印度：農夫自殺潮(中英對照) | 國際 | 新頭殼 Newtalk

Pakistan: Sugar Crisis Turns Ramadan Bitter

譯者：dune79（全球之聲）　原作者：Rezwan

全球之聲原連結

印度一共有12億的人口，是世界上人口數量第二高的國家，其中百分之七十的人口，居住在鄉村。約四億五千六百萬的印度人（40%人口），每天以低於國際貧困標準值的金額，每日1.25美元過日子。農業部門雖然僅佔國內生產總值的28％，但很大一部分的人口為農民或從事相關服務業，如今有一場傳染病在印度農民間爆發，越來越多農民企圖以極端的手段，如集體自殺，以求解脫貧困和債務的壓力，這種事情年復一年的發生。

India is the world's second most populous country with a population of 1.2 billion people and 70% of its population lives in the villages. Over 456 million Indians (42% of the population) fall below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day. Although the the agricultural sector accounts for 28% of GDP, a significant portion of the population are involved in this sector either as farmers or in support services. However an epidemic has hit the Indian farmers. Increasingly farmers are resorting to extreme measures like taking their own lives en masse to bail out of pressures of indebtedness and poverty and this has been happening year after year.

Devinder Sharma，一位駐派於印度的糧食和貿易政策分析師，在Ground Reality部落格報導實際狀況：

＂一共有60位農人在七月（2009）自殺，而截至八月十日，另有16人自殺。儘管已成立一些委員會並展開救濟措施，居住於城市的菁英及決策者卻公然漠視致命慘劇的狀況，不幸的是，沒有人願意認清背後的原因，阻止這類慘劇無休止的重演。＂

Devinder Sharma, an India based food and trade policy analyst who blogs at Ground Reality, informs:

“60 farmers have committed suicide in the month of July (2009). By Aug 10, another 16 had taken their lives. That such a deadly drama continues to be enacted in the farms despite a number of committees and relief measures speaks volumes about the criminal apathy that prevails among the urban elite and the policy makers. The tragedy is that no one is keen to come to grips with the reasons that lead to this never ending saga of human suffering. “

而這些農人，為何自殺？自由撰稿記者Nita J. Kulkarnijgi在她名為 A Wide Angle View of India的部落格表示：

＂務農的高成本組合，例如，標價高昂的改良品種（據稱高收成）種子，跟跨國公司銷售的殺蟲劑，還有產品因為進口商品的競爭，而無法賣得好價格，都是農民淪於負債的原因。乾旱更讓他們雪上加霜。對這些農人而言，灌溉過於昂貴，而政府也沒有補貼措施。＂

And why are these farmers committing suicide? Freelance journalist Nita J. Kulkarni explains in her blog A Wide Angle View of India:

“Farmers fell into debt because of a combination of high farming costs - exorbitantly priced hybrid (so-called high yielding) seeds and pesticides sold by multinationals and a lack of a good price for their produce, partly due to imports. Drought added to their woes. Irrigation was too expensive for these farmers and the state government didn’t help.”

S Gupta，一名印度的部落客，則是抨擊政府的救濟措施沒有效率。

Indian blogger S Gupta slams the ineffectiveness of the government relief systems.

曾多次獲獎，名為Sonia Faleiro的印度記者及作家，解釋在馬哈拉施特拉邦的Vidarbha地區，種植棉花的農民，在缺乏政府的協助下，如何身陷債務流沙。

Sonia Faleiro, an award-winning journalist and writer from India explains how the cotton farmers in Vidarbha region of the Maharashtra state are stuck into this quicksand of debt without the help from the State.

＂當農民的作物遭受病害，或是受誤導而購買不良種子的時候，農民就得貸款。許多農民曾有不履行契約的紀錄，因此只有百分之五的農 民，符合向合作社和銀行貸款的條件。其餘的人被迫向私人借貸機構求助，通常是高利貸。高利貸每一季從每1000盧比的放款金額，抽取500盧比作為利息。＂

“One diseased crop or the misguided purchase of spurious seeds, for example, necessitates a loan. Only five percent of farmers are eligible for loans from cooperatives and banks, usually because of a previous default. The remainder are forced into the grip of private, often hostile moneylenders who extract approximately Rs 500 interest every four months on every Rs 1,000 borrowed.”

