Humanitarian Translation: What Is All About?

Dear friends,

As this month I devoted almost all my posts to translation, today I will speak of humanitarian translation.

Perhaps we think of translation as something related to books or texts and which is always paid, but there are small ventures in Europe which have been involved for years in translation and interpreting without the objective of financial gain. These organisations make an important contribution to the humanitarian culture and to promoting this profession as an activity not always associated with making a profit. In this sense humanitarian translation distinguishes from translation because it encompasses a much larger spectrum of activity.

Humanitarian organizations are often self-financed, composed mainly of private donations from individuals or coming from fundraising activities.

There is constant involvement, as expected, from the countries which have suffered the consequences of long wars or serious natural disasters, whose economies are severely behind those of the developed countries, where poverty and mortality rates are very high and education level is very low.

Basically, almost all the people with whom the humanitarian workers come into contact don’t speak any language other than that with which they were born and raised. Therefore, it is very difficult to find qualified translators or interpreters who speak the local language and who are available to work on site.

An example of humanitarian translation is the non-profit organisation Translators without Borders or Traducteurs sans Frontières which was founded in Paris in 1993, from within a translation agency which had been operating since 1986.

This association was created from the will to lend a logistic support to the humanitarian organisations through offers of voluntary – and therefore free – translation services.

The agency's first contact with the field of humanitarian translation came in the early 1990s, when it received a request of a paid translation service on behalf of the Paris base of “Doctors without borders”.

One of the most interesting aspects of the work of Translators without Borders is surely that which is dedicated to the witness reports, or first-hand testimonies, collected on site by the workers of the various humanitarian organisations. It generally deals with very strong themes which recount difficult stories in the context of war and destruction. 

Source: lexis.pro

Testimonies are, therefore, a vital component in the practice of translating as a means of denouncing any form of torture, persecution and inhumane treatment as well as occupying a supervisory role until the international convention is respected.

The importance of the figure of translators in relation to this reality depends precisely on the need of such messages, testimonies and information reaching the public, sparking a reaction and bringing them closer to the organisation.

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They are one of the most effective examples of humanitarian translation, if one thinks also of the effect that these ordeals create in the readers and how they really manage to catch and mobilise the public attention. Nevertheless, it is an area of translation which, up to now, has featured very little, and this returns constantly to the absolute importance of work of the humanitarian organisations – a large part voluntary – and the effects of the lack of profit.

Despite the subject matter, I can say that translators find the work gratifying! They feel proud of themselves. They work for countries that have seen the worst human and environmental disasters. It is enriching for them.

I think we should all collaborate to make a better world and to help people in need.

Teacher Barbara