Monterey Forum 2019

Two numbers: 50 and 36. 50,000 interpreters left behind, one being killed every 36 hours according to the UNHCR. I started my talk at the Monterey Forum last Sunday with these words. (see button below to view).  The title was The Political, Physical and Psychological Risks Faced by Interpreters and Translators. Twenty-five minutes long, it touches upon just some aspects of these things drawing on my experience as an interpreter/translator in United Nations peacekeeping and work at the International Criminal Court, The Hague. My main point is that in conflict areas linguists are pulled into the work out of necessity and then left to fend for themselves. If your country is in conflict it's likely that your studies and work are disrupted irreparably. If you speak the language of the invading force, they may see fit to hire you as an interpreter/translator, which may become your only means of livelihood available. First you face all the difficulties of performing with little or no training. You are included and often an integral and essential component of the force. To site this webpage http://termcoord.eu/2015/01/interpreters-war-zones:  "Interpreters in war zones, as commented by some officials of the US Army, are more valuable and useful than guns. 'Having an interpreter means having hundreds of potential helpers and hundreds of weapons, while having a weapon means having only a weapon,' to repeat their words."   Then when they don't need you anymore, you may be targeted as the one who helped the invader. The dangers of being seen as siding with the opposite site are very real for linguists. Secondary post-traumatic stress disorder (SPTSD) and damage to hearing are also briefly mentioned with some advice for prevention and treatment. In the talk, and here also, I appeal to people everywhere to sign a petition asking the United Nations to pass a resolution asking states to acknowledge that linguists are being targeted and killed in the context outlined above and to take action to stop it and provide protection to linguists in conflict zones.

Sign the Petition

View Monterey Forum talk 2019