【双语】你所不知的故事:印度抗疫面面观 | Stories Unheard:Fighting COVID-19 in India
Days are long and time is passive. While having another round of ‘Chai’ (tea) in the morning, I was asked to go and fetch the 15 kilograms of subsidized rice sanctioned by the state government of Kerala, dispersed through public distribution system. Apart from a grocery and medical shop, everything else remained closed on the street. The hustle and bustles were gone, so were the noisy vehicles on the roads. Few people were already standing in a queue in front of the ‘ration shop’ adhering to the norms of social distancing, these shops come under the essential services and were asked to remain open throughout the week. While filling the bag with rice, the shopkeeper told us that there would be a distribution of five kg rice and pulses as announced by the central government in the coming week.
People are reluctantly getting used to their newfound way of life. India fights Covid-19. The battle has begun and the future seems unpredictable...
日子悠长,时光无奈。清晨饮茶时,我被叫去领取经喀拉拉邦政府批准、由公共分配系统发放的15公斤补贴大米。大街上,除杂货铺和医药店外,其他场所仍旧无一开放。往日的喧嚣不再,路上嘈杂的车辆也消失不见。寥寥数人已经在“粮食配给店”前依照保持社交距离的规定排起了队。这类店铺由于提供给必需服务,被要求维持每天营业。店主一边往袋子里装大米,一边告诉我们中央政府已宣布将于下周分发5公斤大米和豆类。人们不情愿地适应着新的生活方式。印度同新型冠状病毒的战斗已然拉开了序幕,未来似乎无法预测......
******************
输入病例与国际援助
印度于2020年1月30日报道了首例新冠病毒感染病例:武汉大学的一名学生前往印度期间,在印度西南沿海的喀拉拉邦被检测呈阳性。几天后,又有三名从武汉回来的学生在新冠病毒检测结果中呈阳性。此类情况从三月开始加剧,据报告,其中绝大部份案例均与海外返回者有关。3月12日,同样位于印度西南地区的卡纳塔克邦曝出首例新冠病毒死亡案例,该受害人是一名从沙特阿拉伯返回的76岁男子。
恐惧压抑着空气。在中国采取严格的封省措施的同时,印度决定将其在华公民接回国。2月1日,印度从武汉地区撤离了包括学生和专业人士在内的324人。2月2日,印度航空第二次撤侨航班降落德里,该航班运载了从中国返回的323名印度人和7名马尔代夫人。2月27日,印度空军执行了第三次撤离任务,将76名印度人和36名外国人带回印度。在这项任务的执行期间,印度向中国提供了15吨的医疗援助,其中包括口罩、手套和其他紧急医疗设备。随后,印度从包括意大利和伊朗在内的那些遭受病毒侵袭的国家撤离了更多人。
预防是应对危机的最佳选择
As more cases started appearing, many states (provinces) started taking this problem with serious consideration and adopted methods to tackle it within their own capacity. These measures were taking place in different parts of the country in a scattered manner. On March 22nd, 2020, India observed a “Janata (people’s) curfew” declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister urged people to stay indoors from 7 am to 9 pm which was considered as a ‘litmus test’ of the nation’s ability to conduct a comprehensive lockdown[2]. “This is the start of a long fight” Modi tweeted as the curfew came to an end and people came out of their home to clap, bang metal vessels and ring bells to cheer up the spirit of medical workers fighting against the spread of coronavirus[3]. This incident helped to gather a nationwide momentum to the various efforts happening in different parts of the country, people started to realise that what was considered as a foreign problem so far, has now reached their own door steps. Further on 24th March, the prime minister ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, starting on 25th March to 13th April, affecting the 1.3 billion population of India. It was the biggest and most severe action undertaken anywhere to stop the spread of coronavirus[4].
