【VOA慢速】尼日利亚牧民带着牛来到城市寻找草

Angry drivers honk as cattle slowly march across and feed on the grass in the middle of the streets.

愤怒的司机按着喇叭，看着牛慢慢走过，在街道中央吃草。

It is a common sight for drivers in Nigeria's capital city Abuja.

对于尼日利亚首都阿布贾的司机来说，这是一个常见的景象。

For the young herder guiding them, Ismail Abubakar, it is just another day.

对于放牛的年轻牧民伊斯梅尔·阿布巴卡尔来说，这只是平常的一天。

Abubakar did not choose to bring his cattle to the city center.

阿布巴卡尔没有选择将他的牛带到市中心。

His family is from Katsina State in northern Nigeria, where a changing climate turned grazing lands into a desert.

他的家人来自尼日利亚北部的卡齐纳州，那里的气候变化使牧场变成了沙漠。

He moved to Idu — a rural less developed part of Abuja — many years ago.

许多年前，他搬到了伊杜——阿布贾一个欠发达的农村地区。

But it now has a large train station and many homes and businesses.

但现在它拥有一个大型火车站以及许多家庭和企业。

Herders like Abubakar usually bring their cattle to the wild countryside to graze.

像阿布巴卡尔这样的牧民通常会把他们的牛带到野外吃草。

But the need for housing, crop farming and climate change are taking away the land and their way of life.

但是对住房、农作物种植和气候变化的需求正在夺走土地和他们的生活方式。

To keep cattle off Abuja's streets, some suggest that herders need to start buying private land and operating like other businesses.

但是对住房、农作物种植和气候变化的需求正在夺走土地和他们的生活方式。

But to do that, they would need money and government support.

但要做到这一点，他们需要资金和政府的支持。

Baba Ngelzarma is the president of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, a herders' support group.

巴巴·恩格尔扎马是尼日利亚米耶蒂·阿拉养牛者协会的主席，该协会是一个牧民支持组织。

He said, "The herders take the cattle wherever they can find green grasses and water at least for the cows to survive, not minding whether it is the city or somebody's land."

他说:“牧民们把牛带到他们能找到绿草和水的地方，至少是牛能生存的地方，不管那是城市还是别人的土地。”

He added that part of the problem is the lack of government support for the industry, such as water, animal care, and price control.

他补充说，部分问题是政府对该行业缺乏支持，例如水、动物护理和价格管制。

The government announced a new ministry to support the industry in July.

政府于7月宣布成立一个新的部门来支持该行业。

But it does not have a minister yet.

但它还没有部长。

Nigeria is home to over 20 million cows, mostly owned by herders from the Fulani ethnic group.

尼日利亚拥有超过2000万头奶牛，其中大部分由富拉尼族牧民拥有。

The country has the fourth-largest cattle population in Africa.

该国拥有非洲第四大牛种群。

Its dairy market is valued at 1.5 billion dollars.

其乳制品市场价值15亿美元。

But, the US International Trade Administration says imports meet about 90 percent of local demand.

但是，美国国际贸易管理局表示，进口满足了当地约90%的需求。

It shows how poorly organized the industry is, Ngelzarma said, as cows affected by constant moving and poor diets cannot produce milk.

恩格尔扎马说，这显示出该行业的组织有多么糟糕，因为奶牛受到不断移动和不良饮食的影响，无法产奶。

There are four areas surrounding Abuja that have been put aside for cattle grazing.

阿布贾周围有四个地区已被划为养牛区。

But they are not readily available and have been taken by other crop farmers and illegal settlers, Ngelzarma added.

恩格尔扎马补充说，但是这些土地并不容易获得，已经被其他种植作物的农民和非法定居者占用。

Without grazing land, herders set up settlements anywhere and stay for as long as they can before land owners claim it or the government builds on it.

没有牧场，牧民就在任何地方建立定居点，并在土地所有者或政府在其上进行建设之前尽可能长时间地居住。

Mohammed Abbas is a 67-year-old herder.

穆罕默德·阿巴斯是一名67岁的牧民。

He has repeatedly had to move over the years.

多年来，他不得不多次搬家。

Most of his current settlement in the city's Life Camp neighborhood has been taken over by a newly constructed gas station.

他目前在该市生活营地附近的大部分定居点已被一座新建的加油站取代。

The remaining land will soon be claimed by another owner.

剩余的土地很快就会被另一位所有者占有。

Abbas said that he would have to sell all his cows to have enough money to buy land for a settlement.

阿巴斯说，他必须卖掉所有的牛才能有足够的钱购买土地来定居。

It means that he would have nothing left "to put on the land."

这意味着他将没有任何东西可以“种在土地上”。

Hassan Mohammed's family now occupies a piece of land near the Idu train station.

哈桑·穆罕默德的家人现在占据了伊杜火车站附近的一块土地。

Once a large area of grassland, the area has turned into housing and roadways.

该地区曾经是大片草地，现已变成住房和道路。

Despite repeated orders from the owners to leave, Mohammed said that his family would stay put, using the land as their home base while taking their cattle elsewhere each day for grazing.

尽管主人一再命令他们离开，但穆罕默德说，他的家人会留在这里，把这片土地作为他们的基地，每天把牛带到别处吃草。

"Many don't have anywhere to call home, so they just find somewhere to sleep at night with the cattle," said Mohammed.

穆罕默德说:“许多人没有可以称之为家的地方，所以他们晚上只能找个地方和牛群一起睡觉。”

"But for us, we are not leaving except there is a new place within Abuja."

但对我们来说，除非在阿布贾有一个新的地方，否则我们不会离开。”

Folawiyo Daniel is an Abuja-based housing developer.

弗拉维欧·丹尼尔是一家总部位于阿布贾的住房开发商。

He said the issue is a failure of urban planning and urged the government to bring back grazing areas in the city for herders.

他说，这个问题是城市规划的失败，并敦促政府在城市中为牧民恢复放牧区域。

I'm Jill Robbins.

吉尔·罗宾斯报道。