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Name: Yoro Diallo

Chinese Name: 约罗•迪亚洛

Nationality: Malian

国籍：马里

“I bought a ticket for Jan 13, 2021 and hope to return to Jinhua as soon as possible. I’m missing my Jinhua friends,” Yoro Diallo said in a video call from the Republic of Mali in West Africa on Dec 24 last year. On the occasion, he shared his thoughts about Jinhua. 

“我买了2021年1月13日的票，希望能尽早回金华，想金华的朋友们了。”上月24日，在马里的约罗•迪亚洛通过视频，跟记者说着他对金华这座城的思念。

Humming Chinese songs learned in childhood

Diallo, former first counsellor at the Embassy of Mali in Beijing, China, has nurtured a special affinity for China since he was a young man. His father was the principal of a school and the school's construction was aided by China. When he was young, Chinese songs were often played in school, so much so that he learned some songs without knowing the meaning of the lyrics at all. Although he still cannot speak Chinese, he can sing some of those songs.

迪亚洛是马里驻华使馆第一参赞，从小对中国有特殊的感情。他的父亲是马里一所学校的校长，而这所学校正是中国援建的。在他小的时候，学校里经常播放中国歌曲，以至于当时还是小孩的他，在完全不懂歌词意思的情况下就学会了一些歌曲。虽然现在他不会说中文，却能唱一些中国歌曲。

In 2011, he came to Jinhua for the first time as a representative of the Malian delegation to attend a China-Africa forum in Hangzhou. Two years later, as a representative of an African diplomatic delegation, he returned to Jinhua and visited the African Museum at Zhejiang Normal University, or ZJNU. In December 2014, Diallo accompanied the then-ambassador of Mali to China, Lansina Kone, on another visit. They went to ZJNU and donated five Malian works of art from his collection to its African Museum. He said the pieces he donated filled a gap in the Malian section of the museum.

2011年，迪亚洛作为马里代表团的代表到杭州参加中非论坛会议，第一次来到金华。2年后，他作为非洲外交代表团的代表，再一次到金华做访问，并参观了浙江师范大学的非洲博物馆。2014年12月，迪亚洛陪同马里时任驻华大使兰斯纳•科内再次到浙江师范大学访问，并向非洲博物馆捐赠其收藏多年的5件马里艺术品。他捐赠的这些工艺品也填补了该馆马里藏品的空白。

约罗•迪亚洛捐赠给非洲博物馆的第一件藏品——Ciwara 面具。它是西非曼丁族（Manding）古老文化的象征。

In 2017, Diallo completed his diplomatic posting to Beijing and ZJNU invited him to join the Institute of African Studies at the university and its museum to conduct research and he gratefully accepted. “Going from humming the Chinese songs I learned at school when I was a kid, to having the opportunity to work in Chinese higher education made me proud,” he said.

2017年，迪亚洛在华的任职期满后，得到了浙江师范大学的聘请，来校专门从事博物馆藏品的品鉴和研究工作。他欣然答应。“自己儿时便从父辈们那里听到中国歌曲，至今还会哼唱，能有机会到中国的高校工作，感到十分骄傲和自豪。”

“The excellent environment and friendly people make me feel like I’m at home, ” Diallo said, explaining that working at ZJNU has been the best time of his life. 

“环境优美、人民友好，有种在家的感觉。”迪亚洛说，在浙江师范大学工作，是他人生中最美好的时光。

In the office, he and his colleagues refer to each other as brothers and sisters. He loves the noodles in Jinhua as well as Wuju Opera; he particularly loves exploring the local historical villages, where he feels the unique sense of ancient civilization that characterizes the city. Diallo has shared these adventures with his own people.

在办公室，他和同事以兄弟姐妹相称。他喜欢金华的面条，喜欢看婺剧，更喜欢走进金华的古村落，去感受属于这个城市独一无二的文明，他还将这些经历跟自己的国人分享。

With the students in school, Diallo regularly talks about Malian geography, its population, ethnicity, religion, language, art and traditional customs. With a special focus on Mali, he introduces particular features such traditional musical instruments -- like the djembe, kora, ngoni. He also explains traditional customs and practices -- such as Malian weddings -- to deepen the cultural understanding and awareness of Africa.

而在学校，迪亚洛也时常向中国的学生介绍马里的地理、人口、族群、宗教、语言，以及艺术与传统习俗，如金贝鼓（Djembe）、科拉琴（Kora）、那果尼西非鲁特琴（Ngoni）等传统乐器，以及马里婚俗等传统习俗等，加深大家对非洲尤其是马里的文化理解和认知。

约罗•迪亚洛在浙师大非洲研究院门口与小朋友们合影

Diallo is working on the final part of his book, a study on African products. He hopes that he can take part in a larger number of projects to a compile series of books on local Chinese characteristics and the ancient civilization of Africa, in order to enhance mutual understanding among the nations and the peoples of Africa and China. Over the years, he has been working hard to build a friendly bridge between China and Mali. In October 2020, Yoro Diallo also wrote in the mainstream media in Mali, calling for further strengthening of bonds and cooperation between China and African countries in the fields of security and development.

最近，迪亚洛写的关于研究非洲产品的一本书已进入完稿阶段，他希望以后能更多编写有关介绍中国特色地方城市、非洲文明古城的系列丛书，增进中非人民的相互了解。这几年，他一直在为架起中马友好桥梁而努力。去年10月，迪亚洛还在马里主流媒体撰文，呼吁进一步加强中国与非洲国家在安全与发展领域合作。

Hoping to stay in this restful city

In January 2020, Diallo returned to Mali due to work, unaware of the impending outbreak of COVID, which prevented him from returning to Jinhua. “The virus in Mali is still relatively stable. While I’m at home, I miss my colleagues and friends in Jinhua and hope to come back soon,” he said.

去年1月，他因为工作回到了马里，没想到新冠疫情暴发，只能待在家。“马里现在疫情还算平稳，不过在家里，我很想念在金华的同事和朋友，希望能早点回去。”

Since moving to Jinhua, his eldest daughter has visited him twice. “She thinks Jinhua is an easy-going and safe city and she considers ZJNU to be one of the top universities in the world,” Diallo said. He says he would like to stay in this beautiful city for the rest of his life, given half a chance. 

迪亚洛到金华工作后，大女儿曾经来看过他两次。“她觉得金华是一个简单，有安全感的城市，她还评价浙江师范大学是全世界环境最好的大学之一。”迪亚洛说，如果有机会，他想待在这座美丽的小城安度余生。

约罗•迪亚洛在浙师大照相

(Text by Wu Yueyue, photos provided by Yoro Diallo, translated by Marco Lovisetto, edited by Kendra Fiddler)

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