随着越来越多的感染案例出现,许多邦(省)开始认真考虑这一问题,并采取了力所能及的解决之道。这些应对措施是在印度不同地区分散进行的。2020年3月22日,印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪(Narendra Modi)宣布实行“大众宵禁”,敦促人们在早7点至晚9点这一时间段待在室内。该举措被视为检验印度是否具备全面封锁能力的“试金石”。“这是一场漫长斗争的开始”,莫迪在宵禁结束时发表推文说。人们从家中走出,以鼓掌、鸣金、摇铃的方式振奋抗击新冠病毒医护人员的精神。这有助于将在各地的不同力量聚集起来,形成了一股举国势头。人们开始意识到,那些曾被视为发生在其他国家的问题已悄然走进自家国门。3月24日,总理进一步下达为期21天的全国封锁令。该封锁令于3月25日至4月13日之间实施,影响了印度13亿人口。这是目前为遏制新冠病毒传播采取的最大规模、最严厉的行动。
(全国封锁期间提醒人们“待在家中”的地面涂鸦;图片来源:https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/covid-19-india-lower-death-rates-defy-trend-12673876)
莫迪总理通过电视宣布:“将全面禁止人们走出家门”。他表示:“如果大家不能成功应对这21天,这个国家和你们的家庭[生活]将会倒退21年”。尽管印度感染新冠病毒的病例数在总理宣布全面封锁令时不到500,但经预测,如若这一流行病重创印度,其后果将严重于世界上任何一个地方。由于资源有限加之人口众多,预防是印度应对此次危机的最佳选择。
(阿姆利则市警察逮捕当地疫情禁令违反者;图片来源:https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/17/fake-news-real-arrests/)
和许多其他国家相比,印度在更早的阶段采取了抵抗新冠病毒的行动。世界卫生组织和其他专家对其为遏制病毒传播而迅速实行的锁国措施表示赞赏。
疫情下变奏的生活与挑战
(图片来源:https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2020/03/21/privacy-fears-as-india-hand-stamps-tracks-suspected-covid-19-cases)
人们被要求待在家中,保持社交距离成为了禁闭下的准则。但这不是没有代价的。对于大多数印度人来说,保持社交距离是一种他们负担不起的奢侈生活。在世界第七大经济体陷入停顿、日常工资中断的境况下,他们的生活变得艰难起来。印度无组织、非正式的行业雇佣了约4.24亿工人,约占其总劳动力的90%,超过了美国、英国和澳大利亚人口的总和。例如,孟买有名的dabbawalas(午餐快递公司)在过去的130年中不间断地工作,为工作场所和学校提供家常午餐。他们曾勇敢地面对洪灾和恐怖袭击,但由于新冠病毒迫使约5000名送货员待在家里,他们的服务被暂停。
(印度阿拉哈巴德居民在当地药店外遵照社交距离规定进行排队;图片来源:https://www.latimes.com/california/liveblog/coronavirus-live-updates-wednesday-march-25)
Businesses have closed, unemployment has risen and productivity fallen. With 75% economy under lockdown, analysts see sharp fall in India’s GDP[11]. Barclays predicted that the total shutdown would cost India around $120bn, or 4% of the country’s GDP[12]. This will further depend on how well India can tackle the pandemic as well as the performance of the global markets.
政府免费补贴与各邦自救表现
On 26th March 2020, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a $22bn package relief for the ailing nation. As a part of this package about 800 million people would get free cereals and cooking gas apart from cash through direct transfers for three months. A medical insurance for health workers up to $66,500 was also announced as part of the package[13].
