和战略，促进经济增长和社会发展。我们消除了主要出口商品的国际制裁，引入并公开了建立在现金基础上的财政预算，财政收入增加超过 400%，动员的外国投资是我就职时经济规模的 16 倍。我们建立了一支小规模、专业化的军队和海岸护卫队，将经济从负增长提升到平均年增长 6%左右。我们实际上消除了 49 亿美元的外债，解决了大部分的国际机构欠款，以及国内的逾期债务和供应商的贷款。我们修复了电力和自来水系统，它们已经在首都缺失 20 年了；我们重建了两所现代化大学和农村的中央医院，修建和重修了道路、桥梁、学校、培训机构、地方政府设施、全国各地的法院；我们建立和加强了保证正义的一些体制措施；通过建立社区
31、学院，让教育资源去中心化；让和平队重新回到利比里亚；动员了美国的基金会、联谊会和个人，提供资金和技术资源，支持那些教育女童、激励青少年、改进女性小贩工作条件的项目。Nevertheless, the challenges for sustained growth and development remain awesome. Our stability is threatened by the thousands of returnees from U.S. prisons and regional refugee camps, the bulk of whom are lacking in
32、technical skills. Our peace is threatened by the challenging neighborhood where we live: two of our three neighbors have either experienced, or narrowly avoided, civil war in the past year, and we patiently host their refugees, since not even a decade ago it was they who hosted so many of us. Implem
33、entation of our economic development agenda is constrained by low implementation and absorptive capacity, which means that we are not constrained by funding alone. Plans to enhance performance in governance move slower than desired due to long-standing institutional decay and a corrupted value syste
34、m of dishonesty and dependency. The development of infrastructure is constrained by the high capital cost of restoration, brought about by the lack of maintenance and exacerbated by wanton destruction over two decades of conflict.但是，可持续发展所面对的挑战，依然巨大。从美国监狱和其他地区的难民营回归的几千个人员，对我们的稳定有威胁，他们中的大多数人没有技能。我们的和
35、平也受到邻国的威胁。去年，我们的三个邻国当中有两个，经历了或者惊险地避免了内战。我们忍耐地接受他们的难民，因为不到十年之前，正是他们接受了我们的大量难民。我们的经济发展规划，受到低下的学习和执行能力的限制，这意味着我们的困难并不仅仅是资金不足。提高政府表现的计划，比想象的进展缓慢，因为我们体制落后，而且还有不诚实、讲人情的腐败价值观。基础设施的开发，也受到巨大修复成本的制约，因为我们缺乏维修能力，而且过去二十多年的内部冲突带来的恶意破坏，使得情况大大恶化。Yet, today, we are proud that young Liberian children are back in scho
36、ol, preparing themselves to play a productive part in the new Liberian society. Our seven-year-olds do not hear guns and do not have to run. They can smile again. We can thus say with confidence that we have moved our war-torn nation from turmoil to peace, from disaster to development, from dismay t
37、o hope. And it was the Liberian women who fought the final battle for peace, who came, their number and conviction the only things greater than their diversity, to demonstrate for the end to our civil war. I am, therefore, proud to stand before you, humbled by the success in representing the aspirat
38、ions and expectations of Liberian women, African women, and, I dare to say, women worldwide.但是，令我们骄傲的是，今天利比里亚的儿童已经重返校园，为建设一个新利比里亚做准备。我们的七岁儿童不会听到枪声，也不必逃亡。他们可以重新微笑。我们能够自信地说，我们已经令这个饱受战火蹂躏的国家，从战乱走向和平，从灾难走向发展，从忧伤走向希望。正是利比里亚妇女，为和平进行最后的战斗，她们的人数和信念战胜内部的差异，她们终结了内战。因此，我非常骄傲地站在你们面前，为能够代表利比里亚妇女、非洲妇女、甚至全世界的妇女，而感
39、到荣幸万分。Today I stand equally proud, as the first woman president of our African continent, a continent that has embraced the process of change and transformation. I am proud that Liberia became a beacon of hope in Africa. With few notable exceptions, Africa is no longer a continent of countries with
40、corrupt big men who rule with iron fists. It is no longer the Dark Continent in continual economic free fall, wallowing in debt, poverty and disease.今天，我同样自豪地作为非洲大陆第一位女总统来到这里，非洲正在进入变革和转型的时期。我为利比里亚成为非洲希望的灯塔，而感到自豪。除了极少数突出的例外，非洲不再是独裁者一手遮天、腐败无处不在的大陆。它也不再是经济像自由落体那样下滑的黑暗大陆，不再沉溺于债务、贫穷和疾病。When he addressed
