題圖。

On Wednesday, India’s Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to manual scavenging and the hazardous practice of cleaning sewers and septic tanks in major metropolitan cities of the world’s fifth-largest economy – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

周三，印度最高法院下令立即停止在德里、孟買、金奈、加爾各答、班加羅爾和海得拉巴等大都市進行人工清污及清理下水道和化糞池的危險作業(yè)。

A bench led by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia instructed municipal authorities to submit a detailed affidavit outlining how and when manual scavenging and sewer cleaning will be eliminated in their cities, with a deadline set for February 13.

由法官蘇丹舒-杜利亞領導的法庭指示市政當局提交詳細宣誓書，說明如何及何時在其城市中消除人工清污和下水道清理，截止日期定為2月13日。

The Supreme Court issued the order while overseeing its October 2023 ruling that mandated all states and unx Territories to completely eliminate the inhumane practice of manual scavenging. On Wednesday, the court expressed its frustration over ongoing violations and non-compliance. “Can we say today that manual scavenging is banned from now on?... We are fed up with orders. We are directing you: either do it or face consequences,” the bench said.

最高法院在監(jiān)督其2023年10月要求各邦和中央直轄區(qū)徹底消除人工清污不人道做法的裁決時發(fā)布了這一命令。周三，法院對持續(xù)違規(guī)行為表示失望：“我們今天能宣布人工清污從此被禁止嗎？……我們下命令夠多了。我們直接通牒你們：要么執(zhí)行，要么承擔后果。”

This latest order is unlikely to be a game-changer for Rishabh Pamariya, 22, who begins most days by going to the nearby Brahmin colony in Nagra, Jhansi, in central India, where he still cleans open latrines used in the older parts of the city.

對于22歲的里沙布-帕馬里亞來說，這項最新命令不太可能改變現(xiàn)狀。他每天的工作始于前往印度中部占西市納格拉附近的婆羅門聚居區(qū)，清理老城區(qū)的露天廁所。



插圖：印度新德里，東德里市政公司的環(huán)衛(wèi)工人正在手動清理工廠附近的排水溝。

Hailing from the ‘dom’ community – a Dalit (formerly “untouchable”) at the bottom of the Hindu caste pyramid – this is his community’s profession and there is nothing he can do about it.

他來自“多姆”社區(qū)——印度教種姓制度底層的達利特（舊稱“不可接觸者”）。這是其社區(qū)的職業(yè)，他別無選擇。

He wanted to be a teacher, but after dropping out after finishing eighth grade, he had to start work as a sweeper and human scavenger, like his parents.

他曾想當老師，但八年級輟學后，他不得不像父母一樣成為清潔工和人工清污員。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://m.top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處


“No matter what you become, you will always remain a dom,” says his mother Shanti, who has been manually cleaning latrines since she married in her teens. She recalls getting paid 5 to 8 rupees a month from each household in the early 1990s; now her son gets 40 to 50 rupees ($0.47 to $0.58) for the same work. He is barely able to earn 8,500 rupees a month ($100), not enough to make ends meet.

“無論你成為什么，你始終是多姆人，”他的母親香蒂說。她從少女時期結婚起便以手工清理廁所為生。她回憶稱，20世紀90年代初每戶每月支付5至8盧比；如今她的兒子做同樣的工作每戶收入40至50盧比（0.47至0.58美元）。他每月勉強賺8500盧比（100美元），難以維持生計。

Many Dalits and Dalit sub-castes are compelled to take up this work. “We are helpless and have no other source of income,” Rishabh says. “Since I did not even pass high school (grade 10) I am not qualified for anything else.”

許多達利特及其分支種姓被迫從事這項工作?！拔覀儧]有其他收入來源，別無選擇，”里沙布說，“我連高中（十年級）都沒讀完，沒有資格做其他工作。”

They do not know that what they're do is illegal. But since the mechanically-operated emptying machines cannot navigate the narrow streets and winding lanes of a pre-independence neighborhood, Rishabh and his friends (or even local residents) are hired by the local municipality to clean septic tanks and latrines manually.

他們不知道自己的工作是非法的。但由于機械清污車無法進入社區(qū)狹窄曲折的街道，里沙布和他的朋友（甚至當?shù)鼐用瘢┍皇姓斁止蛡?，手動清理化糞池和廁所。

“When someone in the neighborhood calls us to clean the septic tanks, we go and clean them manually,” he says. “We have around seven lads between 18 and 24 to do this work. My father did this earlier but is now with the municipality and since he is growing old it gets difficult for him to hold his breath for long stretches.”

“當社區(qū)有人叫我們清理化糞池時，我們就去手動清理，”他說，“我們有7個18到24歲的年輕人做這工作。我父親以前也做這個，現(xiàn)在在市政部門工作，但他年紀大了，很難長時間屏住呼吸。”

He describes the nature of his work: “I first undress and enter the septic tank in my underwear through a narrow opening. There is very little oxygen so only one person enters. Then I fill the human excreta in buckets with brooms and pass it to a guy standing on the top of the tank who will throw it out. It gets difficult to breathe after a while so I take a short break and come up to the mouth of the sewer or septic tank so that I don’t die by breathing in the poisonous gas from the waste. It generally takes 10-12 hours to empty a 10-foot-deep tank.”