債務的壓力過於龐大時，就算是小小的不順遂，也會壓垮農民，使他們走上自殺之途。

The burden of debt becomes unbearable, tips over at any small provocation by nature, and farmers commit suicide.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chinogypsie/ / CC BY 2.0

Associación Prabhat，是一個在西班牙跟印度登記的公益機構部落格，它促進並支持印度社會發展中被忽略的弱勢。Vikas在這個部落格上，針對政府對人民的忽視表達憤怒，也在部落格寫道：

Vikas writes at Associación Prabhat, the blog of a non-profit organization registered in Spain and India to promote and support community developmental efforts in the forgotten parts of India. He is outraged by the inaction of the government and lack of concern of others:

＂如果政府有心要解決農民的困境，那為什麼在旱災或水災之後（較常發生在比哈爾邦），農民從未收到特別的補助？為什麼很多地區的農民信用也在商業銀行吃閉門羹…為什麼從沒有人質疑很多地方的人營養缺乏，飽受飢餓之苦（全球25%的貧困飢餓人民都生活在印度的某個角落）？

“If government want to solve farmers problem then why not farmers received special package after drought or flood (more often in Bihar). Why farmers in many part of country are denied even legal right to credit from commercial bank… Why no one is talking about malnutrition and hungers in many part of India (25% world poor and hungry lives in certain part of India) ?

＂為什麼從沒有報導在印度有很多地區的農民，遭到緩慢又蓄意的屠殺？

“Why there is no news of slow systematic massacre of farmers in many part of India?

＂我猜是因為印度忙於活在自己的經濟繁榮，只夢想著自己距離已開發國家的腳步，又更近一步了（好像世界上25%住在印度的貧民都不存在似的）。＂

“I guess India is too busy in its economic progress and just want to live in dream that it’s getting closer to developed world (and 25% world poor living in India are non-existent).”

身兼印度製片人、教師、作家及部落客的Harini Calamur，對貧困農民跟廣受報導的偶像明星作比較，說明媒體如何忽視貧困農民訴諸自殺的議題：

Indian film maker, teacher, writer and blogger Harini Calamur shows how the media ignores the plights of the farmers resorting to suicide, by comparing it to the much coverage on celebrities:

＂Shahrukh Khan遭到兩小時監禁的那天，在安得拉邦，共有21位農民因為無力償還債務而自殺。

“On the day Shahrukh Khan got detained for two hours [..] 21 farmers committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh because they couldn’t pay off their debt.

＂但是，自殺的農民不可能接受贊助，也不可能提高收視率，對令人尊敬的記者而言，更不可能有利於捲袖抨擊。＂

But, farmers committing suicide cannot be sponsored, it does not drive up TRP’s and it definitely is not conducive for off the cuff ranting by our esteemed ‘journalists’.”

名為Himanshu Rai的IT專家及部落客，也也指出印度人在突顯問題上的篩選：

＂逐漸擴大的城鄉差距，在發展模型中形成了一個真空。諷刺的是，沒人在乎貧民，也沒人在乎是不是真的需要改變。

Himanshu Rai , an IT expert and blogger, also points out to the selectivity of Indians in highlighting problems:

“The increasing disparities between rural and urban sector is creating big vacuum in the development model.The irony is that nobody bothers about the poor any more or need for a real change.

＂占人口比例5%的城市階級，擁有不合比例的關注。於是，航空公司的職缺爭霸戰，比起我國農民的集體自殺，還來的重要。＂

“The urban class, which constitutes less than 5% of the population, that gets disproportionate coverage. Job shredding at the airlines becomes bigger issue than the mass suicide of farmers in our country.”

最近由Navdanya Trust，一個印度的活動組織所舉辦的統計顯示，「印度現在擁有的飢餓人口，已經超越撒哈拉以南的非洲。而這些人之中，最飢餓的，竟是生產者 ─ 農民。」

A recent report by the Navdanya Trust, an Indian campaign group, showed that “there were now more hungry people in India than in sub-Saharan Africa. And its hungriest of people are its producers - the farmers”.