除了来自中央政府的救助外,各邦和联邦属地也提出了各自的救济计划和干预措施。印度是一个邦联盟国家,在结构上是联邦的,在精神上是统一的。该联盟由28个邦和8个联邦属地(由中央政府直接管理)组成,共有36个[政治]实体。各邦最初是建立在共同语言基础上的,邦与邦之间在许多方面存在差异。各邦和中央的权力在宪法中有明确的规定。在中央政府的领导下,邦政府在其划定的范围内行使职能。当出现大规模的流行病时,印度的国土之大、之多元便阻碍了对现有资源和专业知识的有效利用。在联邦式的治理体系下,中央和各邦拥有自己独特的角色和责任。公共卫生和法律秩序在各邦的职权范围内,这赋予了它们更大的权力来系统地设计和实施各种项目。
(印度地图;图片来源:https://zh.wikivoyage.org/zh/File:Map_of_India_(zh-hans)- %E5%8D%B0%E5%BA%A6%E5%9C%B0%E5%9B%BE.png)
作为一个在语言、民族、文化和地理上如此多样化的国家,印度各邦分别带头采取了抗疫行动。这些行动不仅涉及专业医疗知识,还包括社区动员。地方政府的工作效率取决于卫生政策、基础设施、资金分配、可用劳动力、部门间协调和领导力等诸多因素。例如,由共产党政府领导的喀拉拉邦已经采取了迅速、有效的抗疫措施。作为值得效仿的典范,该邦受到了国内外的广泛赞誉。
非政府组织及中国援助
疫情下急升的网络需求
Decreased mobility made people turn more to the internet. With a 40% overall internet penetration and 566 million monthly active users, India is second to China in terms of internet users[19]. Of the total user base, nearly 293 million active internet users reside in urban India, while 200 million users in rural India[20].
人员流动性的降低使得人们更多地转向互联网。印度的互联网普及率为40%,月活跃用户达5.66亿,在互联网的用户数量上仅次于中国。在印度的全部互联网用户中,近2.93亿的活跃用户居住在城市,2亿用户居则住在农村。
Confined to their homes, people tend to spend more time online and this has resulted in technical glitches caused due to heavy data traffic. On March 25, all video streaming services, jointly decided to offer only SD quality content on cellular networks, they also decided to lower the bitrates to 480p to lower the stress on telecom networks throughout the 21-day lockdown[24]. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation, which promotes television Industry came up with offering fee waiver for four pay channels for two months. As the screen time high rockets, so does the demand for novel ways of entertainment. TikTok, the video sharing platform from China’s ByteDance, currently having a userbase over 200 million, became the most downloaded app among social media applications surpassing WhatsApp and Facebook[25].
宅在家中,人们往往会花更多时间上网,巨大的数据流量于是带来了技术故障。3月25日,所有视频流媒体服务商共同决定在蜂窝网络状态下只提供SD品质的内容,同时将比特率降低至480p,以减轻电信网络在21天封锁期内所面临的压力。旨在推动电视产业发展的印度广播基金会宣布,为四个付费频道提供为期两个月的费用减免。随着人们更多地聚集在手机屏幕前,他们对新奇娱乐方式的需求亦在增加。来自中国字节跳动的视频共享平台抖音目前拥有超过2亿的用户基础,超越WhatsApp和Facebook,成为了下载量最大的社交媒体应用程序。
媒介生态下的谣言传播与治理
新冠病毒的爆发开启了虚假信息的“流感式”传播。各类信息甚至比病毒传播得还要迅猛。传统媒体虽然有一定的信源核实机制,网络空间却成为传播虚假、误导性信息的沃土。在信息合理性的伪装下,网络中经常出现仇外情绪和种族主义,为社会生活带来深远影响。网上流传着一个关于食肉者感染新冠病毒的谣言,与事实不符,却导致“#NoMeat_NoCoronaVirus”(“不吃肉就不会感染新冠病毒”) 在推特上成为热搜。在那些缺乏信息可信度、监管较差的网站上,开始出现各种与魔法疗法和古老知识相关的内容。
据国内一些地区报道,同缅甸和中国接壤的印度东北部发生了若干起骚扰事件。一些媒体人在新闻资讯的掩饰下玩忽职守、偏执盲从,而没有投入到与[病毒这一]共同敌人的作战当中来。由于近三分之一的事件报道与新德里集会有关,穆斯林传教运动受到了密切关注。紧接着,“#CoronaJihad”(“新冠圣战”)这一话题标签现身推特热搜。一些电视频道也加入了这一潮流,把全球流行病变成了一个公共敏感问题。
在信息战时代,谣言和误传是破坏团结、制造混乱的致命武器。执法机关有权登记违法案件并对违法者采取制裁行动。警方已经在全国各地登记逮捕了一些通过社交媒体和即时通讯平台传播谣言和虚假新闻的人。为控制同新冠病毒相关的虚假传播,印度政府致函了包括Facebook、YouTube、抖音、ShareChat和Twitter在内的社交媒体公司。它们被要求推广真实信息,开展宣传活动,并删除其平台上的虚假消息。
坚韧的民众期待未来
作者:Vishnu Karuthodi
(Doctoral Student, Institute of Communication Studies, Communication University of China; 中国传媒大学传播研究院印度籍在读博士留学生)
编译:杨以轩
Endnotes | 尾注:
[1] Chaudhuri, D. R. (2020, February 27). Coronavirus: India brings back 36 foreigners and 76 nationals from Wuhan. The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/coronavirus-india-brings-back-36-foreigners-and-76-nationals-from-wuhan/articleshow/74328899.cms
[2] India coronavirus: Modi announces 21-day nationwide lockdown, limiting movement of 1.4bn people. (2020, March 24). INDEPENDENT. Retrieved from
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-coronavirus-lockdown-modi-speech-cases-update-news-a9421491.html
[3] India locks down over 100 million people amid coronavirus fears. (2020, March 23). ALJAZEERA. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/scores-indian-districts-lockdown-coronavirus-200323041150247.html
