The unexpected challenges of a country's first election | Philippa Neave

翻译人员: Junyi Sha 校对人员: Juo-Han Michelle Kuo

The great philosopher Aristotle said

伟大的哲学家 亚里士多德曾说过：

if something doesn't exist, there's no word for it,

如果一件事物不存在， 它就没有名字，

and if there's no word for something,

如果一件事物没有名字，

that something doesn't exist.

它就不存在。

So when we talk about elections,

所以当我们 讨论到选举的时候，

we in established democracies, we know what we're talking about.

在已经建立民主政治的地方， 我们知道自己在谈论什么。

We've got the words. We have the vocabulary.

我们有这样的语言， 关于它的词汇。

We know what a polling station is.

我们知道什么是投票站，

什么是选票。

We know what a ballot paper is.

But what about countries where democracy doesn't exist,

但是在民主尚未建立的 国家会怎样呢？

countries where there are no words to describe the concepts

那些国家没有词汇 用来形容民主这个概念，

that underpin a democratic society?

民主社会是不存在的。

I work in the field of electoral assistance,

我从事选举援助工作，

so that's to say we assist

也可以说，我们就是去帮助

emerging democracies to organize

那些初生的民主政权去组织，

what is often their first elections.

通常是他们的第一次选举。

When people ask me what I do,

当人们问起我从事的工作，

quite often I get this answer.

我经常得到这样的回复：

"Oh, so you're one of these people who goes around the world

“噢，所以你就是那类在世界各地

imposing Western democracy on countries that can't handle it."

将西方民主政治硬塞给 那些自己搞不定的国家的人啊。”

Well, the United Nations does not impose anything on anybody.

其实，联合国从不把 任何东西强加于任何人身上。

It really doesn't,

不，它真的不会。

and also, what we do

而且，我们所做的，

is firmly anchored in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

是牢牢绑定在1948年的 世界人权宣言当中，

Article 21, that says

第二十一章中说的：

that everybody should have the right to choose who governs them.

每个人都有权选择自己的政府。

So that's the basis of the work.

这是我们工作的基本准则。

I specialize in public outreach.

我专精于公共宣传。

What does that mean? Another jargon.

那是什么意思呢？另一个术语。

It actually means designing information campaigns

它实际上是指设计信息化运动，

so that candidates and voters

这样候选人和选民，

who have never had the opportunity to participate or to vote

那些从来没有机会去 参加选举或参加投票的人，

understand where, when, how to register;

就会明白何时何地 和如何去注册；

where, when, how to vote;

何时何地和如何去投票；

why, why it is important to take part.

还有参与的重要意义。

So I'll probably devise a specific campaign to reach out to women

所以我可能会设计 一个专门针对女性的运动

去确保她们会参与其中，

to make sure that they can take part,

that they can be part of the process.

确保她们也成为过程中的一部分。

Young people as well.

年轻人也是一样。

All sorts of people.

所有人都是。

Handicapped people.

残疾人也是。

We try to reach everybody.

我们试图动员每个人。

And it's not always easy, because very often in this work,

而这从来就不简单， 因为经常出现的问题

I've noticed now over the years that I've been doing it

就是我这么多年来从事这项工作，

that words are lacking,

发现常常找不到相应的词汇可用，

and so what do you do?

那么我们应该怎么做？

Afghanistan.

阿富汗。

It's a country with high levels of illiteracy,

这是一个高文盲率的国家，

and the thing about that was, it was in 2005,

与此相关的，是我们在2005年，

and we organized two elections on the same day.

同一天举办了两场选举。

The reason was because the logistics are so incredibly difficult,

这么做是因为 物流的极度紧张，

it seemed to be more efficient to do that.

而这样做比较高效。

It was,

它确实比较高效，

but on the other hand, explaining two elections instead of one

但是在另一方面， 解释两场选举而非一场，

was even more complicated.

