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编者按：中国人民大学重阳金融研究院执行院长王文在《环球时报》英文版专栏“Wang Wen on Changing World”的第七篇专栏文章《非洲有许多中国可学之处》于今日刊出，现将中英文内容转发如下：
我常在旅途飞行中写作。这个习惯让我比较高产，却潜藏着巨大风险，比如，容易将笔记本电脑遗忘在机舱座位上。两周前，在埃塞俄比亚首都亚的斯亚贝巴转机，风险终于爆发了。那是发生在我结束津巴布韦访问回北京的路途中。一位驻哈拉雷中资企业朋友听说我与他父母同机在亚的斯亚贝巴转机，于是托我帮助两位老人找到转至上海的登机口。飞机一落地，我满脑子想着如何找到同机老人、坐摆渡车、寻找转机通道等细节。直到转机口安检须取出电脑时，我才猛然发现电脑落在座位上了。对一位学者来说，电脑遗失几乎等于灭顶之灾。我选择先陪同两位老人找到登机口，但那花费了我半个多小时。当我一路返回，拖着繁琐的登机箱回到此前摆渡车的下车点时，惊然发现，在这个非洲最大机场内，要在短暂转机时间内找到刚乘坐过的那架飞机且找回电脑的希望，恐怕比登上珠峰还难。我焦急地问每一位送客到站的摆渡车司机，是否知道我原来乘坐的那架ET863在哪？没有人给我明确答案。直到一辆接送机组人员到站的中巴车司机告诉我，他正好要去接这架飞机的机组，愿意帮我去找电脑。此次，原本已熄灭的希望之火重新点燃了。他用60码车速飞奔至ET863。空乘们已在机舱下等候。一位空乘对我说：“刚还在广播中喊你呢，但没人回应。现在已把电脑交给机场安保人员了。”只见司机连忙招呼空乘们上车，继续以60码车速狂追安保车。他比我更着急，我不得不对同车的十多位空乘们连连道歉。空乘们的安慰与宽容，让我又一次深深感受到在非洲的温暖。司机连续下车问数辆安保车，一边用对讲机向所有停机坪安保人员呼叫，又顺道把这个机组人员送至登机楼，接着又接送新一批机组到另一架飞机。他沿途不断安抚坐在副驾驶座位上的我，“不要着急，我一定帮你找到。”时间一分一秒地过去，他在有限、紧张且繁忙的接送机组人员之余，帮我问询了至少8处安保点。黑夜中，中巴车按着喇叭、开着双闪，在亚的斯亚贝巴机场跑道、上百架飞机之间飞驰穿梭了半个小时，像极了汤姆•克鲁斯主演的好莱坞电影中的某个惊险场景。在问到第9处安保点时，一位安保人员已拿着我的电脑在那等候，毫发无损。我失而复得，如获重生，深深地拥抱这位司机。我会永远记住这位富有激情、爱心、智慧、责任感与职业精神的亚的斯亚贝巴机场司机，他叫Tefer Mekonenne。我也会永远记住在亚的斯亚贝巴停机跑道的惊险却温暖的夜晚。更重要的是，我会永远感激这次在非洲的奇遇，让我反思以经济视角看待这片尚未发达大陆的方法论。在一些人看来，非洲是贫穷、落后的地方，非洲人是懒、笨的代名词。这种经济功利逻辑暴露了那些人骨子里的种族主义偏见。Tefer的勇敢、机智与专业更印证了那些人的狭窄、短视与持久了上百年的陋习。我难以想象，如果发生在中国或其他国家的机场，是否能遇到像Tefer这样的热心人？他折射着某种淳朴的文化与社会力量，代表着这片人类最古老土地的强大魅力。我再次坚定过往曾写过多篇关于非洲的文章所讲，中国人须彻底改变对非洲的看法，不妨多向非洲表示学习与感激，既为过去他们曾给予中国的帮助，也为现在仍在某些方面强于中国的素养，更为未来共同繁荣与巨大的合作潜力空间。谢谢你，Tefer Mekonenne先生。你是非洲的骄傲。Africa has a lot that China can learn from
I often write on the flight. This habit makes me more productive, but it carries huge risks. For example, it is easy to forget the laptop on the cabin seat. Two weeks ago, when I was transferring flights in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, the risks finally boiled over.It happened on my way back to Beijing from a visit to Zimbabwe. When a friend who works for a Chinese company in Harare heard that I was on the same plane as his parents, he asked me to help the aging couple to find their way around the Addis Ababa airport for a transfer to Shanghai. Once the plane landed, all I could think about was how to find the two elderly people on board, take the shuttle bus and find the transfer passage and other details. It was only during the security check at the transit gate when laptop must be taken out of the luggage to be scanned that I realized I had left my laptop on my cabin seat. For a scholar, the loss of a laptop equals a disaster of magnanimous proportions.I chose to accompany the two old people to the boarding gate, but it took me more than half an hour. As I made my way back, pulling the heavy check-in suitcase to the departure point of the shuttle bus, I was struck by the fact that the hope of finding the plane and retrieving the laptop in a short layover at Africa's largest airport was probably harder than climbing the Everest.I asked each shuttle bus driver anxiously whether they knew where the ET863 I was flying was. No one gave me a clear answer. Until a driver of a minibus told me that he was on his way to pick up the plane's crew and offered to help me find