[4] Gunjan, R. K. (2020, March 25). National Lockdown Starts To Contain Coronavirus. NEWS 18. Retrieved from https://www.news18.com/news/india/national-lockdown-starting-midnight-to-contain-coronavirus-here-is-the-list-of-dos-and-donts-2549717.html
[5] Gettleman, J., & Schultz, K. (2020, March 24). Modi Orders 3-Week Total Lockdown for All 1.3 Billion Indians. The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/world/asia/india-coronavirus-lockdown.html
[6] Coronavirus: United Nations praises India's 'comprehensive' lockdown. (2020, March 25). THE WEEK. Retrieved from https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/03/25/coronavirus-united-nations-praises-india-comprehensive-lockdown.html
[7] Kidangoor, A. (2020, March 31). Modi's Hasty Coronavirus Lockdown of India Leaves Many Fearful for What Comes Next. TIME. Retrieved from https://time.com/5812394/india-coronavirus-lockdown-modi/
[8] Gettleman, J., & Schultz, K. (2020, March 24). Modi Orders 3-Week Total Lockdown for All 1.3 Billion Indians. The New York Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/world/asia/india-coronavirus-lockdown.html
[9] Economic Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/
[10] Kidangoor, A. (2020, March 31). Modi's Hasty Coronavirus Lockdown of India Leaves Many Fearful for What Comes Next. TIME. Retrieved from https://time.com/5812394/india-coronavirus-lockdown-modi/
[11] Covid-19: Rs 1.7-trn relief package welcome, but more support needed. (2020, March 27). Business Standard. Retrieved from https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/covid-19-rs-1-7-trn-relief-package-welcome-but-more-support-needed-120032601284_1.html
[12] India coronavirus: $22bn bailout announced for the poor. (2020, March 27). BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52047263
[13] FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package for poor. (2020, March 27). The Economic Times. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/fm-nirmala-sitharaman-announces-rs-1-7-lakh-crore-relief-package-for-poor/articleshow/74825054.cms
[14] M.K., N. (2020, March 20). How to make sense of Kerala's mega COVID-19 financial package. Livemint. Retrieved from https://www.livemint.com/news/india/how-to-make-sense-of-kerala-s-mega-covid-19-financial-package-11584702247868.html
[15] Masih, N. (2020, April 10). How the Indian state of Kerala flattened its coronavirus curve. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/aggressive-testing-contact-tracing-cooked-meals-how-the-indian-state-of-kerala-flattened-its-coronavirus-curve/2020/04/10/3352e470-783e-11ea-a311-adb1344719a9_story.html
[16] Rawat, M. (2020, April 9). Coronavirus in India: In 13 states, NGOs fed more people than govt did during lockdown. INDIA TODAY. Retrieved from https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/in-13-states-ngos-fed-more-people-than-govt-during-coronavirus-lockdown-1665111-2020-04-09
[17] Chaudhuri, D. (2020, March 24). China extends support to India to fight Covid-19 . THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/china-extends-support-to-india-to-fight-covid-19/articleshow/74799620.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[18] Chaudhuri, D. (2020, March 24). China extends support to India to fight Covid-19 . THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/china-extends-support-to-india-to-fight-covid-19/articleshow/74799620.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[19] Internet users in India to reach 627 million in 2019: Report. (2019, March 6). THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/internet-users-in-india-to-reach-627-million-in-2019-report/articleshow/68288868.