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Activists say visa denial rates for African students seeking higher education in the United States are too high.
活动人士说，非洲学生在美国接受高等教育的拒签率太高。
Fanta Aw is executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
芳达 AW是国际教育工作者协会NAFSA的执行董事。
NAFSA is a nonprofit organization that supports international student exchange.
NAFSA是一个支持国际学生交换的非营利性组织。
Aw said data released in 2023 by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration shows visa rejections.
Aw 说，高等教育与移民校长联盟 2023 年发布的数据显示了拒签情况。
She said the rejection rates for African students are higher than rates for students from the Middle East, South America and South Asia.
她说，非洲学生的拒绝率高于中东、南美和南亚学生的拒绝率。
At the same time, however, the IEEE Open Doors Report says the number of students from sub-Saharan Africa studying in the U.S. is growing.
然而，与此同时，IEEE开放门户报告称，来自撒哈拉以南非洲的学生在美国学习的人数正在增长。
The most recent Open Doors Report, which follows foreign students in the U.S., shows that the number of students from African countries south of the Sahara Desert increased by 18 percent.
最新的门户开放报告跟踪了在美国的外国学生，报告显示，来自撒哈拉沙漠以南非洲国家的学生数量增加了18%。
Aw said the rejection numbers mean many more African students could be studying in the U.S. Fewer American students are going to college and not as many Chinese students are studying in the U.S. African students could help replace those groups, she said.
她说，拒绝人数意味着可能会有更多的非洲学生在美国学习。去美国上大学的美国学生越来越少，在美国学习的中国学生也不多。她说，非洲学生可以帮助取代这些群体。
Last year, big percentages of students from several large African countries were denied study visas.
去年，来自几个非洲大国的很大比例的学生被拒绝了学习签证。
In 2023, examples include Ethiopia at 78 percent, Nigeria at 75 percent and Kenya at 74 percent.
2023年的例子包括埃塞俄比亚(78%)、尼日利亚(75%)和肯尼亚(74%)。
For those countries, the percentages are high.
对于这些国家来说，这一比例很高。
But the number of students going to the U.S. is also high.
但前往美国的学生人数也很多。
For example, Nigeria ranked seventh in the 2023 Open Doors Report with over 17,600 students studying in the U.S. The total is an increase of 22 percent over 2022.
例如，尼日利亚在2023年开放门户报告中排名第七，有超过1.76万名学生在美国学习，总数比2022年增加了22%。
Aw, representatives from the Presidents' Alliance and Shorelight met with representatives from the State Department last summer.
AW，总统联盟和海岸之光的代表去年夏天会见了国务院的代表。
Shorelight is a business that connects international students with universities that offer the study programs they want.
Shorellight是一家将国际学生与提供他们想要的学习项目的大学联系起来的企业。
The U.S. State Department said students should have the chance to secure a student visa no matter where they are from.
美国国务院表示，无论学生来自哪里，都应该有机会获得学生签证。
The groups decided to continue discussing their concerns in the future.
各小组决定今后继续讨论他们关注的问题。
Aw said activists want to discover the reason for the disproportionate number of denials.
Aw说，活动人士想要找出拒签数量不成比例的原因。
Only about one in 10 European students were denied visas in 2023, for example.
例如，2023年，只有大约十分之一的欧洲学生被拒签。
One concern, Aw said, is to make certain those who review visa applications "are fully trained in the way they make determinations (for student visas).
Aw说，一个令人担忧的问题是确保那些审查签证申请的人“在决定(学生签证)的方式上接受了充分的培训”。
" She wants to be sure African students are considered in the same way as students from other parts of the world.
她希望确保非洲学生和来自世界其他地区的学生可以被一视同仁。
In addition, she asked for more student visa appointments.
此外，她还要求安排更多的学生签证预约。
Aw said many students who want to come to the U.S. get discouraged and turn to education in other countries.
Aw说，许多想来美国的学生都灰心丧气，转向其他国家进行教育。
"Word goes around, ‘Don't bother, because you're never going to make it,'" Aw said.
“有传言说，‘别费心了，因为你永远也做不到了，”Aw说。
"And that is not the message any of us want to see."
任何人都不想看到这样的信息。
"So don't get me wrong — (if) students want to go to China or India, there's nothing wrong with that - or other places.
“所以不要误解我的意思--(如果)学生想去中国或印度，这没有什么错--或者其他地方也一样。
But it shouldn't be because they couldn't get here (the U.S.)."