他描述工作過程：“我先脫掉衣服，穿著內(nèi)褲從狹窄入口進入化糞池。氧氣極少，只能一人進入。我用掃帚將糞便裝入桶中，遞給站在頂部的人倒掉。過一會兒要是呼吸困難了，我就短暫休息一會兒，爬到出口以免吸入毒氣。清空一個10英尺深的化糞池通常需要10到12小時?！?/b>

They get 500 rupees ($6) for the potentially fatal task. “Yes, we have lost a few friends to the job’s hazards but what can we do?” he asks. “When there is work, we have to be available, as this is how we earn our living. An extra ?500 can help support our families.”

這項可能致命的工作報酬為500盧比（6美元）。“是的，我們有幾個朋友因工作危險喪生，但我們能怎么辦？”他說，“有活就得接，這是我們謀生的方式。能多掙500盧比幫助補貼家用?！?/b>

Under the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, India banned the employment of manual scavengers, but the stigma and discrimination towards the communities that do the job still exists.

根據(jù)1993年《禁止雇傭人工清污員及建造旱廁法案》，印度禁止雇傭人工清污員，但對從事該工作的社區(qū)的污名化和歧視依然存在。

India, along with Pakistan and Bangladesh, is among the few countries where manual scavenging continues despite being officially (and repeatedly) banned, lately by the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The Act prohibits the employment people as manual scavengers and provides provisions for their rehabilitation.

印度與巴基斯坦、孟加拉國是少數(shù)仍存在人工清污的國家，盡管官方多次禁止，最近的2013年法案也禁止雇傭人工清污員并提供康復措施。

While New Delhi says this practice has been eliminated “almost completely”, there are still over 7.7 million Indians who are still forced to clean human excreta manually. Despite the ban, the grim reality is that human scavengers, forced to manually clean drains and septic tanks without protective gear or machinery, fall prey to their job’s perils, with many unaccounted deaths.

盡管新德里稱該做法已“基本消除”，但仍有超過770萬印度人被迫徒手清理排泄物。禁令之下，殘酷的現(xiàn)實是清污工沒有防護裝備或機械，被迫手動清理下水道和化糞池，許多人死于工作風險且未被統(tǒng)計。



插圖：印度孟買，季風來臨前，合同工正在清理排水管道。

A 2020 study titled ‘Manual Scavenging in India: Literature review’, “according to Census (2011), there are 794,390 dry latrines in India where human excreta are cleaned manually; and in addition, there are 1,314,652 toilets where human excreta are flushed into open drains, which are again manually cleaned by individuals from the Dalit community.”

2020年《印度人工清污文獻綜述》指出：“根據(jù)2011年人口普查，印度有79萬4390個旱廁需人工清理排泄物；另有131萬4652個廁所將排泄物沖入露天排水溝，仍需達利特社區(qū)人工清理。”

Deaths and health issues

死亡與健康問題

According to Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA), the Sanitation Workers' Movement, which has over 6,000 volunteers in 24 states of India pressuring for workers’ rights, manual scavengers die every year in the sewers due to exposure to poisonous gases and pathogens. The highest number of deaths were reported in Gujarat (135), followed by Tamil Nadu (73) and Uttar Pradesh (37).

“清潔工運動”（SKA），在印度24個州擁有6000多名志愿者，他們?yōu)楣と藱嗬?，他們說每年都有人工清道夫因接觸有毒氣體和病原體而死于下水道。報告的死亡人數(shù)最多的是古吉拉特邦（135人），其次是泰米爾納德邦（73人）和北方邦（37人）。

However, different government bodies quote different numbers on deaths.

然而，不同政府部門引用的死亡數(shù)據(jù)存在差異。

The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) says 631 people have died in the country while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the last 10 years. Federal Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Ramdas Athawale said in August that despite 732 of India’s 766 districts declaring themselves free from manual scavenging, 453 individuals have died cleaning sewers and septic tanks since 2014.

國家清潔工委員會（NCSK）稱過去10年印度有631人死于清理下水道和化糞池。聯(lián)邦社會正義與賦權部長拉姆達斯-阿薩瓦萊8月表示，盡管印度766個區(qū)中有732個宣布已消除人工清污，但自2014年以來仍有453人因此死亡。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://m.top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處


Bezwada Wilson, the SKA’s national convener, told RT over phone that there was hardly any data collection by the government on deaths during manual scavenging. The group’s own records, maintained since 1993, show higher numbers.

