Considered by many Pakistanis to be public enemy number one, the US on Dec. 19 turned to the musical descendants of rap group Public Enemy in an attempt to counter its highly unpopular image in the south Asian nation.
As part of its cultural diplomacy program, the US embassy brought the FEW Collective, a hip-hop troupe from Chicago, to Islamabad, where they danced, rapped and recited poetry to a Westernized, educated elite audience of young Pakistanis.
The group’s 10-day trip is the latest by a number of musical acts sponsored by the State Department as part of its American Festival of the Arts, a cultural program designed to promote exchanges between the people of the two countries.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
“It gives a good impression,” said Atroz Abro, 20, who attended the show. “You rarely find such events in Pakistan ... to pump up the youth by bringing something new.”
But FEW Collective has its work cut out. Only 12 percent of Pakistanis have a favorable opinion of the US, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center in July last year, while 73 percent have an unfavorable opinion and 16 percent do not know.
(Reuters)
被許多巴基斯坦人視為頭號公敵的美國，十二月十九日冀望於嘻哈樂團「人民公敵」的樂風傳承者，試圖改變美國在這個南亞國家的惡劣形象。
美國大使館將芝加哥嘻哈團體 FEW Collective做為文化外交計畫的一環，在伊斯蘭城一群深受西方文化影響、受過良好教育的年輕巴基斯坦菁英觀眾面前跳舞、饒舌及吟詩。
該團體的十天之行，是美國國務院贊助的「美國藝術節」一系列音樂活動的最新成果。該文化計畫旨在增強兩國人民之間的交流。
「節目給人印象不錯」，觀看節目的二十歲青年阿托斯‧阿卜魯說。「在巴基斯坦很難見到此類活動…用一些新鮮事物來振奮年輕人。」
不過FEW Collective推動演出，可不容易。據Pew研究中心去年七月調查，在巴基斯坦只有百分之十二的民眾對美國有好感，百分之七十三的人厭惡美國，百分之十六的人表示不知道。
（路透／翻譯：陳成良）
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