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The importance of Guinea to China is clear.
幾內亞對中國的重要性顯而易見。
The authorities in Beijing have promised the government a $20bn loan—twice the country's GDP—to be paid to Guinea in instalments over 20 years,
北京當局承諾為幾內亞提供200億美元的貸款（這是幾內亞GDP的兩倍），并將在20年內分期付給幾內亞
to secure access to its bauxite. But SMB's rapid expansion has come at a cost.
以換取鋁土礦資源。但SMB的迅速擴張也是有代價的。
A report published in October by Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy group,
一家國際宣傳組人權監察站在10月發布的一份報告稱
said that the Guinean government has allowed SMB to bypass environmental safeguards.
幾內亞政府允許SMB繞開環境保護措施。
"The focus on growth has been at the expense of the local peoples' environment and livelihoods," says Jim Wormington, one of the group's researchers.
“專注增長一直都是以當地人的環境和生計為代價的，”該組織研究員之一吉姆·沃明頓說道。
Although SMB employs more than 17,000 people directly or indirectly,
雖然SMB直接或間接雇傭了17000名員工，
many locals say the new job opportunities are not enough to compensate for the environmental damage.
但當地人表示新的工作機會并不足以補償環境的破壞。
SMB says it has paid all its taxes and done the proper environmental checks.
SMB表示公司繳納了所有的稅，并做了適當的環境檢查工作。
The situation around the mines is nonetheless grim.
盡管如此，礦區周圍的情況依舊嚴峻。
SMB gave hundreds of villagers a one-off payment for access to their land but many villages are perilously perched near wide roads over which lorries pass day and night.
SMB向數百位村民一次性付款買下了他們的土地使用權，但是很多村莊位于危機四伏地寬闊公路附近，日夜仰望卡車從眼前穿過。
Many villagers say they lack proper access to clean water because the mining operations have blocked or polluted rivers.
很多村民表示他們缺乏干凈的水資源，因為采礦作業阻斷或污染了河流。
SMB says it builds wells for the villages, and supplies water in tankers until they are completed.
SMB表示公司為村民建了井，并供應大量用水直到這些井口建好為止。
But a government commissioned audit in May 2018 said that SMB conducted "no monitoring of the environment"
但是2018年5月的一份政府委任審計報告顯示，SMB執行的是“環境無監測”準則
and that the consortium lacks equipment to monitor air or water quality.
并且該公司缺乏監控空氣或水資源質量的設備。
There are some signs of improvement: SMB says that it began an environmental monitoring programme this year.
也有一些改善的跡象：SMB表示今年公司開始了一項環境監控項目。
But little of the money SMB pays in charges and taxes is reinvested locally by the central government.
但是SMB繳納的費用和稅款很少被中央政府用于當地的再投資。
Mr Bouzigues says that when the consortium built a health centre it took the government about two years to send a doctor to man it.
Bouzigues表示當該公司建了一個家健康中心后，政府花了約兩年時間才派了醫生過來坐診。
In an interview with The Economist in April he admitted that SMB itself could do more to improve locals' lives and that he personally wants to do better.
今年四月在與本刊的采訪中，他承認SMB本身可以做更多來改善當地人的生活，而他個人也希望可以做得更好。
Guinea could in theory industrialise if it moved to processing bauxite instead of exporting it raw.
理論上，幾內亞可以變成工業化國家，只要他們轉向鋁土礦加工，而不是原材料出口。
SMB does have plans to build Guinea's first refinery, by 2022. Whatever happens, Boke's residents will find themselves at the mercy of the search for this prized material.
SMB確實計劃截止2022年建立幾內亞的第一家精煉廠。不管出現什么情況，博凱大區的居民都將發現他們受到了搜尋這種有價值材料的擺布。
"We can't just leave. We have nowhere to go," says Mr Kalissa, looking out over the red earth.
“我們不能就這樣離開。我們無處可去，”卡利薩看向那片紅色的紅壤說道。
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