By: Imogen Mathers
Send to a friend
The details you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited email, and will not be sold to a 3rd party. See privacy policy.
If you are unable to listen to this audio, please update your browser or go here to download.
In the face of an earthquake or cyclone, what would you do first? Most people, I imagine, would rush to a place of safety, find out what was going on, and make contact with their families. But what if you didn’t know the language of those around you or understand emergency bulletins broadcast or appearing on billboards, television and mobile screens?
This is what happens to many of the world’s 60 million people displaced living in countries prone to environmental disasters or conflict, as well as for local people who do not speak the language of government and public broadcasts.
When crises strike, it’s not just the emergency itself that affects people: actually understanding what is going on and where to get help is a challenge.
The breakdown in communication between aid workers and affected people following the Haiti earthquake of 2010 prompted the global translation NGO Translators Without Borders to form their ‘Words of Relief’ crisis project. The team have spent the past two years analysing the information needs of people in crises, designing tech-based tools to aid communication, and training up internet translation engines to recognise more obscure languages like Nepali, Dari and Pashto.
Their deputy director, Rebecca Petras, tells us more in this interview.
A map of Lesbos and Greece, the first destination for many refugees crossing the Mediterranean from Turkey. It is written in some of the most common languages spoken by refugees. Over 75,000 refugees have arrived in Greece this year already
Words of Relief
Signs and maps, combining both written and visual information, are crucial to helping refugees when they arrive in Tabakika, Chios, Greece
Words of Relief
Signs, including images as well as text, help refugees navigate the complex registration process
Words of Relief
‘Winterisation’ signs at transit camps near Athens on the Greek mainland. This kind of information – how to stay warm as temperature plummets, where to get warm clothing, medical tips – is vital for those facing cold Mediterranean winters
Words of Relief
Around 80 per cent of refugees arriving in Greece speak Arabic. For those who speak Farsi, Dari or Pashto, access to information and translators can be even more problematic than for Arabic speakers
Words of Relief
An information pack for refugees arriving in Greece. With no end in sight to the war in Syria, and with large parts of Afghanistan and Iraq vulnerable to violence, refugee numbers continue to grow
Words of Relief