《中英對照讀新聞》No toilet, no seat, says minister 部長說，無廁所就無席位

◎ 魏國金

Village council candidates in India should be allowed to stand for election only if they have a toilet at home, the rural development minister says.

唯自家有廁所的印度鄉民代表會候選人，才能准予參選，農村發展部長說。

In a letter to all chief ministers, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said the toilet rule should be set out in law. He said too many elected members “do not have toilet facilities in their own houses and defecate in the open”.

在1封給各部會首長的信函中，拉伏范許．普拉薩德．辛格說這項廁所規章應在法律中明訂。他表示，太多鄉代會當選人「在他們自己家中沒有盥洗設備，而在戶外方便。」

Mr. Singh said this activity was the main cause of the high incidence of diarrhoea in rural areas. He said that more than 65% of India's rural population defecated in the open, along roadsides, railway tracks and fields, generating huge amounts of excrement every day. “This finds its way into the water sources,” he said.

辛格部長指出，該舉動是農村地區腹瀉高發生率的主要原因。他表示，印度鄉村超過65%的人口，沿著路邊、鐵道與田間，在戶外排便，每天因而產生大量的排泄物。「這都流入水源區」，他說。

About 70% of India's billion-plus population live in its more than 550,000 rural villages. “It is unfortunate that a large number of elected village council members and rural government officers do not have toilet facilities in their own houses and defecate in the open,” Mr. Singh's letter said. The minister said they needed to change their behaviour and adopt better sanitation and hygiene practices.

印度10餘億人口中，超過70%生活在逾55萬鄉村中。「令人遺憾的，為數眾多的鄉代會代表與鄉村政府官員自家沒有廁所，而在戶外排泄」，辛格先生的信中指出。這位部長表示，他們需要改變習慣，並採行較好的環境衛生與個人衛生習慣。

The rural development minister suggested all chief ministers make similar provisions. “Only then can we eradicate the practice of open defecation by 2010,” he says.

農村發展部長建議全體部會首長做類似的準備。「唯有如此我們才能在2010年前革除『野放』陋習」，他說。

新聞辭典

only if：唯有。Only if we can understand can we care. 唯有了解才會關心。

in the open：戶外、野外。We spent that night in the open.我們在野外度過那夜。

make provisions：作預備、預作安排。