就使工作变得更加复杂。

So we used a lot of images,

所以我们使用了大量的图片，

and when it came to the actual ballot,

而当真正的投票到来时，

we had problems, because so many people wanted to take part,

就出现了问题，因为 太多的人想要参与其中，

we had 300 candidates for 52 seats

我们有300个候选人 争夺52个众议院席位，

in the Wolesi Jirga, which is the parliamentary elections.

是在人民院（相当于国会）的选举中。

And for the Provincial Council, we had even more candidates.

而省议会选举的候选人就更多。

We had 330 for 54 seats.

我们有330人抢54个位置。

So talking about ballot design,

所以当谈论起候选名单设计，

this is what the ballot looked like.

这就是候选名单的样子。

It's the size of a newspaper.

跟报纸差不多大。

This was the Wolesi Jirga ballot --

这是众议院候选名单——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Yeah, and --

对，是的——

this was the Provincial Council ballot.

这是省议会候选名单。

Even more.

甚至更多。

So you see, we did use a lot of symbols and things like that.

所以你们能看到，我们 确实用了很多这样的符号。

And we had other problems in Southern Sudan.

我们在南苏丹 则遇到了另外的问题。

Southern Sudan was a very different story.

南苏丹有着 完全不同的历史背景。

We had so many people who had never, of course, voted,

我们有这么多的人， 很明显从未参与过选举，

but we had extremely, extremely high levels of illiteracy,

但是那儿的文盲率 却是极度的，前所未有的高，

very, very poor infrastructure.

有着破旧的， 极度糟糕的基础设施。

For example -- I mean, it's a country the size of Texas, more or less.

举个例子——它是一个 和德克萨斯州差不多大的国家。

We had seven kilometers of paved roads,

那儿只有7公里铺平的道路，

seven kilometers in the whole country,

全国只有7公里，

and that includes the tarmac where we landed the planes

这其中还包括了停机坪， 就是我们飞机起降的跑道，

in Juba Airport.

在朱巴机场。

So transporting electoral materials, etc.,

所以运送选举材料之类的工作，

is exceedingly difficult.

就变得超乎寻常的困难。

People had no idea about what a box looked like.

人们甚至不知道投票箱长什么样。

It was very complicated,

一切都太困难了，

so using verbal communication was obviously the way to go,

因此，想要用语言交流 显然还有漫长的道路要走。

but there were 132 languages.

但是在那里一共有132种语言。

So that was extremely challenging.

所以这是极具挑战性的。

Then I arrived in Tunisia in 2011.

之后，在2011年我去了突尼斯。

It was the Arab Spring.

那会正赶上阿拉伯之春运动。

A huge amount of hope was generated by that enormous movement

在那片地区的大型运动

that was going on in the region.

给人们带来了巨大的希望。

There was Libya, there was Egypt, there was Yemen.

在利比亚，埃及，还有也门。

It was an enormous, enormous historical moment.

这一个巨大的， 前所未有的历史性运动。

And I was sitting with the election commission,

我就和选举委员们坐在一起，

and we were talking about various aspects of the election,

我们讨论了选举的方方面面，

and I was hearing them using words that I hadn't actually heard before,

我听到他们用那些 我从未听过的词汇，

and I'd worked with Iraqis, I'd worked with Jordanians, Egyptians,

我曾与伊拉克人， 约旦人，埃及人一起工作，

and suddenly they were using these words,

然后突然之间他们 就开始使用这些词汇，

and I just thought, "This is strange."

我就想：“这真是奇怪”。

And what really gave rise to it was this word "observer."

他们真正想表达的是“观察员”。

We were discussing election observers,

我们正在讨论选举的观察员，

and the election commissioner was talking about "mulahiz" in Arabic.

选举委员们用 阿拉伯语讨论着“mulahiz”。

This means "to notice" in a passive sort of sense,

它的意思是“注意”， 以一种被动的语气。

as in, "I noticed he was wearing a light blue shirt."