但这不应该是因为他们不能来到这里(美国)。”
She noted that education programs "build bridges" as students go on to international jobs and make connections with the U.S. Aw also noted that, as education systems improve around the world, students have more choices.
她指出，随着学生走向国际工作并与美国建立联系，教育项目搭建了桥梁。她还指出，随着世界各地教育系统的改善，学生有了更多的选择。
U.S. officials told VOA that international students are very important, or a top priority.
美国官员对美国之音说，留学生非常重要，或者说是重中之重。
They added that all visa applications are processed on their individual merits and under U.S. immigration law.
他们补充说，所有签证申请都是根据个人情况和美国移民法进行处理的。
Leon Fresco is an immigration lawyer in Washington, D.C.
里昂·弗雷斯科是华盛顿特区的一名移民律师。
Fresco said he wants to know more "about this weird African disparity."
弗雷斯科说，他想知道更多关于这种奇怪的非洲差异的情况。
He said he wants more people to know about it to, in his words, "start the process of fixing it."
他表示，他希望更多的人知道这一点，用他的话说，就是“开始修复它的过程”。
Both Fresco and Aw suggested that U.S. government officials are not up to date on the quality of students aiming to study in the U.S.
弗雷斯科和Aw都表示,美国政府官员没有及时了解赴美留学学生的质量。。
"In the case of Africa and India," Aw said ,"Most of these students are graduate students who are coming for (science) and (business) fields, areas that are very much needed and where innovation happens."
Aw谈到：“这些非洲和印度的学生中的大多数是研究生，他们来到(科学)和(商业)领域，这是非常需要的领域，也是创新发生的地方。”
"We want to make sure there's an understanding that Africa and African countries are changing rapidly and that we're not keeping, you know, preconceived notions or outdated notions about what's happening in Africa.
“我们希望确保人们认识到，非洲和非洲国家正在迅速变化，我们不会对非洲正在发生的事情抱有先入为主的观念或过时的观念。
" In an email to VOA, a representative from the State Department said its Education USA program aims to help Africans attend U.S. colleges.
在给美国之音的一封电子邮件中，美国国务院的一名代表表示，其美国教育项目旨在帮助非洲人进入美国大学。
But, as more students are interested in studying in the U.S., the percentage of visa denials will increase.
但是，随着越来越多的学生对赴美留学感兴趣，拒签的比例将会增加。
It also noted that more Africans received student visas in 2023 than ever before.
报告还指出，2023年获得学生签证的非洲人比以往任何时候都多。
Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Eswatini, Ivory Coast and Madagascar have had more student visas approved than at any time in the past 20 years.
尼日利亚、加纳、津巴布韦、乌干达、埃斯瓦蒂尼、象牙海岸和马达加斯加等国的学生签证获批数量超过了过去20年的任何时候。
Compared to 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 61 percent increase in approved student visas among those countries.
与2019年，也就是新冠肺炎疫情爆发的前一年相比，这些国家批准的学生签证增加了61%。
Aw said her group sees progress.
Aw说，她的组织看到了进展。
She gave the example that students no longer need to have in-person interviews in order to renew their visas.
她举了一个例子，学生不再需要面谈才能续签签证。
And students can also apply for visa renewal without traveling to their home country.
学生也可以申请续签签证，而不需要回到自己的祖国。
A group of American lawmakers wrote a letter earlier this year to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
一群美国议员今年早些时候给美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯写了一封信。
They said that educational exchange is an important part of international diplomacy.
他们表示，教育交流是国际外交的重要组成部分。
"It is critical that foreign students from Africa are treated similarly to foreign students from other parts of the world.
信中写道：“来自非洲的外国学生应得到与来自世界其他地区的外国学生同样的待遇，这一点至关重要。
There should be no reason that the State Department data should reflect such disparities among similarly situated countries," the letter read.
国务院的数据不应该反映类似国家之间的这种差异。”
And, as Aw noted, the results that come from students having a good experience in the U.S. last for years.
而且，正如AW指出的那样，学生在美国的良好经历所带来的成果将持续多年。。
She said: "If we have a generation of students who are denied access to an education here in the U.S., that's a generation that Will have missed out in building friendships, bridges, businesses and so forth."
她说：“如果我们有一代学生在美国被剥夺了接受教育的机会，那这一代人 将错过建立友谊、桥梁和商业等方面的机会。
I'm Dan Friedell.
我是丹·弗里德尔。
And I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔 · 罗宾斯。