SKA全國召集人貝茲瓦達-威爾遜電話告訴本報，政府幾乎未統(tǒng)計人工清污死亡數(shù)據(jù)。該組織自1993年以來的記錄顯示了更高的數(shù)字。

“As per our records, around 2,360 have lost their lives since 1993,” he said. “The majority of deaths occurred between 2010 and 2024, as there was better monitoring and data collection. The government does not maintain proper data and they keep denying these deaths in Parliament.”

“根據(jù)我們的記錄，自1993年以來約有2360人喪生，”他說，“大部分死亡發(fā)生在2010至2024年間，因監(jiān)測和數(shù)據(jù)收集更完善。政府未妥善記錄數(shù)據(jù)，并不斷在議會否認這些死亡。”

“Because it is the marginalized castes that die, the government does not attach importance,” he added.

“因為是邊緣種姓的人死亡，政府不重視，”他補充道。

It does not stop at social discrimination. Because of frequent (and sometimes regular) exposure to toxic gases and germs from the gutters, the lifespan of the people from these communities is seldom more than 45 years, SKA’s website states.

社會歧視不止于此。SKA官網(wǎng)稱，由于頻繁接觸下水道毒氣和病菌，這些社區(qū)的人均壽命很少超過45歲。

A study by the Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI) in Pune states that manual scavengers face both mental and physical health problems due to the job’s derogatory nature and because of regular direct contact with human excreta.

浦那的巴巴薩希布-安貝德卡研究與培訓所（BARTI）研究指出，人工清污員因工作劣等性和直接接觸排泄物等原因面臨身心問題。

“Manual contact with excreta exposes them to various diseases like skin infections, rotting of fingers and limbs, tuberculosis, hepatitis, leptospirosis, helicobacter and nausea,” it says.

“徒手接觸排泄物使他們易患皮膚病、手指和四肢腐爛、結核病、肝炎、鉤端螺旋體病、幽門螺桿菌感染和惡心等疾病?！?/b>

The study adds that some manual scavengers lose their appetite after exposure to excreta as seeing the waste kills their urge to eat.

研究補充稱，一些清污工接觸排泄物后因視覺沖擊而失去食欲。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://m.top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處


“Most women from the manual scavenging communities tend to be addicted to chewing tobacco (gutka), and the men addicted to liquor, in an attempt to diminish the repulsive nature of their work and beat back their state of hopelessness,” it says.

“為減輕工作的惡心感和對抗絕望，清污社區(qū)的女性多沉迷嚼煙草（古特卡），男性則酗酒?！?/b>
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://m.top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處


Lack of government will

政府缺乏決心

India’s 2024-25 federal budget allocated 135.39 billion rupees ($1.584 billion) to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, an increase of 37% from the previous financial year. But the Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers, which previously had an allocation, did not feature in the budget.

印度2024-25財年聯(lián)邦預算為社會正義與賦權部撥款1353.9億盧比（15.84億美元），同比增37%。但此前有撥款的“人工清污員康復自營計劃”未列入預算。

According to SKA’s Wilson, before 2013, the budget was 5.7 billion rupees ($67.74million), however after 2014 it was reduced drastically to 100 million rupees($1.17 million) and then fell further, to 50 million rupees ($590,000). "This time they have not allocated any money which shows the government is not serious about the issue,” he added.

據(jù)SKA的威爾遜稱，2013年前預算為57億盧比（6774萬美元），但2014年后驟降至1億盧比（117萬美元），后又降至5000萬盧比（59萬美元）?！按舜尾粨芸畋砻髡恢匾暣藛栴}?！?/b>

To eliminate hazardous cleaning, stop the deaths of sewer and septic tank workers and ensure their safety and dignity, India’s social justice and empowerment ministry and the housing and urban affairs ministry have formulated a plan called “National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem” (NAMASTE). It will be implemented in 4,800 urban areas around the country over the course of three years, with an outlay of 3.497 billion rupees ($40.9 million).

為消除危險作業(yè)、停止工人死亡并確保其安全與尊嚴，印度社會正義與賦權部及住房與城市事務部制定了“機械化衛(wèi)生生態(tài)系統(tǒng)國家行動”（NAMASTE）計劃，將在三年內(nèi)于全國4800個城區(qū)實施，總支出34.97億盧比（4090萬美元）。

The question is whether or not this plan will be enough to totally eliminate this practice.

問題是該計劃是否足以徹底消除這一做法。

“Before implementing any program there needs to be a proper enumeration of the number of manual scavengers, their deaths, the possibility of mechanization and other bigger problems,” Wilson said. He insists that the government needs to lay down new sewer lines in the old pre-independence colonies that still use dry latrines and septic tank systems. "This is a part of urban planning and only the government can undertake such a huge project.”

“實施任何計劃前，需準確統(tǒng)計清污工人數(shù)、死亡人數(shù)、機械化可能性及其他重大問題，”威爾遜說。他堅持政府需在仍使用旱廁和化糞池系統(tǒng)的獨立前老社區(qū)鋪設新下水道?！斑@是城市規(guī)劃的一部分，只有政府能承擔如此龐大的項目。”