例如：“我注意到了 他穿着一件淡蓝色的衬衫。”

Did I go and check whether the shirt was light blue or not?

我是否去检查了 他的衬衫真的是淡蓝色?

That is the role of an election observer.

这就是选举观察员的角色。

It's very active, it's governed by all kinds of treaties,

这角色非常活跃， 它被各种条约所支配，

and it has got that control function in it.

也拥有了内部控制能力。

And then I got wind of the fact that in Egypt,

然后我听闻了在 埃及的一些事实，

他们使用“mutabi”这个词， 意思是“去跟进”。

they were using this term "mutabi’," which means "to follow."

So we were now having followers of an election.

所以我们现在 又有了选举的跟进员。

So that's not quite right either,

但这也不太对，

because there is a term that's already accepted and in use,

因为还有另一个已经 被接受并在使用的词，

which was the word "muraqib" which means "a controller."

就是“muraqib” 意思是“监控员”。

It's got that notion of control.

类似控制的概念。

So I thought, three words for one concept. This is not good.

所以我就想，三个单词， 一个概念，这可不好。

And with our colleagues, we thought perhaps it's our role

和我们的同事一起时， 我们认为我们的角色或许是

to actually help make sure that the words are understood

在实质上帮助他们理解这些单词，

and actually create a work of reference

规范一个基本用词框架，

that could be used across the Arab region.

应用于全阿拉伯语地区。

And that's what we did.

所以我们就这么做了。

So together with these colleagues,

和这些同行在一起，

we launched the "Arabic Lexicon of Electoral Terminology,"

我们发起了一个 “阿拉伯语选举标准术语”项目，

and we worked in eight different countries.

并在八个不同的国家 进行使用。

It meant actually defining 481 terms

实质上是新定义了481个词语，

which formed the basis of everything you need to know

它们组成了任何民主选举的

if you're going to organize a democratic election.

基本词汇库。

And we defined these terms,

我们定义了这些词汇，

and we worked with the Arab colleagues

也和阿拉伯的同事们一起工作，

and came to an agreement about what would be the appropriate word

进而达成了适用于阿拉伯的

词汇的共识。

to use in Arabic.

Because the Arabic language is very rich, and that's part of the problem.

阿拉伯语词汇很丰富， 但这样也正是一部分问题所在。

But there are 22 countries that speak Arabic,

因为有22个国家和地区的 人民使用阿拉伯语，

and they use modern standard Arabic,

虽然他们使用的 都是标准现代阿拉伯语，

which is the Arabic that is used across the whole region

在整个中东地区的报纸和广播节目中

in newspapers and broadcasts,

都会使用。

但是当然， 随着不同国家的使用及时间的演化，

but of course, then from one country to the next in day to day language and use

it varies -- dialect, colloquialisms, etc.

阿拉伯语就开始分化了—— 方言，俗语等等。

So that was another added layer of complication.

所以那又构成了另一道障碍。

So in one sense you had the problem

在这个情况下，

that language wasn't fully ripe, if you like,

语言还不成熟， 如果你愿意这么讲。

neologisms were coming up, new expressions.

新词，新的表达 不断的被发明出来，

And so we defined all these terms,

所以我们定义了这些词汇，

and then we had eight correspondents in the region.

我们在这些地区有了八个通讯员。

We submitted the draft to them,

我们把词汇表草稿交给他们，

they responded back to us.

他们就回复我们：

"Yes, we understand the definition.

“是的，我们明白这些定义。

We agree with it,

我们投赞同票，

but this is what we say in our country."

但是这是我们 在我们国家的说法。”

Because we were not going to harmonize or force harmonization.

因为我们不打算去协调， 也不准备强制协调。

We were trying to facilitate understanding among people.

我们就只能尝试去促进 人与人之间的相互理解。

So in yellow, you see the different expressions in use

所以在黄色的部分， 你们能看出在不同的国家有

in the various countries.

