| Some simply go back and pick up the threads of their old lives, before they lived in State House. Liberia's Professor Amos Sawyer returned to academic life, and former President Albert Zafy of Madagascar is once again a doctor. 有些前总统回忆并开始讲述他们当上总统以前的一些事情。利比里亚前总统回忆起了当年当教授时的学术生活，而马达加斯加岛前总统阿尔贝·扎菲则讲述起了他当年做医生的生活。 Sam Nujoma, whose own education lost out to the independence struggle, is studying geology at university in Namibia, going off on field trips with his fellow students and -- I'm told -- enjoying it hugely. 萨姆·诺乔马在争取独立的斗争中失去了受教育的机会，所以现在他正在纳米比亚的一个大学里学习地理。据说他和他的同学们一起旅行，他现在觉得他的生活非常惬意。 But it's not always easy. Sir Ketumile Masire told his colleagues at this meeting that when he finally retired from the presidency of Botswana he wanted nothing more than to go back to his farm and to raise cattle. 但是事情并不总是这样简单的。凯图米莱·马西雷先生告诉他的同伴们，当他从博茨瓦纳总统职位上卸任以后，唯一的想法就是回到他的农场，饲养一些牲畜。 But he was pressured to get involved first with the enquiry into the massacres in Rwanda, and then with the inter-Congolese dialogue. The cattle are still waiting, but Sir Ketumile has enhanced his reputation both inside and outside his country. He did good work, and, crucially, neither project had anything to do with Botswana. 但是他在压力之下必须首先参加卢旺达的暗杀事件的调查，然后要参加刚果的对话。牲畜还在农场上等着他呢，他却只能在国内国外继续提高他的声誉。他干得很棒，但问题是，这两件事都和博茨瓦纳没有任何关系。 Similarly with election monitoring. Ex-presidents can make very good monitors (cynics would say because they already know all the tricks) but it's only a good idea to do it abroad -- never in your own country. And probably not in the country next door either. 监督选举也是一样的。前总统是很好的监督者（愤世嫉俗者认为前总统们已经很了解大选的伎俩）。但是最好的办法还是在国外进行，而且绝对不要在临国。 The one political row here was over the elections in Togo, and that involved three ex-leaders -- Jerry Rawlings, Nicephore Soglo and Yakubu Gowon all of whom had past personal history with Togo. 多哥的大选就是这样的，其中涉及了三位前总统——杰瑞·罗林斯、尼塞福尔·索格洛和雅库布·戈翁。这三个人以前都与多哥有过私交。 If you must work at home then the trick is to find a good cause which is totally uncontroversial. So health issues are very popular. Several ex-presidents have campaigned on AIDS. 如果你必须在国内举行大选，那么技巧就是要选择一个非常没有争议的话题。所以，健康问题就是一个很不错的选择。有几位前总统都选择了在艾滋病上做文章。 It's something that sitting presidents are often reluctant to do; in traditionally modest societies they may have doubts about the dignity and propriety of talking about sex -- and that, after all, is what you have to do if you're running an AIDS campaign. 这是一个当选后的总统不愿意再去管的问题；在一些传统的社会里，人们会质疑公开讨论性的问题会不会不合适——而如果以艾滋病为竞选的题目，那么性问题毕竟是不可避免的。 But old men, true elders, can rise above these concerns. Sir Dawda Jawara, the former President of the Gambia, said this was something that someone of his age and his stature could now do. 但是一些真正的老人则不会计较这些顾虑的事情。冈比亚前总统贾瓦拉先生说道，这点是他这个年龄，这个身份的人应该做到的。 And a much younger retiree, Jerry Rawlings, plays on these social tensions for deliberate effect, as a UN special representative on sexually transmitted diseases. 杰瑞·罗菱斯是一个更年轻的退休者。如今作为联合国负责性渠道传染疾病的特殊研究员，他操纵着这种社会的紧张程度以达到他的目的。 He electrified the session of health with stories of his attempts to persuade old men in rural Ghana that they didn't actually have to stop having sex in order to avoid aids and unwanted babies. 他添油加醋地将一些健康问题讲给加纳农民听，以游说农民不要为了避免艾滋病或者意外怀孕而减少性体验。 And after all, if your former president comes to your village and tells you that he too is only human, and he knows that sex is sweet, then it's going to be a lesson that you certainly won't forget. 毕竟，如果一位前总统来到你的村庄，告诉你他也只是凡人，而且性体验是美好的，那么这将是让人永生难忘的一课。 |
