印度囚犯餐厅开业 卫生礼貌评价高

As India's capital baked in a heat wave, banker Gaurav Gupta sat down for lunch at a new air-conditioned restaurant, to be greeted by a smiling waiter who took his order for a traditional "thali" meal of flatbread, lentils, vegetables and rice.

夏日炎炎，印度首都新德里忍受着高温的炙烤，在银行工作的高拉夫·古普塔来到了一家新开业的餐厅用午餐。餐厅内开着空调，服务员微笑着帮他点了一份印度传统的塔里套餐，包括小面包干、扁豆、蔬菜和米饭。

Nothing unusual, except that the employee, like most of his colleagues, is a convicted murderer serving time in South Asia's largest prison complex.

这一幕看上去平淡无奇，但帮他点餐的服务员却是一名已被判刑并在南亚最大的监狱服刑的囚犯，而且他的同事们也与他一样。

"Tihar Food Court" in west Delhi, a rehabilitation effort kicked off by the Tihar prison, opened in the first week of July on an "experimental basis" while awaiting formal clearances. It is sited half a km (0.6 mile) away from prisoners' dormitories.

新德里西部的这家“蒂哈尔美食广场”7月第一周刚刚开始试营业，还在等待官方许可。餐厅是由蒂哈尔监狱发起的一项囚犯改造计划，离犯人宿舍只有半公里（0.6英里）。

With a spacious interior lined with wooden tables and walls adorned with paintings done by prisoners, the 50-seat restaurant has been praised for the polite behaviour of its employees, who were trained by a prestigious nearby hotel management school.

餐厅店面宽敞，可坐下50人，木桌和墙上装饰有囚犯精心绘制的图案，服务员在附近一所著名的酒店管理学校受过训练，服务态度优秀，受到顾客的一致好评。

"The food is average," said Gupta. "But the hygiene factor is really good, very clean. And it's a good thing they are employing prisoners." Restaurant manager Mohammad Asim said there are around 50 customers every day, with each worker paid 74 rupees for the day's work.

古普塔说，“这里食物一般。但是卫生条件特别好，非常干净。他们雇佣囚犯做服务员，这点很好。”餐厅经理默罕默德·阿西姆介绍道，餐厅每天会接待大约50名顾客，员工每天的工资是74卢比。

To be eligible to leave prison and work in the restaurant, inmates must have kept up an "unblemished record" through at least 12 years of imprisonment, besides a high school education.

囚犯如想离开监狱在餐厅工作，就必须有一份至少长达12年的监禁“无污点记录”，而且还必须有高中学历。

Prisoners eligible to be released within two years are picked for the job, to minimise their temptation to escape. They travel to work by cycle or on foot, as authorities "trust them enough" not to need a security escort.

得到这份工作的囚犯都是将要在两年内刑满释放的囚犯，这样做是为了最大程度减少他们逃跑的可能。他们骑车或步行上班，因为官方表示“足够信任他们”不需要押送。

Customers had few qualms dealing with the Tihar prisoners.

对于这些囚犯服务员，顾客基本没有什么不安。

"I think that Tihar authorities have observed them for years and have decided they can be placed in front of the public ... so I don't think there is a need to be worried," said first-time customer Atul Singh, who works with the Indian unit of South Korean electronics giant Samsung.

第一次来这家餐厅的阿图尔·辛格是韩国电子巨头三星印度分公司的员工，他表示，“我觉得蒂哈尔政府已经观察他们很多年了，既然决定让他们出现在大众面前，我认为就无需担心。”