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[20] Mandavya, M. (2019, September 26). India has second highest number of Internet users after China: Report. THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-second-highest-number-of-internet-users-after-china-report/articleshow/71311705.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[21] India has the cheapest mobile data in world: Study. (2019, March 6). THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-the-cheapest-mobile-data-in-world-study/articleshow/68285820.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[22] Mankotia, A. S. (2020, April 1). Mobile internet usage increases just 10% since lockdown. THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/mobile-internet-usage-increases-just-10-since-lockdown/articleshow/74920799.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[23] Data consumption in rural India jumped nearly 100% during lockdown: CSC CEO. (2020, April 5). Business Standard. Retrieved from https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/data-consumption-in-rural-india-jumped-nearly-100-during-lockdown-csc-ceo-120040500737_1.html
[24] Laghate, G. (2020, March 25). Video streaming services like Netflix, Hotstar suspend HD streaming on cellular networks. THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/video-streaming-services-like-netflix-hotstar-suspend-hd-service-on-cellular-networks/articleshow/74807392.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[25] Singh, S. (2020, April 7). How TikTok is giving Facebook a run for its money during India’s Coronavirus lockdown. FINANCIAL EXPRESS. Retrieved from
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/how-tiktok-is-giving-facebook-a-run-for-its-money-during-indias-coronavirus-lockdown/1921096/
[26] India profile - Media. (2019, April 29). BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12557390
[27] Mukunth, V. (2020, February 2). 'No Meat, No Coronavirus' Makes No Sense. THE WIRE. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20200303034133/http://thewire.in/health/meat-eating-2019-novel-coronavirus-wuhan-bats-proteins-cattle-climate-cow-vigilantism
[28] Coronavirus: Does drinking tea help? (2020, March 25). BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-51910099
[29] Prabhakar, S. (2020, March 20). Covid-19: Northeast India Welfare Association complains of racial discrimination in Chennai. Times of India. Retrieved from
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/covid-19-northeast-india-welfare-association-complains-of-racial-discrimination-in-chennai/articleshow/74733326.cms
[30] Bisht, A., & Naqvi, S. (2020, April 7). How Tablighi Jamaat event became India's worst coronavirus vector. ALJAZEERA. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/tablighi-jamaat-event-india-worst-coronavirus-vector-200407052957511.html
[31] UP: Man in police net for spreading WhatsApp rumour on coronavirus. (2020, April 4). INDIA TODAY. Retrieved from https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/story/up-man-police-net-spreading-whatsapp-rumour-coronavirus-1663175-2020-04-04
[32] Indian government asks social media firms to control Coronavirus fake news. (2020, March 20). THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Retrieved from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/indian-government-asks-social-media-firms-to-control-coronavirus-fake-news/articleshow/74734697.cms
end
往期文章推荐:
ICSF Calls For Article Submissions | 人类命运共同体研究院公众号征稿函
New International PhD Program Launched by CUC|“全球传播与治理”博士留学生项目招生
【独家】电信业要做好与美国分割的思想和工作准备
数字鸿沟:疫情中的另一种隔离
觉得不错,点亮“在看”!