不同的表达方式。

So this, I'm happy to say, it took three years to produce this

因此，我很高兴地告诉你们， 我们花了三年时间

because we also finalized the draft and took it actually into the field,

去完成这项任务，完成最终稿， 并使他们真正应用到这个领域。

sat with the election commissions in all these different countries,

与各国的选举委员会的成员坐在一起，

debated and defined and refined the draft,

进行争论，定义和精煉这些草稿，

and finally published it in November 2014 in Cairo.

并最终于2014年11月 在开罗发表。

And it's gone a long way. We published 10,000 copies.

一路走来，我们成绩斐然， 总共发行了一万份副本。

To date, there's about 3,000 downloads off the internet in PDF form.

直至今日，已经有 3000多份PDF下载件了。

I heard just recently from a colleague that they've taken it up in Somalia.

我最近刚从一个同事那儿听说， 他们要把这份文件带去索马里。

They're going to produce a version of this in Somalia,

他们将做一份索马里的版本，

because there's nothing in Somalia at all.

因为索马里还什么都没有。

So that's very good to know.

所以，这听起来不错。

And this newly formed Arab Organization for Electoral Management Bodies,

这份新形成的 阿拉伯选举管理体制，

which is trying to professionalize

就是用于规范

how elections are run in the region,

在该地区的 选举流程的这份文件，

they're using it as well.

他们也正在使用了。

And the Arab League have now built up a pan-Arab observation unit,

阿拉伯联盟现在也建立了 一个通用阿拉伯观察中心，

and they're using it.

而且他们正在使用它。

So that's all really good.

这听起来都很好。

However, this work of reference is quite high-pitched.

但是，这个框架比较高级。

It's complex, and a lot of the terms are quite technical,

它很复杂， 包含很多专业词汇，

so the average person probably doesn't need to know at least a third of it.

所以有至少三分之一的词汇 普通人并不需要知道。

But the people of the Middle East

但是在中东地区的人们，

have been deprived of any form of what we know as civic education.

他们被剥夺了我们所理解的文明教育。

It's part of our curriculum at school.

那些是我们 日常课程中的一部分。

It doesn't really exist in that part of the world,

这在那个世界中是不存在的，

and I feel it's really the right of everybody

但我认为每个人都有权利

to know how these things work.

知道选举的工作流程。

而且让普通人理解 这样一种选举框架，

And it's a good thing to think about producing a work of reference

for the average person,

这种想法是一件好事，

and bearing in mind that now

要牢记我们现在已经

we have a basis to work with,

有这样一种基础文件了，

but also we have technology,

我们还有科技，

so we can reach out using telephone apps,

我们可以使用电话软件，

video, animation.

视频，动画软件。

There's all sorts of tools that can be used now

我们现在有各种可用的工具

to communicate these ideas to people

能够第一次把这些观点

for the first time in their own language.

用人们自己的语言传递给他们。

We hear a lot of misery about the Middle East.

我们听说了中东地区 人们的很多痛苦。

We hear the chaos of war. We hear terrorism.

我们听说了战乱。 我们听说了恐怖主义。

We hear about sectarianism and all this horrible negative news

我们听说了宗教分裂 和各种可怕的负面消息，

that comes to us all the time.

这些消息不断向我们涌来。

What we're not hearing is what are the people, the everyday people, thinking?

我们不知道当地的人们， 普通人是怎么想的，

What are they aspiring to?

他们又向往什么呢？

Let's give them the means, let's give them the words.

让我们给予他们工具吧， 给予他们这些词汇。

The silent majority is silent

大众沉默的原因，

because they don't have the words.

是他们不懂得如何表达。

The silent majority needs to know.

沉默的大众需要 知道这些表达方式。

It is time to provide people with the knowledge tools

现在是给人们知识工具的时候了，

that they can inform themselves with.

这样他们就能自学成才。

The silent majority does not need to be silent.

沉默的大众不必保持沉默。

Let's help them have a voice.

让我们帮助他们发出自己的声音。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）