農民發起抗爭了，但他們唯一的武器卻是自殺。經歷四年的旱災之後，印度加爾克漢德邦的5000位農民簽訂了一份自殺協議，抗議政府缺乏誠意，改善他們的狀況。

The farmers are protesting. But their only tool is suicide. After four years of drought, 5,000 farmers in Indian state of Jharkhand have signed a suicide pact complaining that government is not taking any steps to improve their conditions.

Vandana Shiva身兼印度哲學家、環境前鋒者、生態女權主義人士以及作家，則是歸咎於農業的負面經濟和全球化。但是，在失業率高達7%的情況下，農民也很難轉行求生存。

Indian philosopher, environmental activist, eco feminist and writer Vandana Shiva blames it on the negative economy in the agricultural sector and globalization. However, with an unemployment rate of more than 7% it is unlikely that the farmers will be able to switch profession to survive.

Mitti，一部由業餘製片者Vibhu Mohunta和Ashish Dhadade創作的紀錄短片，呈現印度農民的困境。

Mitti, a short documentary made by amateur film makers Vibhu Mohunta and Ashish Dhadade shows the plights of the Indian farmers.

而曾得過獎的印度發展記者 P.Sainath在Counterpunch，描述在印度農民之間急速傳染的貧窮及飢餓：

An award winning Indian development journalist P. Sainath at Counterpunch shows poverty and hunger are growing rapidly amongst the Indian farmers:

＂穀類糧食的購買網絡，是由數以百萬計的印度小戶和散農組成。他們的收成不足餵飽自己的家人，因此必須耕種其他地區地主的農田來求 溫飽。自1991年以來，糧食價格不斷攀升，市場上購買耕種所需的種子，價格也直接受到衝擊，尤其今年的糧食價格影響更甚以往。飢餓，確實在糧食生展者的 身上發生。另外補充，事實上每人均可獲得的穀類糧食數量，自從「改革」開始以來，已經急遽減少：1991年平均每人可得510公克，2005年已經下滑至 平均每人422公克。（這絕對不僅是88公克的落差。 這個落差是88公克，乘以365天，再乘以十億印度人的總數量。）如同印度頂尖農業經濟學家，Utsa Patnaik教授一直以來不斷強調的，現代的貧困家庭比起十年前所擁有的糧食，已經減少100公斤了。＂

“Millions of small and marginal Indian farmers are net purchasers of food grain. They cannot produce enough to feed their families and have to work on the fields of others and elsewhere to meet the gap. Having to buy some of the grain they need on the market, they are profoundly affected by hikes in food prices, as has happened since 1991, and particularly sharply earlier this year. Hunger among those who produce food is a very real thing. Add to this the fact that the “per capita net availability” of food grain has fallen dramatically among Indians since the “reforms” began: from 510 grams per Indian in 1991, to 422 grams by 2005. (That’s not a drop of 88 grams. It’s a fall of 88 multiplied by 365 and then by one billion Indians.) As prof. Utsa Patnaik, India’s top economist on agriculture, has been constantly pointing out, the average poor family has about 100 kg less today than it did just ten years ago.”

如地質學家Suvrata Kher解釋，只要地下水應用沒有良好的管理政策，貧困的印度家庭將繼續承受苦難。而簡易信貸服務，如小額信貸的缺乏，還有作物單一性，及缺乏其他賺錢的機會，將使狀況惡化。他們困在貧窮的輪迴，而類似乾旱的天災，足以令他們墮入深淵。 身為經濟學家以及環境學家的Sanjeev Sanyal認為，印度需要從基礎面重新規劃農業部門來停止這些死亡。

The poor Indian farmers will continue to suffer if there are lack of proper groundwater management, as geologist Suvrata Kher explains. The unavailability of easy credit facilities like micro-credit and lack of diversification of crops or other earning opportunities will add to their miseries. They are stuck in the cycle of poverty and the natural disasters like droughts pull them into the abyss. Economist and environmentalist Sanjeev Sanyal opines that India needs to radically rethink its agricultural sector to stop these deaths.