非洲鄉村的“光明使者”

戚永曄

“作為非洲鄉村的‘光明使者，他們不遺余力。”

這是中央電視臺新聞聯播采訪在非洲工作的年輕人李力時，播音員對他的評價。

這位供職于杭州一家跨國公司的年輕人，是派駐非洲的項目經理，而四年前，他還只是個初出茅廬的大學生。

究竟因何事，中央電視臺、浙江電視臺、杭州電視臺等媒體紛紛對其進行出鏡采訪，長期在非洲工作，他又創造了哪些成績？

最近，筆者與李力進行了一次面對面的訪談。

入職兩年榮任派駐非洲代表

李力是怎樣進入跨國經營的企業，又是怎樣晉升為派駐代表、業務骨干的？2014年，在老家一所高校就讀商務英語專業的李力面臨畢業，一個偶然的機會，他發現從事海外貿易和工程的浙江華立國際發展有限公司正在招聘。這與李力所學的專業非常對口，憑著年輕人的闖勁和向往，李力只身一人來到杭州這座他從未生活過的城市。經過面試、筆試，他過硬的商務英語能力和綜合潛力獲得了認可，成為華立國際新一批的員工。

經過兩年多的歷練，李力從青澀的應屆生，變成了一個善于學習的業務骨干。2016年6月，因為工作職務的調整，領導找到李力：“想不想去一線干？”

李力明白這個“一線”的意義，就是去舉目無親的非洲工作。“但是，與困難相伴的，是自己更大的發揮空間。”所以，在進行了短暫的考慮之后，沒有國外生活、工作經驗的李力毅然登上了飛往非洲東部埃塞俄比亞的航班。

“比想象中的非洲要好一點。”當李力降落在埃塞俄比亞首都亞的斯亞貝巴的時候，這是他的第一感觀。20攝氏度左右適宜的溫度、還算平整的馬路、路上車輛繁多……條件似乎不比國內四五線城市差。

但困難也與之同行，與公司辦事處所在的地方僅隔一條街就是貧民窟，治安問題很嚴重，幾乎所有來過的同事都曾經遭竊。不久后，原本負責辦事處具體事務的同事也回國了，留下李力獨自工作。而這，對于一個從未在國外生活過的大男孩來說，難度可想而知。

更麻煩的還在后頭，由于文化的差異，非洲社會節奏慢、效率低、遲到情況普遍，這讓李力很不適應。原本在國內，他對工作習慣于當日事當日畢，但非洲客戶的工作風格讓他不得不調整工作方式。“變集中突破為各個擊破，在不降低自己工作效率的同時，盡量適應工作伙伴的節奏。說實話，在非洲的這段時間，磨平了我原本的急性子，家人朋友們都說我的性格越來越穩重了。”

光伏項目事關民生責任

李力所在的公司，在他前往之前就與埃塞俄比亞衛生部簽訂了1409套光伏系統供貨安裝的項目，這些光伏系統都會安裝在埃塞各地的醫療中心，由于地處偏遠，這些醫療中心一直都沒有電力供應。

但通過光伏發電系統的安裝，這些地方也可以進行發電。這使得醫療中心的條件得到了改善。“當了解了這一民生工程之后，我覺得肩上的壓力格外大，這已經不是簡單的項目實施，而是擔負著事關民生的責任。”

為此，李力與當地項目負責人進行了通力合作：“當跟他們談到工作時候，他們會刨根問底。舉個例子，我們公司和當地電力局有一個變壓器附件項目，電力局的質量部負責人是 Mr.Haile，每次跟他談產品時，他都會追究到每一個細節，會對產品材料、產品生產流程、產品使用、產品標準等等提出一系列問題，如果意見不統一還可能爭執起來，所以每次跟他交流時候都得耐下心來，一一解釋才可。他們對于工作的態度極其嚴謹，令人印象深刻。”

就這樣，大半年的辛勤工作，讓光伏項目最后得以落地。“這樣一來，滿足了上千家醫療中心和鄉村醫療站的需求。每天大約有30～60名患者來求醫，當地的醫生說自從有了電，電話絡繹不絕。不僅如此，還為醫療中心的照明需求提供了保障，這樣在夜晚也可以進行治療，還有一些看病器材例如電子顯微鏡可以使用了，病情診斷更加精確快速，冰箱的使用可以讓藥物及疫苗得到低溫保存，這些都得益于光伏系統的使用。”

與非洲朋友的文化交融

兩年的生活，讓李力對埃塞俄比亞有了很深的感情，他也描述在當地生活好的一面：“沒來非洲之前，和大多數人一樣，談到非洲我想到的就是貧窮、饑荒和各種疾病。但在這住了近兩年，覺得埃塞是一個非常適宜居住的地方，地道的咖啡，可口鮮美的牛油果果汁，全年20攝氏度的氣溫，新鮮無污染的空氣，沒有國際大都市的喧囂，多的是一份寧靜與安逸。”

