印度不應由于強奸案封殺Uber
????在一位使用Uber打車服務的印度司機強奸女乘客之后,東西方世界的媒體報道讀起來都令人沮喪。多慘的一樁悲劇啊,案件的細節(jié)令人不忍卒讀。媒體的解讀也基本上是沿著三個非常容易預期的導向來進行的。 ????? 導向1:Uber是一家喜歡把規(guī)則當游戲的公司,這樁悲劇只是又一個例子(大多數(shù)美國的科技媒體)。 ????? 導向2:印度是一個存在女性安全問題的國家(大多數(shù)美國和印度媒體)。 ????? 導向3:這個例子再次說明為什么“外國”公司在印度得不到信任(新德里政府、在印度有影響力的人士)。 ????所有這些觀點都是在迎合已有的偏見,是非常不嚴謹?shù)穆嬍址?。由于它忽略了這些地區(qū)的一些基本事實,和人們本可以采取哪些手段來預防這種悲劇,這真的令人非常沮喪。 ????首先要普及一些歷史知識。多年來,印度已經(jīng)發(fā)生了一連串類似的悲劇事件。2005年,我還在微軟海德拉巴分公司(Microsoft Hyderabad)工作,由于當時接連發(fā)生科技公司女性員工被通勤班車司機性侵的事件,我們開始派保安護送下班晚的女性員工回家。就在我寫這篇文章的時候,我發(fā)現(xiàn)就在不久前的2013年,也發(fā)生了很多類似事件。在印度,這類事件早已有之,印度為什么不能制止類似悲劇的發(fā)生,也與一些深刻的社會和文化問題有關。這就是為什么我們許多人都會警告去印度旅行的婦女一定要注意周圍安全。坐進出租車或請陌生人幫忙這樣的小事,可能會導致跟世界其他地方不一樣的后果。 ????只要你曾經(jīng)跟印度政府部門打過交道,你就會知道,質(zhì)疑Uber為什么沒有做好背景調(diào)查,從而“過濾掉”這樣一個有犯罪前科的司機,是一個多么可笑的想法。首先,在全球大多數(shù)地區(qū),并沒有可靠的方法徹查某人的歷史記錄。其次,即便他們有這種方法,一筆小小的賄賂就能把大多數(shù)記錄改過來。 ????說一個關于這些記錄的故事。我的大多數(shù)同學在到了合法駕車年齡之后,并不會去印度的機動車輛管理部門申領駕照——他們會去找一個“熟人”花大約10美元弄一張。我記得當年我父親逼我參加考試的時候,我甚至還發(fā)了脾氣。我父親倒不是有多高的道德水平,只不過他不愿意花賄賂的錢。印度政府也試圖改變這種風氣,近幾年印度的反腐行動也引發(fā)了公眾的不少想象,但這個國家仍然有很長的路要走?;ㄥX賄賂政府官員仍然是一件非常平常的事(每次我去政府機關辦事時都會發(fā)現(xiàn)這一點)。 ????自然有人會問,Uber難道不應該調(diào)查自己的人,并且問問警察嗎?這個問題可能會讓德里警方感到尷尬,事實上Uber還真有一張警方為那個司機開具的“無犯罪記錄”。但就像我上文說的那樣,沒人真把它當回事,Uber本來也不應該把它當回事。(稍后再進一步談論這個問題) |
????It’s pretty frustrating to follow the press coverage of Uber rape case in India on both sides of the world. What is a terrible tragedy?—?the details are awful and stomach churning?—?has played out in the press along three very predictable directions. ????? Meme #1?—?Uber is a company that likes to play loose with the rules and this is yet another example (mostly tech press in the U.S.) ????? Meme #2?—?India is a country which has a problem with women’s safety (both press here and in India) ????? Meme #3?—?This is another example of why “foreign” companies can’t be trusted in India (from Delhi government, various Indian influencers) ????All of these are loose caricatures playing to existing biases and it’s frustrating because it ignores the underlying realities of these parts of the world and what could have been done to prevent this. ????First, some history. India has had a string of similar tragic incidents for many years. When I was at Microsoft Hyderabad in 2005, we started having security guards accompany women home late at night after a string of incidents where women in tech companies were assaulted by their shuttle drivers. As I was writing this post, I found more incidents as recent as 2013. This has been happening for a long time now and India has been grappling with some hard social/cultural questions on why it has been unable to stop this. This is why a lot of us tell women traveling to India to be much more aware of their surroundings?—?the social calculus you employ when you do something as trivial as jumping into a cab or asking a stranger for a favor isn’t the same in every part of the world. ????The idea of Uber doing background checks and “filtering out” this driver with an arrest record is laughable for anyone who has dealt with government records in India. First, there is no reliable way to run a check on someone in most parts of the world and second, even if they did, a small bribe in the right place will fix most records. ????A side anecdote on how such records work. Most of my school friends didn’t have to go to the Indian equivalent of the DMV to get a license when they hit the right age?—?they just got a “friend” to get it for them for around $10. I remember being grumpy with my dad when he made me actually take the test. Not because my dad had some moral high ground but more because he didn’t want to spend the money on a bribe (note?—?that’s my dad in a nutshell for you). India is trying to fix this and anti-corruption has really captured the public’s imagination in the last few years but it’s a long road. Paying off a government official is still very much the status quo (as I find out every time I need something from them). ????A reasonable person may ask?—?shouldn’t Uber have covered their bases anyway and asked the police? In a twist that is probably going to embarrass the Delhi cops, it turns out that Uber actually did get a police “character certificate” for the driver. But as I said above, no one really takes this seriously and Uber shouldn’t have either (more on this later). |