41、the Ghanaian Parliament in 2009, President Barack Obama reminded the people of Africa that it would no longer be the great men of the past who would transform the continent. The future of all of our countries is in the hands of the young people, people like you, Obama said, “brimming with talent and
42、 energy and hope, who can claim the future that so many in previous generations never realized.”2009 年，奥巴马总统在加纳议会致辞时，提醒非洲人民，这块大陆的变革不能再依赖过去的伟人。我们所有国家的未来，掌握在年轻人手中，就像你们这样的年轻人。奥巴马说：”你们充满才华、热情和希望，能够实现过去许多代人无法设想的未来。”While many challenges persist, times have changed and the world you enter today, graduates
43、 of the Class of 2011, is much more accountable than the one we faced. At the beginning of this year, 17 elections were scheduled across our continent. In 1989, there were three democracies in sub-Saharan Africa; by 2008, there were 23. That is progress. This is a significant improvement from the da
44、ys when violent overthrows were the default means of transition. A clear example stands out in West Africa. Although they did not get as much focus as postelection violence in C?te dIvoire, Niger and Guinea proved exemplary where the military oversaw democratic elections, turned power over to the ci
45、vilian government, and returned to the barracks. In the case of C?te dIvoire, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union recognized a nonincumbent as the legitimate winner. That, again, is progress.虽然存在那么多挑战，但是时代已经变了，作为 2011 届毕业生，你们走进的世界远比我们曾经面对的世界更加合理。今年，非洲大陆计划中的民主
46、选举有 17 次。1989 年，在撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲只有 3 次。2008 年，就增加到了 23 次。这就是进步。在非洲大陆推行变革的方式，以前是暴力颠覆，相比那时，现在就是显著的改善。整个西部非洲的局势变化，就是一个明显的例子。虽然科特迪瓦选举后的暴力冲突得到了广泛报道，但是尼日尔和几内亚的例子才是主流，它们的军队监督了民主选举，将政权转移到了民选政府手中，然后回到兵营，它们可以充当楷模。就科特迪瓦而言，西非国家经济体和非洲联盟认可一个非现职的竞选人为当选者，这也是一个进步。We also see evidence of this progress in the African econo
47、my, which has been growing at more than 5 percent over the past decade. A recent African Development Bank report measured the rise of the middle class in Africa, totaling 313 million out of 1 billion Africans. The countries experiencing exceptional growth in their middle class include Ghana, Mozambi
48、que, Mali, Tanzania, Cape Verde, Botswana, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda. This middle class is changing the face of Africa. We are moving away from dependence on extractive industries and agriculture. There is a rising consumer class that helped brace Africa during the global economic crisis. This is emb
49、lematic not only of the progress in purchasing power in Africa, but in the progress that means you can still put food on the table for your family when the rains fail, that you can engage intelligently in political debates and hold your leaders accountable.我们还看到了非洲经济的进步，过去十年它的增长率超过了 5%。一份近期的非洲发展银行报告，研究了非洲中产阶级的崛起，10 亿非洲人之中有 3.13 亿。加纳、莫桑比克、马里、坦桑尼亚、佛得角、博茨瓦纳、布基纳法索、卢旺达的中产阶级人数，都在史无前例地增长。我们正在摆脱对采掘业和农业的依赖。我们的消费者阶层正在不断扩大，有助于非洲度过这次全球经济危机。这不仅意味着非洲购买力进步，也意味着当天气变化时你可以在家里储存食物，还意味着你能理性地参与政治争论，使政治领导人负起责任来。Instability and years of conflict in Liberia have pushed us to the bottom of thi