此外，李力還以自己的方式克服了一個人在非洲的孤單。他喜歡交朋友，不管黑人、白人還是黃皮膚黑眼睛的同胞，他都樂于溝通。偶爾周末的時候，甚至會有當地朋友邀請他一起聊天、看電影。他說：“吳京演的《戰狼2》里面有句臺詞：給這幫黑人一箱啤酒、一堆火，他們就能嗨一整晚。這里雖然不會經常有篝火，但隨處可見小酒吧，經常看到黑人三五成群坐在板凳或者長椅上，喝著啤酒，有時興起會跟著音樂扭動身姿，節奏不緊不慢，一如這邊的生活，自由愜意。”平時孤單的夜晚，他還以閱讀為樂：“除了英語專業書籍之外，我最喜歡看心理學方面的小說，比如最近就在看日本作家東野圭吾的懸疑小說《嫌疑犯 X 的現身》。”

事實上，埃塞俄比亞已經有許多和李力一樣的中國人在這里生活、學習，并融入當地社會，據統計，埃塞俄比亞首都亞的斯亞貝巴已經有4萬左右的中國人。因為隨著埃塞俄比亞這些年的發展，越來越多的中國企業來該國尋找機會，例如，華為、中興為埃塞電信局提供了電信服務，讓埃塞人民享受4G服務;中國中鐵承建了首都亞的斯亞貝巴的輕軌項目，讓埃塞人民感受到輕軌的便捷;中土和中鐵公司合作修建的亞吉鐵路，更是加快了兩國之間的貨物運輸和經濟溝通。

李力說，中國文化和當地文化碰撞到一起，會發生一些很有趣的事情。譬如在大街上當地人見到中國人都會說一些漢語，“你好”“謝謝”“再見”之類，中國人跟當地人打招呼有時候也會用當地語言。我們公司的當地代理 Mr.Hailu 經常會邀請我們去當地著名的文化餐廳 Yod Abyssinia 品嘗傳統美食和啤酒，我們也會邀請他去當地的中國餐館品嘗中國特色佳肴，暢飲暢聊，特別有味。

Li Li joined the Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Holley International Co.， Ltd in 2014， upon graduation from college， and started his new life in Hangzhou， a city he had known little about. He boarded the flight heading to Ethiopia in June， 2016， and landed in Addis Ababa for a two-year engineering project. “I knew it was an opportunity for me to grow into a bigger player in the company， but it was also a big challenge for someone as young and inexperienced as me. I did not flinch， though.”

“Africa is better than I imagined，” walking out of the airport， Li Li thought to himself. Difficulties set in right after he settled down - the neighborhood his office was sited was close to a slum area. The low efficiency of some of his Ethiopian partners also turned out to be a big headache for him. “The adaptation to the local work habits and living conditions took a while，” Li recalls.

Lis responsibility in Ethiopia was in charge of the coordination for a photovoltaic project that involved the delivery and installation of 1，409 sets of photovoltaic systems used in the medical centers across Ethiopia. The contract was signed between his company and Ministry of Health of Ethiopia before his arrival in Addis Ababa. “I came to realize that the project was more about the livelihood of the locals than about making money for my company， and I felt more weight on my shoulders with each passing day when I was there，” Li Li recalled.

“I worked with people who always wanted to get to the root of the matter. Their obsession with details and precision made me think more and harder. Every day I answered a lot of questions regarding the materials and production and the work flow， and had a lot of ‘fights with Mr. Haile， a quality control official representing the local electricity bureau for a transformer project. It was a test of not only my technical know-how but also my patience.”

The coordination that took half a year to reach the finish line led to the success of the project that is now benefiting more than 1，000 medical centers and rural medical stations. “The project has brought reliable power supply to the medical centers， making night operation and the use of many medical apparatus and instruments such as electron microscopes possible and improving diagnosis efficiency in the process.”

The two years in Ethiopia has enabled Li to understand Ethiopia and Africa better. “It is great injustice that Africa is seen by many as the synonym of ‘poverty， famine and diseases. It takes really being in the country to realize how livable it is， how delicious the local coffee and avocado taste， and how many beautiful things the country has to offer. It has balmy temperatures and fresh air throughout the year. Life is serene and happy， free of urban sufferings.”

During the two years there， Li Li made a lot of friends with the locals. “They invited me to weekend parties and go to the cinema. We hanged out in bars and enjoyed al fresco beer parties in which Id watch them dance to the beat of the music like the happiness will last forever. There were some lonely nights， but I had the company of the novels by Higashino Keigo.”

In fact， Li Li had no reason to feel lonely in the foreign land. Statistics show about 40，000 Chinese people are now living and/or working in Addis Ababa. The city has drawn in investments from a dozen Chinese enterprises that have brought the African country 4G services and the modern luxury of light rail transport. One of the infrastructural improvements brought by Chinese companies is the newly launched Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway that links the Republic of Djibouti and the capital city of Ethiopia. The first electrified railway in East Africa serves as a key cargo transport solution and contributes greatly to the economic communication between the two countries.

“The so-called ‘cultural shock never bothered me， but was a lot of fun. I picked up some basics of the local language and used what I learned to greet my African friends. We had a good time at the famous Yod Abyssinia restaurant， enjoying local beers and traditional Ethiopian cuisine; and brought Mr. Hailu to the Chinese restaurants. The friendship and cultural exchange through daily routines filled in me fulfillment Id never experienced before.”