the laptop. This time, the fire of hope that had been extinguished was rekindled.He drove to ET863 at a speed of 60 miles per hour. The flight attendants were waiting in the cabin. A flight attendant said to me: "I just called you on the radio, but no one responded. Now the laptop has been handed over to the airport security staff." The driver hurriedly asked the flight attendants to get on the bus and continued to chase the security car at a speed of 60 miles per hour. He was in a bigger hurry than I, and I had to apologize to the dozen or so flight attendants on the bus. The comfort and tolerance of the flight attendants made me feel the warmth of Africa yet again.The driver got off and asked around several security vehicles. He used a walkie-talkie to call all the tarmac security, and also dropped these crew members off at the destination. He then transferred another new batch of crew to another aircraft. He kept comforting me, "Don't worry. I'll help you find it."As the minutes ticked by, he helped me consult at least eight security points while he was transferring crews. In the dark, the minibus honked, flashed its warning lights as it zoomed on the runway of Addis Ababa airport and among hundreds of planes for half an hour, much like a thrilling scene in a Hollywood movie starring Tom Cruise. At the ninth security point, a security officer was waiting with my laptop, which was unharmed. I lost it and found it again. I embraced the driver, as if I were born again.I will always remember this passionate, caring, intelligent, responsible and professional Addis Ababa airport driver, Tefer Mekonenne. I will always remember the thrilling but warm night at the airport. More importantly, I will always be grateful for this adventure in Africa, which made me rethink the method of looking at the underdeveloped continent from an economic perspective.In the eyes of some people, Africa means poverty and backwardness and Africans are synonymous with laziness and stupidity. This utilitarian logic exposes the racist prejudice of those people. Tefer's bravery, wit and professionalism are further evidence of their narrow-mindedness and short-sightedness that have lasted for hundreds of years.I cannot imagine if it happened at an airport in China or any other country, could I meet a warm-hearted person like Tefer? He reflects a kind of simple cultural and social power and represents the powerful charm of the most ancient land of mankind.I argued in many of my articles, and now I believe more firmly, that the Chinese people need to completely change their view of Africa. They should show more appreciation to Africa for the help the continent has given to China in the past and the fact that it is still better than China in some aspects, so as to better tap the great potential for cooperation in the future.Thank you, Mr. Tefer Mekonenne. You are the pride of Africa.
中国人民大学重阳金融研究院（人大重阳）成立于2013年1月19日，是重阳投资董事长裘国根先生向母校捐赠并设立教育基金运营的主要资助项目。
作为中国特色新型智库，人大重阳聘请了全球数十位前政要、银行家、知名学者为高级研究员，旨在关注现实、建言国家、服务人民。目前，人大重阳下设7个部门、运营管理3个中心(生态金融研究中心、全球治理研究中心、中美人文交流研究中心)。近年来，人大重阳在金融发展、全球治理、大国关系、宏观政策等研究领域在国内外均具有较高认可度。